me or sad

Hi Bagpuss

I have ME/CFS along with SAD. I have had the SAD for about 25 years but only had the ME/CFS for about 8.

I do feel there is a link between SAD and ME/Fibromyalgia.

In relation to losing weight. I must admit the early part of last year I was very overweight as I am now. About May/June I decided to try and lost some weight and lost about 28lbs. I have to say that my ME/CFS inproved a great deal and was more managable. I'm not one to jump on my soap box about how weight affects people's health but honestly it did have a massive impact on me last year.

I am starting my new healthy eating regime again tomorrow with hopefully the same results.

In answer to your question about light therapy in summer. There are people who use their light all through the year but not as often or for as long as in the winter.

Brightspark box £115 I think, good investment.

Hope this helps

I have fibromyalgia and SAD. I believe I've had SAD since about age 13 or so, and I experienced symptoms of fibromyalgia in 2005.

The doctor who diagnosed me with FM agreed when I said that I felt that Fibromyalgia and SAD were somehow linked. Of course, nobody knows the connection, yet.

In his Winter Blues book, Rosenthal makes a brief comment that he would be interested in further studies that used lightboxes to treat fibromyalgia. (he calls it fibromyositis, I believe).

I believe ME & Fibromyalgia are linked as well. Such a high percentage of people with ME have Fibromyalgia. I believe that so far, I only have SAD and FM, though fatigue is one of my major symptoms. Some would say that the diagnosis you get is determined by what specialist gives the diagnosis. I was diagnosed by rheumatologists. I do have widespread pain, but I believe a lot of it was managed when I was put on NSAIDs for my "osteoarthritis" which turned out not to be nearly as severe as I had believed it to be -- it was FM pain!

So, it's all kind of jumbled.

My fatigue worsens in the wintertime, and I *think* that happens with a lot of fibromyalgia patients. I can't see the harm in trying a lightbox to see if it helps. Eyestrain, a feeling of having too much energy and headaches are the possible side-effects, I believe, and can probably be managed mostly by adjusting the position of the lamp and the usage times. I have no problems at all, myself, and have found the lamp to be very helpful. I use a dawn simulator to help me get out of bed in the morning, too!

Good luck to you!

PS - I use my lightbox as a desk lamp, so I use it year-round. It's especially helpful on overcast or rainy days, even in the summertime. I also use it for probably about 3 hours per day, give or take. Just whenever I happen to be sitting at my desk at home!