Re: I'm Just Me Here

Well, as you have noticed I'm sure, I haven't been in the group much this
week. Been very busy catching up at work and been very tired. Yesterday I
was on the run all day and today I'm paying for it. Oh well. But I totally
believe that diet and exercise do HELP with the symptoms of FM/CMP. At
least it does for me. Mind you I said help and not cure. I also want to
say that just as diabetes is different in every person who has it (type II),
I believe that FM/CMP displays and reacts differently in every person as
well. Just as many chronic conditions do. So for anyone to say that "if
you feel better doing whatever then you couldn't have had FM" is just a
person who has a narrow way of thinking and that person is only able to base
their knowledge of FM on their own experience, the experience of their
friends and what they've read. If all the answers were available and out
there then we'd have this thing resolved by now, wouldn't we? But we don't
and we all know there is a ton of research going down as to what it is
exactly cuz you gotta figure that out before you can figure out a cure or
solution. Just like they had to do with AIDS/HIV. So no one can devalue
anyone's claim of "feeling cured" or "I'm in remission" or "this really
helps me feel better and have fewer flares" because we really just don't
know everything we need to know to be able to make that claim. Instead, we
should just recognize that each of us are different, respond to different
treatments/therapy/etc and have varying degrees of relieve/comfort in them.
And accept it, be supportive and not be so closed minded and judgmental of
them. That's my 2 cents. Now I am going to get me another cup of coffee:-)

Oh, but I did want to say that keeping active with gentle exercise (like
stretching, walking short distances, not sitting for long periods of time)
really help me as well as my msm supplement that I take each day. I take
3,000 mgs twice a day. I also take a wide variety of vitamins and minerals
but that's more for my gastric by-pass surgery. I eat a high protein, low
carb, natural carbs only, low fat, low caloric diet and I've lost 114 lbs to
date. Nothing just by itself made me feel better but all of this together I
believe has helped me continue working full time, have a social life and
feel better in general most of the time. Each person has to experiment and
see what type of overall plan will work best for them. Narcotics won't solve
all the problems we have. The side effects for some are disabling in
themselves. They would be for me. But I do take 1 percocet a day, and
ambien to help with sleep at least twice a week. Nothing more than that. I
work a desk job but I get up and move every hour now and that helps keep me
from feeling so stiff and sore.

Okay, now I'm gonna go get that coffee:-) Hope everyone is having a great
day:-)

Carol J

"Janey Pooh" <janepooh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1156595029.879435.216340@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I want to talk a bit about this idea that "Us FMers" can't get better
with changes in diet and exercise alone. And also the idea that if
anyone says they do, it's because they never had Fibromyalgia or had
only a very mild case.

First - I am not speaking for "Us FMers". I only speak for ME. And
For ME - changes in diet, exercise AND *stress* (stress being perhaps
the most important word in this sentence) have made me Feel Better.

No, it's not a cure and I am not cured. But I *do* Feel Better than I
did in the past when I was constantly going to the doctor about my
fibro pains, was on several different medications to try and help my
fibro, and really thought I was doomed to a life of pain and agony.

I remember days - MONTHS - when I felt so much pain in my hips and
knees that I couldn't make it up our flight of stairs to go to bed. We
looked into moving from our beautiful old brick house to a bungalow
because my husband, looking towards the future, couldn't see anyway
around it. I was going to be a cripple for the rest of my life. We
couldn't make love because it hurt my hips too much. I couldn't reach
anything in the cupboards because it hurt so much to raise my arms.

I remember Fibro AGONY that went on for months without abating. That
doesn't happen to me anymore. Yes, I still feel pain, but it doesn't
last.

I was originally Dx by a GP, then a Rheumatologist, then two different
Physiotherapists and eventually a Pain Specialist. All of them found I
had 18/18 of the Tender Points and met all the criteria for
Fibromyalgia. I remember bawling my head of in doctors' offices,
begging for something to help me. They gave me A/Ds, changed my A/Ds,
gave me muscle relaxants and NSAIDS for a time. They didn't help, so I
eventually quit taking them all.

I **do** have it. I've had this question pop up before, and it really
upset me a lot back then. It felt like people thought I was lying, and
why would I lie about such a thing.

Now, to be honest, it almost feels GOOD to think that people don't
believe I have Fibro. Means I must be doing pretty good at reaching my
GOAL - which is NOT to be **cured** but to FEEL BETTER, regardless of
how I do that.

I *never* say I'm CURED, nor even that I'm "in remission". Remission
to me means going five years with no re-occurence of symptoms at all -
and without all the serious meds and stuff that it took to get there.
That's not me. But I **do** Feel Better. I feel better when I eat
GOOD food. I feel better when I get light exercise and DO things.
Yesterday my son and I went to town and spent the day shopping and
going for lunch etc - and I didn't Flare. I Felt Better.

That's because, most importantly, I Feel Better when I don't STRESS OUT
about having Fibromyalgia. Or *anything*, for that matter. I was
talking to my son about this yesterday and he reminded me,

"Mom, it's not about anybody else but YOU. You know and I know that
you've been through some pretty major crap in your life and you're
doing amazingly WELL in spite of it all. It doesn't matter HOW. If it
works for you, that's GREAT. Don't stress out about what anyone else
thinks of you - just worry about what YOU think of you. *I* am very
proud of you - and I've lived with you every day of my life. I've been
through the bad times and the good, and I much prefer the GOOD. Do
whatever you need to to get there."

That's a pretty smart kid I got there. ;o)

For *ME*, spending a lot of time fretting and stressing about what I
should take, how I should supplement, what I should and shouldn't DO -
makes me fret and stress, which makes me flare. It keeps Fibro On My
Mind all the time, which isn't good for me. That's why I post about
*otherstuff* too - to keep Fibro from dominating my every thought.
Yes, I do still flare, but now it's for an hour or two, instead of
months. I try to eat well, I try to sleep well, I try to get out and
walk and move around and I try to enjoy life.

I am not a cripple and I don't intend to be one. My seizure disorder
crippled me for a while too, but I'm learning that THAT has a lot to do
with stressing about it TOO - and it's calmed down A LOT since I
started thinking along those lines. I'll probably always need to take
my Tegretol, but not freaking out about having TLE has made me have a
lot less temporal lobe seizures. Doesn't mean I never had it in the
first place though.

Stopping all the freaking out about why I had a big swollen belly and
deciding to Just Eat helped my stomach calm down WAY more than all
those bloody tests I had done at the hospital did. Doesn't mean I
never had a swollen belly.

I am just me. I only speak for ME when I write posts here. Whatever
"Us FMers" need to do to cure ouselves is irrelevant to me. I am not
looking for a CURE. I'm looking for ways to help myself FEEL BETTER.
And what *I* need for that is good food, light exercise and moving
around, sleeping as much and whenever I can, and learning NOT to get
myself in a stress cycle that makes me flare.

Take GOOD Care,

Jane


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