Since I got such a great response with such a personal story last time, I felt encouraged enough to do so again. I mean, I always tell it like it is. I don’t sugar coat anything. If you need that, you must be under 18 or something. We are adults. Grown women with real life issues. I wanted to share with you how I have triumphed over my Fibromyalgia in hopes that any of this advice can help just one person, then that is enough.
I was diagnosed in 1998 at a very young age. It was after a horrible herniated disc episode in my lower lumbar region. I had no idea what to do to fix this this thing the called “FM”; at that time only a few people had heard of it, let alone treated it.
My doctor suffered himself, so that was a blessing. He understood me. I was young and bounced back with little impairment from it. Fast forward to after having my second child. My body was not being kind to me. I had migraines all the time, horrible aches and pains and the fatigue was unbearable. There were times when I lay my two daughters down for a nap and barely made it to the couch to take one myself. I would be in tears from the shear agony of the weight of the fatigue I felt. This went on for a few years and it got better, as it normally relapses and then I suffer and then I would be fine...once again.
I met a doctor at the East Texas Medical Center that was a fairly distinguished neurosurgeon and an expert in the field of FM. The medicines that I were prescribed had side effects that were way worse than the FM (the truth) so I suffered in silence.
After my third child in 2009, the pain in my hips were awful. For those of you who are not familiar with this condition, here is the scientific definition as used by the Mayo Clinic:
“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.
Women are much 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.” Click for the full article here.
I was a textbook example of my condition. I was working as a para-educator at the kids’ school to be more available as a parent, and the classroom smelled good all the time due to the fact that I heated a rice sock in the waist band for one hip, ALL DAY. EVERY DAY. The only relief I had. This is where the depression comes in. You become hard to live with. I own that. Then the unimaginable happened. In an unrelated accident, I fell down a massive flight of stairs. I suffered severe shoulder and knee injuries. I was immobile for months. The swelling was so bad in my knees it took months before they could perform surgery. I don’t care how good you eat, you gain weight if you don’t move. That is just a sad fact. I was the biggest I had ever been in my life. Depression escalated, marital problems ensued, my husband got laid off...you can get the image here for yourself. This was a horrible situation.
After the surgery, I suffered a blood clot...I was terrified that I would die. They assured me that due to location in my leg, it was unlikely.
I got better and life slowly got back to normal. My husband got a job out of state making an excellent salary and drove home once or twice a month. Still stressful, but we were on the mend. I went to make a regular trip to Texas to visit my parents and have a get together with my high school friends. I saw the pictures. I wanted to crawl in a hole. I was fat. Like FAT. That is not only hard for my vanity, it is so unhealthy. I can own that I was fat. People who get all up in arms about offending others, forget it. I was fat and I will tell you I was and it is not good for your HEALTH. That is not who I was and did not want to be. The health reasons alone were enough. The FM was exaggerated due to the extra weight. By extra, I am talking I am 5’4 and weighed 226.
This is my before and after pictures..
I don’t even look the same. I initially lost 80 pounds starting in August of 2011. I had tried every diet known to man, cheap and expensive. Nothing worked. I used HCG and initially lost 40 pounds. That was the kick to get me in gear. I could do this. Plus, I was much healthier now and actually began to work out. I started using an app called My Fitness Pal and could not believe my food journal. All that stuff that I thought wasn’t too bad, was horrible. I was eating around 3000 or so calories a day and didn’t even realize it. You just don’t get what you are putting into your mouth until you see it in black and white. SOo it made my transition easy form HCG to real life food awareness for the future.
I started reading up on the Paleo diet. Which isn’t a diet...I hate that word. It was a lifestyle change. I cut out all bad refined carbs and sugars. I ate nothing that wasn't natural, nothing processed. No dairy. Holy cow (no pun intended). Let me tell you what, the weight fell off. Then I got to feeling better because my mood was lifted as well; I started walking, then jogging then even used tough exercise videos. I was in the best shape of my life; I did my first 5k the following spring. I felt amazing. I looked amazing. I played with my children. I didn’t say “no” every time they asked like I did in the past. I am not a doctor and can not prescribe a regimen for you. You have to take that first step to improve yourself. If I can get off my lazy behind, so can you. Play with your kids, run around, be silly. Life looks a lot better when you are actually living it.
No comments:
Post a Comment