At last a ray of sunshine… I found an abstract today that indicates people with fibromyalgia can get relief from symptoms by moderate drinking.  Of course the title of the abstract says “low-to-moderate,” consumption, but in the abstract itself, it says “moderate drinkers versus abstainers.”  Go figure!  Maybe I’ll go get that box o’ wine!

So this study had patients keep track of their sleep, pain, and alcohol consumption.  People who drank a “moderate” amount had “greater bilateral hippocampal volume, lower clinical pain intensity, and better sleep quality.”  In other words, better brain, less pain, and better sleep.  As always at the end of the abstract it says that further study of the relationship is warranted.  Sign me up for that study!

Seriously, I know that moderate regular alcohol consumption does not improve anything in the long run – at least not in my world.  I don’t make it to the end of the box o’ wine before I have a pretty severe reaction to the sugar, which includes increased pain and a bleary brain, and I would likely not sleep so well after the first couple nights.  Their study only lasted 14 days.  It would take longer than that for my reactions to the sugar in alcohol to register.  Maybe I should drink the box faster and see what happens.  What do you think?

I’m not saying they don’t have a great idea, and I wish them all the best…