Over the years my sister and I have learned it is better and more fun to laugh about life’s predicaments rather than cry. We have numerous inside jokes, and fibromyalgia is fair game when it comes to our humor. Anyone who suffers from FM understands that your once fertile and competent brain becomes a mush of confusion and incoherence. The corresponding joke is that I “used to be the smart sister.”
It is true. I was once her “go to” whenever she needed an answer on most anything. But since developing FM I have been reduced to the baby sister she feels the need to shelter and protect. I have to say I love how nurturing she is of me, but I MISS MY BRAIN!
The last few days Health and Fibromyalgia blogs have been a buzz with a study just published by The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, which claims there is verifiable evidence of abnormal brain activity in patients diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
Dr. Eric Guedj at Centre Hospitalier-University de la Timone in France conducted the study by performing brain imaging called single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT.
The imaging showed that women with the syndrome had “brain perfusion” — or blood flow abnormalities —compared to the healthy women. The researchers then found that these abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of disease symptoms.
An increase in blood flow was found in the brain region known to discriminate pain intensity, the researchers found.
The findings were published in the November issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
The result of this study has many positive implications for people with Fibromyalgia.
Cognitive functioning, memory and concentration problems
This is one of the greatest complaints and issues people with FM have. We have lovingly come to refer to this as Fibrofog, because that is what it is like – like walking around all day in a fog. It is hard to process thought clearly and sometimes even speak in coherent sentences. For me this has been the most frustrating thing I deal with. I am not the smart sister anymore! And the greater my pain level the thicker the fog.
I always believed it was more that just fatigue from poor sleep and unrelenting pain. I genuinely believed there was something wrong with my brain process, and now there is verifiable proof of this. There is an increase of blood flow to the area of the brain that discriminates pain intensity, but the study also shows there is a decrease of blood flow within an area involved in emotional responses to pain.
Reinforces that Fibromyalgia is a real disease/disorder
Fibromyalgia is called the “invisible syndrome” because lab tests and X-rays cannot diagnose it. To date there is only the trigger/tender point test used to diagnose FM. Developed in 1990 by The American College of Rheumatology, the criteria is that a patient must feel pain in a minimum of 11/18 tender points throughout the body.
For the many health care professionals who remain skeptical of the reality of Fibromyalgia, the tender point test is not proof enough. But with the reinforcement of the brain imaging study, Fibromyalgia is more likely to be seen as a real disorder. This will hopefully translate into more testing and better healthcare for patients with FM.
Thank you Dr. Guedi! Now when my sister tells me I am not the smart sister anymore I can tell her my brain is abnormal. I have an excuse! Then I will remind her that her only excuse is that she is blonde!
Quote source, Kathleen Doheny, HealthDay Reporter, Monday, November 3, 2008.
First off I would like to say how proud I am of my “Baby Sister” and her awesome website. Of course I am proud of her Hubby too for all his hard work and most of all devotion to my Sister.
My Sister is one of the most intelligent people I know. In addition to having one of the biggest hearts I know. We had some tough times growing up (and as adults too) but the one thing I could always count on was having my Sister there who also is my Best Friend. I have always gone to her for guidance and insight. I still to this day go to her. She is my ROCK and she always will be. Dani (my nickname for her) got the wonderful skills of listening and being there for others from our Dad.
I am so blessed that God (and our Parents) gave me the best Baby Sister in the world. It breaks my heart that she suffers so much from FM. When I found out that she had FM I was very confused and worried. I had never heard of FM and could barely pronounce it. So I decided to educate myself (something my Sis would do) so I could understand. I have sat back and watched others who will ask my Sister how she is feeling yet you can tell they don’t get it. Why don’t they take the time to get it? I feel that most people are afraid of the unknown. They hear the words fibromyalgia and they shut down. It bothers me! So what do I do about it? I tell everyone I know that will listen to me about it. I explain what it is the best way I know how. Even my children “get it” they understand that Auntie is in pain and sometimes she has bad days because of it.
My heart goes out to my Sister and everyone who has FM. I hope that one day there will be a cure for FM. After all, my Sister always tells me I am a hopeless romantic. I will always no matter what feel the need to shelter and protect my Sister as she does the same for me. One last thing, my Sister really is the smarter Sister. She always has been and always will be. How many little sisters teach their big Sister’s how to tie their shoes and their ABC’s? The most important thing my Sister has taught me is how to SMILE and keep a good attitude. When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!!!
Hey Big Sister.
Wow! Thank you for the beautiful reply. I may be smart but you are wise. Wise and wonderful.
You have ALWAYS taken the time to listen to me and to understand me. I am spoiled to have such an amazing big sis. God knew what he was doing putting us together, and Dad knew what he was doing keeping us together.
Maybe that is why I am able to make lemonade with this lemon of a body. Because I am incredibly fortunate in other aspects of my life. Not everyone has a big sis as caring and compassionate as you are.
One thing is clear. We need each other, and I will always be here for you. You are the best!
Hi Dannette,
I just wanted to mention a couple of other sources proving a link between FM & the brain.
First, Dr. Patrick B. Wood has been researching this topic for awhile, and he made a video about it, among other things to do with FM. I highly recommend it for support group meetings; it’s not too long, not too difficult (important!), shows lots of patients talking… my group really liked it. The site for the video is http://www.lifebeyondpain.com/index.shtml.
And second, this article in the Journal of Neuroscience: http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/27/15/4004#B22.
On a personal note, I’ve recently been diagnosed with cerebral atrophy of central and frontal lobes of the brain, on the basis on an MRI done for a completely different reason. I’m currently waiting for my appointment with a neurologist, since it was my rheumy who ordered the MRI and he doesn’t know what to do with the results he got… Shrinking gray matter – yuck!!!