Discover a structured Fibromyalgia protocol to manage symptoms effectively, including treatment plans, therapies, and lifestyle strategies for improved quality of life.
Today, I stepped back into a place I haven’t visited in a long time……One year to the day to be exact since I last ventured anywhere close. It wasn’t intentional or deliberate to visit on this day, it just kind of happened. It felt like taking a trip down memory lane. I was curious and I suppose I wanted to see if everything was still the same. Truth be told, it was and it wasn’t.
The surroundings were familiar enough, nothing much had changed but in a sense, everything had changed. I had changed. That seemed to make all the difference.
My last post here was on 3rd October 2018. 12 whole months since I had reached out to my fellow warriors with love and support. 365 days, that I haven’t had the confidence to write from the heart and reach out. 52 weeks of being in the wilderness and feeling disconnected from everything and everyone.
The truth is that I was struggling so bad myself that I felt that I had nothing to give you. How could I make things fantastic for those who came to get support and guidance? I couldn’t even help myself. So, I retreated. I let life happen to me whilst all the time trying desperately to distance myself from the mental and physical pain I was battling against.
One of my coping strategies, the love of writing fell by the wayside, and once that happened my outlet for expression went too. I bottled everything up inside, giving the appearance all was well in my world, whilst the reality was far from good.
All of my words of wisdom had dried up and I was just another chronic pain warrior, battling through each day with nothing new to share. No advice to give and no words of comfort.
As I logged on today, I read my last blog post and replayed over and over the video clip that I had attached to the post. It was then and still is today an incredibly powerful version of “This Is Me” from the film The Greatest Showman. As I listened, the words
“Another round of bullets hits my skin Well, fire away ’cause today, I won’t let the shame sink in.”
resonated so deep within me that I could have easily sunk to the ground with emotion. I had let shame get the better of me. I was ashamed to really share the struggle…..if I wasn’t Fibro Fantastic then I thought I had nothing anybody would want to hear.
But, recently I have been working so hard on authenticity.
Coming to terms with who I am, who I always was, and who I have become. Acknowledging that if people can’t deal with the real me, then there is no point in having them in my life. I wanted to send the imposter away and take the real Tracey by the hand and bring her out of hiding.
As I played the video clip Keala Settle’s voice wracked with emotion was like a light going on. It felt as though now, this was my anthem. My mantra. My shout out to the world that I make no apologies. – This is me!!
I am brave, I am bruised I am who I’m meant to be, this is me Look out ’cause here I come And I’m marching on to the beat I drum I’m not scared to be seen I make no apologies, this is me
To share my words and feelings from my heart feels like a huge release. I need an outlet for my journey, the one that has both physical and mental pain as passengers. It has been here all along – my blog, my corner of the virtual world. A place where people stand together, as members of an invisible club, where only we understand the rules.
Going forward, I don’t know the direction Fibro Fantastic Wellness Coaching will take, but I do know this will be as much about me as it is about you. I can’t help you if I can’t help me. So, for now, I feel that the blog will take on more of a journey feel. Letting you into my new world of struggle, despair, the battles, the highs, and the lows.
I am still Tracey the Wellness Coach, but I am also Tracey the fighter who is vulnerable and scared of the future, just like the rest of you. But I am home and for now, I will take that!
There is a NEW cure for fibromyalgia plastered on FaceBook! Yep. They have done it! AGAIN! Another cure for us fibro sufferers, for crying out loud! It is about time!!! (Really?) Well, let’s talk about this…
Ok. There is a blood test called the FM/a to diagnose fibromyalgia. This is real. Your insurance, whatever that may be, will cover the cost of this blood test.
What does the FM/a test for? (Researcher-speak) This is a multi-biomarker-based test that analyzes your immune systems’ white blood cells’ chemokine and cytokine patterns. People with fibro have an irregular pattern regarding these proteins.
What does the FM/a test for?(Kim-speak) This test measures the proteins in your body that increase when you are ill. These proteins increase your white blood cell count considerably to fight the likes of the flu, mono, infection, etc… These measurements should prove to be erratic if you have fibromyalgia.
(Kim-speak) Do not rule out being tested for the FM/a test, just don’t be firstin case it’s a deciding factor in the treatment you are allowed to receive! (This is not a one-size-fits-all illness!)
The result in this proposed theory will be a cure for the incurable… AND (drumroll!) they have the ONLY cure!
Just what is this cure? It is the TB vaccine. Period. Will this work? I haven’t researched one case where it has worked. I have not studied one case where it has caused any harm. Go ahead and research the TB vaccine and see if you think it may hold promise for your ‘type’ of fibromyalgia. Go ahead and get the TB vaccine if you think it might work. Just ask your doctor to administer the TB vaccine. The cost is low, the vaccine is available. There is no need for such a cryptic message of a wonderous ‘cure!’I trust YOU to make the best decision for YOU!
You’re (probably) just meeting me and here I am talking about my weight. Well let me tell you, it’s a tough topic for me like I’m sure it is for 95% of the women out there.
But I also know it is something we women dedicate a lot of emotional time and energy to. So I’ve decided to put aside my personal discomfort in favor of sharing my experience with a Fibromyalgia Diet.
I can tell you right now this is not a “Get FitQuick” story. Or even a “Get Fit Easy” story. It takes a lot of dedication to change your life, but it is so worth it.
It started in 2007 when I decided I needed to get in shape. I lovingly carried around the Freshman 15 (plus a few more) for several years. Holy smokes were I tired of it!
At the time, I still thought Fibromyalgia was maybe a mental disorder, and running for miles a day was completely doable. It took a few years, but I dropped about 55-60 pounds and was loving life. Then 2013 came around and Fibromyalgia dumped a load of fatigue, pain, and migraines on me that completely stopped my physical activity. Oh, and ushered me into the deadly territory known as comfort eating.
All my hard work went out the door before I could get up, walk over to it, and stop the exodus.
It didn’t help that I met my (now) husband a few months after getting sick. And we all know what happiness and dinner dates do to the waist-line!
I can genuinely say I haven’t been happy with my weight since then. And my decrease in activity level has been a hard pill to swallow. Especially when I really thrived on being able to hop on my bike and go.
Although I don’t have proof, I’d pretty much promise you that a number of my health issues in the ensuing years can be laid at the feet of the Standard American Diet (SAD) and lack of exercise.
In 2018, a friend recommended a Functional Medicine Doctor (FMD) to me. It was one of the various treatment options I hadn’t yet explored. Considering I had seen upwards of 20+ doctors at this point, my husband and I both figured it was about time to consider it.
Dr. Scotting, my FMD, was amazingly knowledgeable about my illnesses, my symptoms, my medications, and how they were interacting. With a little blood work, we started down the path of getting my system to settle down – the first step: start a supplement regimen.
This was tailored specifically to my needs and was a great way to take care of the ‘low hanging fruit’, so to speak, of my health issues. For example, thanks to a sensitivity to sunlight and heat, I had REALLY LOW Vitamin D levels.
We got a few other issues ironed out and then we moved on to the secondstep: fix eating habits.
Stay up to date!
All the latest news, tips, and tricks, for when life gets curvy!
“Time to make some changes,” he said. (Or something very similar)
It helped that I knew it was coming. I’d tried diet changes before, but never long-term or with any particular success. As a matter of fact, I was strangely excited to give it a shot since I knew I was going into it with his help. There was also the peer pressure factor. He was telling me how to help myself and I didn’t want to roll back into his office a few weeks later and tell him, “Thanks for the advice I paid for, Doc, but I didn’t take any of it.”
One hour later, he handed me a whopping list of gut irritants and inflammatory food, walked me through the process, and sent me out into the world.
Unlike a lot of ‘diets’ I’ve tried throughout my life, this one was aimed at Fibro and not at weight loss. And for me, that was a really important distinction.
I focused on how my diet was making my various illnesses worse instead of how I was overweight.
Honestly, going into this lifestyle change was surprisingly easy. Especially considering how many of my favorites I was going to have to give up for a little while at least, and forever at worst.
I had the support of my husband and FMD, the right mindset, and a trash box of non-compliant foods that I couldn’t even lift. Even though the next few months were going to test my resolve and mental health in ways I wasn’t prepared for, at least I had my mindset straight.
The first thing to note is that this was less of a ‘diet’, in the traditional sense, and more of a lifestyle change. Every time I felt like eating something that was out of bounds, I wondered if it would be the thing that brought my migraines back. Or ramped up my IBS symptoms. Or made my legs hurt like the flu on steroids.
I wasn’t counting calories or macros. Instead, I was considering how my decisions would impact how I felt physically and mentally.
It was because of this mindset that I gave up the following food groups for a minimum of 3 months:
The adjustment period was tremendous but made easier by the fact that I had decided to go all-in and was excited by the possibility of change. In less than 2 weeks I was down 10 pounds and eating to my heart’s content!
Here’s the theory behind this eating method: cut out all inflammatory foods and give your gut and system enough time to rest. Most people remain on the ‘strict compliance’ phase for 2 months minimum, or until they see a dramatic reduction in their symptoms.
Once your symptoms subside, you gradually work food back in, one at a time, monitoring for a reaction. If you react in any way, then do not continue to eat that food. You might choose to wait another 6 months or so before trying to reintroduce it again. Or give it up entirely.
In the end, you have a list of foods that you should avoid or eat sparingly. And best of all, symptoms that have lessened or disappeared entirely!
Full disclosure, it wasn’t always cheap or easy to do this diet.
Organic produce is more expensive. Grass-fed meat is more expensive. Sugar-free, gluten-free, etc is all more expensive.
And more than once I was tired and overwhelmed when it came time to cook for dinner and broke down crying. Bless the Lord for my husband who jumped in with a pan-seared chicken breast and AIP-approved seasoning to keep me on track and feed me!
I didn’t realize it in those early days, but there is actually a food service that provides compliant meals, sides, and desserts that deliver!
If you’ve never heard of Paleo on the Go, it’s worth looking into. It’s definitely more than just Paleo and the slightly higher price tag is, in my opinion, worth it.
Because honestly, the overwhelm is real when you begin. If I would have known there was something like this available, I would have jumped on it and never looked back!
Also, when you’re dying for something easy or delicious (that you didn’t have to throw together), their AIP bakery is AMAZING! I’ve tried some of their cookies and they are the. best. thing. ever.
I won’t be dishonest and say this Fibromyalgia diet fixes everything. And I certainly can’t say that I didn’t spend a lot of time stressed or crying because I was too tired to think about what I could eat, much less cook it. But I’m also able to see some shining moments.
I spent an absolute ton of time Googling “Fibromyalgia diet recipes” or “AIP Recipes” and found some excellent options. I love cooking so it really helps to find ‘real food’ recipes so I don’t get bored. And I nurture my family’s love of asparagus and Brussel sprouts to our hearts’ content!
And I weighed myself more than recommended because I’m slightly neurotic about seeing the scale drop. As a matter of fact, it dropped steadily with zero weight loss effort from me. And continues to do so!
Best of all, I had some remarkable wins in the symptom departments:
3-5x weekly migraines dropped to 1 every 2 weeks (or so)
I saw less decrease in symptoms than others ( which I try my hardest not to compare to)
I went through about a month-long period where my hair fell out a little more rapidly. FMD said it was because my hormones were regulating. It did eventually stop.
Increase in anxiety/spending too much time worrying about eating
Despite these negatives, I would choose to do it all over again. Absolutely some of that enthusiasm is related to dropping weight. I hope to continue doing so. But it’s life-changing to know I have more control over my health.
After all, isn’t that one of the things chronicillness tries to take from us? But this time I fought back and I’m pretty sure I won.
Stay up to date!
All the latest news, tips, and tricks, for when life gets curvy!
Our journeys with Fibromyalgia are often long and very lonely.
It is difficult it seems for our loved ones, friends, and colleagues to contemplate ever feeling so awful and wracked with pain when in most cases you look surprisingly well. Doctors, if you get a sympathetic one, are busy and how do you pour your heart out in just a few minutes assigned to each patient? Finding your Fibromyalgia support network isn’t always easy.
At times, I think it is the loneliness that I find the hardest to deal with. The holding inside of the things that scare me and my sheer frustrations of having a condition that nobody, including some medical professionals, has no comprehension of. Add to that the feelings of guilt at not always being able to function the same as everybody else and it all makes for some pretty grim days.
So just where do those suffering with Fibromyalgia and other chronic conditions get their support if not from those closest to us?
A simple search on google reveals plenty of groups and communities but do they really offer the kind of Fibromyalgia support you are looking for? I know that for me when I was first diagnosed, I looked to the internet for some guidance and was desperate for somebody that just understood.
Sadly in those days, I found plenty of sites but the reality was that there seemed to be some huge pity party going on and that really wasn’t me. Don’t get me wrong, I can do feel sorry for myself with the best of them but truth is, I have Fibromyalgia but it was never going to have me. So I plodded on alone for pretty much 25 years with no real, tangible support. I have an amazing husband who constantly tells me to rest and who takes care of me very well but after all these years, he still just doesn’t get it but he loves me anyway.
When I decided to put my experience to good use and start the blog, I was determined that I was going to offer positive Fibromyalgia support and advice to my fellow sufferers. I wanted to empower and show that despite us having a condition that can take over our bodies from time to time, we could still function and with some determination lead a pretty normal life.
Well now, having had a good look around, it seems things have moved on in the past 28 years.
There are groups of Fibro Warriors who use their personal knowledge of the condition to motivate and support others in the same situation. I have come across Facebook groups where the love contained on the page is almost tangible. It is uplifting seeing people sharing their experiences of Fibromyalgia with the one constant of supporting one another and offering advice to those who are unsure or confused about their condition.
I am passionate about getting the Fibro message out there, but more importantly, I want to stand alongside fellow sufferers as they navigate their Fibromyalgia journey. I have 28 years of experience with this condition and can take the guesswork away from you when you are looking for answers.
Facebook allows us to come together to support one another and I have both a public pagebut probably more importantly I have the safe sanctuary of a closed group. The support fellow sufferers can give one another is invaluable, it is very hard for our family and friends to really comprehend what we deal with daily. You would be more than welcome to either the page or group.
Over the years it is true to say that on the days I have felt my worst I am invariably greeted with the words by somebody or another “you look really well”.
I have always kind of smiled at this, even joked about how crap I feel yet people think I look amazing. However, this week it really got to me and set me thinking about the realities of living with what is effectively an invisible illness. I remember once a doctor saying to me that I would probably be better off having a leg missing at least then people would know I was suffering – I am of course not suggesting that we all go out to have legs amputated but I kind of see his point.
I am guessing that for many of us suffering from Fibromyalgia, we look pretty normal, nothing really to distinguish us from the next person. Standing at the train station this morning, I am sure nobody looked at me and thought “Poor girl, look at the pain she is in”. However, in reality, my current flare-up is so bad I could cry.
I work, I socialize, I run home and I exercise (albeit slowly and gently with yoga), hey maybe I am luckier than most but the reality is the effects of Fibromyalgia are never far away. Sitting chatting yesterday, without thinking I tapped the biro onto my thigh and there it was, the familiar painful nudge reminding me of Fibros presence. On the outside looking in, nobody noticed, and had I have yelped out or grimaced who would have believed that a tap from a pen could evoke such a painful response. At best, I may have been labeled a wimp, at worst a hypochondriac.
In the early days before my diagnosis, my doctor had given the suggestion that I was maybe imagining it and would investigate this further. She concluded that I must have had some mental stress that could manifest as “imaginary pain”.
I knew that my pain and fatigue were very real but after being written off so many times, even I began to wonder.
I can imagine that for friends and family, it is as equally confusing when their husband, wife, mother, father, son, or daughter are tired and lethargic all the time, they are in constant pain, and yet there is nothing to show for it and they are tested by the doctors only for the tests to come back normal. What are they to think? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the frustrations and conflicting emotions on both sides.
Due to the nature of our condition, we are often left feeling lonely and vulnerable. Unless we have a very sympathetic doctor, then we may feel that we have no place to turn, nobody who can fully understand how it feels to look Warrior and yet feel wretched. Nobody can understand, no matter how well-intentioned or how much a person loves you, they will never grasp the reality of Fibromyalgia. That is why the Fibro community is so important.
So, the next time somebody tells you that you look great and so well, hold your head up and be proud.
Fibromyalgia is horrible and robs us of so much, but it can’t take our life or our will. We have to work hard to function as normally as we can and that takes strength and guts to get up every day and face the world in so much pain particularly knowing that nobody will probably even notice.
Cryotherapy is a treatment that uses freezing or near-freezing temperatures to attain specific results, namely pain reduction. The most popular thing right now is whole-body cryotherapy (WBC). WBC involves standing in a chamber called a cryo-chamber for anywhere from two to five minutes. While you are standing in this chamber, the temperature is taken down to a range between negative 100 and negative 140 degrees. You are virtually naked while you stand in a cryotherapy chamber.
Usually, the facility where the cryotherapy is performed will give you a pair of clean, thick socks (a nice alpaca blend) to wear, as well as thick slippers and thick industrial-strength winter gloves. For women, they can either wear underwear and a bra or they can stand in there completely naked. It is highly encouraged for men to keep their underwear on while cryotherapy is performed. For men, it is not recommended to stand in the buff unless they want their “bits” to get a little bit extra chilly (frostbit). A nice furry, fluffy robe is provided for you so you can get from the dressing room to the cryotherapy chamber.
You step up into this cryo chamber that has a door on the front that hinges open and close. Once you’re inside the chamber, the operator will close the door tight and only your head will stick out of the top. It doesn’t matter if you’re short or tall, just about everybody fits in a cryotherapy chamber. There are little mini foam platforms that are placed on the bottom for you to stand on. This makes the height completely adjustable so almost everybody fits.
Once you are inside you will notice that it is a little bit chilly. Surprisingly, it’s a different kind of cold than what you think it would be. You’ll then be locked into the chamber and the doors closed so you can take off your robe and toss it over the side to the staff member who is monitoring the controls.
The temperature when you enter the cryotherapy chamber is usually around 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on whether there was already someone in there prior to you, the temperature can be colder than that. So now that your robe is off, hold on tight because your three-minute journey is about to start. If you have any “bits” that you don’t feel like you want to have icicles grow from, I suggest holding on to them tight, because that is exactly what will happen if you don’t.
Now that you are officially ready to go, the cryotherapy practitioner will set the time and the temperature on the cryo–chamber. Generally, when you’re new to cryotherapy the operator will start you at a temperature around negative 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Once that is set, it triggers the nitrogen to release its gas that cools off the inside of the chamber. Cold, smoky steam will start billowing out of the top where your head sticks through and will make it hard to see. You can feel the cold air coming from the jets that are positioned in several different places throughout the inside of the chamber. After about a minute or so you can see icicles forming where your fine body hair “used to be” on your arm and other places of your body.
While cryotherapy is cold, it is not the kind of cold that you would think about not being able to tolerate. I live in the snow belt of Ohio and I have lived here my entire life, so I know cold. In the winter of 1996, we had five feet of snowfall in less than a week and the National Guard had to come to my hometown and dig us out. In the Cleveland area, we are used to having winters where, when the wind chill is factored in, it will easily be negative 40 degrees outside. Let me tell you, it is the most unbearable thing you could ever possibly imagine. It does not matter how layered up you are, or the quality of your “thermal underwear,” it’s dang cold and there’s no way to get around it.
I don’t know how the designers did it, but cryotherapy is different. There is absolutely no way in hell that you would ever catch me standing outside in the middle of January in the snow belt of Ohio butt naked for three minutes and be able to tolerate it. It doesn’t matter what lifetime, it’s not happening! Somehow the geniuses that came up with the cryotherapy chamber have made it just cold enough for you to be able to stand there butt naked and not pray for death. Don’t get me wrong, it’s miserable. It’s very, very miserable. I counted in my head the seconds until the nitrogen would be turned off and I could find some relief from the cold. It still wasn’t January snowbelt cold miserable.
Even while you’re standing there freezing off your cha-chas, you start to get a sense of invigoration and energy that you hadn’t had before. It is amazing the energy you feel from doing a whole-body cryotherapy session. The theory behind this and why this happens is because the air becomes so cold that in order to protect itself, your body concentrates all of its blood to your main internal organs, away from your extremities.
This affects both your brain and the pain receptors in your body. Your body starts releasing anti-inflammatory molecules and endorphins to protect itself from the extreme cold. Cryotherapy increases white blood cells, anti-inflammatory cytokines, and beta-endorphins. Once you are done with the cryotherapy and your body starts to return to normal temperature the blood that was protecting your major organs moves back to your extremities. Immunostimulation due to noradrenaline responds to cold which causes a reduction of pain through the alteration of nerve conduction. This causes oxygen-rich blood to be returned to the extremities, which in turn helps with decreasing pain and inflammation in your muscles and joints.
To have the best results for Fibromyalgia, it is suggested that you perform three to five consecutive whole-body cryotherapy sessions in a row. After that, it is suggested that you follow a maintenance schedule of two to three times a week to maintain the benefits.
Cryotherapy is being used for many different conditions. Some of them are Fibromyalgia and chronic pain, sprains, different types of arthritis, pain, and swelling after surgery, tendonitis, sports injuries, low back pain, broken bones, and more.
You may be wondering how effective cryotherapy is for Fibromyalgia. That is a very good question. According to one study, whole body cryotherapy worked for 83% of Fibromyalgia patients during the three weeks while they were undergoing treatment. Results may last for up to a week after the last treatment. Long-term effects were not measured in this particular study.
My personal experience with cryotherapy was that it wasn’t worth the monetary cost to continue. I spent hundreds of dollars and felt minimal relief that only lasted for an hour or so after my treatments. On the other hand, when I did localized cryotherapy on my neck where I have spinal stenosis, I had an incredible amount of relief. I also highly suggest a cryotherapy facial. It is so relaxing and amazing and refreshing. You walk away with a glow and tightness you could never imagine.
To see the full benefits of cryotherapy, it is suggested that you have continuous treatments. Unfortunately, the pain relief results aren’t permanent. On the other hand, when you are in the throws of pain and agony, cryotherapy could be the answer to alleviating some of your symptoms.
It’s been 5 years since I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 12 years since I got my Ph.D. in Neuroscience in the Department of Molecular Psychiatry.
To be honest, I’ve never met another neuroscientist who has fibromyalgia. And maybe that’s why my approach to treating fibromyalgia is so different than most clinicians.
When it came to treating my fibromyalgia, I let the professionals take the reins at first. I went through the typical medications like opioids, Lyrica, muscle relaxers, antidepressants, and hormone pills.
When all I got was dependence on opioids, and side effects like weight gain, nausea, and more pain, the scientist in me said there has to be a better way.
As a neuroscientist, I understand the brain, how both emotional and physical pain is processed, how pharmaceutical drugs impact brain chemistry, and how disease harms it.
I also know how to research solutions to complex problems, compare weak versus strong evidence, test hypotheses, communicate my findings, and teach students.
Fibromyalgia is a complex disease that requires a personalized medicine approach and no two cases are the same. It’s a disease that is worsened by stress, and the mind-body connection must be respected.
I did my research. Part reading the clinical research, part talking to alternative medicine experts and caregivers, and part playing guinea pig on myself and other patients.
I have a unique protocol that uses cannabis, kratom, and magic mushrooms to rewire the brain and heal the emotional and physical pain underlying fibromyalgia.
I’m sharing my secret sauce to how I ditched all my pills, got out of my walker, back to work, got my executive MBA, and wrote multiple books, all when my fibromyalgia doctor told me my best case scenario was to accept my illness and collect disability checks.
10 million patients in the United States with fibromyalgia, 75-90% are women. While the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, infections, physical or emotional trauma, and genetics appear to play a role in onset. Patients with lupus, osteoarthritis, and or rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of developing fibromyalgia. Symptoms of fibromyalgia include muscle pain and tenderness, muscle spasms, joint pain, bone pain, neurological pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, anxiety or depression, gastrointestinal issues, and cognitive issues including issues with memory.
Common prescription or OTC treatments for fibromyalgia include anti-inflammatories and pain relievers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure drugs including gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica), the first drug to be FDA approved for fibromyalgia. Massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, diet change from going gluten-free, and cognitive therapy have also provided relief for patients but are not widely adopted nor covered by health insurance.
In Canada, 30% of patients with fibromyalgia are on disability, whereas in the United States, the percentage is unclear because disability as a well as a fibromyalgia diagnosis is harder for patients to obtain. In a survey conducted by the National Fibromyalgia Association in 2003, 99 % of the respondents who were currently disabled because of fibromyalgia said that they would return to work immediately if they could find some relief for their pain.
There has been a lot of clinical research on cannabis for fibromyalgia in the last 10 years. We’ve transitioned from fibromyalgia being a medical condition linked to endocannabinoid deficiency based on Dr. Ethan Russo’s research, to anecdotal evidence that over 90% of fibromyalgia patients benefit from cannabis, to clear clinical trials showing evidence that cannabis works.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that is difficult to diagnose and harder to treat. As a neuroscientist and health coach with fibromyalgia, Dr. Ross has combined modern science with ancient plant wisdom to not only stop the pain but also heal emotional and physical trauma from the disorder.
Approximately 10 million patients in the United States have fibromyalgia, and 75-90% are women. While the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, infections, physical or emotional trauma, and genetics appear to play a role in onset. Patients with lupus, osteoarthritis, and or rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of developing fibromyalgia.
Cannabis helps fibromyalgia by reducing neuropathic pain, pelvic pain, and other forms of pain. It reduces spasms, headaches, inflammation, anxiety, and stress that may trigger or worsen flares. It can improve mood and depression that often comes with having a painful chronic disease with no cure. Finally, cannabis may improve serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances in fibromyalgia.
There are 1000s of cannabis strains and CBD products that can improve the quality of life with fibromyalgia. If cannabis isn’t right for you, some people prefer microdosing magic mushrooms, while others prefer calming strains of kratom. Your plant medicine guide will go over the pros and cons of each plant medicine and help you decide which one is right for you.
The plant-based health revolution is here! I’m your guide to understanding cannabis, mushrooms, and other healing plants so you live a life free of pain.
My name is Dr. Michele Ross and my mission is to empower patients with the knowledge and use of plant-based medicine so they can live their healthiest and happiest lives.
“Dr. Ross is so knowledgeable about the hottest topic right, CBD, and her passion for using it to heal people is amazing. Her energy, humor, and relatability are refreshing and inviting. The type of wisdom and warmth that you’d want if your health journey should include CBD.”
“Dr. Ross will open your mind to so many new ideas about holistic health. WHY are we not taking care of ourselves as our instincts direct us? Well, the law has not been on the side of cannabis users for most of history. Now, things are changing and it’s up to us to reclaim our health.”
Having the right fibromyalgia doctor can make the difference between struggling silently in pain or managing your disease confidently. Whether you’re newly diagnosed or feel overwhelmed by your massive list of prescriptions that seem to not do much, it’s never too late to do your research and change your fibromyalgia doctor.
While a general practitioner is great to go to for your yearly checkup or for a quick test and prescription when you’ve got strep throat, they’re not the best for handling complex chronic health conditions. That’s why they usually refer fibromyalgia patients out to a specialist, like a rheumatologist.
Your primary care doctor might refer you to the wrong specialist, especially if they don’t know too much about fibromyalgia. Take your provider’s recommendation with a grain of salt, and do your due diligence (get to those Yelp reviews!).
Your doctor might refer you to a rheumatologist because they specialize in painful autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Fibromyalgia is not considered an autoimmune disorder (although some research suggests the immune system plays a role), and some rheumatologists don’t even take fibromyalgia patients.
Other specialists that take fibromyalgia patients include neurologists, pain management doctors, chiropractors, and functional medicine doctors. Each will have a different primary mode of treating you, and you should think about what is the best fit for you.
Some patients feel their doctors are just pushing 10 different types of pills on them, without offering any insight into other types of treatments. Others suggest treatments that aren’t covered by insurance and are out of their budget. Learn what typical fibromyalgia spends per year with the doctor to get a feel for what’s right for you.
No matter what type of doctor you do choose, make sure that they have extensive experience in treating fibromyalgia patients. This condition is notoriously hard to treat, with a wide variety of symptoms and many patients not responding to medications.
Working with an inexperienced doctor could mean that your doctor gives up on you because they don’t know all the options available, or worse, doesn’t understand the level of pain you’re in and downplays it. You need a compassionate doctor who understands you and your disease.
A doctor can prescribe medications, but if you’re looking for a more natural, holistic approach that includes changing your diet and using herbal supplements, a doctor is not the right fit. Your doctor can tell you to eat healthily but doesn’t have the time to tell you how to do it or follow up with you to make sure it’s happening.
Knowledge is NOT power. Knowledge is only potential power. Action is power.
Health coaches turn information into action and provide the emotional support to help you implement and maintain long-term lifestyle changes that will transform your health in a short amount of time.
Health coaches usually specialize in a condition or a treatment that they have personal experience with. For example, there are cannabis coaches that support new medical marijuana patients and there are fibromyalgia coaches that support patients through functional medicine.
I happen to be one of the few health coaches that specializes in fibromyalgia and cannabis, helping clients reduce their dependence on toxic prescriptions and heal naturally.
A recent research study found that 81% of fibromyalgia patients improved their symptoms with medical marijuana, also known as cannabis. However, many conservative doctors still believe cannabis is a drug of abuse and has no medical benefit. If your doctor isn’t open to the massive amount of research and testimonials supporting cannabis for fibromyalgia, you should pick another physician.
