Sunday, November 14, 2010

RLS/FM-Letter to Dr. Natanial Watson

Nathaniel F. Watson, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Washington in Seattle.

RE: The Association of RLS and FM

Dear Dr. Watson,

I could not agree with you more regarding the association of restless leg syndrome, and its cohort periodic limb movement to fibromyalgia.

I am a RN, patient, author and advocate. My latest advocacy piece has to do with the proposed criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia. I have communicated with Dr. I Jon Russell, Dr. Robert Gerwin, Dr. Robert Bennett, the founder of AFFTER (patient advocacy group for research on FM, whose medical advisors are Dr. Katz and Dr. Yunus) and other advocacy groups who fund research and participate in politics. Dr. Katz is the senior author and Dr. Russell and Dr. Yunus are co-authors, along with several others, of the article published in Arthritis Care and Research.

In my opinion and the opinion of others in the field we need to see assessment of myofasical trigger points in FM and in my opinion inclusion of RLS and PLM. Attached is a copy of the letter I wrote to the NAIMS (NIH), ACR and editors of Arthritis Care and Research. I have had a response from the editors of Arthritis Care and Research, and the American College of Rheumatology has assured me they have forwarded the letter to all of the authors of the published proposed criteria. I have also heard from several of those who received a copy of the letter, but have yet to hear from the NAIMS/National Institute of health.

While I am happy that there will be a better assessment of the centralization of FM, the criteria are not complete as written and we, the patients, cannot endure another two decades without forward momentum. The presence of myofascial trigger points and PLM during sleep and lack of sleep stages in FM are the objective assessments we have been waiting for. The research needs to continue in the right direction.

Thank you for your insight and contribution. I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter.

Sincerely, Celeste Cooper, RN, author
Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (co-author Jeff Miller, PhD)

You can see a copy of the letter attached to Dr. Watson at http://fmcfstriggerpoints.blogspot.com/2010/10/proposed-fm-criteria-letter-nih-naims.html

1 comment:

Frank said...

Celeste,
I'm a CMTPT (certified myofascial trigger point therapist) If I can help in any way...let me know. I was trained by a Travell student and I strictly follow Dr.Travell's protocol. I want to reach as many folks as possible to let them know there's a way to get pain free. I use to suffer from chronic migraines and low back pain. That was 10 yrs ago. All gone. I'm not looking for more patients by writing you, I'm just reaching out..we all need each other at some point in our lives. Anyway, I wanted to send a little note and see if you had any questions. Thanks for your site.
Frank Gresham
CMTPT
www.thechronicpaincenter.com
703-313-8550
I welcome the opportunity to talk to you...take care.

Celeste's Website

Celeste's Website
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