That's certainly the goal! I want to provide a centralized resource highlighting the best of fibromyalgia research, curated by a physician with insider knowledge that can only be obtained from personal experience with the illness.
So much time was wasted arguing about whether fibromyalgia was real that scientific understanding of the illness is still 20 years behind. It is my mission in life to correct this and fast-forward fibromyalgia into the realm of modern medicine. This is a big goal, and I am approaching it from a few different angles here at the Fibromyalgia Research Library.
My goal is to gather the breadcrumbs to make it easier to solve the fibromyalgia puzzle.
I read all the key articles about fibromyalgia published in medical journals, so you don't have to! Then I provide curated research summaries with the most recent and relevant studies. My goal is to include video interviews with top scientists and researchers so they can share their insights into what's happening in the body with fibromyalgia. However the part of the library I am most excited about is the FibroStories Database. This is a new way people with fibromyalgia can share their experiences in order to learn from each other AND provide data that will be useful to scientists and health care providers.
What can you expect?
In this library you will find short research summaries with lots of illustrations, using real-world language so everyone can start to understand what's happening in the fibromyalgia body. Let me act as your interpreter of the gobbledygook scientific language that can cloak valuable information in medical journal articles. I include some of my own personal experiences and clinical experience treating fibromyalgia infused with my weird sense of humor and sass. Short video explainers accompany many posts, in case you prefer to listen rather than read.
The Fibromyalgia Research Library is dedicated to solving the fibromyalgia puzzle, one study at a time.
References and readability
I want this site to be readable, but also scientifically accurate. To make it easier to read, the scientific references will be at the bottom of each post. This replaces the traditional method of interrupting the text every few sentences with a reference (last name et al. and year) like typical research articles. Reducing those interruptions improves readability, especially if you have fibrofog. (For the second edition of FibroManual, I hope to do references differently there as well!) Instead, you will find links to all the references at the bottom of the page, along with the key conclusions of that article. This way you can get the gist of the article without having to follow the link, but you also have access to the original source.
I would love for you to join me in this journey!
New puzzle pieces are being added to the Fibromyalgia Research Library all the time. Subscribe to the Fibromyalgia News from Dr. Ginevra email newsletter for updates on new research. When each new piece of research is added to the library I will also show it fits together in the big picture of fibromyalgia.
You can find treatment information, both ways you can help yourself and ways to work with your health care provider, in my book The FibroManual (just released as an audiobook!) Your book purchase helps support the work here I do at the library, thank you.
