This and That

The Meeting

Last night I attended a FARNY meeting. If you've been reading my blog, you might think I am very active in this support group. To be quite honest, I really haven't had much interest in support groups before I started this book. I decided to be informed, I should get a little involved. I have been pleasantly surprised so far. Rather than a bunch of people griping about their pain, FARNY has topical speakers who present valuable information on managing fibromyalgia. The speaker last night was Dr. Antignano a local gastroenterologist. His topic was IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).

Why would someone with fibro be interested in IBS? In my case, I have it, and find it quite frustrating. I also knew that it was common in fibromites. As a matter of fact, it is so common in fibromites, that according to Dr Antignano, one in five fibro sufferers also has IBS.

Does fibro cause IBS or vice versa. That is unclear, but what I found fascinating was the fact that both syndromes appear to be disorders of the sensory nervous system. I had known that to be true of fibro, but this was the first I had heard this of IBS. In both cases SSRIs have been successful in treating these conditions. SSRIs are what we know as anti-depressants. Does that imply that IBS and fibromyalgia sufferers are depressed? Maybe, I'll get to that shortly. In these syndromes, the reason that SSRIs are successful is because there is too much information getting to the brain. Seratonin helps regulate this.

Depression

Are IBS and fibro victims depressed? Is depression a symptom of these syndromes? If you look at definitions for these diseases, you will see that depression is often associated with both. Do I, personally, think it is a given that if you have these syndromes, you will be depressed or if you're depressed you will have IBS and fibro? I think it is a bit of a no-brainer. In my opinion, if you have either of these syndromes, you're going to occasionally get depressed.

Who wouldn't get tired, irritable, angry, or down in the dumps when gassy, crampy, and bloated all the time. By the same token who wouldn't occasionally get down, when fatigued and achy all the time. I think it is perfectly normal behavior. On the other hand, when the depression gets to the point that it starts affecting your daily life in a dramatic way, then you should probably seek help. I don't think it is out of the ordinary for anyone to feel down for a few days or even a few weeks. Stuff happens, and it is not always good. Rest easy though, if you're depressed, you are not immediately doomed to suffer from IBS or fibro.

DST and Fatigue

This leads me to how I am feeling. I am down. I am not sleeping well, and my IBS is worse. I have to say that my IBS sometimes disrupts my sleep even more than the fibro. The high I was on a couple of weeks ago is waning. It is hard to know what to blame.

DST often leads me into chronic fatigue. The changing seasons, especially winter into spring is always hard on my fibro. The weather sucks. It is the end of March, the temperature was in the mid-20s today, and the landscape is white. I'm a skier and should be loving this. Instead the cold is making my muscles achy, or maybe it is the fatigue. Either way, I am longing for warm temperatures. I want to see green grass, no mud, and I want to work in my yard. I am tired and cranky!

So now, feeling the way I do, and armed with new information from last night's meeting, I am debating whether I should reconsider my stance against anti-depressants. If an SSRI, could help with both the IBS and fibro symptoms, might it be worthwhile to take something daily for the rest of my life? My annual physical comes up in April -- something to ponder until then.