MEL KIPER, JR. AND FIBROMYALGIA

What to these two things have to do with one another?

Nothing. I just kind of had both of them on my mind.

Remember the Dos Equis beer ads about the "most interesting man in the world?" They were kind of silly but they did sort of raise the question "what kind of guy would it be fun to spend time with?" Since ESPN has started to use Mel as more than a Draftnik, it's pretty clear that Mel Should be doing the Dos Equis thing. The guy can talk in an informed fashion about ANYTHING.

In one recent sequence, he went from the impact of Johann Santana's deal on MLB salary structure (keep in mind, he's FOOTBALL expert) to the hispanic preference for Hillary Clinton (keep in mind, by his own admission, he lives in the basement of his house in Maryland and doesn't get out much) to the political influence of banking lobbyists on the credit card market, to a discussion how the banking industry fails to use automation to save money for itself and consumers, to a very sensitive discussion of Social anxiety disorder. This is clearly not a guy who is limited 40 times, vertical leaps and bench totals. If ESPN won't give us more Mel, then one of the presidential candidates should nominate him for Vice President.

*****

We all know fibromyalgia sufferers. They're everywhere and they're hurting. We all see it, every day.

Still, the medical profession (generally, as a body) is almost nowhere on this condition. There is currently no agreement as to diagnostic criteria. There is not even any agreement as to whether the thing exists. A very good friend of mine is a prominent neurologist in another state. She is one of the most empathetic people I know. Still, her position on f/m is "There is no disease or condition that can be diagnosed by the absence of any other disease, observable symptom or condition."

Now there is a medicine out solely for f/m. That's interesting. The Doctors don't agree as to whether the thing exists but the drug companies have come out with a drug for it. Huh?

I wonder, if more guys had this and it wasn't viewed as a "woman's problem," if there would be more unanimity about it being a problem and, thus, more solutions and diagnostic criteria. It's really not arguable medicine has been a little slower to the mark on "women's problems" than on male or gender-neutral problems.

I'm sure there's much about this I don't understand and I quickly concede that there are many sympathetic, evolved Docs giving serious relief to f/m sufferers. Still, it seems like a systemic problem to me and I hope more progress can be made to aid the sufferers.