The FibroManual

Starred review from April 1, 2016

This is a welcome addition to the crowded fibromyalgia book market. Liptan (rheumatology, Oregon Health & Science Univ.) is an MD with training in integrative medicine who suffers from fibromyalgia herself and runs a private clinic devoted to the disease. This combination of expertise and experience is evident throughout the work, which seamlessly combines the doctor's and patient's perspectives and discusses a combination of conventional and alternative treatments and self-care--free of hype and backed up by extensive citations to medical literature. She covers the symptoms and causes of fibromyalgia, followed by ways to improve rest and sleep, repair various body systems, reduce inflammation, pain, and fatigue, rebalance hormones, and improve mood. Also included is a short summary of conventional treatment recommendations written for physicians and intended for patients to share with their doctors--a useful addition, since many primary care providers know little about treating the condition. The text is generally clear and understandable, though readers without much medical knowledge may struggle with some terminology. VERDICT Here is that rare medical book for consumers that is packed with evidence-based recommendations across a broad spectrum of treatment modalities that does not sound like a medical school text. Highly recommended.--Janet Crum, Northern Arizona Univ. Lib., Flagstaff

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016
Fibromyalgia is a set of symptoms, primarily muscle aches, fatigue, and brain fog, that has no cure. It is determined by a clinical diagnosis of exclusion, as there are no definitive blood tests or scans that can confirm the affliction. The typical patient is a young woman who is in otherwise good health. Anxiety, PTSD, or depression can be present, too. Liptan, a medical doctor who suffers from fibromyalgia, voices frustration about a syndrome that is bogged down by controversy and a century of arguments about whether it is a real' illness. Many practicing physicians view fibromyalgia as mainly a sleep disorder. Fix the disarrayed sleep and improvement in symptoms should follow. Liptan's own prescription for dealing with troublesome symptoms includes four R's: rest (restorative sleep and relaxation), reduce (use medications and therapies that target specific problems), repair (nutrition, low-impact exercise, myofascial release therapy), and rebalance (mood and energy production). Information about supplements, therapeutic movement, and better sleep is included. Liptan offers a potentially helpful guide about lifestyle changes that might lesson the burden of fibromyalgia.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)