California Bill Limiting ‘Step Therapy’ Clears First Policy Committee

Last June 2010, the National Fibromyalgia Association urged patients in California to write their legislative officials to support the passage of a bill which would limit the practice by insurance companies known as “step therapy” or “fail first,” where patients have to take up to five older, less expensive medicines before they gain access to [...]

Read the full article →

Through the Years: The NFA and National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Since its inception in 1997, the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) has been the organization leading the call for increased recognition of fibromyalgia. In honor of National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day commemorated each May 12th, the NFA has staged groundbreaking national and international events in an effort to increase awareness of chronic pain illnesses including fibromyalgia. Awareness Day seeks [...]

Read the full article →

Letter from Rae Marie Gleason, Executive Director for the NFA

Rae Marie Gleason, NFA Executive Director Dear NFA Supporters, As the Executive Director for the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) I would like to take a few minutes and introduce myself to many of you who do not know my name or my accomplishments on behalf of millions of people with fibromyalgia (FM).  In the spring [...]

Read the full article →

LAP Spotlight: Namita Gandhi featured in “Discovery Health CME”

In May 2008, Namita Gandhi, a member of the National Fibromyalgia Association’s Leaders Against Pain (LAP) Coalition, was featured on Discovery Health CME for their segment on fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia: From Diagnosis to Treatment Featuring Namita Gandhi and the MoveBeyondPain Program   Gandhi, who has participated in the Leaders Against Pain Media and Advocacy training seminar since [...]

Read the full article →

Leaders Against Pain Spotlight: Jan Favero Chambers

For our first Leaders Against Pain feature, we are proud to feature Jan Favero Chambers. Jan credits the NFA’s Leaders Against Pain program for “changing her life” and jump starting her public advocacy efforts. After attending LAP in 2007 and 2008, Chambers founded the Center for Understanding, Research, & Education of Fibromyalgia (CURE FM). In [...]

Read the full article →

New Section: “Leaders Against Pain Spotlight”

Partial members of participants of the first Leaders Against Pain program 2005 In 2005, the National Fibromyalgia Association held its first “Leaders Against Pain (LAP)” advocacy and media training seminar in Orange County, California. The one of a kind, two-day training taught participants, comprised mainly of fibromyalgia support group leaders and advocates, how to work [...]

Read the full article →

Relationships, Divorce, and Dating—With FM

by Amie Young Reprinted with permission from FM Online Newsletter Back in 2000, not long after I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I was reading a book about how this illness can affect all your relationships. Being a newly diagnosed person, I read the chapter with some skepticism and laughed with my then-husband that we would make [...]

Read the full article →

New Year, New (and hopefully, better!) Life with Fibromyalgia

It was a great year (2010) of sharing and caring with our fibromyalgia family and community. As we start 2011, we asked our Facebook friends and followers if they’ve made any New Year resolutions for managing their fibromyalgia. We received 240 responses! From pledging to exercise more, eat better and learn to accept our limits, [...]

Read the full article →

Becky Halstead: Learning to Say No

By Ben Ryan After a quarter century of “Sir, yes sir!” Becky Halstead had to learn to say “no.”  To do so was contrary to the very core of her personality.  Relentless discipline had defined her life since early childhood and had helped her shatter one glass ceiling after the next as she marched her [...]

Read the full article →

“Fibromyalgia-Chronic Pain News” set to launch in 2011

One of the National Fibromyalgia Association’s goals is to ensure that all of our registered users have access to resources that offer up-to-date and clinically proven information that continues to raise awareness and assist patients improve their quality of life. In January 2011, a new monthly online report, “Fibromyalgia-Chronic Pain News”will become available by subscription. It [...]

Read the full article →