Liptan's Latest

[Paw]

I just finished reading Ginevra Liptan's latest book, The Fibro Manual, and thought I'd offer a micro-review.

(I won't go into detail about the contents, since you can "Look Inside" via the Amazon link above.)

In short, I appreciated it a lot more than I thought I would. Since hardly anything in the book was brand new to me I first assumed it was kind of an introductory FM primer. But, gradually, I realized it was helping fill a big gap in my treatment.

I have seen a lot of doctors in the past several years, but I have yet to find an affordable specialist -- someone with a clear sense of the big picture -- who I could trust to guide me through each step of the experimentation and management process.

So, while I'd already known something about most of the supplements, meds, exercises, diets, and tests that Liptan discusses, she brought an extremely helpful order to the whole mess.

The book made me realize how much I've been pinballing from one internet discovery to the next -- which has made my experimentation much more haphazard, inefficient, and frustrating. (Part of Liptan's focus is helping us present our case to our doctors in a more organized manner.)

The book is very current, well-sourced, and includes a lot of helpful asides -- such as special considerations for people who are dealing with CFS on top of FM; or making the reader aware of worthwhile treatments or tests that mainstream doctors will likely scoff at (better go straight to alternative sources).

Liptan's step-by-step strategy may turn some readers off, but, even if you quibble with some of her hierarchies, I think you can still learn a lot from her clear, logical explanations. She makes no cure-all promises, but seems convinced that a greater understanding of each of the many facets of this disease can lead to a cumulatively better quality of life.

Sleep correction is at the top of her hierarchy, and her explanation of the layered ways to approach sleep medicines was alone worth the price of the book to me.

 

[Cort]

I just finished reading Ginevra Liptan's latest book, The Fibro Manual, and thought I'd offer a micro-review.

(I won't go into detail about the contents, since you can "Look Inside" via the Amazon link above.)

In short, I appreciated it a lot more than I thought I would. Since hardly anything in the book was brand new to me I first assumed it was kind of an introductory FM primer. But, gradually, I realized it was helping fill a big gap in my treatment.

I have seen a lot of doctors in the past several years, but I have yet to find an affordable specialist -- someone with a clear sense of the big picture -- who I could trust to guide me through each step of the experimentation and management process.

So, while I'd already known something about most of the supplements, meds, exercises, diets, and tests that Liptan discusses, she brought an extremely helpful order to the whole mess.

The book made me realize how much I've been pinballing from one internet discovery to the next -- which has made my experimentation much more haphazard, inefficient, and frustrating. (Part of Liptan's focus is helping us present our case to our doctors in a more organized manner.)

The book is very current, well-sourced, and includes a lot of helpful asides -- such as special considerations for people who are dealing with CFS on top of FM; or making the reader aware of worthwhile treatments or tests that mainstream doctors will likely scoff at (better go straight to alternative sources).

Liptan's step-by-step strategy may turn some readers off, but, even if you quibble with some of her hierarchies, I think you can still learn a lot from her clear, logical explanations. She makes no cure-all promises, but seems convinced that a greater understanding of each of the many facets of this disease can lead to a cumulatively better quality of life.

Sleep correction is at the top of her hierarchy, and her explanation of the layered ways to approach sleep medicines was alone worth the price of the book to me.

That's great to hear. I got her book and she's agreed to do an interview.

It's been a long time since I've seen a doctor and since then I've never taken an organized approach to this disease.

Looking forward to reading it.

 

[San Diego]

The book made me realize how much I've been pinballing from one internet discovery to the next -- which has made my experimentation much more haphazard, inefficient, and frustrating.

Exactly! I spent too many years doing just this. The only things I have to show for it are disappointment and a lighter wallet.

Sleep correction is at the top of her hierarchy, and her explanation of the layered ways to approach sleep medicines was alone worth the price of the book to me.

Layering as in something to put you to sleep combined with something to keep you asleep? My very first ME/CFS doctor read me the riot act when I didn’t want to take sleeping pills. He basically said it’s either that or you can deteriorate to the point of psychosis. I’ve taken various sleep aid every since.

 

[Cort]

Exactly! I spent too many years doing just this. The only things I have to show for it are disappointment and a lighter wallet.


Layering as in something to put you to sleep combined with something to keep you asleep? My very first ME/CFS doctor read me the riot act when I didn’t want to take sleeping pills. He basically said it’s either that or you can deteriorate to the point of psychosis. I’ve taken various sleep aid every since.

That must have got your attention!

I like Dr. Teitelbaum's approach; if one sleeping pill doesn't work he adds on others until you hit the sack for the night.

http://www.healthrising.org/forums/resources/dr-teitelbaum-on-maximizing-use-of-sleep-drugs.62/

 

[Cort]

I liked Dr. Liptan's take on Ketamine; she seems to be up on a lot of stuff.

http://www.healthrising.org/forums/...mine-for-pain-and-depression.4063/#post-16803

 

[Paw]

Layering as in something to put you to sleep combined with something to keep you asleep?

Layering, as in pinpointing and addressing what one's specific issues are with sleep -- so you're not just throwing generalized aids at it. One person might only need "deep sleep promoters" (which include sub-categories), while another might also need "stress response blockers" (which could include muscle relaxants, alpha-blockers, or even anti-psychotics). Someone else might need extra help with sedatives -- but which ones? The antidepressant trazodone also helps with deep-stage sleep, while mirtazapine helps with nerve pain. Etc.

So, again, pinpointing treatment to the individual, but also making sure not to overlap treatments unnecessarily. (E.g., if you take baclofen, magnesium, and GABA you are risking redundancy.)

I got her book and she's agreed to do an interview.

That's great Cort. If I had a chance to chat with her I'd ask her about some of her latest conclusions about the systemic chain-reaction unlocked by myofascial release. (She talks kind of as if the research has been to the brain and back again -- so that now there's an almost retro focus again on physical manipulation -- which presents certain challenges to the person curled up in a ball all day.)