Now, it is fact, that "most" in the medical profession, will finally agree that FM is a real disorder. The medical facts speak for themselves. However, most, does not mean all. The general population, in point of fact, often has a very different opinion, an opinion that has been dealt a major blow.

The reason being, they have been inundated for years, with the concept of it's "all in your head", from the medical profession, and just got a major dose of it again recently. Medical personal, are somewhat forced to believe it now, simply because their own peers are the ones telling them so, with data to back it up. But the un-informed general population will be a lot harder to convince, yet again, thanks in part to the New York Times.

The front page New York Times article that came out in Jan, 2008, in reaction to Lyrica being approved for FM, outraged people world wide. The first time the FDA has ever approved anything for use in FM. It is a milestone to be sure, even if the drug fails, simply due to the FDA's first ever approval, which means other companies will take the plunge and put up the money for development of new medications, which is a good thing.

However, the journalist who wrote the piece on it, slammed all of us, sideways, when the title line read. "Drug Approved. Is Disease Real?" and then proceeded to quote the opinions of a few naysayers, who are, even by the rest of the medical profession, considered confirmed skeptics, who will not believe anything that they can't hold in their hands or will show up on a standard lab report. These same men, don't believe in PMS, back pain, IBS, or carpal tunnel either ! So, I think that says how far into the stone ages they are, and we will let it go at that.

Now, understandably, this caused a major stir, with a huge backlash of responses from the medical profession. Most of them, positive, and I have yet to see one, that was not positive. Letter after letter from the medical profession, and many many others, rebutting the Times irresponsible behavior, for publishing such an article.

This was a journalist, who knows little to nothing about FM, who took the slant, that the drug company "created" the disease, just to make a profit on it, and gathered opinions from the known skeptics who would back up that claim, which is of course, insanity, but hey ... it sells papers. Love em or hate em, they got everyone's attention with it. Around the world, for Mts. now, the backlash has been felt.

The article itself, obviously had an agenda in mind, one that had little to do with us really, they wanted to take a shot at the drug companies. I would imagine the journalists editor, didn't even consider any other side issues or possible fallout, other than the one the piece was intended for. A lot of the major news providers often forget just how much influence they really have in public opinion. They wanted to slam the drug companies, not even considering for a moment, the collateral damage they did, to those of us with FM, in the process.

What it did, is bring to fore, issues about FM, and its legitimacy, that should already be dead and buried for one thing. And while I am happy to see that most of the reaction to the article, has been one of outrage against it. ( Ten years ago, most of the medical profession, would have agreed with it. ) This does not change some very basic facts.

It just brought out, what we with FM have always known, which is what most of this site states, that being ... that the controversy over FM, and its treatment, is not yet dead. Nor will it be, until nearly every doctor out there, not only will treat someone with FM, but further, that they know how to treat an FM client. This is more the real controversy we face now with most of the medical profession, which is, agreement over treatment protocols and of course, finding a doctor who is well aware of them.

We are often accused of "doctor shopping" meaning going from one doctor after another. Well, in point of fact, we often do ... for one reason, trying to find one that will A: Believe what we tell them, and B: Knows how to do something constructive about it. Your average General practitioner, is often not equipped or trained to handle all the issues that FM presents. Unfortunately, there are, as yet, very few who specialize in FM. So we seek, often having to quit one doctor after another, until we finally find one that is, well versed in FM, and or, knows they are not up on the facts and treatments for FM, but proceeds to remedy that problem with more study. Often times it is a bit of both.

The main thing that this article did to us however, is what it did to public opinion. People are more than willing to believe that major drug companies would spend millions of dollars on testing and development, and then "create" a demand for it. Now, these everyday folks, know absolutely zero about all the research on FM, heck, a lot of them, might have never even heard of it before. So that front page article, might well be the first time they know a thing about it, and what are they told ? That FM is fake, that those who claim to have it, are maladjusted, depressed whiners who cannot handle life., all the same garbage we have been hearing for years, hauled out of mothballs, and tossed out like it meant something. There was barely a nod to the positive side of events, and no mention of the years of recent research into FM.

This may well set us back years, in the fight for legitimacy, not with the medical profession, as by and large, most of them are convinced, as they well proved by their enthusiastic rebuttal of this nonsense, but rather it might increase problems we have, with the ones we come into contact with, everyday, ordinary everyday people, our families, our friends, our bosses and co workers. Only time will say, if the rebuttals were overpowering enough to countermand this effect.

The New York Times owes us all an apology, and most certainly the writer of the front page piece. I am not one to wish harm to anyone. But I will say, it would be justice, if one day, either in this life or any other, that the writer is forced to walk a mile in our shoes, I would call it Karma, a debt he has created in a major way, with the disservice he has done us all with his ill thought out, unbalanced article.