Customer Reviews

Fibromyalgia: Up Close & Personal

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think you will find that there is valuable information for all types of fibromyalgia patients in Dr. Pellegrino's latest work, "Fibromyalgia: Up Close and Personal." It is a comprehensive and expanded version of his earlier book, "Inside Fibromyalgia." The update information should be helpful to a range of patients and in particular those that are newly diagnosed. For the newly diagnosed patient, validation of this diagnosis, from a physician that has fibromyalgia himself, is so important.

For the long term patients with more resistant forms of fibromyalgia, like myself, it is comforting to encounter a physician that can state (p. 231)"There are no easy answers." "I try to emphasize that their pain is not their fault or caused by something they are doing wrong." In my interactions with physicans, it is rare that fibromyalgia veteran leaves the doctor's office without being blamed for their condition. I think Dr. Pellegrno shows a perspective rarely considered by most physicians and it is the biggest strength of the book.

I think this book can help you, help yourself.

To say that Dr. Mark Pellegrino has done it again is quite the understatement. At first glance, you may be a bit overwhelmed but don't let the size of Up Close and Personal intimidate you. While it's not a weekend read-I tried that for my review - the 400 plus pages are worth their weight in gold even if you risk a fibro-flare carrying it home from the bookstore! It's a reference book that mixes a blend of fibromyalgia history, diagnosis, therapy, research and legalese with a twist of Dr. Pellegrino's unique sense of humor. Dr. Pellegrino puts it best in his own words, "My approach has been to help all patients deal with their symptoms, first by helping them understand fibromyalgia, and second to encourage them to use successful strategies to become a fibromyalgia survivor". Author of several other fibromyalgia books and a physician with a clinical practice experience of more than 15,000 patients, he's more than qualified to share his opinion.

Still, you may be asking why you would need another fibromyalgia book. After all, is there really anything new to write about? For the newly diagnosed, this book is an easy to understand reference. For the seasoned, it's updated to include the latest in fibromyalgia research including chiari malformation, nutrition and the legal aspects of post-traumatic fibromyalgia, updates gleaned in the three years since his last book, Inside Fibromyalgia. While 400 pages may seem daunting, the book is divided into six sections, with 6-8 chapters in each section, which helps the reader break down and absorb the well-presented information. In addition, exclamation points on certain pages draw your attention to helpful bite-sized facts. For those wanting more, at the end of each chapter is a resource list "If You Want to Know More" that satisfies their appetite. Illustrations help the reader get a visual focus on what is being explained verbally and the only stick figures you'll find are the ones getting tastefully into "comfortable positions" in the chapter on Sex & Intimacy.

Even the title Up Close and Personal, Dr. Pellegrino explains, was chosen because "I see it up close in my patients, and I deal with it on a personal basis every day. I understand fibromyalgia". Throughout the book, he profiles several of these patients in Up Close Patient Snapshot like "The Rodeo Roper's Rotator Woe", as well as himself in Personal Profile. One of my favorite glimpses of Dr. Pellegrino that he shares is how his deafness helped him later in dealing with fibromyalgia. Nobody likes to think they are different. But with his great sense of style, you almost want fibromyalgia so you can be "just like Mark". Not to be left out of the updates are familiar favorites from previous books -- such as FMS Greeting Cards, Famous Last Words Before a Flare (FLAWS) and Fibronyms. Dr. Pellegrino also includes what he calls his "diversionary writings" which lighten up the complex task of explaining fibromyalgia, although he doesn't need much help as he does it so well. Previous topics are expanded -- nutritional approaches (including weight loss!) and post-traumatic fibromyalgia -- and new topics on disability and legal issues are added, written by attorneys who deal specifically with medical-legal issues.

Is there any that Up Close and Personal lacks? I don't think so. Even if Dr. Pellegrino's explanation that "As part of my therapy, I enjoy writing" may be true, it is therapeutic as well for his readers who benefit from this catharsis. His dedication to educating and empowering the reader into becoming a "fibromyalgia victor"--his new slogan-is both a support and a challenge. Dr. Pellegrino claims that "his simple philosophy is treating fibromyalgia is to find whatever works", but it's his personal caring that comes through in each of his books. This one is no exception. Buy the book - it may be the only fibromyalgia book you will need-until he writes his next one!

As with all of Dr. Pelligrino's books one knows he knows what he speaks of. Both as a DR. who treats people with this and other allied conditions and as a person with Fibromyalgia. He is up to date with research and writes clearly and informatively. I have and will continue to recomend this book to the many people with FMS I speak to.

Dr. Pellegrino does it again! He has provided us with another great book about Fibromyalgia and living with this chronic illness.

"Up Close And Personal" not only encompasses the areas we face in daily life but also gives us the latest education and techniques to improve its quality, thus bringing encouragement and hope many times to the hopeless.

I can go to this one book for a fast answer or study it in detail to make life changes to help me regain control.

We at Fibromyalgia Training Services (FTS) recommend "Up Close & Personal" in our courses to the participants and their support person and we are excited to be able to do so.

Stars: 4 for information, 2-1/2 for style.

As with his other books, the information provided is first rate, especially on fibro-specific drugs coming to the US market. Compared with THE FIBROMYALGIA SURVIVOR, there is much more information here.

And, in some ways, that's just the problem. This is a "second-stage" book for taking next steps in handling life with FM, not a quick how-to-handle-life guide for the newly diagnosed. The information here requires time and effort to apply, certainly worth doing, but AFTER tackling simple but dramatically helpful fibronomic changes much better outlined in THE FIBROMYALGIA SURVIVOR and by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson (a support group leader) in her volume THE FIBROMYALIGA RELIEF BOOK: 213 IDEAS FOR IMPROVING YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE (excellent--my first "go-to" book).

Readers of THE FM SURVIVOR will recognize the many of the same ideas, usually amplified and explained in more detail. However, some of the chapters (e. g. managing the holidays) are disappointingly similar.

The most detracting and denigrating "features" are the author's shallow attempts at humor, usually in sidebars. Though anyone with FM knows humor is vital, at best, these snips are distracting to the author's main points. At worst, they're incredibly insulting. The chapter on weight control in particular is condescending and downright insipid, completely lacking in compassion while seeking to "teach" simplistic concepts most of us know. I would walk right out of any doctor's office that treated me the way this chapter "speaks"!!

While a useful addition to the bookcases of persons with FM, this is not the most concise or incisive of this author's work, and certainly not the first book I would buy.

I diagnosed myself with fibromyalgia after reading several articles about the condition and ordering books from Amazon. I found this one especially easy to read and so helpful and was fortunate to be able to schedule an appointment with Dr. Pellegrino after my doctor insisted I needed a specialist's diagnosis. I found him to be an amazing person with a wonderful sense of humor and the kind of doctor you wish all patients could find. I refer to this book almost on a daily basis when a new symptom arises or I just need to realize I'm not alone or I need a lift.

This is a great book whether you've just been diagnosed, whether you were diagnosed many years ago and follow all the written literature or if you're a doctor wanting a different point of view. This book has become my new fibro bible. I was diagnosed in 1995 by Dr. Robert Bennett. I have a medical background and read the Fibromyalgia Network newsletter faithfully. Even so, this book had so many "aha & that makes sense & oh yeah, I forgot (giggle)" moments for me. I'm marking it up like a text book and I'm sure some year the whole thing will be highlighted or underlined as yet something else will hit me as I re-read it again and again. It's so refreshing to have a doctor as a patient writing as an author.

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent!!!! This book covered EVERYTHING! I learned so much about my fibro....I highly recommend this book to anyone suffering with fibro, to chiropractors or doctors who deal with patients with fibro, to family members who want to understand what a loved one is going through.