Thursday, February 7, 2013

Fibromyalgia

(Artwork By Kelly Watts 2013)

Hello again lovely people unfortunately suffering with Fibromyalgia and/or other Chronic Illnesses.
 
Yesterday I began sharing with you my journey with pain which started off with joint pain later diagnosed as Hypermobility of my Joints.
 
Today I will share with you some of my journey with Fibromyalgia, but first the definition and a little explaination as to how it effects the body;

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues.
Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety.


Here is an image showing the 18 trigger points on the body in people who suffer from FM;
 
I am affected in all 18 points.  It is difficult to describe the pain involved with FM, it is a radiating pain at times that travels up and down my arms, neck, back and legs. Other days it is a pain so deep it goes into my bones ( and nothing so far has been able to relieve me when it does that).


There is a strange fatigue that often accompanies FM, a weakness would better describe it.  Things like walking up and down stairs, or simple grooming, getting changed, putting groceries away and/or simply going for a small walk all seem like difficult tasks to accomplish.  Some days I am able to hold a book to read and other days I do not have the strength to even do this. (My husband has bought me a Kobo E-reader so that when I am lying down I do not have to hold onto a book but merely prop it up so that I can read). 

The fatigue is usually called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; 

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a condition that causes extreme tiredness. People with CFS have debilitating fatigue that lasts for six months or longer. They also have many other symptoms. Some of these are pain in the joints and muscles, headache, and sore throat. CFS does not have a known cause, but appears to result from a combination of factors.

As with Fibromyalgia, there is no known cure for CFS.

Doctors like to treat the symptoms of both with medications. 

I have been down that road with Effexor, Vioxx, Celebrex, Baclofen, Tremodol, Lyrica... my conclusion... the side effects were worse than the pain, although the pain is bad that is for certain, the side effects were horrible.

I am in the process of weaning myself off of Effexor (which is a slow, slow process) and weaning myself off of the other medications... well, some of them such as Baclofen and Lyrica were a nightmare!

When I was diagnosed (officially) in 2010 by a Rheumatoid Specialist with FM and CFS I was at a very desperate point, the pain was so bad all I wanted was a magic pill to take it all away.  This never happened.  In fact, as stated earlier, there is no known cure for either and Doctors can only treat the symptoms, which means they will work with the greatest symptom first and subscribe a pill for each symptom.  It is an endless process I have found.

Since being diagnosed I have done everything in my power to research these Chronic Illnesses trying to find anything and everything that I could change in my life to alleviate the symptoms even if I had to change my life upside down to do it! 

I looked up all the food irritants that were natural inflammatories and slowly worked to cut them out of my diet (Diet Pop, Any pop, Peppers, Starches such as potatoes and corn, rice and pasta, I limited my red meats and stayed away from sugars both natural and artifical sweeteners)  I went gluten free for awhile and decided to try colonics through a natural path.  All these things helped but the pain was still there. 

Now I am trying 'Juicing' and have been doing so for just over a month.  Three times a day I juice vegetables and once every few days I juice fruits such as apples, mangos and pineapples.  This has not taken my pain away but it has helped my body feel healthier in general.  And, bonus, I have lost 10-12 pounds (it fluctuates).  At first I only did the juicing and found after around 20 days my body needed more so I added some whole foods with natural proteins such as whole Greek yoghurt, kalamato olives, almonds, pumkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, home made hummus, beans, almond butter and apples.  Again, the pain is still there but my energy level has increased and I feel healthier overall.  I also pay attention to my caffeine intake, I should not have any but I limit myself to one tea per day. (Hey, you have to have something to look forward to right?)

Exercise... when I am feeling well enough to do it I will get on my treadmill for 15 -30 minutes.  It is important for overall health and is known to really help FM although it is difficult to get to this point.  In 2010 I joined the Chronic Pain Clinic in my town and the Kinesiologist/Physiotherapist started me on a walking program at 15 minutes per day.  I continued this until I was at 50 minutes per day (gradually increasing your minutes 3 at a time every three days)... the only problem is that no one taught me to stretch and I ended up pulling a hamstring and this set me back 21/2 months.  I learned at this point that it takes longer for someone with FM to heal than it does the average person.  The exercise felt really good and I was looking forward to it everday but my legs, thighs, hips and back ached at night so this is when they added the Baclofen to my Lyrica along with all the other meds.  On medication I could exercise that was the good thing, off meds it is not as easy.  I am taking it one step at a time but this time I am trying to go naturally and I know the importance of stretching now! 

As I begin to post more on this subject I will also post things that I have found helpful, share the things I have learned and hopefully get others to share their stories.  I really want to work together with everyone to have the best lives that we can possibly live because each day is a struggle but I know that 'With God all things are possible'. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Kelly Watts

 

2 comments:

  1. Oh Kelly, you have no idea how happy I am to have found your blogs. Praise God!! I am going to send you a long email (be ready!!) but just know I will be checking this blog for updates from now on.

    I really feel God brought me to your blog.

    Much love x

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  2. Aussiemaven;
    I am looking forward to receiving your email! You have made me so happy. This is what I am starting this blog for - to SUPPORT each other! Yay.
    Many hugs and blessings
    God definitely brought you here for a reason!
    Kelly

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