Portsmouth,Va. Fibromyalgia/CFIDS Support Group
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Here we'll list events and activities scheduled for the next couple of months. We'll update this page frequently, so check back often to stay up to date. Or, you can sign up on our "home page", to be notified by email from me, when this site has been updated.

Meeting Dates last updated on July 10, 2006

PLEASE CLICK ON YOUR RELOAD OR REFRESH BUTTON TO MAKE SURE THE SITE BRINGS UP AND SHOWS THE MOST RECENT PAGE

Our Ceremony of Observance for International Awareness Day for FMS/CFIDS/GWS and MCS - 2003
     The Portsmouth Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndromes Support Group was pleased to celebrate our "Ceremony of Observance" of the International Awareness Day for FM (Fibromyalgia), CFID (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction) and GW (Gulf War) Syndromes and MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) on May 12th, 2003 at the Portsmouth City Park Pavilion from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
     We invited our members and the public to attend our ceremony, to show their support for FMS and CFIDS patients in the Tidewater area.
     FMS and CFIDS patients include men, women and children. These Syndromes do not discriminate ethnically, socioeconomically or regionally. 3 to 5% of the world population is affected by these Syndromes.
     To our knowledge, there are only 3 (4 as of July 2005) Support Groups in the Tidewater area, that support FMS and CFIDS patients. We have members from Va. Beach, Newport News, Hampton, Yorktown, Smithfield, Suffolk, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and the Outer Banks that have attended our meetings in Portsmouth which meets at Maryview Medical Center twice a month.
     We had Dr. Stephen Plotnick (Rheumatologist that has special interests in FMS and CFIDS) and Dr. Judy McClary (patient advocate/Va. Beach Support Group Leader) as our special speakers.
     The News Media was invited to cover our ceremony as a Public Service for Awareness of these Syndromes, but unfortunately they did not show up.    
     The ceremony  also helped to fulfill our goal of education for patients, support team members, medical care professionals and the general public. We urged those who have contact, or may have contact in the future, with FMS or CFIDS patients to enrich their education by attending this ceremony.
I am pleased to say that the Ceremony went very well.
 
Ceremony of Observance in 2005
We had our International Ceremony of Observance on Monday May 9th, this year at Maryview. It was very nice, as we had Special Vendors set up with very helpful info and items on display.
We also had the pleasure of togetherness with Support Groups from Va. Beach and Newport News in our planning of the event. It was very nice to have all of us together that night, to share our stories and experiences.
 Our Speakers were Dr. Plotnick, Dr. McClary and Elaine Lankford (NP).
Unfortunately, no media coverage again. Newspapers and Television Stations were invited. We would like to "THANK" the Virginian Pilot, as they did advertise The Event in the Newspaper and different City Supplements.
 
We look forward to May 2006 Ceremony of Observance, we hope you will join us.

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 ATTENTION HAMPTON ROADS AND NORTH EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA VISITORS!!!!!!!!
 I have GREAT NEWS for you, if you have not already heard. For those of you that have never heard of him; please let me tell you. Dr. Plotnick is an excellent Rheumatologist, with a "special interest" in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes.
*** UPDATED July 10, 2006 *** Up until recently, he was not able to take on any new patients. But..... NEW PATIENTS ARE NOW BEING TAKEN PERIODICALLY!!! HE NOW HAS HELP, Thank You Elaine and Charley, we just luv you to pieces also. It might take you a while to get in to see them, but trust me, they are well worth the wait.
 Dr. "P" has been my Doctor for about 7 years now.
Office info is below:

3500 Virginia Beach Blvd.  Suite 300
Virginia Beach, VA  23452 (next door to the Social Services Building)
phone: 412-1048


Also, if you get the chance, please come visit with us at one our Support Group meetings, we will turn 8 years old in October of 2006.

NEXT MEETING

August 14, 2006
 Speaker will be Kathy Wakefield from "The Lighthouse".  http://www.ineedalighthouse.com
 
Hope to see you there.

 
September 11
Joann Ervin from The Virginia Assistive Technology System of Southeastern Virginia (VATS)
 

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Dec. 9th- A local Dentist - Dr. John Cranham was our speaker. He is featured on local TV, giving lectures about dental care. You can visit his website at:  http://virginiaveneers.com/doctor/meet.html . 

Dr. Cranham is also a nationally recognized speaker on the Esthetic Principles of Smile Design, Contemporary Occlusion Concepts, Laboratory Communication, and Happiness and Fulfillment in Dentistry. A published author and dedicated teacher, Dr. Cranham has a strong commitment to developing sound educational programs that meet the needs and surpass the expectations of today's dental professional.

October 14, 2002 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!!!                                 We celebrated our 4th year anniversary of our Support Group.

March 11, 2002

  We had a "Pain Management Specialist" as our speaker. Her background was in Oncology(Cancer), so she has seen what pain can really do to a person. Elaine Lankford had alot of very helpful info to share with us.

February 11, 2002
We had representatives from Disability Planning of Virginia, LLC at our night time meeting. They specialize in persons with mild to profound disabilities.

January 26, 2002 - Daytime Meeting

We had a "SPECIAL" meeting. One of our teen sufferers in our group recently did a report for school on CFIDS. I understand she also had "the best visual display".  We would like to extend a "VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO NOVA BOUKNIGHT" at the Chronic Fatigue Association of America,Inc. in Charlotte, N.C. for all of her help. I had emailed her for help on info when Amanda told me about her report, Nova sent us a great deal of very helpful info.    Sooooooo...... since I could not be there to hear Amanda's presentation, she agreed to do her presentation for our group at our daytime meeting on Saturday, January 26th. She put her heart into this report, so I'm really sorry that you missed it, if you were not there. I'm not sure who was the most exited about the report, her, her mom, or ME.  Amanda did a "FANTASTIC" job. We videotaped the meeting.       

October 8th - Dr. Stephen Plotnick: Which is a local Rheumatologist. He has a lot of knowledge and experience in treating patients with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes. It was also our 3rd year anniversary celebration meeting of our support group here in Portsmouth,Va.

September 10th - Mrs. Anne Moody-Ashe, a local Occupational Therapist was our speaker. She gave us alot of tips on how to adjust our daily living due to the limits of our disabilities.

August 13
Our speaker was Dr. Auman. He is a local Urologist. He talked about conditions like Interstitial Cystitis Syndrome, and different types of Bladder Problems.

June 11, 2001
Our speaker for June was Dr. Cynthia Su. She is carrying on the family tradition as an Accupuncturist, specializing in pain management.
We really had a great time. We saw some first hand accupuncture done right there on a willing member. It was very interesting.
 
 
November 10, 2003
 We had the Rev. Neal Sasser as our Guest Speaker tonight.
He has visited with us before. He spoke on "Laughter Being Good For The Soul". We always have sooo much fun when he visits with us, hope you were there to enjoy some "good ole laughter".
 
 
December 8, 2003
 
  We had Dr. Cynthia Su as our Guest Speaker.
She is a local Doctor in the Pain Management Field.
She also visited with our group in the past.
She does treatments such as Accupuncture, for those of you that are interested in learning more about that type of Therapy.

FUTURE MEETINGS

Every one is always welcomed, please feel free to bring someone with you.
***Please be aware, our Support Group is staffed by "Volunteers". Cindy (Facilitator/Leader) and Karen (Me/Co-Leader), are there to offer support and information for you to be able to help yourselves. It would be sooo very helpful if you could come "on time" to these meetings if at all possible. Especially, when we are volunteering part of our weekends for you. Please remember, we also have our own personal lives to deal with.

*******
For "interested people", there is a page on this site that you can get directions to the meetings right from your front door, or you may call Cindy @ 399-2426(10-6 daily) or Karen(after 5 pm) @ 483-3613 for further information.

*******
 
 
Future Night time meetings: 
(6:30 til 8:30 pm in Conference room B)
 
August 14, 2006
September 11, 2006
October 9, 2006
November 13, 2006
December 11, 2006
 
(Always remember, meetings are always on the 2nd Monday, unless otherwise stated)
"Meetings for 2OO7 will be added soon"

Future Day time meetings: 
(1:00 til 3:00 pm in Conference room A or C)
 
July 22, 2006
August 26, 2006
September 23, 2006
October 28, 2006
November 25, 2006 (Canceled due to Thanksgiving Holiday)
December 23, 2006 (Canceled due to Christmas Holiday)
 
(Remember meetings are always on 4th Saturday, unless otherwise stated)
"Meetings for 2OO7 will be added soon"
 
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
As the Hurricane and/or cold weather season approaches. If Weather Advisories are up, or roads are dangerous, meetings will possibly be cancelled. We do not want any one out there traveling, including us, in inclimate weather conditions. If you are not sure whether to take a chance on a meeting or not, please feel free to call Cindy or Karen to make sure.

Any one interested in Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (sufferers and their families and friends) are welcome to attend any of our meetings.

VISIT HAMPTONROADS.COM FOR LOCAL EVENTS OF INTERESTS