Welcome back, you may know someone who is suffering from this it’s
fibromyalgia it’s one of the
most chronic
pain conditions, it affects
about 10 million people in the
United States and 75 to 99% of
those people are women.
There is a new book out by the
Mayo Clinic to help those
suffering its the Mayo Clinic
guide to fibromyalgia co-author
doctor Barber wbur’s here with
us this morning. Hi good
morning, thank you for having
me of course so let’s start
with a kind explain to me this
condition. It’s a chronic
illness.
>> Patients feel severe pain
they feel a lot of fatigue.
They feel like they can’t get
going through their lives.
Patients describe to me that
they feel like they wake up
every day with the flu. Wow and
there’s they’re tender their
soar there they didn’t
sleep well. It can be
devastating that sounds
horrible and it affects so
many women.
>> I what age is and who is
most likely to
be affected.
>> It it kind of hits mostly
middle aged women lie average
patients 49.
85% of the patients we see
are women. Well as but we do
see it across the lifespan.
>> How do you know if you’re if
you possibly could have it just
in case, what’s income should
you be looking out for it’s
really persistent fatigue.
It’s Pain widespread pain.
Patients often have sleep
disturbance they sleep and
sleep and sleep. I don’t feel
rested. They also can have
trouble thinking they feel like
they’re they can concentrate as
they did before
sounds miserable. Patients are
very very disrupted in terms of
their lives and their work and
their goals absolutely I’m sure
that’s why you raise me this
book we didn’t so explain to me
a little bit of what you’re
going to find in this book.
We’re going to we’re going to
find is really the current
science. May have some focused
on that we want to get it
right. There’s
so much misinformation about 5
around out in the world.
Whether it’s on the Internet or
sometimes even health care
providers. But certainly people
who love my patients can get it
wrong. Yes, we tried to provide
really what do we know from an
evidence base because the
science in this area is
exploding.
>> Yeah I was looking into the
book a little bit and I know a
huge concern is obviously you
don’t want to put these
patients on opioids because
we have a huge opioid epidemic
right now
and I saw a lot of alternative
treatments in here that has to
be really exciting for a
patient who is wondering what
can I do
absolutely.
>> And the thing that I also
want to say about opioids not
to mention all the
potential harm. Science is
telling us that appearance
actually don’t help centrally
mediated pain which is what we
think is underneath fibro so
that they don’t even help.
There are some FDA approved
medicines out there, but
there’s some lifestyle changes
that can make a big difference.
>> Whereas if someone does have
this condition, what would you
say to them what is something
that you always see all your
patients.
I think the most important
thing is that they get an
accurate diagnosis.
As you said before there’s lots
of symptoms and they can mimic
other and other diseases and
disorders so in the book we
trust we try to outline how you
can take this information to
your primary care physician and
to begin to get an accurate
diagnosis. I think that helps
my patients feel less fearful
because they’re scared that
they have a much more serious
disorder. And I think that’s
the first step to starting to
feel better.
>> How many patients do you
have.
>> I think thousands of
patients with fire around to
I have actually worked with
Iran to patients my whole
career now wow.
>> And it’s not going away do
we know why it it’s coming from
how it comes about.
>> It turns out of 5 amount of
the constellation of symptoms
of fibromyalgia I’ve been
around for decades under
different names. OK so we
watched them we kind of know
the natural course of 5 amount
to if nothing were to change.
And the natural course seems to
be it would wax and wane over
the course of your lifetime and
hopefully dying old age of
something else. So it’s sort of
a full layer and quieter and
flair in quieter path that
patients go through,
but it is a chronic disorder.
We don’t have a cure yet out
what is the youngest patient
you’ve seen. You know we don’t
I don’t tend to see the
diagnosis in kids under 12.
OK, I’ve seen lots of teenagers
was really absolutely
but under 12, they don’t tend
to use the word but I’ve seen.
Parents describe in kids
describe what sounds like
they’re on their way they’re
missing lots of school about
headaches and tummy aches.
So we wonder about that as well
as animal, primarily Middle
ages when should you go see a
doctor when do you think is the
best time.
I think if the symptoms persist
just like with other symptoms
that they persist and
and they are beginning to
interfere with a person’s
ability to live their lives.
does this book give.
>> People hope and a way to see
there’s research being done in
people do care. Yes,
in fact.
>> That would be the main
mission of this book is to get
patients hope there are tools
and strategies that they can