At this point, I no longer have fibromyalgia symptoms and haven't for a while.
I attribute that to... well, not any one thing because I'm usually doing more than one thing to improve my heath, and it usually takes more than one thing to do just that.
In my case, I (finally!) gave up diet soda and anything else with nutrasweet in it, and went on a gluten free diet, both about 2 years ago. Since then I also resumed acupuncture, have done chi gung, sometimes more consistently than others, and I walk 30-50 minutes a day, 6 days a week.
I haven't had symptoms in a long time, aside from unrelated tendinitis in my right shoulder. That i am dealing with via physical therapy.
However, a friend of mine just got diagnosed with fibro so I was giving her some advice and was looking for some links on the web so she could do a little reading, and I found this great site with lots of good info all in one place. So I figured hey I'll share with on my blog. Not uncommon for people with lupus to also suffer from fibro. Here ya go:
http://www.basic-keys-to-natural-health.com/all-natural-cure.html
One last note- If i want my fibro to recur, all I have to do is go jogging. Why, I don't know, but that is my experience.
Well wishes!
Showing posts with label fibromyalgia relief. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fibromyalgia relief. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Totally sold on PT
For those of you who follow my blog, you know I've been dealing with chronic pain in my upper body for 18 years. I (and my doctors) blamed it on lupus and fibromyalgia. But then all the other pain went away (after I changed my diet, got acupuncture, and did qigong daily). And the pain in my right shoulder remained, and it was driving me crazy, keeping me up all night, and so relentless that no pain medication of any kind worked on it any longer- not advil, not aleve, not heating pads, not icy hot, not even vicodin or percocet. Not even 2 percocet at once. So, finally, I went to the urgent care clinic and tried to get a diagnosis. An MRI and 2 XRays later, we now know I have a tumor in my arm, which is probably benign (we're watching it for the next year or so), but the real problem is tendonitis and an impingement, both of which have responded really well to physical therapy. PT was my idea, by the way, not my doctor's. I had to ask for a prescription, but thankfully, he was happy to write a Rx and it has worked like a charm. I have been pain-free for about 4 weeks- I haven't taken anything at all for pain.
A couple words of advice on PT- like doctors, they are not all the same. Ask around to your friends for a good, effective PT, and see if you can get into a sports medicine clinic. Those folks are completely focused on getting you back to doing what you were doing before.
Well wishes and happy trails.
Carla
http://www.thesingingpatient.com
A couple words of advice on PT- like doctors, they are not all the same. Ask around to your friends for a good, effective PT, and see if you can get into a sports medicine clinic. Those folks are completely focused on getting you back to doing what you were doing before.
Well wishes and happy trails.
Carla
http://www.thesingingpatient.com
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Fibro What? The other F word
During and between the 3 lupus flares I’ve had, one constant has been my companion- fibromyalgia. After the big scares have all passed- my kidneys are no longer failing, I’ve recovered from the stroke, the neuropathy has subsided, I can eat, the fever is gone, etc.- the pain is still there. But I find that the fibro pain doesn’t seem to register with my doctors, because it’s not measurable on a blood test or an X-ray. So over these 16 years of dealing with both lupus and fibro, I’ve been pretty much on my own in dealing with the fibro. I’m sure I’m not alone in my feeling alone.
I have tried so many things to remedy the fatigue, the tightness and pain in my upper back magnify when I lie down and keep me awake at night, the tenderness in my arms, and general irritability.
I tried chiropractic, acupunture, diet change, chi gong, stretching, ignoring and denying, popping lots of advil, massage, capsacum patches, icy hot, heating pad, gentle exercise, not-so-gentle exercise, miscellaneous detoxification methods, stress reduction, meditation, journalling, and staying educated. For me, I’d say the least effective of these techniques has been ignoring and denying, though for some reason I hung onto that one the longest. The most effective? Acupuncture, chi gong, detox (taking greens, using foot detox pads, milk thistle, filtered water, eating lots of fruits and veggies), stress management (such as writing a list of things I’m grateful for on a regular basis, setting realistic goals, and disengaging from people who aggravate me; I also take rescue remedy, a flower essence)), getting enough rest, diet change (getting rid of junk food and diet soda), and having fun. Laughing and smiling releases endorphins, which are our body’s natural pain killers.
Which brings me to one of my favorite therapies- songwriting. In 2002, during the worst of my health problems, I started writing ridiculous songs about my situation. It all started when I was doing the 24-hour urine collection test, where you have to pee in a jug for 24 hours then bring your big jug of pee in to the doctor the next morning. At the time, I was trying to work my way up to being able to play the guitar again (I had had a stroke), and was playing the ukelele. The first song in the uke book was the old folk song “little brown jug.” Back and forth between the frequent bathroom trips (I was on diuretics) and the ukelele, well of course my first parody was called “Little brown jug, about peeing in a jug.”
After this little breakthrough, I spent hours writing every day and brought my song idea notebook to every doctor appointment. Whenever I was left sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours or longer, I’d just sit there and work on my songs. Now instead of it being an indignity, it was an opportunity. And now, not only was I able to laugh about my situation, using humor helped me gain perspective and take back some control. If someone was especially rude to me, but I was in no position to fight back because they were the only doctor in town who took my medical insurance, then I’d wait ‘til I got home and write a song about them (and not usually a very nice one- but in my songwriting and journaling life, I can say anything I want).
[hear the songs: http://www.thesingingpatient.com]
While we can’t control our situation, or the actions of others, or even our bodily functions at times, the one thing we have control over is our response to any given situation. And in the end, that’s the most empowering thing of all. It is our choice whether this “thing” we’ve been given is a horrible burden, or even a gift that helps us to slow down and appreciate things around us that we never noticed when we were moving faster.
I have tried so many things to remedy the fatigue, the tightness and pain in my upper back magnify when I lie down and keep me awake at night, the tenderness in my arms, and general irritability.
I tried chiropractic, acupunture, diet change, chi gong, stretching, ignoring and denying, popping lots of advil, massage, capsacum patches, icy hot, heating pad, gentle exercise, not-so-gentle exercise, miscellaneous detoxification methods, stress reduction, meditation, journalling, and staying educated. For me, I’d say the least effective of these techniques has been ignoring and denying, though for some reason I hung onto that one the longest. The most effective? Acupuncture, chi gong, detox (taking greens, using foot detox pads, milk thistle, filtered water, eating lots of fruits and veggies), stress management (such as writing a list of things I’m grateful for on a regular basis, setting realistic goals, and disengaging from people who aggravate me; I also take rescue remedy, a flower essence)), getting enough rest, diet change (getting rid of junk food and diet soda), and having fun. Laughing and smiling releases endorphins, which are our body’s natural pain killers.
Which brings me to one of my favorite therapies- songwriting. In 2002, during the worst of my health problems, I started writing ridiculous songs about my situation. It all started when I was doing the 24-hour urine collection test, where you have to pee in a jug for 24 hours then bring your big jug of pee in to the doctor the next morning. At the time, I was trying to work my way up to being able to play the guitar again (I had had a stroke), and was playing the ukelele. The first song in the uke book was the old folk song “little brown jug.” Back and forth between the frequent bathroom trips (I was on diuretics) and the ukelele, well of course my first parody was called “Little brown jug, about peeing in a jug.”
After this little breakthrough, I spent hours writing every day and brought my song idea notebook to every doctor appointment. Whenever I was left sitting in the waiting room for 2 hours or longer, I’d just sit there and work on my songs. Now instead of it being an indignity, it was an opportunity. And now, not only was I able to laugh about my situation, using humor helped me gain perspective and take back some control. If someone was especially rude to me, but I was in no position to fight back because they were the only doctor in town who took my medical insurance, then I’d wait ‘til I got home and write a song about them (and not usually a very nice one- but in my songwriting and journaling life, I can say anything I want).
[hear the songs: http://www.thesingingpatient.com]
While we can’t control our situation, or the actions of others, or even our bodily functions at times, the one thing we have control over is our response to any given situation. And in the end, that’s the most empowering thing of all. It is our choice whether this “thing” we’ve been given is a horrible burden, or even a gift that helps us to slow down and appreciate things around us that we never noticed when we were moving faster.
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