Fibromyalgia is a condition (also called a syndrome, and some researchers are now exciting and calling it a disease) that causes dysfunction of the autoimmune system so that your muscles and nervous system do not communicate properly. It’s not progressive or destructive like Alzheimer’s or Lou Gehrig’s disease, which means it won’t kill me, but it can be, literally, a great big pain in the toy. And likewise in the rest of my body. Depending on the degree to which someone has it, it can range from moderately annoying to completely debilitating.
And the cause of these is most commonly diagnosed in women from 30 to 50.
Currently, there is no concern.
And since fibro is imitated or triggered by many others, scarier diseases like Lyme or hepatitis or multiple sclerosis, doctors to act safely and rule first. So many blood test one day I had a bruise on my arm the size of a bar of soap.
Although I was able to live with fibromyalgia for years, I was first formally diagnosed, coincidentally, in 1993, a few months before my wedding. In the beginning, pain in hands I gave my hands, arms and arms a graphic design job: it was the beginning of the desk book revolution and sketch Completion has been replaced with a Mac and a mouse. No one knew much about ergonomic work in those days, so computer desks, folding tables, or basically anything. plains Repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis were popping up like mushrooms and employers were panicking. Thinking I was yet another victim of the Computer Age, I went from specialist to specialist with no results and had to take all my private and vacation time away so I could rest. My chiropractor had me in his hands, to be done. Finally, my intern had a suspicion of the magnitude of the “injury” of the lack of positive tests and the time that I did not add to the computer.
He sent me to a rheumatologist (a doctor who specializes in other autoimmune diseases like arthritis and lupus) who diagnosed my fibroids.
At that time, not much was known about fibromyalgia (many health professionals believed that it was all in your head!) so the treatment was textual: prescribing a dose of antidepressant or muscle relaxing to increase sleep increases serotonin levels in the brain. Some of these medications are supposed to make you sleepy and reduce pain, so theoretically you get double help. .
The rheumatologist gave me a prescription for a tricyclic antidepressant called Elavil and mimeographed instructions on how to take it, starting with a low dose and working up to a higher dose.
Unfortunately, all Elavil did for me was night sweats. Then I tried Flexeril, a muscle relaxant, which is supposed to promote restorative sleep, and that worked better, even though I felt a gloomy and gloomy morning.
When my rheumatologist couldn’t give me any more help (besides trying relaxation), I started hunting for my own information. I found the Fibromyalgia Network, an organization that publishes a newsletter full of tips and research abstracting new drugs and therapies. (They have this website.) Finally I also found a few good books, including “Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain Syndrome” Written by two women (Devin Starlanyl, MD and Mary Ellen Copeland, MS, MA) who both have fibromyalgia. I found out that there were more drugs available besides the two that I tried, and there was a lot that could help me. I learned that massages and hot baths could give my poor, aching muscles some relief and sleep. I learned that stress, illness and certain foods exacerbate the condition, and by finding a gentle aerobic exercise I could live with vitally, even though I was tired and achy most of the time, the last thing I wanted to do was exercise. Part of my stress went away on its own – the wedding was over and I was fired up from a job I hated – and finally the burning subsided.
For the next ten years or so I went into what is called remission – a period where I was asymptomatic. I attribute this to these books by following advice and taking good care of my body – good nutrition, regular exercise, and more effective ordering. In the lake of life
But in early 2005 it returned with a vengeance. I was stressing myself out on all fronts. I would like to become an employee at my job, within the deadlines of a major project and to do the work of two people. My mother-in-law had been battling stage 4 breast and had a double mastectomy last Nov. . My stepfather passed away from lung cancer a few months ago and – the proverbial straw that literally broke this camel’s back – I picked up a computer hard drive and two herniated discs in my lumbar spine.
Followed by a relapse of fibromyalgia (a href=”https://e-info.vn/tag/solar-flare”>”used to flare”, but I compared this one more to a solar flare) was vicious. Legs and hips are heavy. I stopped to sleep. I spent most days in bed on an ice pack. Procrastination made the fibro worse. NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, naprosyn, etc.) I found my back was hurting me (some sources claim that NSAIDs help with fibro pain but they don’t help much and there is some evidence that shows that they compromise the permeability of the intestines meaning nutrients, which needed to heal if not properly absorbed). None of the sleep medication prescribed by my doctor worked well, and some made the insomnia worse (this is called a “paradoxical reaction”). They landed me twice in the emergency room.
I only started getting some support for fibro when I started getting my back physical-therapy physical and I was sleep deprived during that time , and my muscles were so atrophied that I could hardly walk.He gave me a cane and asked me to walk slowly for 8-10 minutes every few hours.
But by incorporating a regular routine of gentle walking, stretching and finally, simple strengthening exercises, my flare-ups became manageable, and I learned even more about how to live with fibromyalgia.
I learned that while many drugs and protocols (non-medical therapies) are now available that wouldn’t even have been a light in the eyes of a researcher in 1993, doctors still don’t know much about fibro other than how difficult it is to treat and care programs for both individuals and people struggling with the disease. I learned that what once worked for me (Flexeril) now does nothing for me. Even today, the only scientifically proven modality to help ease fibromyalgia is aerobic exercise. Everything else is trial and error. Prescription drug treatment is more of an art than a science, since no drug has yet been developed specifically for fibromyalgia (but all of them are used “off label” for a reason, because it has been shown to improve the various symptoms of the fibromyalgia and not the whole disease. ) Ive the head of some “lucky” fibromyalgia (common for fibromyalgia living) who only need to take Elavil in days when it flares up or flares up. The happiest person is the person who takes an aspirin a day and never has to think about it again.
The more subtle problem, as I said before, is that there are people like me and many others who are extremely addicted to drugs. Many people have fibromyalgia because their immune systems are off balance to see everything coming into their bodies (such as “good” (things like food, vitamins and essential medicines) such as Invaders From The Death Star. I tried so many drugs – for sleep, for pain – that I was in the pharmacist’s first name.
This is why so many people with fibromyalgia – myself included – use a number of different strategies to maintain and nourish their bodies healthy, to fight existing flare-ups and prevent new ones. Doctors are now only recognizing these methods as potentially effective treatments, but they are things we had to learn from our fibroids.
Specifically, this is what worked best for me;
My dietdiet I improved by avoiding processed foods as much as possible, using vegetable oils (a suspected anti-inflammatory agent) and eliminating what I found (through pain and error) to be “happy” foods that exacerbated my flare-ups. For me (and many others) they are sugar, caffeine, alcohol, CP and aspartame (NutraSweet). Others may have specific food sensitivities and avoid them, such as dairy or soy.
•I take a complex regimen of vitamins and herbal products, including a huge multi-vitamin and amino supplement , extra vitamin C, omega 3 oils, calcium, melatonin and coenzyme Q10. Go slowly if you want to try any of these, especially if you have a sensitive system, and always check with your doctor before taking supplements. Some may struggle with prescription medications or existing conditions.
•Find a good massage therapist who is experiencing fibromyalgia. Using gentle techniques, improves circulation in and around my muscles to reduce pain and help relax. I go every month, more often when spring is in full swing.
• I have had good luck with no one. This can be costly because fibroids cannot be treated in just one or two visits. But the price of the pain is very important. At first I thought it would only help me with my pain, but I also found reducing-anxiety”>my anxiety and it helped me sleep too .
• I drink lots of water. This helps flush toxins from my body. Some research shows that fibers are not efficient at eliminating waste from muscles (such as lactic acid from exercise) and this creates muscle soreness. , and my burden has already oppressed my liver and kidneys.
• I still need to take sleep medication software to help you work so that (someday) you don’t need to accept so much. at the same time every night go to bed. I don’t watch the TV in bed. Avoid caffeine and alcohol anyway, but if you don’t want to, try not to have them a few hours before retiring. Ditto great food or exercise. You need to give your body a chance to curl up so it knows when to sleep. And this means no email, no internet. I don’t even see the news after seven thirty. I keep the room cool, dark and quiet. I also use a sleep mask and earplugs. I would look ridiculous, but it helps, I don’t care.
• Good attitude is everything. This lesson was the hardest for me to learn, and I’m still learning. Although it hurts today, it will not hurt tomorrow. That life still exists outside my body. There are good days, bad days and good days, and if I have a good day, I don’t try to go out and do all the things I’ve always wanted to do for the past year and a half, because I know it’s just going to happen. block me and send me twisted into a burning flame. And if I have a bad day, I work very, very hard not to think that I will have another day again. To help me with all of this, I saw a therapist, and I tried to develop myself techniques like meditation, self-hypnosis and ways of thinking that don’t send me into a mental downward spiral. Getting out and having fun once in a while helps too!
But there is something to report about the gospel before a. Researchers expect that within five years, new drugs will be available and FDA approved specifically for fibromyalgia. While I’m not holding my breath (I’ve already had so many disappointments), I’m more cautious. Another good news is that there is a world of support and information available on the Web that I didn’t have in 1993, when I was struggling so much that some doctors believed I wasn’t crazy.
This downside means more potential for fraud. Sign up for any chat group or e-newsletter for fibro and you will be sent with offers of “miracle cure.” The providers of these know that we are desperate for help. But now there is no concern. And if someone offers me something that sounds too good to be true, how likely is it?
But I cannot stress enough the importance of surrounding myself with support. Not only from family, friends, and compassionate doctors, but also from fellow fibroids. I am trying to find a compassionate place to sympathize, heal and share information to help me get through the day. Sometimes that’s what he wants from time to time.
Report:
- Fibromyalgia Network: www.fmnetnews.com
