Part 3 of my series on Fibromyalgia Support and Information.
In my previous posts I listed the main social networking sites (part 1) and group forums (part 2) available if you are looking to join an online community for support, encouragement, camaraderie, or just to have a place to vent. My inspiration for putting these posts together is to help alleviate the potential for isolation if you are living with Fibromyalgia or most any chronic illness. For this post I am going to focus on general resources available, like blogs and websites. Again, this is just a partial list of what is out there, so feel free to leave recommendations in the comments if you know of a forum or support group I did not cover.
Blogs
If you are reading this post then you are clearly already a reader of blogs and quite possibly have several you read and may even maintain one of your own. Blogs are a great way to share information and ideas. Fibromyalgia Haven has become my favorite place to go everyday. I have the chance to express myself here like I can nowhere else. My mental and emotional outlook is vastly improved since I began writing here, and I am constantly researching for new things to write about and share so my knowledge and understanding of Fibromyalgia has increased tremendously. I am proud to call myself a blogger!
I could not begin to list the multitude of Fibromyalgia blogs out there. I think I find a new one each day. But I will list several great sites which contain blog directories and make it easier for you to search a specific blog category. Here are links to the ones I am most familiar with followed by a description taken from their own site:
Alltop – Alltop is an “online magazine rack” of popular topics. We update the stories every hour. Pick a topic by searching, news category, or name, and we’ll deliver it to you 24 x 7. All the topics, all the time. (P.S. – Have you noticed my Alltop “best of the best” badge I proudly display on my sidebar? Cool, huh!)
Blog Catalog – BlogCatalog is more than just a social community for bloggers; we are one of the largest blog directories on the internet. Whether you are looking to search blogs, connect with bloggers, learn more about blogging, or promote your own blog, BlogCatalog is for you.
BlogHer – The community for women who blog.
Bloglines – We track your favorite news, blogs, weather, and classifieds so that you don’t have to.
Delicious – The tastiest bookmarks on the web.
Digg – Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web.
Google Blog Search – (Google needs no description.)
Networked Blogs – Blogs are social networks. Are you networked yet?
WordPress Blogs – Just Another WordPress Weblog
Yahoo 360 – A place that’s all about you to share with friends and family.
General Resources for Education and Information
Many of these sites have monthly newsletters you can sign up to have their top news e-mailed directly to you. It is a great way to stay on top of current events and news in the ever-changing Fibromyalgia community.
National Fibromyalgia Association –The National Fibromyalgia Association is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization whose mission is: To develop and execute programs dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia Network – We’ll keep you current on fibromyalgia treatments, coping tips, and research to enrich your life.
Fibro Center – A community of education, support, and understanding for people with Fibromyalgia. (I hesitated to list this site as it is sponsored by Pfizer, but if even one person finds it useful then it is worth putting my personal bias against Lyrica aside.)
Fibro and Fatigue Centers – Whether you have been diagnosed or misdiagnosed, whether you have been searching for years to get your life back to “normal” or you are just starting to feel it slip away – there is help and hope!
Fibro 360 – A community of Hope and Understanding for People suffering from Fibromyalgia
FibroTalk – Online Community Support
We Are Fibro – The Social Support Network for those Living with Fibromyalgia
Please feel free to add your blog or favorite site in the comments.
This is great info! Thanks for sharing your wealth of knowledge and making it easier to navigate to some of the best sites.
I love BlogCatalog and also use Delicious to save literally thousands of sites organized by topic. I use Bloglines to keep track of the blogs I read.
I am really glad I found your blog.
Hi,
I just found your blog looking for other people with chronic pain. I don’t have fibro (though I do have just about everything else!), but I have, too, experienced the all together isolating effects of long term chronic illness. Thanks for these links, I look forward to checking them out today! 🙂
I write a comic about my experience living with a lifetime of chronic disease and I’d love for you to check it out. You can find it at http://acomiclifeindeed.wordpress.com
Hope your feeling well today!
– Miss Waxie