Weight - Health - Chronic Illness
Fibromyalgia
Food, Mind, and Exercise
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia back in the early 90s. I can't remember exactly which year because it was years ago. I'm almost 58 years old. Fibromyalgia is a bathroom sink full of symptoms with no cure.
Most degreed knowledgeable people have come to a consensus fibromyalgia may have something to do with a dysfunctional immune system, I agree. Over the years and trying all sorts of pharmaceutical medicines I found a way to live with a host of painful symptoms. Fibro may be hard to live with but those nasty medicines I took were deadly if combined with other prescriptions. Most doctors don't have a clue regarding interactions of drugs with each other and how people react differently to the same drug. I had to learn that the hard way. I walked away from my doctors and their medicines back in the late 90s and haven't looked back. I haven't been to a doctors office since then.
I've Kept 50lbs Off Since 2015
Weight has always been an issue with me. When I removed sugar, flour, and processed foods something amazing happened. I lost weight! I had cut back on sugar and flour over the years or even dropped them all together for years at a time. But I always picked up the habit again, my inflammation and weight would increase. Usually during the holidays I would fall into my old eating habits again. When I started my pre-menopause symptoms all my health issues were amplified along with a host of new ones, like hot flashes!
The pain of getting old and coupled with my chronic illness, I bit the bullet and dropped sugar and flour all together almost 3 years ago. I also walk 4 miles a day, eat organic food, drink purified water, introduced intermittent fasting, avoid coffee (except on Saturdays). I have spent years letting go of old conditioning and learning how to handle stress correctly, this discipline has helped me stay on a strict diet compared to modern lifestyle, which is a food fest 24/7. Life can be painful, but how one reacts to that pain can make the pain unbearable.
I feel better than I did in my early 30s! My message to those who are reading is don't give up! Use your pain, what ever it may be as a guide. I found if I stopped reacting to my physical and mental symptoms as enemies and explored their behavior as they manifested I found answers to how to heal my pain. It takes a certain mental discipline to do this, vipassana meditation gave me the tools to make friends with my condition and eventually my illness became my guide back to a healthy life. I'm not talking about happy and peaceful life, those mind states come and go along with unhappiness and disfunction. A disciplined mind can make it's way through the flux of life and I think is the most important tool in my toolbox!
Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.
Symptoms sometimes begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event. Women are more likely to develop fibromyalgia than are men. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have tension headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression. While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, a variety of medications can help control symptoms. Exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures also may help.
A link to My Blog
great message from you! and well done!
@reddust,
You said you are in 50th right? But that photography tells me you are in your 40th!
Cheers~
I am almost 2 years away from 60 years old. I am finally getting gray hairs. I've always wanted white hair....lololol, I will look awesome. Thank you @theguruasia
There is always peroxide if the grays don't come in fast enough.lol
I don't want to do that, it is taking forever to gray, I'd love silver hair instead of just a silver hair here and there...sigh
My father had wavy hair that looked good when it turned white.
Hello @reddust I always read your post, with a lot of interest and I always read about your way of life, so healthy that you take, the one that helps you stay well despite the illness, I for one would like to recommend magnesium, in your daily consumption as a food supplement, there are many world congresses about it, it has been cured and has been palliative to many diseases since it is a cellular nutrient. Many blessings from me.
I found magnesium very soothing, it helps me sleep! I love Garbanzo Beans made into humus ....I get cravings for certain foods and that's awn I know I am low in that particular vitamin or mineral.
I found your post to be most inspiring. Living with fibromyalgia isn’t easy. At this point the medication I am on seems to be working well. If at some point it no longer works then I am going to try your methods and start over again. Thanks for your positive take on life.
Research how to reestablish your gut bacteria, I didn't go into that because this is new data I found out about back in 2007. I found the medication I was taking killed off most of my gut bacteria which digest our food, give us nutrients we need, help regulate information to and from the brain.
I also found I was anemic, this was a huge information for me! We cannot absorb the nutrient from plants as easily as we can from animals. We need the heme from animal products, especially women. You can start all this while still on your medication. All this is just eating, exercising, and learning how to deal with stress (past and present) correctly. I am glad you found my story helpful, it is also good for me to share.
and that is my goal to keep myself healthy.. :)
Taking responsibility for my happiness and health has been life changing. I think our health mental and physical should be our number one goals.
i agree with you..
I admire your willpower.
It's not will power, it's discipline, thank you @yaan
@reddust, for me this is the key statement of your article:
I continue to be amazed at how hard it is to break old habits. The key is to build new, sustainable ones that replace the old.
Thanks for the great reminder!
That is the key to seeing reality as it is, and then you find out there is no reality :P We make it up as we go hahahaha
Mind over matter - as the saying goes. Glad to hear that you're in a good place now. Coffee might be one of the hardest to give up, I have a cup a day lol (could be a lot worse than only one cup a day...)
One of my problems is I don't drink nearly enough water - I feel fine, but I know that my body is probably wanting a lot more than it's getting.
I't kinda tricky, mind is hard to grasp unlike matter. Science still hasn't stopped arguing over where the mind is located lololol...
Coffee was easy to give up, I drink tea instead. I have the same problem with water, I hardly get thirsty and I forget to drink my water. I finally left a quart jar out on the kitchen counter and at least I drink a quart of water a day and then I drink several big cups of tea.
I don't know if I trust the data behind 8 cups of water a day to stay healthy. After learning about fluoride I figure that the powers that be want us to be very docile, so drink that water! hahaha
I've been in good and bad places throughout my life. The issue is life is always changing and one has to adapt and stay aware. I would rather take a nap ....hahaha
Well my friend... You look wonderful (and happy)!
Most of the time I am content and I am grateful for my stubbornness and questioning authority or I would be in a wheelchair on heavy meds right now...probably my gallbladder would be dead as well....most common surgery for women who are fair, fat, and 40!
i guess you did a typing error there not going to 58 for sure its much less
The experiences can weigh heavily on my mind sometimes but not there years I've lived through.