Share Your Fibromyalgia with Congress

A letter from Janet Favero Chambers, President National Fibromalgia & Chronic Pain Association

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS HERE TODAY


Speak up!

We need to tell Congress FM is important and needs more research. Congress is currently deciding which pain conditions need more attention and research. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is the official group that is weighing which pain conditions are most deserving of attention from Congress and the National Institutes of Health. This is the opportunity the Fibromyalgia community has been waiting for – it is our opportunity to educate Congress about the challenges of living with fibromyalgia.  They do not know the realities of living with Fibromyalgia. Your story has never been more important. Please spend a few minutes of your time completing the above Pain Research Public Comment form.

Things that would be very important to share-
• things that prevent you from getting pain care,
• costs of pain care,
• the need for scientific research on pain, especially the need for treatments that work and don't make you feel bad, and
• the need to educate  all health care professionals about chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia.

Comments are due by Monday, April 4.  Please act today.

Make a difference for all of us living with Fibromyalgia—
share your story today.
The National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association is fully supportive of this effort.  I represent FM on the Pain Care Forum Subcommittee on Training & Education in Washington, D.C. and know that the information the IOM receives will directly influence its recommendations to the U.S. Congress.  By mandate from the U.S. Congress, the National Institutes of Health will respond to these recommendations by developing the type and amount of pain research for many years to come.   
We need many people to come forward with their stories to help us achieve our goals of increased research by the NIH and increased education for doctors who are treating patients with FM and related pain conditions. We will keep you up to date on the outcome of the IOM’s recommendations. 
As a member of the Pain Care Forum, I will continue to ensure that the voice of the Fibromyalgia and overlapping conditions community is always heard.  Thank you very much for submitting the public comment form for the IOM.  Would you please also pass along your name and email address along to me so I can keep you up to date on this important issue as I do my work in D.C.   As always with this type of communication, all correspondence with the NFMCPA is confidential and private.
Sincerely yours,
Jan Chambers

Janet Favero Chambers, President
National Fibromalgia & Chronic Pain Association