Especially for Nancy

Hi there Nancy and all my friends and followers,

Nancy, I thank you so much for the comments you have left on my blog.  I am so happy you found me! This is the beginning of  a long and healthy friendship.  :) I know EXACTLY how you feel.  Lately I could just sleep forever and it seems like not enough.  Then comes the guilt.  I don't know about you, but I am normally an extremely active, hyper person.  There are a million things in life that I want to achieve and when I feel like this, it makes me go out of my mind!  I have a VERY hard time just resting and relaxing.  I am used to holding multiple full time jobs at once so this is extremely difficult to adjust to.  It does get better, then goes back to being bad, as this week has proven to be.  I have an option to move somewhere warmer as well, but I LOVE where I live and would HATE leaving all my friends.  I don't live close to my family, but I do live in the same state at least.

I have been through almost every type of treatment and I'll tell you the things that help me most are, painful trigger point injections, physical therapy with ultrasound and the TENS unit hooked up (electronic stimulator), and massage (although extremely painful).  Chiropractic care helps too.  Another thing that has REALLY helped me (when I stick to it) is a major diet overhaul.  I (for the most part) live gluten, wheat, egg, soy, dairy (not so much now), and try to have as little soda, MSG, and high fructose corn syrup as possible.  The other thing is sticking strictly to organic meats.  I did really well on this plan for quite a while, but then it got to be too tough to follow so strictly.  I know that I need to go back on it, I just need to be mentally ready.  I have found some fantastic alternatives to many things so if anyone has any questions or needs any help with that, I'm very familiar with what tastes good and what works.  Another huge problem for me are my vitamin levels.  I am low on chromium, Vitamin D (severely deficient and I take a super mega prescription), and all my B Vitamins.  I have some wonderful solutions to the vitamin B problem and the chromium problem as well and I will tell you all about it in another post.  Diet is a HUGE factor in fibro.  As far as anyone with it, I can suggest removing most of the top allergens from your diet and start that way for at least a good month, preferably three.  Also, through this diet I have learned I am allergic to peanuts!  I never would have known that, but following this plan, it's easy to figure out what works and doesn't work in your body.  Peanuts are a huge trigger for me!  Nancy, have you tried dietary modification?  I can help you with that.  Keeping a food journal is super important and a pain in the butt, but helps!  Also, I tried oxygen therapy and have some insight about that as well.  I have switched to oxygenated water so I don't have to do the hyperbaric chamber every week and pay a small fortune. 

It's amazing how much you learn and how in tune you are with your body when you have this condition.  I have learned more these past two years than in my whole life.  I have read book after book and article after article.  My doctors say I actually know more than them.  I say, it's because I live it and have to know everything there is.  You can't leave your care in someone else's hands because they will never care enough.  You have to be your own medical advocate and with the help of a great support system, that is what I am.

Nancy, this is for you today and I hope it helps at least a little.  Thank you for coming into my life and being my friend.  And btw, no comment is EVER too long on my page.  I LOVE reading them and please do continue!

XO ~ Amy Jo

P.S.  I am not a medical doctor and can't prescribe a remedy for anyone, but I can tell you what I've tried and what worked and did not work for me.  Please keep that in mind.