Recovery: Happy Third Anniversary To Me!

Yesterday was a happy milestone for me. On Sunday, December 6, I celebrated three years of freedom from fibromyalgia. When I was first diagnosed with this horrible disease, I never anticipated writing those words. Every doctor I saw and everything I read about fibromyalgia sent discouraging messages my way:

"There is no cure." 
"This will last for the rest of your life."
"Get used to feeling horrible every day."
:"You will have to adjust to your new norm of being chronically ill."

For the first year, I muddled along trying to cope with the symptoms that overwhelmed me.I had severe constant pain. I was tried on all the medicines used to moderate the pain but I had side effects and couldn't take any of them. I had unremitting fatigue, pain in multiple joint and muscle groups, insomnia, an inability to concentrate, and spiking pain in my knees, elbows, back, legs, hands, neck, and hips.I was barely able to complete the simplest tasks of daily life. It wasn't long before I tumbled into depression at the thought of feeling that awful for the rest of my life.

At first, I kept hoping that maybe I would wake up one day and miraculously feel better. But an entire year went by, and the symptoms were getting worse each day. After that first year, I finally climbed out of the fibro fog long enough to ask myself, "Now what?"  I had two choices: resign myself to living the rest of my life as a semi-invalid, or start looking for better ways to cope. I read everything I could find on chronic illness, in general, and fibromyalgia in particular. My laptop became my constant companion. The internet was both a blessing and a curse.There was endless information available but how in the world was I supposed to find the right path for me in the middle of such a deluge of data?

I am a person of faith, so I prayed for spiritual guidance as I continued my research. Slowly a sensible plan that seemed logical to me began to emerge. I decided my filter for trying different therapies would be, "First do no harm."  Some of the suggestions I read about were bizarre, potentially dangerous, or came with too little information about possible complications. Whatever I tried also needed to be practical. I didn't have the energy or resources to implement exotic and unrealistic ideas.

I kept seeing one thing over and over again that intrigued me.Some researchers are studying the possibility that fibromyalgia and other autoimmune diseases may be triggered by exposure to toxic chemicals that are ubiquitous in our modern world. They are in our environment and in things we use every day like cleaning products, makeup, personal grooming products, and processed foods 

I couldn't do much about the chemicals that were in the environment outside. But I could certainly work on the ones I was being exposed to in my own home. The plan I eventually developed required me to be willing to change a lot of things in my lifestyle, but there was nothing about it that could harm me.  

I made three primary lifestyle changes:

I eliminated as many potentially harmful chemicals as possible from my home.

I stopped eating most processed food.

I started eating whole food with lots of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.


This was a process that took time. I had to look for less toxic cleaning products, personal grooming items, and makeup to use. I became an avid label reader of all the products I used. I read ingredient labels on food packages.I stopped eating things that came in boxes that listed preservatives, artificial dyes, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and other potentially harmful substances as ingredients. I learned which real foods are the most nutritious. I eventually added other secondary steps: movement, resetting my sleep pattern, adjusting my focus, removing toxic people and situations from my daily life, and surrounding myself with a support group of encouraging people.

My expectations were extremely low. I was simply looking for a way to survive living with a chronic illness. My depression over being so sick improved as soon as I became proactive and started looking for ways to cope. My symptoms were still there but I felt less helpless once I started looking for possibilities. It took almost a year to figure out everything I needed to do. Six weeks after I had all the pieces of the puzzle in place, the totally unexpected happened. 

My symptoms had been improving a little each day for a year. I still had pain and fatigue but it was not as severe as it had been previously. On the morning of December 6, 2012, I woke up, got out of bed, and was sleepily staggering toward the bathroom when I suddenly noticed something quite astounding: my fibromyalgia symptoms were completely gone. I had no pain, no fatigue, none of the other symptoms that had plagued me for three years. I was shocked, amazed, and beyond grateful. Every morning since that day, I wake up counting my blessings and giving thanks to God for this surprising gift.

I was extremely ill for three years. Yesterday, I celebrated my third year of being symptom free. I was told that I would never be well. I want to encourage you that recovery from fibromyalgia is possible. If that sounds too good to be true, I completely agree. I wouldn't believe it myself, except for this: it happened to me. 

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