59 min
Diagnosing fibromyalgia by physical exam and the power of the guaifenesin protocol - Dr. Congdon and Eva of Wellacopia Invisible Not Broken - Chronic Illness Podcast Network
-
- Mental Health
TITLE: Diagnosing fibromyalgia by physical exam and the power of the guaifenesin protocol - Dr. Congdon and Eva of Wellacopia
Diagnosing fibromyalgia by physical exam - Dr. Congdon and Eva of Wellacopia
(for the artwork only)
---
Get matched with your perfect practitioner at Wellacopia.com
If you are unable to find a good match in your location yet, Eva will do the personalized matching for you anywhere in the USA.
Text: 1-646-883-3022 or Email: Contact@Wellacopia.com
To contact or learn more from Dr. Melissa Congdon, please visit MelissaCongdonMD.com
---
What is your profession?I am a physician who treats children and adults with fibromyalgia. I am a board-certified pediatrician who was in private practice for 18 years until severe fibromyalgia symptoms forced me to retire from medicine. After going on the guaifenesin protocol and getting acupuncture my symptoms dramatically declined, enabling me to return to practice medicine 20 months after I “retired.” My fibromyalgia doctor, Dr. Paul St. Amand at Harbor UCLA medical center suggested that I not go back to practicing general pediatrics but become a fibromyalgia consultant instead. I trained with him and have been doing fibromyalgia consulting for children and adults since 2010.
What is your illness(es)? Fibromyalgia
Where do you work? The San Francisco Bay Area
Who do you work with? I am in solo practice, but I communicate with my mentor Dr. St. Amand frequently. I also keep in touch with many integrative medicine providers and other health care practitioners to share insights about treatments and ways to help patients feel better
How did your illness shape your career?I was sick for a long time before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I have severe fatigue, dizziness, 15 migraines a month, chronic neck and shoulder pain, and irritable bowel symptoms. I thought surely I must be dying because I felt so sick and doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. My children were young at this time, and I hoped that I would not pass away until my youngest was at least 7 years old, because I thought by that age she would remember her mother’s love. So I have been to that dark hopeless place that chronic illness can lead a person to, and I went from mostly housebound to feeling well again. My illness motivated me to help others do the same. It feels so good to feel good again!
What do you do when you don't know what to do about a patient? First I like to think and meditate about it, then if I can’t come up with a treatment plan I will reach out to my network of healthcare providers to get insight.
Are you/were you open about your illness with patients?YES. My patients tell me it is a great help to them that I truly understand what it feels like to have fibromyalgia (physically and emotionally), and that that is one of the reasons they have chosen me to help them feel better.
What are you most passionate about in regards to your work?Two things. First of all, how to make an accurate diagnosis by physical exam, and no, I am not talking about the inaccurate tender point exam. My mentor, Dr. Paul St. Amand, taught me how to diagnose fibromyalgia using a physical exam technique called “mapping.” He has found that everyone with fibromyalgia has a pattern of very small swollen and contracted muscles along their left anterior thigh. He taught me how to detect them, and if a patient has these swellings, then they have fibromyalgia! It is not complicated! These swellings are so small and are not tender, so most people with fibromyalgia don't realize they are there -- but they are super easy to feel once you have been trained in this technique.
Secondly, I love helping people with fibromyalgia decrease their pain, improve their mood, and increase their energy. There are a lot of helpful tips I can give them to achieve this, but one of the most life changing treatments I have found for fibromyalgia is the guaifenesin protocol. Guaifenesin is an expectoran
TITLE: Diagnosing fibromyalgia by physical exam and the power of the guaifenesin protocol - Dr. Congdon and Eva of Wellacopia
Diagnosing fibromyalgia by physical exam - Dr. Congdon and Eva of Wellacopia
(for the artwork only)
---
Get matched with your perfect practitioner at Wellacopia.com
If you are unable to find a good match in your location yet, Eva will do the personalized matching for you anywhere in the USA.
Text: 1-646-883-3022 or Email: Contact@Wellacopia.com
To contact or learn more from Dr. Melissa Congdon, please visit MelissaCongdonMD.com
---
What is your profession?I am a physician who treats children and adults with fibromyalgia. I am a board-certified pediatrician who was in private practice for 18 years until severe fibromyalgia symptoms forced me to retire from medicine. After going on the guaifenesin protocol and getting acupuncture my symptoms dramatically declined, enabling me to return to practice medicine 20 months after I “retired.” My fibromyalgia doctor, Dr. Paul St. Amand at Harbor UCLA medical center suggested that I not go back to practicing general pediatrics but become a fibromyalgia consultant instead. I trained with him and have been doing fibromyalgia consulting for children and adults since 2010.
What is your illness(es)? Fibromyalgia
Where do you work? The San Francisco Bay Area
Who do you work with? I am in solo practice, but I communicate with my mentor Dr. St. Amand frequently. I also keep in touch with many integrative medicine providers and other health care practitioners to share insights about treatments and ways to help patients feel better
How did your illness shape your career?I was sick for a long time before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I have severe fatigue, dizziness, 15 migraines a month, chronic neck and shoulder pain, and irritable bowel symptoms. I thought surely I must be dying because I felt so sick and doctors could not figure out what was wrong with me. My children were young at this time, and I hoped that I would not pass away until my youngest was at least 7 years old, because I thought by that age she would remember her mother’s love. So I have been to that dark hopeless place that chronic illness can lead a person to, and I went from mostly housebound to feeling well again. My illness motivated me to help others do the same. It feels so good to feel good again!
What do you do when you don't know what to do about a patient? First I like to think and meditate about it, then if I can’t come up with a treatment plan I will reach out to my network of healthcare providers to get insight.
Are you/were you open about your illness with patients?YES. My patients tell me it is a great help to them that I truly understand what it feels like to have fibromyalgia (physically and emotionally), and that that is one of the reasons they have chosen me to help them feel better.
What are you most passionate about in regards to your work?Two things. First of all, how to make an accurate diagnosis by physical exam, and no, I am not talking about the inaccurate tender point exam. My mentor, Dr. Paul St. Amand, taught me how to diagnose fibromyalgia using a physical exam technique called “mapping.” He has found that everyone with fibromyalgia has a pattern of very small swollen and contracted muscles along their left anterior thigh. He taught me how to detect them, and if a patient has these swellings, then they have fibromyalgia! It is not complicated! These swellings are so small and are not tender, so most people with fibromyalgia don't realize they are there -- but they are super easy to feel once you have been trained in this technique.
Secondly, I love helping people with fibromyalgia decrease their pain, improve their mood, and increase their energy. There are a lot of helpful tips I can give them to achieve this, but one of the most life changing treatments I have found for fibromyalgia is the guaifenesin protocol. Guaifenesin is an expectoran
59 min