Making Sense of Fibromyalgia [Hardcover]

Daniel J. Wallace (Author), Janice Wallace (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195116119 | ISBN-13: 978-0195116113 | Publication Date: January 14, 1999

This year, six million Americans--most of them women--will go to their doctors, complaining of an illness they have no name for. The majority will be turned away or treated for depression; the few who persist will go to an average of four doctors before they receive the correct diagnosis: fibromyalgia.
In Making Sense of Fibromyalgia, noted medical writer Janice Wallace and Dr. Daniel Wallace, a leading expert on this disorder, provide a comprehensive guide--for both patients and professionals--to this little known and poorly understood syndrome. The authors offer detailed information in a clear and accessible style, taking readers through the steps of diagnosis, all the established forms of treatment, and alternative therapies that have yet to be proven effective. Fibromyalgia, they explain, is a pain amplification, brought on by abnormal interactions between hormones, the immune system, neurotransmitters, and the autonomic nervous system. Sometimes the syndrome occurs spontaneously; in most cases, the authors write, it is associated with trauma, stress, such conditions as lupus and hypothyroidism, and over forty microbes, from hepatitis to Epstein Barr to Lyme disease. They draw on actual cases to illustrate their points and to break through the isolation that patients often feel when doctors misdiagnose or simply ignore their symptoms.
When Dr. Wallace wrote The Lupus Book, he brought hope and relief into the lives of countless Americans, in a book that sold through many printings. In Making Sense of Fibromyalgia, the authors address a desperate need for information and reassurance, in a groundbreaking book.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Rheumatologist Daniel Wallace (The Lupus Book, Oxford Univ., 1996) and medical writer Janice Wallace aim to help fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS; pain in soft tissues) patients feel better, work more easily with their health professionals, and attain a better quality of life. The book, which begins with a brief foreword and endorsement from the Medical and Scientific Committee of the Southern California Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, presents a thorough explanation of the causes and perpetuating factors of FMS. The chapters are compact and often include a helpful table summarizing the information for easy reference. A minor fault is that sometimes medical terms not found in the glossary are used without sufficient explanation. While it appears to be a "primer" on FMS covering all the basics, this book is dry, scientific, and clinical in tone and in fact is written on a more professional level. Allopathic physicians will feel comfortable recommending it to their patients, but it will appeal most to sophisticated readers. Lisa McCormick, Health Sciences Lib., Jewish Hosp., Cincinnati
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A clear, comprehensive, and helpful discussion of a puzzling, widespread and misunderstood disorder--and how to deal with it--is Making Sense of Fibromyalgia by Daniel J. Wallace, M.D., former clinical chief of rheumatology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Janice Brock Wallace. The disorder is characterized by severe fatigue, muscular pain, poor sleep patterns and other symptoms so varied that doctors mistakenly think it's imaginary."--Consumers Digest

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195116119
• ISBN-13: 978-0195116113
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Help For Patients, June 8, 2000

By 

Darcy Richards - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Sense of Fibromyalgia (Hardcover)

Dr. Wallace gives a comprehensive explanation of what fibromyalgia is, what happens in the body as it is happening, and helpful information to cope with this debilitating problem. It is a book I can go back to again and again and learn something new about my condition. Just knowing more has helped me not to go into depression as a flare is occuring and to plan to do something for myself when the flare begins to subside. It is a comfort for patients and their families to know what's going on, that this pain and other symptoms are real and that the patient is not crazy (because it certailly CAN feel that way). I am very grateful that Dr. Wallace and Janice Brock Wallace wrote this book. Taking one's self out of the dark under the circumstances of having fibromyalgia gives one hope and the courage to carry on, include it in their life, and find something rewarding to do within the framework of being disabled with this condition. It is absolutely the best fibromyalgia book I have read and brought tears to my eyes to know that someone really understands this syndrome. Thank you, Dr. Wallace!

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Making Sense of Fibromyalgia--Doesn't Make Sense in Places, December 17, 2000

By 

uwagnerpsychologist.com (Chevy Chase, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making Sense of Fibromyalgia (Hardcover)

Making Sense of Fibromyalgia is roughly speaking divided into the science of fibromyalgia and the therapies to help control the disease. The second half of the book on improving the quality of your life is well worth reading. The book begins with an informative section on the history of fibromyalgia and its acceptance into the current medical classification system. While the authors attempt to provide an up- to- date overview which serves to legitimize the disorder it, for the most part, does not, in terms of severity, focus on the spectrum of the disease, leaving the beginning reader with the impression that this is a relatively mild, and controllable illness. I began reading the book with expectation and felt at first a sense of appreciation for the authors' attempt to combine the science of the disease with literary and historical references. It is some of the literary references, interestingly enough, that seem to speak to the debilitating aspects of the disease, almost as if the authors could not: Emily Dickinson talks about the unending pain. Nobel talks about the paralyzing fatigue.

I see numerous patients who have fibromyalgia. My skepticism began with the case examples. They have such happy endings. The authors focus primarily on relatively mild cases that respond to the treatment protocol and patients improve often to their prior level of functioning. The patients I see would wonder if they were reading about the same disease. Regarding treatment protocol, there is no discussion of first line, second line, and third line drugs which would be helpful to both patient and professional alike. Especially since in more severe cases, we enter the realm of needing different and more effective pain medications which then initiates into the discussion of treatment the hotly debated use of opioids.

A chapter is devoted to disorders that are not currently accepted as medical disorders which are often confused, according to the authors, with fibromyalgia. The authors warn potential patients about such suspect diagnoses. Given the fact that fibromyalgia was until recently also such a suspect illness and still raises skepticism among some, their attitude seems rather uncharitable. I agree with the reviewers who voiced some concerns about the book. One noted that the book was just too rosy in its outcome examples. The other observed that the authors still could not get away from the notion of a fibromyalgia personality and that stress causes the disease: "Severe emotional stress and trauma frequently triggers and aggravates fibromyalgia. There is little doubt the fibromyalgia can come about or be accelerated by the diminished ability to cope with life stress and traumas." (p.16). The latter is especially puzzling since the authors also often reassure the reader throughout the book that fibromyalgia "is not in your head." Indeed this was the reason for writing the book.

An entire chapter is devoted to challenging the idea that fibromyalgia is a psychological disorder and reviews the DSM IV classification system (the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) as it might pertain to fibromyalgia. They list the psychological disorders that fibromyalgia patients do not have (such as hypochondriasis), give the definition of the psychological disorder and differentiate it from fibromyalgia symptoms. They note that fibromyalgia is not directly mentioned in DSMIV, but some of its symptoms are listed, according to them, under undifferentiated somaticization (They meant to write Somatoform.) disorder: these include, among others, myofacial pain syndrome, chronic fatigue, back and joint pain, etc. The authors claim that in the 1970's and 80's fibromyalgia patients were wrongly diagnosed under this psychological disorder. In my experience, psychologists have diagnosed fibromyalgia patients with this disorder well into the 1990's and continue to do so today. In the future, mental health professionals may stop labeling fibromyalgia patients with psychological disorders. In the meantime, they might make better use of the various categories of psychological disorders under the category called, "due to a General Medical Condition." Finally, at present the diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder (Chronic) might be the best DSMIV diagnosis and reflects the psychological reality of fibromyalgia.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best resource I've found yet., August 5, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Making Sense of Fibromyalgia (Hardcover)

I really appreciate the thoroughness of this book, and I am very puzzled by the July 4th review. Surely pointing out that trauma can trigger or aggrevate this syndrome--or that perfectionism sometimes goes along with it--is not blaming the victim. As the parent of a victim, I want every scrap of knowledge available. The last thing I want is for doctors or researchers to censor their findings. I highly recommend this book.