Got Fibromyalgia? Just Say No To This Book!

Fibromyalgia by Kim D. Jones


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Here is a book in search of a focus. It says it is written from a clinician's perspective. It is unclear what sort of a clinician this book would be good for.

The fibromyalgia clinic questionnaire toward the end looks to be useful. Co-morbid disorders are discussed. Also, for the psychologist/therapist/counselor working with the patient, the issues that the patient will face when learning to live their new life are listed.

The book itself would probably provide a good beginning overview for a clinician just learning about the disorder. Or a lower-level undergraduate needing to write a report.

For the rest of us, there is some good skimming material on co-morbid disorders. For the fibromyalgia sufferer, this book may be useless. The pages are crowded with type. The writing weaves back and forth between technical talk with useless black and white illustrations
to digestible tidbits.

While possibly of use to the clinician, a lot of the things presented could be counter-productive for both the patient and the clinician. The list of medications used to treat the disorder will be quickly outdated, as they are in any medical book. Dietary changes that may be useful are confusingly presented and may lead to the patient giving up altogether.

The list of professionals that "should" be involved in treatment is overwhelming. The book, recommends at least 7 professionals be involved in treatment. Then the book cautions that a Registered Dietician may not be covered by your insurance provider. A Clinical Exercise Specialist is recommended. This is a new field and such a specialist may not even be available in many areas.

Many types of specialists in co-morbid disorders are recommended as needed. It would seem obvious that a clinician would refer the patient to these specialists as needed anyway.

The book contains two large insults at the end. Most obvious are stretching exercises that may be useful for the patient. These are sparingly demonstrated in grainy black and white pictures featuring a less than enthusiastic model.

It would seem that these exercises should be presented by a Physical Therapist who should already be familiar with FM. Why they are included in the book, as if a suggestion for the patient, is unfathomable.

Finally, the book concludes with an example of, I presume, a counselor's work with a patient. The example is a basic question, answer, suggestion, and suggestion accepted affair. How this would be useful to a trained counselor is unclear.

Finally, the book is part of a series from ABC-CLIO called "Biographies of Disease." To include FM as a disease is incorrect. In fact, time is spent at the beginning of the book explaining that FM is a disorder. A disorder is not a disease.

Stroke and Sports Injuries are also included in this "Biography of Disease" series.

Would I recommend this to a student? For a basic report, yes.

Would I recommend this to a primary care practitioner completely unfamiliar with FM? With reservations

Would I recommend this to an FM patient? No

Would I recommend this to a family member of an FM patient? No

Would I recommend this to a historical romance-reader looking for some cross-genre reading? No

Would I recommend this to a man in a bear suit? No. If he's walking around in a bear suit, FM is either the least of his worries or the symptoms he or a loved one are experiencing have driven him beyond the help this book can give.


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