Tag Archives: pain

This. Is. Why.

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

I’m on the verge of tearing my hair out, and I suspect I’m not the only one. The American Academy of Family Physicians published a review article about CFS (paywall) on Monday, accompanied by a patient information sheet. From the … Continue reading →

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Blaze of Glory

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Pacing is . . . actually, my descriptions of pacing generally involve expletives that are not appropriate for this blog, so we’ll stick with “Pacing is challenging.” One positive side effect of my pacing efforts, though, is that I am … Continue reading →

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Winning Contestants

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Two contests, one that you may have heard of and one that you may not, are active right now with CFS related organizations in the running for cash. The Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook features two CFS organizations competing … Continue reading →

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Can’t Drive 95

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Almost as soon as I had decided to raise the limit on my heart rate monitor to 105 beats per minute, my physical therapy team smacked that idea down. They told me that one week with the monitor was not … Continue reading →

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Recoverin’

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Three weeks ago, I had my exercise stress tests. A friend had cautioned me that it could take three weeks to recover, and I think she was right although I did sabotage myself a little bit, as I’ll explain. I … Continue reading →

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Stressin’ and Testin’

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Exercise testing for CFS is like professional boxing: you know you’ll get the crap beaten out of you, but you volunteer for it anyway. The difference is that in boxing, you get paid. In CFS exercise testing, you just hope … Continue reading →

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Disaster Voyeurism

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

I believe in bearing witness. In many ways, that’s what Occupy CFS is about. Everyone suffers in this life, but bearing witness to another person’s suffering is a sacred act. To bear witness is to absorb the sufferer’s story, to … Continue reading →

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Diverse and Coordinated

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Today, the CFIDS Association announced five new research grants as part of its “institute without walls” CFS research program.* The Association has funded more CFS research than any other non-profit to date, and expectations are high following on the success … Continue reading →

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Not Just Us

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pension Committee hearing on Pain in America (read a summary here  or watch the hearing here) made me realize something: it is not just the CFS community that has to struggle against psychogenic arguments … Continue reading →

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Testimony to Hearing on Chronic Pain

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Jennie Spotila

Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions is holding a hearing on chronic pain. This hearing came about through the work of the Chronic Pain Research Alliance.  I was invited to provide written testimony to the hearing … Continue reading →

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