Fibromyalgia: A Leading Expert's Guide to Understanding and Getting Relief from the Pain That Won't Go Away [Paperback]

Don L. Goldenberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2002

Fibromyalgia is indicated by a group of symptoms including chronic generalized muscle pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, and irritable bowel. But the medicalcommunity is only now putting the pieces together to discover what might cause it-and what will or won't help the millions who suffer from it. This book separates fact from fiction, and addresses causes, symptoms, medication, and natural remedies, using a patient case history to help illustrate each subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Fibromyalgia is a debilitating disease that affects a large number of people - an estimated to 500,000 people in the UK alone. With symptoms ranging from extreme fatigue to sleep disturbances, headaches and pain throughout the body, it is a disease which for years has baffled medical science. Fibromyalgia is the first definitive guide to the causes, symptoms and treatment options for this increasingly common illness. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Don L. Goldenberg, M.D., is the Chief of Rheumatology at Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine. An international authority in the fields of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, he has published more than 150 papers in scientific journals, as well as books on arthritis and rheumatism. Dr. Goldenberg has been interviewed on national and local television, and his work has been covered in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The New Yorker. He is the author of Chronic Illness and Uncertainty: A Personal and Professional Guide to Poorly Understood Syndromes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1 edition (June 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039952780X
• ISBN-13: 978-0399527807
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT what I expected, November 11, 2002

By 

Elizabeth Kaffitz (Wellsville, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fibromyalgia: A Leading Expert's Guide to Understanding and Getting Relief from the Pain That Won't Go Away (Paperback)

In 1996, fibromyalgia researcher, I. Jon Russell and Jenny A. Fransen put together the Fibromyalgia Help Book. Their book ex-plained--as much as possible--an illness that has no known cause and therefore no known treatment.
Dr. Russell is one of the handfull of researchers who are looking for the answers. Accordingly, his book began by explaining in simple terms what seems to be happening within the fibromyalgia patient's body.
He talked about the antidepressants that seem to lessen the pain of fibromyalgia. And then he went on. He told us about all the interconnecting systems in the body that work differently in a fibromyalgia patient's body. He talked about the exciting neurological, hormonal, enzymatic, cycles that just don't work the same old way in a fibro patient's body.
Russell acknowledged that the tricyclic andidepressants and selective seritonin reuptake inhibitators that are standard first treatments may not relieve all symptoms all of the time. Accordingly, he mentioned some of the other drugs that practicioners have found help with individual symptoms.
Finally, Russell showed us the way new research is bringing us more and more information about fibromyalgia, and suggest treatment and management options for the future.
I expected THIS book, written by a similarly-credentialed doctor who is right in there treating fibromyalgia patients and studying them would pick up where the Russell/Fransen book left off. I expeced a short description of what fibromyalgia is and is not. I expected to see tender-point diagrams. I expected a human touch, since Dr. Goldenberg's wife has fibromyalgia.
Most importantly, I expected to have the continuation of the research information last heard of in 1996 in the Russell/Fransen book. Why is there more Substance P in patients' spinal cords--but not in their brains? Can we neutralize the Substance P and remove pain?
The book I just read would be a good start for a newly diagnosed person with fibromyalgia. It is warm, human, and factual. From the viewpoint of someone who has lived with this disease for 30 years, Dr. Goldenberg's introduction smells of sugar coating and looks like rose-colored glasses. I expected more meat and less froth from one of fibromyalgia's principal researchers.
It has been six years since the Russell book was published. Isn't it time to pick up the thread and explain what has been found since then. Wasn't Dr. Goldenberg the person to write it?

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must read" resource on Fibromyalgia, July 2, 2002

By 

Joanne Borg Stein, MD (Wellesley, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fibromyalgia: A Leading Expert's Guide to Understanding and Getting Relief from the Pain That Won't Go Away (Paperback)

Fibromyalgia, the most recent book by the author Dr. Don Goldenberg, an internationally renowned medical expert and researcher in the field, is an absolute "must read" for patient, families, and friends of people with fibromyalgia. Equally important, it is a valuable resource for physicians who work in this field as well as family doctors, primary care physicians and specialists who will all be educated by this sophisticated guide to understanding, and caring for people with fibromyalgia. I found it balanced, well referenced, personally touching, informative, and realistically hopeful. Dr. Goldenberg's sections on "Myths and Truths" at the end of each chapter highlight the most important information in a succinct and relevant format. The clinical vignettes allow the reader, patient and physician to gain insight into the many manifestations of fibromyalgia and related syndromes. Overall, I would give the book the highest rating of ***** (5 stars).

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful Advise, June 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fibromyalgia: A Leading Expert's Guide to Understanding and Getting Relief from the Pain That Won't Go Away (Paperback)

Dr. Goldenberg uses personal experience and patient case studies to illuminate the path to integrating chronic disease into a full and productive life. This book allows the layman to come to a deeper understanding of the whole mind/body concept of illness, pain and depression. It is very upbeat and sincere account of a life spent helping others and himself. Dr. Goldberg has just the right balance of expertise and compassion. An easy and enjoyable read with lots of helpful information and resources.