OVERCOMING FIBROMYALGIA: A PERSONAL JOURNEY
In October of 1995 I woke up to the fact that I did not feel well at all. It was as if I had just walked five miles and was coming down with the flu. I ached all over, was fatigued in the extreme, and sleeping poorly. Rolling over in bed hurt, both moving and holding still. Besides that I had carpel tunnel problems in both hands. I had already had persistent diarrhea for the past year, and that seemed no better either. I noticed edema gathering in my legs and lumps in my arms. I had a painful lump on my sternum, gurgling noises in the area of my liver, and low level long-lasting headaches that did not respond to anything. My hands and feet hurt so much! I could barely walk in the mornings, couldn’t unscrew a jar lid or brush my hair. My teeth hurt and my gums bled easily. There was a swelling around my thyroid gland in my throat. Then a persistent flash began in my left eye, and I had periods of total loss of circulation in my hands and feet fifteen or twenty times a day (Raynaud’s disease). A saliva test showed my adrenal output to be abnormally flat, and my platelet count was very low, but there were no other significant health abnormalities. I was easily injured doing small tasks, so that even petting the dog was painful. I couldn’t do very much house or yard work. For all of these symptoms there was “no known cause, no known cure, and no known medication.” The doctor offered me a prescription for an antidepressant, which I refused. In a nice way, she told me to “learn to live with it” and gave me a pamphlet about Fibromyalgia recommending rest, a good diet and exercise. I had bad reactions to most medications already. I was approaching menopause, but had rarely been sick and seldom missed work. I didn’t look different, so my family and co-workers did not lower their expectations one bit. They were just as disappointed in me now as I was. This was all new to me.
I tried to “live with it” but by the end of January of 1996 I was mad enough to do my own research. I found out that the human body has about a year’s worth of stored vitamins and minerals, enough to get a person through a famine, war, pregnancy, or serious illness. After more than a year of diarrhea following an antibiotic, I had used up all my reserves! I also learned that the lymph system carries away 6% of waste matter, but with no pump. I had to move muscles to do that. Stiffness with illness is the lymph working overtime. I needed to improve my sedentary lifestyle, even though I hated exercise as a waste of energy. I learned that the Fascia is a membrane layer just below the skin, all over the body, which ought to be loose and supple, but through poor nutrition and hydration, can become adhered in just about anyplace, causing searing pain when moved forcibly. Another membranous sac encloses the brain and spinal column. Separate from each other, yet interdependent, both require plenty of fluid and nutrition. And in my studies, whatever symptom I started to try to understand by studying how that body system ought to work, I was always brought back to how essential are vitamins and minerals. How complicated is the human organism! In my vision, my “body manager” was a little short of what is needed, so one day the muscles didn’t get enough, and another day the bones, and so on. I compared it to times when I didn’t have enough money in the bank to pay the bills, so one month I paid the phone bill and the next electric, and I always shorted the charge cards, where the debt continued to rise. I searched the Internet too. But I couldn’t find anyone who overcame Fibromyalgia!
Insight: Nature provides all we need through food, our incoming energy. Our bodies work best when they are used moderately but consistently. Mind, body, and spirit are a unit, and all these energies must work together. I would have to do everything to take care of myself, all at the same time. From February of 1996 through the present date of February of 2000, my health has continually improved, and I no longer have any symptoms of Fibromyalgia. I continued to work full time until recently. Now I take no supplements or medications but I eat well and drink plenty of good water. I wouldn’t wish this condition on anyone, but I am grateful for all the knowledge and insight it has brought me to, for the love and support of friends and family, and for my ever increasing appreciation of the marvelous gift of life itself. May you be so blessed with health of mind, body, and spirit.
FIBROMYALGIA: Summary of what worked for me, over four year’s time.
I assume personal responsibility for every aspect of my health, including seeking and following professional medical advice, as needed. Like most FM sufferers, I am a Type A busy bee! FMS is “Forgive My Sins” for being too busy to pay attention to my own body’s needs. I began by my improving my diet, and trying the very mildest amount of exercise. (If you are taking any kind of drugs or supplements, continue them, and if you decide to withdraw from them, do so only with professional supervision.)
EXERCISE: Twenty minutes daily of stretching, to music (movements while standing, sitting, lying down, self-message including the skull). Daily 30 minutes or more of one of the following: exercycle, walking, or dancing free form to music. End with meditation or imaging, “seeing” around the inside of my body. I made my own tapes. Aerobic classes proved too strenuous. I began with 5 minute sessions, worked up. I tried Tai Chi, Yoga, Qi Dong, and ended up with a personal hodge podge set to my favorite music. I get 15 minutes a day of daylight, into my eyes, even if it is overcast.
DIET: A gallon a day of purified or distilled water. Use it also for making tea or diluting juice. (Headaches are an indicator of dehydration.) Include a variety of foods I like, raw, or cooked myself (no prepared, canned, or fast foods, no caffeine). Eat a large salad daily. Use best grade olive oil (flax oil is even better) on bread, salads, etc. to help my body metabolize vitamins and minerals. Use spices for flavor and healthful benefits, esp. garlic and cumin. Use sea salt, which is potassium chloride, instead of sodium chloride (tastes the same). Sit at the table while I eat, and thank God for the incoming energy. (Diarrhea and muscle weaknesses indicate sensitivities.) Four piles on my plate: 4 oz protein, salad, vegetables, starch. (Sugar, wheat, and milk products are implicated in 90% of food sensitivities. Chemical substitutes will not benefit the body.) Dr. Dick Thom, a naturopath in Beaverton, helped me with restoring the health of my digestive tract.
ELIMINATE OR AVOID DRUG OR FOOD SENSITIVITIES: also eliminate any unnecessary chemicals from life, including hair spray, deoderant, most makeup, cremes, cleansers. Read the labels of everything before I buy/use it. Showering too often removes valuable skin oil I need to metabolize Vit. D. I had a professional evaluation as I did not even know what my sensitivities were. A naturopath can do a saliva or blood test to determine them. NAET is an allergy elimination treatment program that really benefited me, through Oregon City Wellness Clinic. I worked with Dr. Janet Thompson, a chiropractor. (Look up NAET on web for practitioners.) I learned that persons with Raynaud’s should not take any aspirin products.
REDUCE STRESS: I learned to only worry about what I am really able to do something about. I delegate and then don’t watch! Drive during off peak hours, take slower routes that are less stressful. Get out of commitments, knowing they could do it without me if I were dead. Take longer showers. Get a massage weekly if possible. I like aromatherapy and reflexology (foot massage) too. I removed all electrical items from my bedroom, except a clock and a lamp. Turned off the phone ringer. My head is to the west, my feet to the east (most restful position in Asian viewpoint). And the door shuts out our pets.
IMAGING: I listen to music, create a peaceful imaginary place, and “go there”. It’s grown quite detailed, and comes back whenever I hear that music. The Well Being Journal by Lucia Capacchione was very helpful, teaching me to draw pictures of my insides, helping me visualize and reflect on my past and current health.
MENTAL WORK: I am the god of a small universe of billions of living things! I must be benevolent, taking in energy (food, sex, emotions, activities, exercise, prayer) and listening to the body talking back to ME. It doesn’t speak English. I must listen to its sign language and believe it. No one knows my universe except me. Face the emotional problems of my youth: if I remember them, they still effect me. Stay connected to relatives and friends, do some community service, and don’t whine. Do talk to people who can help me in specific ways.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION: There are lots of ways. I choose a time, a place, and a method, that appeals to me. Minimum: I just sit quietly for 10 minutes. Breathe four breathes and listen to the world around me. Breathe four breathes and pay attention to my bodily feelings, but do nothing about it. A thousand monkeys will chatter in my head… music or a repetitive verse or prayer stops it. Visualize a white light filling me up. If I lie down for this, I may fall asleep, and that’s OK. ( The Best Guide to Meditation is an overview with lots of ideas). I keep a Spirit Journal for my insights. I read the Psalms (one or two a day) and underline everything said about health. I am in touch with the whole universe!
RECORD KEEPING: I keep my own health log for lots of reasons. If I write down everything I eat, and I will soon be very aware when I am off-track. (I no longer do this in detail unless I am experiencing some problem.) I am able to figure out what I ate or did which provoked problems. I created a key as a shortcut method of recording. (A=20 min. stretch. B=30 min exercise, etc.). I created my own “pain meter” and rate each day from 0 to 10, so I would know that I do have better days. I have data for professional health care people I consult. I look back and see progress and am encouraged to keep on. I use a Cambridge Action Planner notebook from the grocery store, a page a week, with a key at the front for what I do for myself, and a list of symptoms from my worst time reminds me how good I feel now!
Look for the cause of your FMS at least a year prior to your symptoms being especially noticeable. I had an auto accident, family stress, a bout with Shigellosis and antibiotic treatments in the year before the diagnosis. These events depleted my reserves and destroyed my ability to absorb nutrients, and I made it worse by eating poorly and doing too little. There IS a cause. There is hope for a cure, but it will not arrive in a drug form. There is NO SHORTCUT to restored health. It’s is a lot of hard work and self-discipline. Better health IS worth the effort.
In 2005 I have no symptoms that I can call Fibromyalgia. Please contact me if you have further questions. Peace to you.
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