p14175
Member
- Joined
- May 18, 2015
- Messages
- 11
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
- State
- AZ
Hi. My name is Linda and I'm 55. I used to be an employed engineer until this chronic pain condition killed my career a few years ago. I haven't been officially diagnosed with fibromyalgia but I strongly suspect that's what the rheumatologist will say I when I see him next week. It took me about 2 years to get a referral to see a pain specialist. The whole thing started with an abscessed tooth.
At first my pain hovered 7-9 on a scale of 10. I was able to significantly reduce the pain by making lifestyle changes such as: eliminating all grains, legumes, refined sugars, alcohol, and minimizing nightshades; and also by adopting Primal Blueprint(1) lifestyle principles including: intermittent fasting, staying in ketosis, and keeping active. Doing all these things has reduced my pain to the 2-5 range.
I don't have much stamina these days. After the chronic pain hit I was back to square one athletically ... not that I was very athletic to begin with. I started with the A Morning Cup of exercise books(2). These are great if you are starting from the beginning like I was. They are basically "sit and be fit" books that stay well within the range of motion. I used the A Morning Cup of Stretching and A Morning Cup of Yoga to get going. It took me about 6 months before I was able to complete one the book routines without being exhausted and hurting. A year ago I moved on to walking 2x/week and the Five Tibetan Rites (5TR) daily. I still can't walk more than 1/2-mile without exhaustion and I'm up to 15 reps with the 5TR. I recently added a balance board (2 minutes) and -- of all things -- hacky sack (footbag). The last two are for balance and posture. But it's all about pacing myself. It will probably be another year or so before I will be able to do a simple hacky sack routine, perform the complete 5TR sequence in proper form, or walk a mile in less than an hour. Every time I make progress, no matter how small, I call it a victory.
Balance is an issue. I went from getting around without any problems to using a cane and then using elbow crutches. A few months ago I got my doctor to sign off on a temporary disabled parking permit. Shopping exhausts me and pushing a shopping cart makes it even worse. I also switched to minimalist footwear: flip flops and Walmart water shoes. Wearing flexible lightweight footwear makes it easier for me to walk and helps strengthen the muscles in my feet and ankles.
I can deal with achiness and exhaustion during the day by taking frequent exercise breaks. I keep up my exercise through flareups but do it at a slower pace or less reps. Exercise breaks consist of the Morning Cup routines or taking a short walk around the backyard.
Getting a good night sleep is difficult. We all know about that! I am still trying to find the right combination of things that will help me stay asleep for 6-8 hours. Right now I wear blue-blocking glasses when I watch television so the bright flashing lights don't hurt my eyes or give me headaches. I take 5mg melatonin to get sleep going, but I usually wake up after 3-4 hours in pain. I am thinking meditation should put me back to sleep so I'll be adding that skill.
Drugs and supplements: I used to take 12-16 ibuprofen/day but have cut that down to taking it only when I really need it -- which is 2-3 pills 2-3x/week. When the pain is in the 0-6 range I can do without drugs. Ibuprofen is only needed in the 7-9 pain range. I have been experimenting with supplements and have found melatonin, magnesium, DHEA, and black cohosh to be helpful. Everything else has been a waste of money.
It took me a few years to accept the fact that the pain isn't going to go away so now my goal is to learn how to manage it.
Linda
BTW, I have no financial interest in the Primal Blueprint or the A Morning Cup books. I found PB to be a useful in learning how to improve my health. The A Morning Cup of exercise books made it easy to for me to get moving again.
Links and advertising not allowed.
Ref:
(1) The Primal Blueprint is by Mark Sisson, If you are interested in the primal/paleo movement this is a great place to start. The success stories are wonderful reminders that anyone can take charge of their health and improve it.
(2) You can find used copies of A Morning Cup of Yoga and A Morning Cup of Stretching by doing web search. Other titles include A Morning Cup of strengthening, balance, tai chi, meditation, Qi gong, and pilates. I give them all 5 stars.
At first my pain hovered 7-9 on a scale of 10. I was able to significantly reduce the pain by making lifestyle changes such as: eliminating all grains, legumes, refined sugars, alcohol, and minimizing nightshades; and also by adopting Primal Blueprint(1) lifestyle principles including: intermittent fasting, staying in ketosis, and keeping active. Doing all these things has reduced my pain to the 2-5 range.
I don't have much stamina these days. After the chronic pain hit I was back to square one athletically ... not that I was very athletic to begin with. I started with the A Morning Cup of exercise books(2). These are great if you are starting from the beginning like I was. They are basically "sit and be fit" books that stay well within the range of motion. I used the A Morning Cup of Stretching and A Morning Cup of Yoga to get going. It took me about 6 months before I was able to complete one the book routines without being exhausted and hurting. A year ago I moved on to walking 2x/week and the Five Tibetan Rites (5TR) daily. I still can't walk more than 1/2-mile without exhaustion and I'm up to 15 reps with the 5TR. I recently added a balance board (2 minutes) and -- of all things -- hacky sack (footbag). The last two are for balance and posture. But it's all about pacing myself. It will probably be another year or so before I will be able to do a simple hacky sack routine, perform the complete 5TR sequence in proper form, or walk a mile in less than an hour. Every time I make progress, no matter how small, I call it a victory.
Balance is an issue. I went from getting around without any problems to using a cane and then using elbow crutches. A few months ago I got my doctor to sign off on a temporary disabled parking permit. Shopping exhausts me and pushing a shopping cart makes it even worse. I also switched to minimalist footwear: flip flops and Walmart water shoes. Wearing flexible lightweight footwear makes it easier for me to walk and helps strengthen the muscles in my feet and ankles.
I can deal with achiness and exhaustion during the day by taking frequent exercise breaks. I keep up my exercise through flareups but do it at a slower pace or less reps. Exercise breaks consist of the Morning Cup routines or taking a short walk around the backyard.
Getting a good night sleep is difficult. We all know about that! I am still trying to find the right combination of things that will help me stay asleep for 6-8 hours. Right now I wear blue-blocking glasses when I watch television so the bright flashing lights don't hurt my eyes or give me headaches. I take 5mg melatonin to get sleep going, but I usually wake up after 3-4 hours in pain. I am thinking meditation should put me back to sleep so I'll be adding that skill.
Drugs and supplements: I used to take 12-16 ibuprofen/day but have cut that down to taking it only when I really need it -- which is 2-3 pills 2-3x/week. When the pain is in the 0-6 range I can do without drugs. Ibuprofen is only needed in the 7-9 pain range. I have been experimenting with supplements and have found melatonin, magnesium, DHEA, and black cohosh to be helpful. Everything else has been a waste of money.
It took me a few years to accept the fact that the pain isn't going to go away so now my goal is to learn how to manage it.
Linda
BTW, I have no financial interest in the Primal Blueprint or the A Morning Cup books. I found PB to be a useful in learning how to improve my health. The A Morning Cup of exercise books made it easy to for me to get moving again.
Links and advertising not allowed.
Ref:
(1) The Primal Blueprint is by Mark Sisson, If you are interested in the primal/paleo movement this is a great place to start. The success stories are wonderful reminders that anyone can take charge of their health and improve it.
(2) You can find used copies of A Morning Cup of Yoga and A Morning Cup of Stretching by doing web search. Other titles include A Morning Cup of strengthening, balance, tai chi, meditation, Qi gong, and pilates. I give them all 5 stars.
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