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Fibromyalgia (FMS) is a painful and debilitating disorder, the cause of which is still unknown. It causes pain in the soft, fibrous tissues in the body, including the muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
Fibromyalgia is shrouded in a cloud of myths and doubts. The purpose of this article is to help clear up some of the myths and describe my own ongoing (successful) battle with FMS.
After fifteen long years of intense pain and hospitalizations without receiving an answer to my daily pain, I was finally
diagnosed with Fibromyositis, which is now known by it's common name Fibromyalgia. I was provided with a bunch of prescriptions and advised that I would quite likely end up in a wheel chair.
That would have indeed been very true had I continued to take all those prescriptions and listen to those physicians who have no clue as to what is going on in Fibromyalgia patients. Yes, life in a wheel chair would almost certainly have been my fate because that's a side effect of the medications they're prescribing for Fibromyalgia!
It took me several years of trial and error and countless prescriptions before I was finally able to break away from the
traditional medications that lead to a wheel chair.
The most common prescriptions given for FMS are NSAIDS (Motrin or Ibuprofen) or medicines containing prednisone. The
truth of it is, those formulas will eat away at your bones
and tendons and leave you bound to a wheel chair.
The Fibromyalgia patient next gets a prescription for something to help her relax and sleep since Fibromyalgia patients have difficulty staying asleep and wind up with severe pain due to the sleep deprivation.
When I was finally able to kick the prescription habit, I was taking 150mg of Amitriptline daily, at bedtime. That was
awful in itself. Sure, I was able to sleep, but it took most of the next day for me to become alert enough to feel good and yet my Fibromyalgia pains would still be there.
Every morning meant slowly climbing out of bed and into the hottest shower I could possibly stand. This enabled me to wake up enough to get to work, but most of all it helped minimize the pain enough for me to deal with it all day long. That was not a fun time in my life.
Some days the pain would be so bad I couldn't get out of bed without screaming. Other days I simply couldn't get out of bed at all because the pain was just more intense than I could stand. Every movement that I made created tears.
Those awful years led me to search for something, anything that would stop the pain, yet not put me in a wheel chair!
Here are a few of the Fibromyalgia myths that I have discovered:
- Prescriptions are the only remedy for Fibromyalgia pain.
- The traditional medical community are the only ones who can help you with Fibromyalgia.
- You will eventually end up in a wheel chair.
- You have a mental problem.
- Fibromyalgia gets worse with age.
- The Doctor says that medications are all that can be done to help alleviate the pain!
All of those are myths, but they may become reality if you follow the traditional route of prescriptions pushed by doctors in our world of pain, who really have no clue what to do for us.
It is frustrating for the doctors who realize that they are limited in their knowledge of Fibromyalgia. It's even more frustrating for those of us who have to live with FMS.
Some of the Fibromyalgia truths I have found are:
- Fibromyalgia is a painful and debilitating disorder.
- FMS occurs more often in women than in men.
- Along with Fibromyalgia comes deep depression, a loss of self worth, and unbelievable pain in places you can't
describe, literally from the top of the head to the bottoms
of the feet.
- Permanent disability awaits the
Fibromyalgia patients who agree to follow the
traditional path of treatment.
- The severity of the pain varies from person to person and in the different areas on the body.
- Sleep deprivation and chronic fatigue always accompany Fibromyalgia when it is out of control.
- Alternative natural medicines are the only forms of treatment that will keep you from
becoming a wheel chair bound invalid and help you regain your
self worth and avoid chronic fatigue.
- Heart disease can result from the stress of Fibromyalgia, so you have to be extra
careful to keep antioxidants in your system.
- Sugary foods tend to exacerbate Fibromyalgia, so you should avoid eating empty
caloried foods such as chips, sodas, cookies, etc).
Most of these truths were experienced by me personally in the past.
In 1995, I finally took charge of my own life. I discovered natural herbs and minerals
that help control my Fibromyalgia as long as I avoid sugary foods and drinks.
I no longer take prescription medications of any kind and I have no intentions of ever taking another one again. 99% of the time I'm pain free! Yes, Fibromyalgia is still with always me, but I'm able to sleep thanks to an effective formula of several herbs taken at bedtime.
Another necessity is using a sufficient amount of probiotics of equal natural flora which balances out the intestinal system to help it remain healthy. Equally important is a good balance of antioxidants, minerals, and mega nutrients. If stress becomes a problem, I temporarily use a natural stress reducing formula of herbs to deal with it.
Most doctors today still do not even consider Fibromyalgia to be a legitimate illness, but they'll try to appease the patient while knowing absolutely nothing about how to help them.
The experience gained by living with Fibromyalgia for 30+ years with has taught me a few things about myself that I'm not particularly happy with, but it's there. It took me many years to realize that almost all of the exacerbation of my FMS days are caused by what I did or did not put into my mouth.
I now understand and accept that those times that I indulge is going to make me suffer with FMS pain, and I have to decide if it's worth it. Those days have now become few and far
between.
I'm now beginning to enjoy the ability to take charge of my own life and health! My doctor thinks I'm off my rocker, but he allows me to take my natural treatments and seems puzzled at how I remain healthy after 30 years of living with Fibromyalgia.
Here's hoping you make the wise decision to take charge of
your health!
Lena Sanchez is a happy, retired Medical Office Nurse, Administrator, and Consultant. She took charge of
her life 8 years ago and is committed to helping
others do the same. Lena is the editor of
Natural Environmental Health Facts & Your Home Business Coach Ezine.
Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this website.
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