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Dawn Marcus

Bio

Dawn Marcus is a neurologist and professor at the University of Pittsburgh, where she has focused her career on migraines and holistic chronic pain management. Dr. Marcus has written 14 books, including 10 Simple Solutions to Migraine, for which she won the 2007 Excellence in Media Award from the National Headache Foundation. In 2010, Dr. Marcus wrote an updated migraine book with colleague Dr. Bain, called The Woman's Migraine Toolkit: Managing Your Headaches From Puberty to Menopause. Dr. Marcus enjoys visiting patients under the watchful eye of two furry helpers, her therapy dog wheaten terriers. Understanding how a relationship with your dog can help improve your health and lessen pain complaints led Dr. Marcus to write Fit As Fido: Follow Your Dog to Better Health and The Power of Wagging Tails: A Doctor's Guide to Dog Therapy and Healing.



Specialties:

  • neurology

Group Memberships:

Activity

  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    How common is fatigue in people with fibromyalgia who sleep well?
    Feeling fatigued can be a problem in people with fibromyalgia, even when they sleep well. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners found that nearly one in five of the women with fibromyalgia whose sleep recording monitors showed that they had normal...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    What are the effects of poor sleep in people with fibromyalgia?
    Having poor sleep usually makes people with fibromyalgia feel tired during the day. Researchers interviewed people with fibromyalgia in the United States and Europe and discovered that:
    • Four in five fibromyalgia patients talked about pain.
    • Two in five talked about fatigue.
    • One in five talked
    ...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    What sleep problems are common in people with fibromyalgia?
    It's not just the number of hours spent sleeping that's the problem in fibromyalgia -- quality of sleep is the real issue. Fibromyalgia has been linked to a loss of restorative, deep sleep, with less time spent in the deeper stages 3 and 4 of non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. The average...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    How common is chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in people with fibromyalgia?
    Chronic fatigue syndrome may occur in people with fibromyalgia. A survey published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that four in five people seeing a doctor for a diagnosis of CFS could additionally be diagnosed with fibromyalgia. One in five also had CFS. So, even if your main...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    How is chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosed?
    Diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is based on the following:

    All of the following symptoms:
    • Fatigue that is severe and disabling.
    • You have had fatigue for at least 6 months, but not your whole life.
    • Fatigue is not caused by exertion and does not get better by simply resting.
    ...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    Why do chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms increase after exercise?
    Researchers at the Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy in Belgium reported increases in both fatigue and pain after a walking exercise in people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Furthermore, pain increase was also still noted 24 hours after exercise. Although exercise is t...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    What is chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)?
    Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) describes a medical condition that involves severe fatigue lasting at least 6 months that can't be explained by other health problems or depression. People with CFS also complain of typical fibromyalgia symptoms, including pain, sleep problems, and poor conc...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    What sleep problem is common in people with both fibromyalgia and CFS?
    Research from the University of Tokyo found that people with fibromyalgia who also had chronic fatique syndrome (CFS) were more likely to have problems shifting between the different stages of sleep, further adding to sleep disruption and a feeling of having unrefreshing sleep. It's important...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    Is fibro fog real?
    Problems with concentration, attention, memory, and being able to plan and complete tasks are commonly seen in people with fibromyalgia. These symptoms are also referred to as fibro fog, a term that describes a feeling of being stuck in a cloud that limits a person's ability to perform mental...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    What is fibro fog?
    Problems with concentration, attention, memory, and being able to plan and complete tasks are commonly seen in people with fibromyalgia. These symptoms are also referred to as fibro fog, a term that describes a feeling of being stuck in a cloud that limits a person's ability to perform mental...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    Why do sleep patterns change with age?
    As we get older, our sleep patterns change because of changes in brain chemicals, such as cortisol, growth hormone, and melatonin. These chemical changes cause us to spend more time in the less restful, lighter stages of sleep, and less time in the deeper stages 3 and 4 of non-rapid eye m...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    Why do we need sleep?
    No one really knows the full answer to the age-old question of why we need sleep. What we do know is that sleep is essential to good health. During sleep, there are important shifts in a wide range of chemicals in the body, including those that regulate blood sugar and metabolism, hormones...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    How common are sleep problems in people with fibromyalgia?
    Poor sleep is common in people with fibromyalgia. In one survey, sleep problems were experienced by 81% of people with fibromyalgia, compared with only 32% of adults without fibromyalgia. Another study comparing sleep problems in over 2,100 people with fibromyalgia, compared to adults in...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    How can lack of sleep increase pain?
    Poor sleep lowers your pain threshold, both making you more sensitive to pain and making your pain more intense. It's easy to see how not sleeping and feeling a bit crabby can make you tolerate your pain less well. But there's more to it than that. Sleep seems to directly affect how the brain...  Full Post
  • Dawn Marcus
    Dawn Marcus answered:
    How much sleep do I need?
    Sleep needs change over a lifetime. You often hear people say that the older you get, the less sleep you need. That's only true when you're a child. Once you become an adult, you continue to need 7-8 hours of sleep each night -- even as you grow older.  Full Post