Hayley Kenward & her friends abseil down the Spinnaker Tower

Hayley Kenward together with four friends will abseil 100 meters down the Spinnaker Tower on the 12^th August to raise funds for FMA UK because her partner, Michelle, lives with fibromyalgia. The Emirates Spinnaker Tower is an iconic building soaring 560 foot (170 m) above Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent. It is taller than the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Big Ben and has already established itself as a national icon for Britain. Michelle and her friends have raised £670 already, which is a fantastic result.

Hayley told us: ‘’I have organised a small team to abseil down the Spinnaker Tower and we are doing it for your charity and also Stroke Association. I'm doing this for my partner Michelle who's been suffering from fibro for the past 6 years. She never complains and carries on regardless of being in so much pain. A true warrior.’’

Michelle wrote a blog on living with Fibro and you can read it here:  https://www.atouchofhope.co.uk/single-post/2017/04/17/Living-with-Fibromyalgia

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Research study - available treatments

Eleonora Fetter, a Master's Psychology student at the University of Essex is carrying out a short study on patients with fibromyalgia. The study will include a brief survey evaluating how patients feel about available treatments to reduce their symptoms and which therapy they think is the best. The survey will take no longer than 20 minutes to complete.

You can find the survey and further details at https://essex.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b9NEdxfB2hay8sZ

Benefits Helpline Closure - July 17

Please note that here will be no benefits helpline on the following dates :- Mon 17th, 24th & 31st and Fri 21st & 28th July 2017

Should you require urgent benefits advice during this period, you should contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau or Welfare Rights Officer.  

Kathryn, Adam and Kaytlin raise £365 for FMA UK in the Summer 10K Wolf Run

Kathryn Moore-Smith, her boyfriend Adam and friend Kaytlin run the Summer 10K Wolf Run in support of FMA UK. Kathryn told us: ‘’I completed the Summer Wolf Run on 3rd June 2017 in support of FMA UK as my mum suffers quite severely with this illness and I really wanted to do something worthwhile to raise awareness for the illness and raise funds which will help the charity help others!

I am overwhelmed by everyone's generosity in supporting this amazing charity and I am so glad I did the Wolf Run in support of everyone who suffers with FM. The course was tough and hard going but I took it all in my stride and completed it in 2 hours 50 minutes. Some of the obstacles were much harder than I anticipated but I attempted each and every one of them however there were a couple I just could not do, who'd have thought climbing up and over a vertical wall with practically nothing to grip on to or get a foothold in would be so hard!!! 

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Nagasaki (Japan) Fibromyalgia Symposium

In October, last year an internationally recognised set of speakers gathered in Japan for a symposium on fibromyalgia. The event brought together researchers from many different areas of science and medicine to discuss new findings about fibromyalgia. Below is a summary of some of the articles that were presented. It’s important to keep in mind that some of the conclusions are preliminary and will require further study or trials to confirm or improve their understanding.

It is now widely accepted that problems with the central nervous system are important in fibromyalgia. The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The rest of the nervous system is known as the peripheral nervous system. Less is known about the role of the peripheral nervous system in fibromyalgia but the symposium highlighted some new research findings in this area. One particularly interesting topic was about how overdrive of the fight-or-flight response (which is created by a part of the peripheral nervous system known as the sympathetic nervous system) may be involved in fibromyalgia. New findings about the role of the peripheral nervous system in fibromyalgia help improve our understanding and may help in developing new treatments at some point in the future.

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Lewis, 5, runs Mini Great North Run and raises £250 for FMA UK

We are very proud of Lewis Beckwith, 5 years old, who run over a mile in the Mini Great North Run and raised £250 for FMA UK. Lewis’s’ mum, Charmaine, said: ‘’ We have decided to donate the sponsor money to your charity.  The reason behind this is my Mum, Lewis's Granny, suffers from Fibromyalgia along with other conditions and has done for a number of years. She has her good days but mostly her days are shadowed by pain, a massive lack of sleep, 'fibro fog' and other symptoms. The way she deals with her illnesses is so admirable. She is such a strong person and she makes us proud every single day.’’

We say well done to Lewis!