One of the toughest symptom challenges with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is managing chronic pain. (It is a symptom that accompanies certain conditions.) When it comes to information or strategies for managing such chronic pain, the public at-large and the people most affected by horrible pain symptoms on a regular basis (a.k.a. the patients) are pretty much in the dark. Why? What strategies improve symptoms? What medicines help? By now, surely doctors know what works best to manage chronic pain in Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, RSD, Lupus, Lyme disease and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, don’t they?

It’s time that we knew. Check out the upcoming NIH Pain Consortium Symposium that will be held May 29 – 30, 2013.

The theme of this year’s symposium will be “Integrated Self-Management Strategies for Chronic Pain”. Topics will include:

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• Self-Management Strategies in community health care settings
  
• Tailored self-management strategies for patients and caregivers, plus
  
• Predictors and indicators of outcomes in integrated self-management strategies.
  

*See specific details below, plus two important publication links and a very special offer coming up next week!

(Today’s audio podcast is 8 minutes 22 seconds.)

A poster session will include a broad selection of current pain research findings presented by young investigators. Members of the extramural scientific community, the NIH scientific community, health care providers, and the public are invited to attend. The event will be hosted by the NIH Pain Consortium Annual Symposium organizing committee.

The NIH Pain Consortium Symposium website is now open for further information, agenda and registration.

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Note: *Self*-*regulatory fatigue often* refers to the temporary depletion of individuals’ capacity for self-control often relating to pain. Questions asked include:

1. 
   
2. “I feel full of energy,â€
   
3. “I find it difficult to exercise as much as I should,â€
   
4. “I can easily keep up with my friendships and relationships.â€
   

Given that patients with ME and CFS are not full of energy unrelated to depression, have to carefully control their activities to avoid relapses and may have difficulty sustaining relationships due to stigma or inability

to attend social gatherings – all of which are unrelated to self-regulatory behaviors – these questions may potentially cause problems with measurement and interpretation.

The study does not state how patients were diagnosed.

SOURCE: J Pain Res. 2013;6:181-8. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S40014. Epub 2013 Mar 6.

Self-regulatory fatigue in chronic multisymptom illnesses: scale development, fatigue, and self-control.

Nes LS, Ehlers SL, Whipple MO, Vincent A.

Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; Center for Shared Decision Making and Collaborative Care Research, Oslo, University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Self-regulatory capacity involves ability to regulate thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Chronic multisymptom illnesses such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are accompanied by numerous challenges, and have

recently been associated with self-regulatory fatigue (SRF). Chronic multisymptom illnesses are also frequently associated with physical fatigue, and through development of a scale measuring SRF, the current study aimed to examine how SRF can be distinguished from physical fatigue. The study also sought to distinguish SRF from self-control.

METHODS:

Two self-regulation researchers developed 30 items related to self-regulatory capacity. These items were distributed to patients (n = 296) diagnosed with chronic multisymptom illness together with validated

measures of physical fatigue and self-control. A principal factor analysis was employed to examine factor structures, identify inter-item relationships, and aid in scale development.

RESULTS:

The final proposed scale consisted of 18 items measuring self-regulatory capacity (SRF-18) with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral SRF components. Internal consistency and reliability was acceptable (Cronbach’s á = 0.81). The final scale was moderately correlated with self-control (r = -0.48) and highly correlated with physical fatigue (r = 0.75), although more so with emotional (r = 0.72) and mental (r = 0.65) than physical (r = 0.46) fatigue components.

CONCLUSION:

The current study suggests a new scale for measurement of SRF in chronic multisymptom illness. Although cross-validation studies are necessary, such a scale may contribute to a better understanding of the concept of

self-regulation and the role of SRF in chronic illness. Although related to physical fatigue and self-control, the results point to SRF as a distinct construct.

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Next week I’m preparing a special gift for you, The Caregiver’s Guide. I hope you will check back in to get your own copy and possibly share the info with a friend who suffers with any type of chronic health issues, ones that leave them incapacitated and in need of another person’s help to manage their life and daily needs. Let’s be frank, folks. Any one of us can need a caregiver in the future! The thing to do is be prepared.

Plus, whether you’re the one suffering in chronic pain or with any symptoms that incapacitate you…OR you’re the person offering support, such a guide may help you see the other person’s side of this complicated issue.

Even the best of saints have breaking points and chronic pain has brought many such a person to their knees and kept them there!

Thanks, Cinda Crawford

Your host of the Health Matters Show