In order to provide patients with the best possible treatment in our holistic approach at our Multi-disciplinary Clinic we try to consider everything available and as part of that we’ve looked at many non-drug therapies over the years. Many of these treatments or therapies are for reducing the Sympathetic Nervous System over stimulation (or the heightened fight or flight reaction most readers will have heard of) of Fibromyalgia have been studied and now part of our scientific treatment.
One therapy that’s getting a lot of attention lately and is thought to reduce the Sympathetic Nervous System over stimulation and has shown improvements in Fibro symptoms is Mindfulness. Kim Jones, PhD recently completed a clinical study on Fibromyalgia and Mindfulness and it was the cover article in the USA Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Life Winter Magazine 2014 issue, where they state “These results indicate that practicing mindfulness techniques may be a low-cost, side effect free option for people wishing to reduce the severity of their fibromyalgia.”
Basically practicing mindfulness techniques starts with the concept of living in the moment and not looking back into the past or forward into the future. Try to keep your mind in the present moment of whatever you’re doing, so if you’re ironing, doing paperwork or walking, just focus on those things in your mind and don’t think about other things. My best Mindfulness moments are when I walk my dogs, no matter how stressed I am at the beginning of the walk I come back….calm.
Another good principal is to stop multi-tasking. You really can’t be calm if your mind is racing, trying to do several things at one. Try to just do the one thing and do it well, then move on to the next thing that needs doing and just focus on that one thing.
Finally, meditation and deep breathing are also essential to obtaining Mindfulnesses possible stress reducing effects, which should then hopefully reduce the Sympathetic Nervous System over stimulation and possibly help reduce your Fibrosymptoms. The body can’t heal if it feels it’s under threat, so being calm and rested are thought to be essential to one’s recovery.
There are many sources of Mindfulness online and most CBT (Cognitive Behaviour) Therapists will be familiar with it and be able to offer advice. So relax and don’t stress if you don’t get Mindfulness at first – as that defeats the entire purpose!
Question: I have had fibromyalgia for some years. I would like to address the illness and get some help in managing pain levels better, any advice?
There are many steps you can take when it comes to managing your fibromyalgia. To start, choose activity wisely. Exercise regularly, but do not overdo things. Set personal limits, and always remember to take a rest. Try your best to remove yourself from situations that are likely to cause stress as this can aggravate pain, and modify your working environment to better suit your situation. During a flare-up, do less, take warm baths or use ice — whichever works best for you. It is also a good idea to read up on some simple mindfulness techniques such as meditation, deep breathing, or visualisation — as many patients see relief from these practices.
With several years of experience treating patients with Fibromyalgia, The Chronicillness.co team truly empathise with the obstacles patients face on a daily basis. We are constantly taking new research and information into consideration when finding the correct treatment path for our patients. We believe in a multidisciplinary approach comprised of tried and tested measures to effectively lower and manage symptoms for a better quality of life.
What are trigger point injections, and how are they most effective (i.e. all over the body pain or more targeted trigger points?)
There are a number of different types of trigger point injections including dry needling (acupuncture), and wet needling (with local anaesthetic/ local anaesthetic plus steroid or botox).
Trigger point injections are thought to work by causing local relaxation of muscle fibres, leading to a reduction in tension and a reduction of afferent pain traffic back to the spinal cord. They also release endorphins in a number of patients, which gives an overall analgesic effect. They are most useful when there are specific targeted trigger points, rather than when patients have widespread all over body trigger points. The aim is to shrink down the area of trigger points to the smallest area, before using trigger point treatment.
If someone has all over body pain, can treating the worst affected area with trigger point injections help the other areas?
Yes, in some cases this can be effective, although this is always on a case by case basis for which patients need to be fully, medically assessed. Various treatment options must be reviewed and discussed in person with the patient, so they can make an informed decision as to the best course of treatment.
With several years of experience treating patients with Fibromyalgia, The Chronicillness.co team urges patients to consider trigger point injections as a highly effective treatment options with little to no side effects.
What are the main benefits of TPI’s and can successful TPI’s result in lower requirements for oral drugs?
The main benefits of trigger point injections include reduction in pain, spasms, and analgesic requirements, in addition to improvement in overall functions. If and when trigger point injections (either dry or wet needling) is effective, this can indeed lead to a lowering of oral, analgesic medications.
Fibromyalgia syndrome causes widespread pain and stiffness in the body which gets worse as the day progresses, leaving you feeling weak. This syndrome can have a huge impact on how you lead your life on a day-to-day basis. A range of treatments are usually prescribed for long term management of fibromyalgia pain including physical therapy, psychological therapy and drugs. Below are some useful coping techniques to help you manage the pain on a day-to-day basis.
That clear liquid we take for granted every day can actually help to relieve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Did you know that fatigue and headaches can be caused by dehydration? Our adult bodies are made up of approximately 70% water which evaporates through breathing, sweating and other natural bodily functions. Drinking water helps to flush all the toxins through your liver and kidneys and out of the body. Aim for at least 8 glasses each day – being hydrated will help to fight off fatigue. If you don’t like plain water try a squeeze of lemon juice or lime to add some flavor.
Fibromyalgia sufferers tend to have disturbed sleep – research has shown that sleep deprivation can cause widespread pain and chronic daytime fatigue. The key to reducing fatigue is quality sleep. Unfortunately, it’s a double edged sword as the pain makes it harder to sleep but sleep helps to relieve the pain.
You can encourage a better night’s sleep by setting a regular time for both going to bed and getting up each day. Make your bedroom a cool, dark, distraction free space and avoid drinking caffeinated drinks in the evening. If you feel the need to use a computer before bed you should try and restrict it to at leapt an hour before you go to sleep. If you find your thoughts are what keep you awake you can try keeping a notepad beside the bed and write down the thoughts you have and listen to relaxing music to unwind your mind. This is an effective technique for reducing anxiety.
A study in Rheumatology International (2008) confirmed hydrotherapy as a method of relieving the painful symptoms of fibromyalgia. Warm water helps to circulate the blood, reduces the pressure placed on joints and helps to relax the muscles (and the mind). Whilst a hydrotherapy pool isn’t a luxury available to everyone on a daily basis, instead you could have a long, warm bath in the evening to help soothe your muscles.
We’re not suggesting that you go and sign up to a 5k race, but research has shown that gentle exercise plays an important role in helping to break the pain cycle, reduce stiffness and improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. If the pain is bad, it may not be possible to exercise much but starting slowly with a few easy stretches, then working your way up to doing more is a good way to ease into it. Gentle exercise like yoga, walking or swimming will all increase your heart rate. Start out slowly and for short periods of time, then as you are able, work up to 30 minutes a day if you can.
Anyone suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome is familiar with the term ‘crash’. It’s used to describe what happens when you push your body past its’ current energy production capabilities.
The technical term for a crash is ‘post-exertionalmalaise. How severely you are affected by chronic fatigue syndrome will dictate how badly you crash, how debilitating the crash is, and how long you take to recover from it. In astudy, PEM was found to worsen symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and reduce daily functioning.
When you push yourself physically, mentally or both, outside your energy envelope, your body systems will be unable to cope and force you to rest.
You may have had a good couple of days, been feeling better, gone out for the day, or worked longer hours than usual. Perhaps you went to a party or some other social gathering and stayed longer than you should have because you were having fun catching up with friends.
Whatever the activity, you know you’ve pushed it too far and arrive home from your outing feeling pretty tired. But the following day, it’s worse than just the normal fatigue you cope with each day, you can barely get out of bed and now you are paying for overdoing it the previous day.
Your muscles are painful and you feel like you have the flu, you are so fatigued you have no energy to do anything. Dragging yourself out of bed to use the toilet is a major feat.
But you have life to live and stuff that needs to be done, what are you going to do? You are desperately asking yourself ” How can I increase my energy level during a crash”?
When going through a crash, even the simple act of standing upright to take a shower was unthinkable for me. I started taking baths instead and tried to make them as relaxing and pleasant as possible. Even then, it took all of my diminished energy to push myself up and out of the bath, I felt like a ninety-year-old woman.
Unfortunately, the reality is that even when you are pretty tuned in to your own energy limits, there are going to be times when you push things too hard and you crash. So, what are you going to do?
Pushing yourself any further will only result in even more debilitating fatigue and worsening symptoms. So, give in to your crash and realize you must restfully and completely recover even a small amount of your diminished energy reserve again.
One of the most difficult things for me to get to grips with mentally was the realization that I had an illness. Once I acknowledged this, it made it easier for me to treat myself well and stop beating myself up for everything I could no longer do.
Going over and over in your mind all of the things you need to do, have to do, and should be doing whilst in the midst of a debilitating crash is pointless.
With this realization, I was able to give in to each crash, knowing that if I took it easy for a couple of days I’d recover sufficiently to return to leading what had become my new normal, a semi-normal life.
Luckily for me, I only had one period during my illness where I was pretty much bedridden for about a month. All other crashes I recovered from in a few days once I simply let go, gave in to it, and allowed my body the time it needed to recover some energy.
Experiencing a crash is scary because you feel as if you’ve lost control over your health and your life. It’s impossible to know how long each crash will last, will it be one day or two days, maybe a week, or perhaps even longer before you can crawl out of bed, get dressed, and function semi normally again?
My version of chronic fatigue syndrome was waking up every morning totally unrefreshed with a feeling of having the flu. The feeling that my bones had been filled with lead made every movement an effort. Tight and painful muscles and a never-ending array of symptoms that grew weekly added to my distress. This was my new normal life. But, when I experienced a crash, things got even worse.
Each crash put me flat on my back, incapable of doing anything, and all my varied and confusing symptoms worsened. Everything hurt, my arms, shoulders, neck, and back along with the extremely tight and painful Achilles area in my legs which also affected my balance somehow. My entire body seemed waterlogged as my fluid balance went haywire and night sweats were out of control.
The short answer is zip, zero………………absolutely nothing! Stay in bed, or camp out on the sofa, get comfortable and simply rest. You’ve used up all of the available energy your body is capable of producing right now and you’re in a deficit.
For me, what made dealing with each crash difficult was that my mind was still fully alert and active, it was my body that was letting me down. It was hard to relax my body for recovery when my mind was still humming along and raring to go.
Mentally, I had to continually remind myself of the benefit of just giving in to it and being confident that if I did, my recovery period would not become prolonged.
Whether it takes a day or a week to recover, acknowledging you have an illness that will inevitably result in having crashes means you can be prepared when they arrive.
On days when you feel better, do some cooking and food prep. Stock up the freezer with ready-prepared meals that can be easily re-heated during times when you’re experiencing a crash. This way, you’ll have nutritious and easily digestible food ready.
This should prevent the need to order fast food, or eat whatever junk is readily available when you don’t have the energy to cook. More than at any other time your body needs good, healthy, and nutritious food to provide nutrients to your cells for energy production.
Meals should ideally include a good balance of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates. If the thought of eating solid food is even too much for you, having some nutritious soups on hand is a good idea. You can make them with some healthy chicken bone brothand vegetables and place them in the freezer.
The most important thing to remember is not to indulge any cravings for sugary, fatty, high-carb fast food and to understand the cravings are simply your body’s way of trying to get energy quickly whilst in such a depleted state.
Load up your Kindle with reading material to relieve boredom.
I found this a lifesaver for me, so simple and convenient to use a couple of clicks and a new book is downloaded immediately. However, you shouldn’t have long periods of screen time. So, break up your reading time with some audiobooks too.
As I mentioned, during my worst episodes with crashes I could not even summon up enough energy to stand upright in the shower, so I started taking baths instead.
Putting a couple of handfuls of Epsom salts and a few drops of essential oil in the bathwater turned it into a relaxing pleasant experience.
The Epsom salts help relax tight muscles and the essential oils can be uplifting or relaxing depending on which oils you choose.
Always sensitive to bright lights and loud noises, I became even more so during a crash. It’s helpful to pull the shades and keep the lighting subdued to alleviate over sensitivity.
During a crash, it’s important to stay positive, continue to work towards recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome using some of the tips on this website together with a protocol from your naturopath.
Meanwhile, make your bedroom as comfortable as possible and keep necessities close at hand to limit how much you need to move.
Crashes will become fewer and recovery from crashes will be faster as your body gets stronger. By keeping a positive attitude and slowly moving towards your goal of recovery, crashes will gradually become a thing of the past.
The moment the words ‘get active’ escape their lips my focus shifts 100% to holding back the incredible urge to roll my eyes. For the most part, unsuccessfully.
It’s like constantly replaying the perfect vine loop of watching Groundhog Day over and over. We keep hearing how we need to get active in order to feel better. But, what people don’t understand is, we need to feel better in order to get active in the first place.
Press play and repeat day after day after day the exhausting loop plays.
For five years I spent a lot of days, months actually, beating myself up for not being active. It’s exhausting silently screaming at yourself constantly to get up and get active.
Then about a year ago I started listening to music again. Not only did the right playlist cheer me up, but often I’d catch myself bee bopping to the music.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t pulling off DWTS or anything. Sometimes I was simply swaying to the music or shuffling around like Tim Conway. But, I was standing and I was moving.
Which when you are battling fibromyalgia’s chronic pain, counts as getting active as far as I’m concerned. Music doesn’t always get me moving. But, it does some days and in my opinion, that’s better than no days at all.
Anyway, I remembered how much I loved going out dancing and how good it made me feel and so for a while now I’ve been working at wiggling my butt daily.
The right playlist lifts my spirits and gets me moving
I created a bunch of personal mood–lifting playlists. Each one is 6 songs and about 20 minutes long. While prepping for my shower, I press play, and more days than not the music gets me swaying. I always try to get boogieing before hopping into the shower, because I’m usually physically zapped after.
Turns out, well for me anyway, that music is good medicine. Hmmm, who knew?
What I had to learn was, to set the bar at a realistic level for me. And, to give me credit for any and all physical activity. To encourage me to get up and just get moving instead of putting myself down because I expected my version of “getting active” to be on par with die-hard gym-goers or the people I see out jogging.
It’s time Fellow Fibro Warriors to pat yourself on the back each and every time you wiggle that butt, even if it’s ever so slightly.
I have never been a huge visitor to Fibromyalgia support forums. However, it has been “eye-opening to say the least to see how opinions have been divided.
In one camp you have those, like me who think that this is great for raising awareness.
People are finally starting to ask questions about this relatively unknown and misunderstood condition. Facebook went into overdrive. Instagram was buzzing and Twitter, well just tweeted. Daytime TV interviewed doctors who gave the low down on Fibromyalgia. One of our regular presenters got a crash course in pronouncing the word as well as learning what the symptoms are. In some respects, it felt better late than never. All of sudden, we are validated. Just sad that it has taken so long and a celebrity suffering to bring Fibromyalgia out in the open. Good on Gaga!!
Sadly, on the other side of the fence, there are those sufferers who are playing the “my Fibromyalgia is worse than yours” game. They have declared open season on Lady Gaga.
They are questioning her motives for going public. Doubting that she could even have the condition given her long and energetic live performances. There have been those that have suggested that she would be better using her wealth by contributing to research. They deem this preferable as opposed to sharing her story. And believe it or not, there are some who are “whining” about her being in hospital. If she can “rest in the hospital, why can’t I?” Really???
I am sure that she can think of better places to rest and recuperate without being admitted to hospital.
The reality of this condition is that nobody is immune, the pain has no regard for celebrity status. Because Fibromyalgia is so different and unique to each individual it is difficult to judge one set of symptoms against another. Fibromyalgia can prove to be more debilitating for some than others. We know that it tends to go hand in hand with so many other conditions such as Chronic Fatigue or Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
For those of us with Fibromyalgia and chronic pain, it is important that we extend compassion not just to fellow sufferers but also towards ourselves.
It is imperative that we don’t turn our pain into some sort of competition by judging one another as to who can do what. We should be celebrating our successes and commiserating when the going gets tough. Not putting each other down because somebody had a good day!
I have, in some small part, been on the receiving of those who have doubted the severity of my condition. I have been slated for holding down a full-time job and for not taking medication. All good reasons apparently to question my diagnosis by other Fibromyalgia sufferers.
Therefore, I have to say that I do feel for Lady Gaga. Although never a fan, I admire her honesty and her admission that shows she isn’t the superhuman everybody thought she was. By coming out and talking of her struggle with pain, she has made herself vulnerable to the doubters and naysayers. I am hoping that she also becomes an ambassador and a voice for those who genuinely suffer in silence.
She has the same frailties and struggles as the rest of us who suffer with this condition.
And, yes truth be told, she has more money than most. Without a doubt, she will have access to some of the best doctors and healthcare. However, at the end of the day, her pain and fatigue will be as soul-destroying and debilitating as it is for the rest of us.
As we all do, she will have good and bad days. Sadly, she will have flares and periods of stability. She is now after all a Fibromyalgia Warrior battling with the rest of us. Therefore, she is as deserving of our support as any other brave soul battling chronic pain.
Whatever your thoughts are on the performer, she has brought the word Fibromyalgia into the public domain and that can only be a good thing. I for one, wish her all the love and luck in the world.
This is a great opportunity now to capitalize on her story and build momentum by telling ourstories. If you are feeling brave, why not get in touch with your local press and tell them about your Fibro journey. Post on your Facebook page, start up your own community or share your Fibro days on Instagram.
It is certainly a topical subject at the moment and ultimately, this can only be a good thing in educating people about our condition. It is up to us to get our message out there and highlight how many people are actually battling this condition day in day out, out of the headlines, and away from the cameras.
Be brave, be bold and tell your story – no meaty outfits required!!
Since I began Fibro Warrior, I have often been asked how do I manage to focus on the positives whilst battling Fibromyalgia? The answer to that is what are the alternatives? I guess I have two choices but only one is worth pursuing.
The truth is that there is certainly nothing positive about having a chronic condition. But given that there is currently no cure for Fibromyalgia, then I feel that I must change and adapt. So read on to see how I do just that….
When I was diagnosed in 2000, I had already been struggling with Fibromyalgia for 11 years. I didn’t know what was wrong with me and I think in reality those years were the darkest. They were scary in the sense that I feared for my sanity. I knew all was not well but the doctors could find nothing wrong.
It was in the early years that this condition robbed me of so much.
It took my energy, my health, my confidence, and my self-esteem. More tragically, it robbed me of the early years with my baby son, and later in 1997 it put paid to my first marriage. Whatever this was, it was beating me and winning!
Getting my diagnosis was a massive relief and once I got my head around the fact that it was incurable, I was ready to fight. I made the decision there and then, that I was not going to rely on medication and from then on, things started to change.
I had two choices, roll over and let Fibromyalgia throw all that it had at me. Become its victim and allow it to keep robbing me until I had nothing left or I couldn’t fight anymore!!
I didn’t have an army or stash of secret weapons…yet! But, I did have a renewed will to get better. I didn’t know how I was going to do it but I thought I knew what I was up against. It was a start, the battle lines were drawn and I could start and fightback.
Over the years, I read everything I could get my hands on about the condition. I saw a nutritionist, spent a fortune on alternative therapies and acupuncture. Joined a gym and quit, joined another, and quit again. I took supplements, drank Aloe Vera. I used crystals and aromatherapy oils looking for one that one miracle cure. You have been there, right? You know what I am talking about.
Well, I am sure you discovered the same as me. There is no miracle cure. One Nil to Fibromyalgia
As I neared my 50th birthday, there came the realization that with this anniversary there would be another “milestone.” I would have officially battled Fibromyalgia for over half of my life. In all likelihood, I would have to carry on the fight for another 25 years. I knew that there had to be a way of making sure that the Fibro didn’t swallow me up completely. I finally knew that the answer wasn’t going to come in some wonder drug or therapy. It was going to come from within me!!
Yep, Fibromyalgia, I won this one!! I got the answer you tried to keep from me for 25 years – one all
It was almost a revelation that my “healing” as much as it could be, was going to start and end with me. No doctors, no therapists, no medication – just me. I truly believed that I had all the weapons I needed right here in my body. It was just a matter of deciding what I had and how I was going to use it.
Firstly, I knew I needed exercise. I had tried all the usual gym stuff, swimming and walking. Invariably, these made me feel worse and induced a flare. I knew that I had to find something fairly gentle on my body but it had to be effective. So began my journey to the Yoga mat. It was and still is amazing.
Yoga meets you where you are and no two sessions are the same. Positions are adapted to accommodate my Fibro body depending on what I can manage on any given day. I also read up on rebounding (bouncing on a trampoline) and learned that this was beneficial for Fibromyalgia sufferers. So, I bought my rebounder and gradually increased my bounce time from an initial tough 5 minutes to an invigorating and enjoyable half an hour.
I had, over the years dabbled with meditation. This had been born out of my love of all things Tibetan and His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. Therefore it made sense to make a real effort to include meditation in my yoga practice. In addition, I spend the first 10 minutes of every day meditating outside, no matter the weather. (An outdoor gazebo is a triumph).
Meditation works!! It takes me to a place where my breath dominates and my thoughts, feelings, and pain are relegated for a short time while I focus on ME. My personal mantra is “It is all about me, it’s all about now”.
My early morning meditation and yoga sessions set me up for the day. I believe that this sends a message to my Fibromyalgia that I am up, out of bed, and ready to take on my day – strong and determined.
So, that is my body & mind sorted – what else could I arm myself with?
I have always been a strong believer that given the right conditions, the body can heal itself. Never one to embrace a medication, I always know that a headache will eventually go away. A cold or flu will run its course and then disappear without a trace. A cut or a bruise will in time, heal as if by magic. So, my next quest was to explore what my body needed to fight Fibromyalgia every damn day.
I personally believed that the answer would lie in my diet. So, I decided to go right back to the drawing board and carry out a cleanse. I knew that this would give me the opportunity of cutting out large amounts of food, whilst giving my digestion a break. This would then put me in the position of slowly introducing certain foods again and then judging how they impacted my body.
I opted for a 12-day program that required me to cut out all processed food, meat, caffeine, dairy, and sugar. It was tough for a couple of days but then the magic started. I woke in the mornings with no aches and pains (seriously). My energy increased and the constant fatigue which plagued my days was gone. People started to comment on how well I looked and I was even accused of getting Botox because my skin glowed.
I felt so good that at the end of the 12 days, I did another 12. I made the decision then to permanently cut out all caffeine and processed foods from my diet. Also, I opted to leave out the meat and just eat fish.
As time went on, I wanted to learn more about how I could further support my body in its war with Fibromyalgia but I also wanted to pass on what I had learned already. In order to support other sufferers, I decided to sign up to become and Health & Wellness Coach. I then went on to study raw food nutrition. It was learning about what my body needed to function at its optimal. I was giving it a fighting chance against Fibromyalgia.
Now, I need to be clear here and say that I would not consider myself healed. There are times when the pain is too much to bear, the fatigue overwhelming but compared to how I felt in 1989 there is no comparison. I have learned that with the right foods and being gentle with me when I need it, these flares pass and I live to fight another day!
Fibromyalgia may win many of the battles but I am determined it will never, ever win the war!!
Fate whispers to the warrior, “you cannot withstand the storm.” And the warrior whispers back “I am the storm.” ~ unknown
I love this “warrior” quote and have referred back to it many times throughout my battles with chronic pain. It is the defiance of answering fate back that most appeals to me. The thought that OK, I have my lot in life but I don’t have to like it or accept it.
So often now, we see titles such as Chronic Pain warrior, Fibromyalgia warrior, Chronic Illness warrior, Spoonie warrior. They are everywhere, often preceded by the # on social media. But what does it really mean to be tagged, warrior? Do you have what it takes to even be a warrior?
For me personally, I often shy away from using the word suffer when referring to my chronic pain journey. I prefer the word battle. My head tells me that this word sends out the message to the universe that I am fighting. Suffering I might be but battling is how I want to be perceived. There are many times when I don’t feel much like a warrior but no matter what life throws at me, I somehow tell myself the fight must go on. The alternatives are too hard to contemplate, so resolutely I “soldier” on determined not to let pain and fatigue get the better of me.
Now, I absolutely know that I am not unique, nor am I some kind of hero. I am just another warrior who has no alternative than to fight on. I know that for you reading this, you too are a warrior and committed to the battle. How do I know? Because if you were not a warrior, you definitely would not be on a website that looks to support healthy, positive life with chronic pain. You certainly wouldn’t be looking to empower yourself and search for answers if you were not determined and unwavering in your quest for better health.
We fight for our health everyday in ways that most people don’t understand.
For those of us battling chronic pain, it’s the little things that most people take for granted that make us strong. The effort to get moving. To get out of bed in the morning, even when it would be easier to stay there. Our determination to keep going when our whole body is crying out enough. The smiles we paint onto our faces mask the tears of pain and frustration.
Our abilities to resist the temptation to punch the doctor. You know the one, who tells us that we need to pull ourselves together and snap out of it. It’s the way that we hide our disappointment and sadness when friends and loved ones give us a wide berth for saying “no” one too many times. The relentless march to look normal when we are feeling anything but. It’s the keeping, keeping on when we are so exhausted we just want it all to stop.
The days when the last thing we want to do is be the victim, but our pain and fatigue overwhelms us anyway.
For all of these reasons and for many more, we ARE warriors. It is not some tag or label, it is truly our reality. Every day we go to war, engage in battle just to get through the day. We fight with everything we have, just for some normality. We stand strong in our unwavering support and acknowledgment of our fellow warriors. Knowing that nobody understands and lifts them up like another warrior. We are constantly on a quest for the smallest victories – holding down a job, attending a family wedding, a walk in the park, or just getting dressed.
To every warrior out there battling their chronic pain and fatigue, I salute you. I stand alongside you in your battle for health, wellness, and some sense of normality. Check out how I can support you by clicking this link.
For my birthday earlier this year, my husband bought me the CD from the Greatest Showman. He wanted me to hear the words from the song “This is me.” Today, I dedicate those words to you.
I opted to share this emotionally charged clip as opposed to the one from the actual show. She is scared but she did it anyway!! Enjoy her triumph and if you love the video as much as I do, drop a comment in the box below and let me know.
“We are Warriors, yeah, that’s what we’ll become.”
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!
If you know me, then you know I call things I use to assist me when I have painful flare; cheaters! I don’t know why. Here are three of my cheaters just for you! Consider it an early Christmas Gift…
Hello,Tommy Copper! Why haven’t I tried this before?!?! Well, I have tried ‘other’ copper products. But. Tommy Copper, the brand name, is a must! I got the back belt first but was so thrilled with the results I added the leg and arm sleeves! This product isn’t about compression, just get the copper cloth as close to your skin as possible. This means under your clothes. Start slow, a few hours a day, and build. I felt relief within one minute after I put on the back brace. I had no back pain within seven days! I’m dead serious! (Yes, the pain comes back but to get an hour of relief, not to mention 8 to 10 hours in ONE DAY?!?! I’m sold!)
This product may not work for everyone! But for $20? It is worth a shot. The company states that these items are for those who are in pain but cannot ‘slow down to rest. Well, I got to put these on, rest, and run errands! Yahtzee! These come in black and also in (my favorite) camouflage! I put mine on, and I am sure I’m invisible, blending in with my surroundings!
I just cannot stress the importance of soaking in Epson salt. Put a cup of Epson salt into your bathwater. (At least soak your feet in Epson salt!) As I no longer have a bathtub at my disposal, I soak my feet in Epson Salt about three times a week. You can add essential oils! I did happen across Dr. Teal’s Epson salt, there are many kinds, infused with beautiful smelling essential oils. Get yourself some Epson Salt. It is so cheap and had such wonderful results! Calming, detoxifying, and great to do before trying to sleep.
I am not supposed to take NSAIDs (ibuprofen), but there are times that I do because recently, I was denied any access to my pain medication.(Yep. It happened, I knew it eventually would.) Hello, ibuprofen. When I was younger, in my early 20s, I suffered from bursitis in my right shoulder. Very painful! The doctor I was seeing told me I could take 800 mg of ibuprofen every six hours, and that was almost the equivalent of taking a pain pill. It works, folks.* Not great, but tamps down the stabbing, take your breath away, pain. Take your regular medication, supplement your pain management protocol with 800 mg of ibuprofen 2-3 times for one day. (Don’t do this for very long, maybe one to three days max.)
*Please check with your doctor before doing this. There are always risks and rewards with every medication you take! The pros and cons, according to your own body chemistry. I am NOT a doctor nor do I play one on TV! Talk to your medical professional.
