Painting the House and I'm Still Alive

My husband and I are painting the inside of our house and I am having such fun. I know that sounds a little bit, well maybe a lot, crazy. After all painting involves taping, drop cloths, strenuous manual labor, ladders, brushes, rollers, time, moving furniture, and living in general chaos until the job is done.

But I'm elated nonetheless. Here's why. The last time the inside of our house was painted (ages and ages ago), we had a contractor complete the task. The smell of the paint fumes made me so sick I had to move out and stay with family and friends until the smell was gone. It was almost six weeks before I was able to move back into my home.This time around things are entirely different. Not only am I able to stay in the house while it is being painted, I am able to wield a brush and roller to help paint it.

A lot has happened between our two painting adventures. I had Meniere's disease the first go around. Since then I have developed Fuch's dystrophy of the cornea, multiple chemical and food allergies, and fibromyalgia. All of these diseases are related to malfunctioning of the immune system. I was in so much pain with fibromyalgia that I was desperate to find a way to feel better. I learned that exposure to toxic chemicals contributes to all kinds of autoimmune diseases including fibro. So I got chemicals out of my home, stopped eating processed food that is full of harmful chemicals, and started eating real food rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. I haven't had any fibromyalgia symptoms in over nineteen months. And as a bonus, my immune system in general has improved. My allergies are a lot better. I haven't had a Meniere's episode in two years. My vision is stable. I feel great.

So I was worried when we started planning to paint the house. We are retired now and have plenty of time to do the work ourselves. But I didn't want to rock the boat by risking exposure to paint. Fortunately, paint manufacturers have developed paint that is free of VOCs - Volatile Organic Chemicals. VOCs in paint, cleaning products, scented products, cosmetics and a host of other things people use in daily life are a huge contributor to all kinds of health problems. We bought three gallons of VOC free paint in different colors and painted three different test walls. I had no reaction at all. We have finished painting three entire rooms and I am zipping right along as healthy as can be. 

Here are some quick tips that can make painting the inside of your home a little easier.

Buy paint that contains no VOCs. There are some paint products that say low VOC so make sure to verify that the paint you choose has absolutely no VOCs.

Gather all supplies before you start. Our list included: regular painter's tape, painter's tape with a four foot pull out drop cloth to use on the baseboards, an extension ladder, a step ladder, a step stool, three sizes of good quality brushes, disposable paint rollers, an extension roller pole, roller pans, drop cloths for the floor, and drop cloths to cover the furniture.

Painter's tape with a drop cloth attached works great on baseboards.

An extension ladder helps with the high spots.

Decide on a color scheme. Most companies offer brochures and online resources to help you pick out colors. We used a color palette sheet that shows a range of colors that work well together, got large paint chip swatches of the colors we thought we wanted to use, and painted test patches before buying all of the paint. The color palette sheet also has been useful for picking out accessories to go with our new look.

Prepare the room. Move the furniture away from the walls and cover with drop cloths. Put painter's tape around all baseboards, door frames, and windows. Take pictures off the walls and use spackle to fill in all nail holes. Wash the walls with a damp microfiber cloth. Bring your paint, brushes, and rollers to the room. Go!

For me painting my home has been a special blessing. Nineteen months ago I was too sick and in too much pain from fibromyalgia to even think about doing something as strenuous as painting our whole house. I am so thankful for health and energy and paint that is free from VOCs. I could share more but I've got to run. There are more rooms waiting to magically change color and I hear a paintbrush calling my name.

Surprised by Recovery from Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia produces a cascading torrent of symptoms.

I know the exact moment my encounter with fibromyalgia started.  On December 21, 2009 I had a severe allergic reaction to shrimp. I went into anaphylactic shock, had difficulty breathing, was taken to the emergency room, and was given three doses of epinephrine before my lung function returned to normal. I was kept in the ER for observation and then sent home to rest and recover. A week later I was still resting but I was not recovering at all.

I felt extremely fatigued all of the time. About a month after the shrimp episode, I developed muscle and joint pain all over my body. At first I thought it was just taking a long time to recover from the anaphylactic reaction, all that epinephrine, and the hectic Christmas holiday season. But the symptoms persisted and grew worse each day.

I had been working part time for four to six hours a day four days a week. I began to cut back on my hours until I was working only two or three hours a day. Eventually, I no longer had the energy for even that and had to quit my job. Prior to the onset of this mysterious cluster of symptoms I was an energetic,outgoing, generally cheerful person who thrived on being involved in many things at one time. But now it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to complete the basic tasks of everyday living. My doctor did laboratory analysis and evaluation which came back within normal limits. After the symptoms had persisted for six months and other possible causes had been ruled out, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. 

I was tried on several different medications used to help control fibromyalgia pain but I had side effects with each one and couldn't take any of them. I was going to have to somehow find a way to live with constant pain and debilitating fatigue. 

For the next twelve months, I spent most of my time lying on the couch. I got up to make occasional forays to the grocery store and wander into the utility room to try to keep up with the laundry. Everything I heard was discouraging. I was told there was no known cause or cure for fibromyalgia, that it would probably last the rest of my life, and that I might as well get used to feeling horrible every single day.

My usual coping mechanism is to confront a problem head on, brainstorm creative ways to resolve the issue, and jump in and do whatever it takes to make things better. I barely had the energy to stand up and shuffle around the house, much less do any jumping, but I jumped in anyway. I started reading everything I could find about fibromyalgia. 

It took another year to discover everything I needed to know to feel better. Over time, I developed a plan that involved making three huge changes in my lifestyle. I got chemicals out of my home environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. My fibromyalgia symptoms have completely resolved. I haven't had any pain, fatigue,insomnia, fibro fog, or other fibromyalgia symptoms for over a year and a half. 

Before I got well, if anyone had told me it was possible to recover from fibromyalgia, I would have said they were nuts. I still wouldn't believe it even now except for this: it happened to me. 

Did you experience any traumatic physical, spiritual, or emotional event before you got sick?

Have you found anything that has helped improve your fibromyalgia symtpoms?

Making Bread without Catching the House on Fire

Update: November 16, 2015

Since I have been posting about breakfast foods for the past week, I thought you might enjoy this blog post from last year when I first attempted to learn how to make bread in a bread machine. As I reread the post, I noticed that I shared I had been free of symptoms for a year and a half. I'm thrilled to report that next month I will celebrate three years of being symptom free from fibromyalgia. Even if your attempts to move toward a healthier lifestyle are filled with setbacks and culinary disasters, it is so worth the effort. Happy baking and hope for healing to all!

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Bread

Over the past few years, I have been replacing processed food with whole foods as part of my plan for coping with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. My symptoms disappeared when I got chemicals out of my environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. I haven't had any fibromyalgia pain or CFS symptoms in over a year and a half. 

My goal is to eat 95% real food. I use a few processed prepackaged items for the remaining 5% of what I eat like mustard, ketchup, pickles, and until recently - bread. Packaged bread is probably not nearly as full of chemicals as industrially produced cookies, candy, soda, etc. - Right?  That's what I thought until I read the label on the bread package and saw that the list of ingredients includes: sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl lactylate, monoglycerides, calcium peroxide, datem, ethyoxylated diglycerides, high fructose corn syrup, azodicarbonamide, and enzymes. 

Since I don't want to eat chemicals, I decided it was time to learn to make my own bread. I've been making muffins for years so it was no problem to make a few batches to put in the freezer. So far I've made blueberry, banana walnut, and apple oatmeal muffins.

Blueberry Muffins

I had an old bread machine collecting dust in the attic and an old bread machine cookbook shoved to the back of the cookbook shelf in the kitchen. So one day when my schedule was completely free and I was feeling adventurous. I decided to tackle making bread. My first attempt was a stellar success. The cinnamon raisin bread made my kitchen smell like a bakery and it was absolutely delicious. And I knew exactly what was in it: water, raisins, cinnamon, butter, salt, organic raw sugar, flour and yeast.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

And then I had a great idea. I noticed that all of the recipes in the cookbook were for one pound loaves and my bread machine could make up to a two pound loaf. Hmmm, let's see:  to make twice as much of most recipes you multiply times two and - Voila!  I should have twice as much bread. So I doubled one of the recipes in the cookbook, dumped all of the ingredients in, and pushed the start button. The bread machine was churning merrily away when I left the kitchen to go tend to some other chores. About an hour later I smelled something burning. I went back to the kitchen to investigate. It looked like the bread machine had exploded. Dough was running over the top of the bread pan and oozing out of every seam in the machine. Globs of sticky dough had trickled down on to the heating element, and caught on fire. I yanked out the plug, poured water over the smoky mess, and stood gazing at the sad remains of the bread machine as it quietly died. 

I learned something. If the bread recipe says it makes a one pound loaf, DO NOT double it to make a two pound loaf. I ruined a loaf of bread and murdered a poor innocent bread machine. Since I am quite stubborn and persistent, I just bought a new bread machine and started over. I have been making delicious homemade chemical free loaves of bread ever since. 

I have had fun recently making bagels and sandwich buns.

Bagels

Whole Wheat Sesame Buns

I have learned a few things about making bread in a bread machine.

Measure all ingredients exactly. 

Make sure all of your ingredients are fresh.

If you use bread flour, choose a brand that is non bromeated with no xanthum gum. 

Do not double the recipe.

Have all ingredients at room temperature.

Heat the milk or water until it is warm but not hot.

Put all of the liquid ingredients in first.

Add all of the dry ingredients next.

Spread the dry ingredients evenly over the liquid ingredients so that no moisture can get through.

Make a small indention in the dry ingredients with a spoon.

Sprinkle the yeast into the little hole you have made for it.

Follow the directions on your machine.

The new bread machine is working great. And I haven’t caught anything else on fire. 

5 Ways to Cope with Depression in Chronic Illness

One of the hardest things about dealing with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, or any other chronic illness, is trying to wrap your head around the idea that this terrible disease that has invaded your life is never going to go away.  

I am by nature a positive person. I usually can find some sliver of light even in the darkest situation. When I was diagnosed, I was told that there is no known cause or cure for fibromyalgia and CFS.  I don't think I truly believed that in the beginning. I woke up every morning expecting to feel better. But day after day passed and I still had severe pain and debilitating fatigue. After a whole year went by with no improvement, reality hit me square in the gut. I might feel this horrible for the rest of my life. I was forced to add a new symptom to my fibromyalgia pattern:  Depression.  

If I was going to cope with chronic illness, I had to learn how to cope with the depression it caused. Like every other aspect of the disease, this became a process over time. If you have found things that help you deal with the depression that comes with chronic illness, please share in the comment section so that other folks dealing with this can be encouraged. Different things help different people.  

Here are some things that helped me cope with the depression chronic illness caused.

Exercise 

The pain from fibromyalgia was so severe that my muscles and joints screamed at even the thought of movement. My fatigue was so debilitating that I considered walking from the couch to the kitchen a monumental triumph. Then I heard a doctor describe an exercise program designed for people with chronic illness that started with walking just one minute a day. I thought even I could handle that. So I walked around the inside of my house for one minute once a day for several weeks. After I got used to that, I started walking two minutes each day. I added minutes every few weeks until I was walking fifteen minutes at a time. When the weather was nice, I walked outside. I wasn't race walking. I was strolling and meandering. Moving around in the sunshine is a great mood booster. I gradually added swimming, light weight lifting, and stretches to my routine. Not only did this help with my physical symptoms, it also elevated my mood.

Books

I read my Bible, devotional books, books about dealing with chronic illness, books on depression, books about coping with trauma, books about eating good food, books about learning to be thankful in difficult circumstances. The words dancing across all of those pages encouraged me. Here are a few suggestions:

• Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?  by Harold S. Kushner
• Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• Learning to Pray When Your Heart is Breaking by Denise George
• A Place of Healing by Joni E. Tada
• Foods That Fight Fibromyalgia by Dierdre Rawlings
• Recovery from CFS - 50 Personal Stories by Alexandra Barton
• Help.Thanks. Wow by Anne Lamott
• One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  

Prayer  

I am a woman of faith so bringing the darkness that enveloped me to God was a natural response for me. I asked God to show me ways that I might be able to feel better. I asked him to help me develop good coping mechanisms to deal with the reality that I might not ever feel well. I asked for enough strength to simply put one foot in front of the other and somehow manage to survive the day. Sometimes my prayers were along the line of: 

"What in the world were you thinking to allow this to happen to me?" 

"I'm mad, tired, and discouraged and don't really feel like talking to you today." 

God loves us like a dad loves his family so he patiently listened to my complaints and questions. I had dealt with all kinds of trauma before fibromyalgia appeared in my life. There is a verse in the Bible that has encouraged me in dark times and I held on to this thought. 

"I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither the present nor the future, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Gratitude

I needed a way to shift my focus from my current negative circumstances to more positive thoughts. So every day I tried to think of at least one thing that I could be thankful for. This was not always easy.  But it helped. I expressed thanks for all kinds of things.

• This morning I took a shower and brushed my teeth before I had to sit down. Yay!
• I drove to the supermarket and shopped for fifteen minutes all by myself.
• My pain level is an 8 instead of a 10.
• I am surrounded by family and friends who love me.
• My husband encourages and helps me every single day.
• I saw a red cardinal sitting on a bare tree limb in the middle of January. It was beautiful.

Research
I started looking for answers and possibilities. There is a wealth of information in books and on the internet. I read all kinds of theories about what causes fibromyalgia and CFS. I searched for things I could do to feel better. Even before I discovered a single thing that helped, I felt my depression lifting. I was finally actively taking charge of this chronic illness instead of passively allowing it to take charge of me. Looking for information made me feel hopeful instead of helpless.  

Over time I developed a plan that involved three lifestyle changes.  I eliminated chemical products from my home environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. I hoped this would help me feel at least somewhat better. I was utterly amazed that it eventually led to compete recovery. I have been symptom free for 14 months and 10 days.

Healthy Valentine Sweet Treats

I have been focusing on eating whole real food as part of my chronic illness recovery plan. I suffered from severe fibromyalgia pain and debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome for three years.  Since changing my lifestyle, I have been symptom free for one year and two months.

I have found that if I eat whole real food 95% of the time, then I can give myself some leeway the other 5% of the time. Fresh fruit and whole unsalted nuts are my usual snack choices.  It is important to be practical as you move toward recovery from chronic illness. And every now and then part of that practicality for me includes indulging in a little sweet treat.  

From November to February we are plunged into several food-centric events: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Super Bowl Parties, and coming up soon - Valentine's Day. 

Processed food and calorie laden options abound during these holidays and celebrations. But there are many ways to enjoy healthier choices and still not feel deprived of sweet treats. One of the most delicious treats you can make is fresh fruit dipped in chocolate. There are many organic chocolate choices.  I like to use Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips for dipping, coating, and baking. Enjoy Life chips are organic and they are dairy, soy, and gluten free. Strawberries are my favorite fruit to dip in chocolate. 

Select fresh firm looking berries.  Buy organic strawberries if possible.  If you buy the berries at your local supermarket there is an easy way to remove some of the chemical residue from the fruit. Fill a large bowl with 1/4 c of vinegar and 2 quarts of cold water. Add the strawberries and soak them for twenty minutes.  Drain the berries in a colander and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Let the fruit air dry for fifteen minutes.  Pat dry with paper towels.   Store in an airtight container or bag with a paper towel placed on the bottom to soak up any remaining moisture. This method keeps the strawberries fresh and firm for one to two weeks.  I also use this vinegar soak to remove chemical residue from other fresh fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, apples, lettuce, grapes, etc. 

Take out the number of strawberries you want to dip in chocolate.  One cup of Enjoy Life mini chips is enough chocolate to coat one large container of strawberries.  Melt the chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over hot water. Stir the chips frequently until completely melted. Keep the melted chocolate over warm water while dipping the berries. Dip the bottom half of each berry in the melted chocolate.  Shake to remove excess chocolate. Place on waxed paper or on a cooling rack and leave until the chocolate is firmly set.  Serve immediately.

I have modified many other dessert recipes to make them more healthy.  I do not eat dairy and I have family members who do not eat gluten, peanuts, or soy.  When I am making sweet treats for my family, I make our favorite recipes changing some of the ingredients to make them fit our dietary needs.

You can make any cookie or candy recipe healthier by adding whole rolled oats, dried fruit, almonds, walnuts, and milled flax seed.  Here is a list of things you can substitute in recipes to make a healthier version of your favorites.

Flour.  Use whole wheat or unbleached instead of white flour.  Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of milled flax and 1 tablespoon of organic wheat germ to each cup of flour.  Substitute whole rolled oats for half of the flour called for in a recipe.

Gluten free flour. I have had the most success with mixing alternatives to wheat flour rather than using just one kind.  My favorite combination is for each cup of flour called for in a recipe use 1/3 cup of almond flour, 1/3 cup of coconut flour, and 1/3 c of gluten free flour.  I like King Arthur's but there are several brands to choose from.  

Sugar  Instead of white refined sugar, use unrefined organic raw sugar and raw local honey. For every cup of sugar called for in a recipe, I use 1/2 cup of raw sugar and 1/2 cup of honey.

Butter and solid shortening.  For every cup called for in the recipe substitute 1/3 cup of solid coconut oil, 1/3 cup of Earth Balance butter substitute, and 1/3 cup of olive oil.  I like Earth Balance because you can use it to bake, saute, or spread on bread and it comes in a dairy free and soy free version.  Olive oil is the healthiest oil you can use. 

Peanut butter.  Use the same amount of almond butter instead of peanut butter. Almonds are packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and protein. 


Milk.   Use almond milk in equal amounts to the milk called for in your recipe.

If I want to make sweet treats when  I do not have a crowd coming over to help us eat them, I make a batch of brownies or cookies and freeze them for my husband and me to eat.  I take out only one brownie or cookie at a time for each of us to defrost and enjoy. Eating them at this rate, one batch of cookies or brownies lasts us a month or more.  I like to make brownies using the substitutions listed above.  I add several kinds of chopped nuts, milled flax seed, and almond butter to make them more nutritious.  Our favorite cookie is oatmeal chocolate chip.  I add lots of nuts, whole rolled oats, dried fruit, and organic chocolate chips to my favorite cookie recipe to make a healthier version.

My Valentine wish for all of my friends who suffer from chronic autoimmune diseases is that you will find ways to get healthier and feel better.  That happened for me when I eliminated chemical products from my home, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in nutrients.