Fibromyalgia Podcast®

Visiting the dentist when you have fibromyalgia is almost never fun — right now it's even more stressful because many of us put off seeing the dentist during the COVID pandemic! Since it may have been a year or two since your last dental exam, you may fear what the dentist will find. Tami found herself in this situation recently, with an emergency dental visit and a brand-new dentist. That experie...

Have you gotten your COVID vaccine yet? If not, you'll definitely want to hear this episode! Even if you've only received one of two shots, the information in this episode could help you minimize reactions from the vaccine. In this episode, Tami shares her experience getting her own vaccine, including what other clients, friends, and family have experienced. In fact, between all the members of Tam...

Improving your fibromyalgia is really hard to do all on your own; you need a team of people to support you, including various providers, friends, and family. So... what happens when your family doesn't support you? Aren't they the ones who should be giving you the most support? Listen in as Tami interviews Heather Kent, psychotherapist and author of two books on toxic relationships, about what to...

What did you feel when you were diagnosed with fibromyalgia? Relief? Shame? Frustration? These were all things Regina Frisch felt when she was finally diagnosed after 15 years of struggling. When she was ready to take action and asked what the treatment plan would be, her doctor told her they didn't really have one. Sound familiar? It takes an integrative approach to treat fibromyalgia effectively...

When you're diagnosed with fibromyalgia, it can be a huge hit to your confidence. You may have trouble doing many of the things that have defined you: career, hobbies, friends. In addition, let's not forget the unpredictable nature of fibromyalgia! It can be difficult to make plans because you never know if you're going to have a good day or a bad day. When you do make plans, you may have to cance...

How many times has your doctor told you all your lab tests were normal? If you're like most of us with fibromyalgia, this has happened more times than you can count. So what then? Do we keep testing? Or do we accept that the test is normal, in spite of the fact we feel that something is wrong? After 20 years of certain tests coming back as "normal", Tami recently decided to try one more time as a...

We can find evidence of fibromyalgia going back more than 200 years in medical literature.... and yet there there seems to be more fiction than fact surrounding it. People are told things like, "There isn't much that can be done about fibromyalgia." Or, "Fibromyalgia is a middle-aged woman's disease." (Hint: Both of these things are FALSE.) In this episode, Tami tackles seven of the most common my...

Have you ever wondered what you should tell others about your fibromyalgia? Do you find yourself going back and forth between saying, "I'm fine" and telling them how you really feel? If so, this episode is for you! We all intuitively understand that there are some people we can share more with than others. In this episode, Tami interviews Kimberli Wicks, a professional counselor who has lived for...

Three Clients Share Their Fibromyalgia Stories Tami interviews three clients on the ways that they have found to improve their fibromyalgia symptoms over the last few months. You'll hear how Petr, a self-proclaimed "King of Fibro", discovered just how much he didn't know. You'll also hear how Petr's Fibromyalgia Coach, Micky, helped him in ways his two previous health coaches couldn't. Julie share...

For more information, free copies of Tami's books, and full show notes visit: FibromyalgiaPodcast.com .

Many people are confused about the differences between emotional support animals, service animals, and the laws and rights that each type of animal has under the ADA, especially with the recent Department of Transportation ruling defining emotional service animals as pets. In this episode, Tami interviews Jennifer Kolar, founding member of Atlas Assistance Dogs, about these differences and laws. L...

Make no mistake, fibromyalgia is a physical condition causing widespread body pain, unrelenting fatigue, brain fog, and poor sleep. There really are things going wrong in your body that need to be corrected. At the same time, how we think about our bodies, our fibromyalgia, and how we approach life all affect our health and the quality of the life we live. In this episode, Tami talks with mindset...

Many of us started off 2020 with goals to end the year healthier and happier.... only to have a global pandemic mess up all our plans! For the last year, you may have had to set your own health aside to take care of kids who are now doing school at home. Or maybe you haven't had access to the types of therapies that have helped you feel your best. Maybe the stress of it all made your fibromyalgia...

Have you arrived at the end of the year wondering, "What just happened?" Are you thinking, "Next year will be different!".... but wondering exactly how you will make next year different? Good news! In this episode, Tami will teach you how to implement a year-end review process. This review will help you capture what worked from the year that's ending, including what you enjoyed, what worked, and w...

While 2020 has been a year of social isolation for everyone, many of us with fibromyalgia were already too familiar with isolation. Pain and fatigue often keeps us from enjoying social events and interferes with our relationships. In this episode, Tami interviews Jodi Taub, a psychotherapist with multiple chronic illnesses of her own, about how we can protect our mental health and cope with social...

In this Ask the Coach episode, Tami answers the question, "Should I take medication for fibromyalgia?" The good news is that there are many ways of treating fibromyalgia. It's not a choice between medication or nothing! Instead, you get to choose whether or not medication is the right choice for you AND if you want to try other treatment options. Tami gives six key points to consider as you make y...

You're going along fine and then BOOM! Fibromyalgia flare! You try to figure out what pushed you over the edge this time and it all seems so minor. But our mental, physical, and emotional capacity isn't defined by one thing. Instead, our capacity is more like a bucket. All the little — and big! — things go in the bucket and add up. If you're not careful, your bucket overflows and that's when you t...

There are things you know you don't know, like rocket science, maybe. But there are also many things that you don't know that you don't know , like your unconscious habits or how your body will respond to a particular fibromyalgia treatment option you never knew existed. In this special replay, Eva Minkoff, host of the [Human]care  podcast, interviews Tami to uncover the two lowest points in Tami'...

Ever wish you had an owner's manual for your body? Something you could reference to see exactly what to do to keep your body feeling its best? Often, it seems like fibromyalgia symptoms create a guessing game of, "What did I do this time?" One minute you're fine, the next you've crossed the line into a fibromyalgia flare. In this episode, you'll learn how to write your very own owner's manual for...

Brain fog can be one of the most difficult fibromyalgia symptoms to treat. Many doctors don't know what to do with our brain fog and act as if it will take care of itself once our pain and fatigue is managed. However, there are many tips, tricks, and tools that you can use to set up your life so that brain fog has a smaller impact. In this episode, Tami shares her top ten brain fog tips and the to...

Tami interviews four clients on the ways that they have found to improve their fibromyalgia symptoms over the last few months. You'll hear how a mindset shift helped Joyce take ownership of her treatment plan. Julee shares how her 15-year chronic illness journey of 26 surgeries, bedrest, feeding tubes, sepsis, and more, taught her the importance of having fun and seeking joy. Trial and error, alon...

What would it feel like to have to have a schedule that supported your body feeling great? Even better, what would it look like if your calendar could help you get better? You may think this sounds impossible. When Tami was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia, she discovered she could really only leave the house once a week and continue to feel her best. She felt like a slave to her calendar and pri...

11 Things You Need For Your Fibromyalgia Healing Journey After more than a decade of helping clients improve their fibromyalgia symptoms, Tami has learned what it really takes to get better — and it might not be what you think! Yes, you do need effective fibromyalgia treatment, a fibromyalgia specialist to guide you, and a good doctor who treats you with respect and compassion. However, these aren...

With many areas beginning to reopen after being shut down due to COVID-19, many people are wondering how they can return to work safely — particularly when they carry a high-risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19. The good news is that protecting your health while returning to work falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is your right to ask for "reasonable accommodation...

Nearly everyone with fibromyalgia has had some sort of trauma in their past. Mental or physical abuse, car accident, illness, the death of someone close to you, chronic stress, and more are all considered trauma. But some people come through these traumas and become better people as a result. Perhaps they are more compassionate, learn resilience, or have a greater appreciation for life in all its...