By wendy, on September 12th, 2012%
 
Doctor, Why Does My Face Still Ache?: Getting Relief from Persistent Jaw, Ear, Tooth, and Headache Pain by Donald R. Tanenbaum, DDS, MPH and S. L. Roistacher, DDS is an outstanding explanation of the causes of facial pain, and why it’s so hard to find treatments that actually work.
I thought the following quote was exceptionally appropriate because so many chronic pain patients have spent years hearing doctors, nurses, friends, and family members telling them that their pain is “all in your head.” Although Dr. Tanenbaum’s explanations of the causes of facial pain rest on the mind/body connection, he makes it quite clear that this is a physical problem, not a psychiatric or psychological one.
“While the brain’s inability to maintain normal muscle function is the catalyst for your pain, it is important to emphasize that the pain is not “in your head.” Real physical changes have occurred in muscles and their associated nerves and tissues.” (Emphasis mine.)
I have to admit that I expected this to be a difficult read. With many complex muscle and joint interactions; plus the interplay of stress, the mind, and the body to explain; I anticipated many hard to understand medical and dental terms, paired with complicated definitions. Instead I found terms with clear, plain-English explanations that were easy to follow and actually made sense; and drawings that show the interplay of muscles and the areas of referred pain.
Dr. Tanenbaum provides simple, straight-forward explanations of complicated concepts like referred pain; sensitization; and how it is possible to have severe pain without having any structural problems, damage, or disease processes causing it. He spells out how stress, suppressed anger, and the physical habits (like nail-biting, jaw-clenching, tooth grinding, etc.) we develop to deal with them can affect the muscles of the head, neck and shoulders; causing muscle tension, spasms, and referred pain. He also provides an excellent flow chart showing the interactions and feedback loops of a “brain under siege” by long-term stress (recreated here with permission.)
 Copyright 2012 by Donald R. Tanenbaum and S. L. Roistacher (reprinted with permission) I highly recommend this book for anyone who has unrelieved facial pain, especially if you’ve been seeing multiple doctors trying to find a way to ease your pain and getting no results, or having even more pain after treatment. An extra copy for your doctor or dentist can help him/her treat you more effectively, or help you get a referral to an appropriate specialist if that is necessary. I’ve even found that some of the techniques suggested in the book help me manage my fibromyalgia pain, since stress increases central sensitization, which is a factor in both facial pain and fibro pain.
About Dr. Tannenbaum: Donald Tanenbaum is a specialist in orofacial pain. He was the Council Chair of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain 2020-2011, as well as President of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain 2009-2010. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at Hofstra North Shore, LIJ School of Medicine; Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dental Medicine at Stony Brook University; and Section Head, Associate Attending Orofacial Pain/Dental Sleep Medicine Department of Dental Medicine Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center New Hyde Park, NY
Disclosure: A free review copy was provided by the author. No other form of compensation has been offered or received for this review.
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By wendy, on August 10th, 2012%
 My latest book review column is available! Understanding Women with AD/HD was a fascinating read, and I had a very specific reason for choosing it. I like browsing books on Amazon, because many of them allow you to preview the table of contents and some of the other stuff; and when I previewed this one I noticed a chapter on fibromyalgia included in the section on associated disorders.
Since I’ve struggled with fibromyalgia for the past 15 years or so, that really caught my attention, especially since the reading I’ve been doing on AD/HD makes me suspect that my bipolar diagnosis may not be accurate . . . My symptoms (and history) seem to fit much better with an AD/HD diagnosis, so I’ve been trying some of the strategies in the books to see if they help. (I figure whether or not I have it, if the strategies help me, it’s a good thing.)
So anyway, back to the connection between AD/HD and fibromyalgia. The chapter on fibro provides an excellent explanation of how stress and fibromyalgia are interconnected; including explanations of how the limbic system and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis work, how they’re affected by stress, and how that ties into fibromyalgia (dysfunction of the HPA axis is suspected to play a large part in fibromyalgia.) Continue reading Fibromyalgia & ADD are Related?? — Really? »
By wendy, on August 1st, 2012%
 052/365 Displaying Elation (Photo credit: kurichan+) I’ve been pretty quiet lately, mostly because I’ve been working on a few projects, and didn’t want to “jinx” anything, or talk about something that might not work out.
I’ve been working on an e-book for a client, which is taking a good bit of my time with research, etc; but the real excitement today is my new collaboration with PsyWeb.com. I’ll be doing book reviews of mental health/self improvement focused books for them, and my first review posted today! Check it out here: Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder From Childhood Through Adulthood.
This is going to be a regular column, but I’m not sure exactly what the schedule will be yet. I’m planning on once a week, but I’m not sure if it will get posted on the same day each week or not.
There will be a list of links to my reviews provided in the sidebar of this site, and they’ll also be posted on my Facebook page, Transform Your Chronic Life, and on my Twitter account. (And anywhere else I can think of to “brag.” LOL)
If you have a book you’d like to see reviewed, you can contact me here. I accept review copies, pdf and kindle versions; and am working on being able to read other ebook formats as well. (Books that aren’t appropriate for PsyWeb will be reviewed on this site.)
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By wendy, on July 3rd, 2012%
By Wendy Burnett
I wish I’d had this book years ago! When my husband and I met, I was in a period of remission and low stress, and even though I did my best to explain what it would be like if (when) that ended, it was still a shock for him when the flares started again.
I didn’t have the words (or the knowledge) to be able to give him a picture of what the partner of someone who is chronically ill goes through. This book is unique, because it’s the only one I’ve read that is co-written by the caregiving spouse (and even better, that spouse is the husband. Although that situation is actually pretty common, it’s much less common to find a resource that provides the perspective of the male caregiver.) It’s a great resource for BOTH partners; because it gives the patient insight into their partner/caregiver’s experience; as well as providing support, validation, and acceptance for the caregiving spouse.
A Husband, A Wife, & An Illness: Living Life Beyond Chronic Illness
by Dr. William July and Jamey Lacy July is a must have resource for any couple facing a debilitating chronic illness. Not just a “feel good” book, it’s full of practical tips and advice for both the caregiving spouse and the ill partner. Part 1 is written by William, and is full of chapters like: Continue reading A Husband, A Wife, & An Illness – Review »
By wendy, on July 27th, 2011%
By Wendy Burnett
Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria (Storey Medicinal Herb Guide)  by Stephen Buhner is a book that I consult constantly. I finally gave up putting it back on the bookshelf because I just have to drag it out again almost immediately to look something up, and it’s just too much trouble to keep bouncing up to go hunt it.
 Bookshelf. Photograph by Stewart Butterfield. {{cc-by-2.0}}) It’s been an awesome resource, and solved a long-standing physical issue for me (actually, two of them.) I had recurrent sinus infections for YEARS, because they were caused by a resistant strain of bacteria, and no matter what antibiotic my doctor tried, the infection would bounce back within a few months. Even worse, all the antibiotics caused almost constant yeast infections, which would require even more pills to treat them. Continue reading Book Review – Herbal Antibiotics: Natural Alternatives for Treating Drug-Resistant Bacteria »
By wendy, on July 18th, 2011%
By Wendy Burnett
Have you ever wondered how safe the medications you take really are? Dr. Bremner’s book is a scary expose’ of how far pharmaceutical companies will go to protect their profits and keep you from finding out about the real dangers of the medications they make. His experience as a researcher, psychiatrist and speaker for the pharmaceutical companies has given him an insider’s view of how drugs are marketed; as well as how their dangers are minimized and hidden in the name of sales.
Dr. Bremner shares the story of his research into the acne drug Accutane, an almost miraculous treatment for severe acne. He describes Hoffman – La Roche’s attempts to prevent the study, their adamant denials of any possibility that it could cause suicidal depression in some patients, and their desperate efforts to discredit him and his findings.
I was so fascinated (and horrified) once I started reading that I finished the book in a single day. Continue reading Review: The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg »
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"The moral test of a society is how that society treats those who are in the dawn of life . . . the children; those who are in the twilight of life . . . the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life . . . the sick, the needy, and the handicapped."
---Hubert Humphrey
Welcome to the new home of Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired. I hope you'll enjoy the changes, and the new resources I'll be adding as I have time to work on the site. Things will look a bit odd while I learn where and how to modify the appearance, so please bear with me.
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