I Feel Good Now. I Hoped That I Would. Wow!

An Exhilarating Week

I have been sharing things I did to recover from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Check out previous posts if you want to catch up.  I have a lot more to blog about concerning this process.  But I had such an awesome week, I couldn't wait to write about it.  When I was sick, I barely had the energy to get out of bed in the morning, It took a huge effort to complete a simple errand. Taking a shower was exhausting.  If I traveled, played with the grandchildren, or attended a meeting, I was immobile for two or three days afterward.  I had severe constant pain in my joints and muscles. I was having difficulty sleeping and a lot of other symptoms. Prior to the onset of this horrible disease, I was an energetic, cheerful, busy woman. After the onset, I felt doomed to spend each day of the rest of my life tumbling  into the ever increasing grip of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Bit by bit I was losing my sense of the self I used to be.

After my chemical epiphany, I worked on ways to get the chemicals out of my house, out of my food, and out of my life. I started putting the right kinds of food into my body.  Today I have no symptoms at all.

Here is a glimpse of what a week with no symptoms looks like:

Wednesday:  cleaned house, exercised, did laundry, ironed, worked on writing projects, helped lead small group study at church that night, walked up the stairs instead of having to take the elevator

Thursday:  errands, packed for a trip, payed bills, traveled five hours from my home to visit family, read stories to grandchildren, rocked youngest to sleep

Friday:  more play time with grandchildren, visited with oldest one at her school which included lunch, story time, recess on playground, went to her basketball game that night, stayed up until midnight waiting for rest of family to arrive 

Saturday:  up early to get ready for middle grandchild's birthday party, went to party, chased children around, played after party, shopped for a new car, more rocking and story time

Sunday:  packed up, drove new car back home, unpacked, planned menus and made grocery list, worked on more writing projects

Monday:  up early, errands, exercised, drove downtown to meet husband for lunch, bought groceries, put everything away, straightened up house, welcomed out of town guests to our home for dinner

Tuesday: up early and off to help with ESL classes, back home to do laundry, exercised,  worked on writing projects, cooked, supper is in the oven as I type.

I haven't had any down time in seven days.  I am having no chronic fatigue symptoms or fibromyalgia pain.  Having the energy to stay busy and enjoy life is a gift I took for granted before I got sick.  I was unable to function normally for three years.  Being able to live my life again to the fullest with joy and relish is a blessing beyond my power to comprehend.

I am astounded and amazed.  I thank God every day for showing me what to do to get better. I don't know what a miracle is supposed to look like, but this feels like one to me! 

Yikes! I'm Dying Myself to Death

I used to be a redhead

Eliminating chemicals from your environment
may require changing your personal grooming routine

I had eliminated scented products and started using cleaning products with natural ingredients to see if this would help my severe fibromyalgia pain and debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome.  Next I started investigating the things I was putting on my body each day. The list was quite long:

bath soap

deodorant

shampoo

conditioner

hand lotion

moisturizer

makeup foundation

powder

blush

eye shadow

mascara

lipstick

I started reading labels and searching for alternatives.  I tried all of the hypoallergenic and scent free makeup products I could find until I settled on the ones I thought would work for me. There were also a lot of hypoallergenic and/or scent free hairspray, moisturizer and lotion options for me to try.

I read that bath soaps and shampoos that are white and don't contain added scent have less chemicals than those that do so I changed brands.

I found that toothpaste that is white and does not contain added flavoring has less chemicals so I switched to a kind made for sensitive teeth.

One day I was looking in the mirror combing my beautiful red hair when it dawned on me that I achieved this lovely shade by having chemical laden color applied to my hair every month at the salon.  So I went to the beauty shop and had my hair cut in a short style so the color would grow off more quickly. I had been dying my hair for so long I wasn't sure what the natural color would be.  For a while I sported a funky punk rock style with red on the ends, gray at the roots and a pleasantly surprising amount of brown still scattered about.  The color eventually all grew off and I am back to my natural color and enjoying my new look.

You can find all kinds of personal grooming items with less chemical content at your local drugstore or discount store and additional options at health food and organic product stores.  

After just these first few steps I was already starting to notice a decrease in my pain level on some days but I still I had days with severe pain and the chronic fatigue was still keeping me from functioning normally.  But I still had a lot of things to try in my quest to change my lifestyle.  Recovery was coming.  I just didn't know it yet.

Is There a Cure?

Fibromyalgia:  You Can Get Better

Fibromyalgia feels like a cascading waterfall of never ending symptoms that tumbles you into a hopeless abyss.  Pain and chronic fatigue become a daily reality.

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 ER and given three doses of epinephrine before my lung function returned to normal.  A week later I had a typical winter virus.  After I got over the virus, I felt extremely fatigued.  Then I developed all over muscle pain.  At first I thought my body was just taking its own sweet time to recover from the double whammy of the anaphylactic reaction and the virus.  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.  By the time spring faded into summer, 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 six things at one time. But now it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to complete the basic tasks of everyday living. My doctor did labwork and evaluation and then told me I had Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).  He tried me on several different drugs to help control the pain but I had side effects with each of them.  It looked like my only choice was to somehow find a way to live with the symptoms.

For the next year I spent most of my time resting with periodic forays to the grocery store and stabs at keeping up with the laundry.  Everything I heard was discouraging:

"There is no cure." 

 "This can last for the rest of your life." 

 "Get used to feeling horrible every day."  

On the first year anniversary of my cascading tumble into the Fibro/CFS void, I made a decision.  There had to be something I could do to feel better.  I started reading everything I could find on Fibro/CFS.  I made some remarkable discoveries.  I am amazed that my symptoms have almost completely disappeared.  In this blog I want to share my journey with you, get your feedback on things that have helped you, and get the word out to the world that no matter what you have heard, or what you are currently dealing with, Fibro/CFS is not a lifelong sentence.  You can get better.  I am living proof that this is true.

 Was there any precipitating factor for your Fibro/CFS?

How long have you been sick?Pinterest