Many of you have or know family members, friends, or others who suffer from Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia/Myofascial Pain Syndromes. These syndromes are life-altering. They cause debilitating pain and fatigue in the body even to the point where the person may be unable to work or do the things they once enjoyed. They can cause headaches, feeling like you have the flu all of the time, impaired concentration and memory, to name just a few of the many other symptoms. These syndromes can come on suddenly or can be something the person has lived with for a lifetime. The symptoms can be ever-present, or they wax and wane. These syndromes were recognized as actual, physical illnesses twenty years ago - as opposed to being something "all in our heads" - and yet many in the medical community still do not believe they exist and patients are poorly treated. Unfortunately, not much has been done to study the CAUSE and physicians disagree on this point - but a great deal of the funding has been siphoned off to create drugs to treat only the SYMPTOMS. In many cases these drugs have not helped and are sometimes even harmful. The purpose of this petition is to request government funding for The Whittemore Peterson Institute in Reno, Nevada and others who are doing research as to what causes Fribromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue/Myofascial Pain Syndromes. Once a possible cause has been found the funding is to also help develop effective testing methods to detect the cause if it is something that can be detected through methods such as a blood. urine or saliva tests, for instance. The funding then is to be used to find more effective treatments and, eventually, possible cures. Testing for possible causes can include testing for viruses, heavy metals, abnormalities in the brain/body, nutritional deficiencies, etc. Effective treatment methods can include anything from drug therapy to alternative therapies. The bottom line being - we must find the cause and then find a treatment/cure that is as effective and safe as possible.

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