Product Description

It has been said that chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia (CFS/FM) are like the old Indian story of the blind men and the elephant. As the men felt various parts of the elephant, they described it as a snake, a brush, a tree, or a wall, depending on which part they had touched. Each thought of the elephant in terms of his own experience, mistaking part of the elephant for all of it. Likewise, everybody working with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia has a piece of the puzzle, but much work remains to be done before a complete picture emerges.

Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia is designed to educate patients suffering from CFS/FM about their illnesses and to teach them coping skills that will improve their quality of life. And while the good news is that people who suffer from CFS/FM aren't dying, the bad news is that it's going to take a lot of time and effort to get better since there is no one specific treatment that works for everyone.

Some of the issues covered are:
• Understanding the symptoms and how diagnoses are made
• Causes of CFS/FM and common psychological consequences, including anxiety and depression
• The role of stress and how to manage it
• The connection between the mind and the body in coping with CFS/FM
• The potential of medications, nutrition, and lifestyle changes
• The role of complimentary medications and dietary supplements in pain management
• The value and limitations of alternative and complementary therapies such as accupuncture, massage, homeopathy, and aromatherapy
• Legal issues about how to deal with medical and legal problems that may arise if insurance benefits have been stopped

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149551 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-22
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 254 pages

About the Author
Alison C. Bested, a graduate of McMaster University Medical School, is a hematological pathologist who specializes in the medical problems related to chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivities. In addition to private practice, she teaches medical students and residents at the Environmental Health Clinic at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Center. She lives in Scarborough, Ontario. Alan C. Logan is a doctor of naturopathic medicine. He graduated as valedictorian from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and completed his training in Mind-Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the nutrition editor of the International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. Alan lives in Westchester, New York. Russell Howe is an attorney who specializes in medical disability cases. He lives in Aurora, Ontario.

Customer Reviews

Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia
A MUST READ! In a personal, informal manner, the authors explain these complex illnesses in layman's language. They offer patients -

HOPE through knowledge and understanding:
* Learn about the exciting advances in research.
* Understand how the mechanisms of multi-system abnormalities cause the array of seemingly unrelated symptoms and how diagnoses are made.
* Learn about the potential benefits and limitations of various mainstream medical and complementary treatments.

HELP through awareness and guidance:
* Become aware of what you can do to help yourself.
* Learn how to improve your quality of life through various life-style changes and Self-Help-Strategies such as pacing and energy conservation, sleep hygiene, pain management and nutritional/dietary support.
* Learn mind-body techniques to lessen stress.
* Become aware of how to deal with disability and associated legal issues.

Authors are experts in their field:
Dr. Alison Bested, a hematological pathologist, is a clinician and medical lecturer specializing in chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities. She was a member of the Expert Medical Consensus Panel, selected by Health Canada, which developed the Canadian Consensus Document for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She played a key role in the implementation of a billing code and time-based billing for chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia by the Ontario Medical Association. Dr. Alan Logan is a graduate of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and Mind-Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has published numerous papers and is the Nutrition Editor of the International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. Mr. Russell Howe is a well-known attorney who specializes in medical disability cases.

This book is the patients' complementary counterpart to the Canadian Consensus Guidelines for physicians. Hope and Help for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia is a valuable and uplifting patients' resource, which we are pleased to advertise on our website!

Marjorie van de Sande, B Ed, Grad Dip Ed
Consensus Coordinator for Canadian Consensus Documents for ME/CFS and FMS
National ME/FM Action Network, Advisor & Webmaster

Knowledgeable authors, great book, useful!
Allow me to state bias, which is that of being employed with a national charity for FM & CFS in Canada. We link to the book from our site, fm-cfs.ca and know the value of the book - its ability to help patients and practitioners get better results.

You may not know, but the authors behind this book are truly leaders in the FM & CFS community. Dr. Bested has put years of on-going strategic effort into advancing the community's cause, with success after success, and of course, working with others. Just to say, the authors are in a position to know a great deal, and have respect from the community.

One success, Spring 2006: one of the authors plays a key role in the campaign to get new billing codes and higher compensation rates for physicians in Ontario. This is a first in Canada which will help all the other Provinces.

Read their book, these are trustworthy authors, and learn what they know about dealing with FM & CFS.

John Ernst
fm-cfs.ca