Struggling with Fibromalygia

Tips for Staying Creative Everyone needs to Calm the F**k down!

Struggling with Fibromalygia

So, it's been just about two weeks since I last posted, you can read my last post Tips for Staying Creative. For those who don't know I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia just about two years or so ago, it is hereditary and it runs in my family but was kicked in to overdrive from almost dying so yeah. So, for those who don't know what this disease is, allow me to explain.

Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.

Now I've been to many specialists over the years and after struggling with this since 2016 of October, they presume that when my appendix perforated and I got sepsis, my body was in such a shock that it triggered my Fibromyalgia into overdrive. Allow me to fill you in on the most horrifying time in my life.

Basically little old me was sitting at my desk one day and throughout the night I had this horrible abdominal pain which I just assumed was a stomach ache or period pain. Eventually by about two in the morning I was ready to smash my head into a wall because the pain was so severe. I was taken to the hospital and after twenty-two hours they found out my appendix had burst a few days ago but they weren't too sure, I was immediately scheduled for surgery.

After my surgery because my appendix had pretty much exploded inside of me, whatever goo or gunk was inside got all over my organs and seeped into my blood and ended up poisoning me. I ended up developing jaundice so my eyes and skin turned yellow, my liver and kidneys were shutting down and to be honest I thought I was going to die. They ended up giving me a PICC line and gave me the strongest antibiotics they could get their hands on and if that didn't work I would have to be transferred to the ICU at Vancouver General or something along the lines of that.

(A PICC line is a thin, soft, long catheter (tube) that is inserted into a vein in your child's arm, leg or neck. The tip of the catheter is positioned in a large vein that carries blood into the heart. The PICC line is used for long-term intravenous (IV) antibiotics, nutrition or medications, and for blood draws.)

My memory isn't the best because I was very drugged and very sick so please bare with me. Basically whatever concoction they gave me ended up working and I recovered, or so I thought. I was in the hospital for a week and a half and when I went home I was bed ridden for months and just kept getting sicker. My health deteriorated rapidly to the point where I could no longer walk, at one point I was in a wheelchair and a majority of the time I used a cane to help me walk because my legs didn't want to work. The hospital didn't understand and often kicked me out and I was having seizures as well so that didn't help.

My whole family has been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia so my mum had me referred to her specialist, all of her specialists, including rheumatologists, endocrinologists, etc.

If it weren't for my specialists I would be as healthy as I am today.

So basically here is a list of all the health problems I have including mental health which I will make a post on that later. (Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Seizure Disorder [Non-epileptic] PTSD, Borderline Personality Disorder, DID, OCD, Anxiety/Panic Disorder, Major Depression Disorder, polycystic ovarian syndrome and all the other wonderful things that come along with Fibromyalgia)

What a wonderful list am I right? Now I won't delve too much into mental health but I will definitely touch on it later because I struggle with it daily and I'm sure a lot of people can relate.

When you have Fibromyalgia, it's an abundance of a lot of feelings, mostly widespread pain but everyone is different. My Fibromyalgia is different from my mum's and my nanny's, but my mum has also had Fibromyalgia for like ten times longer as I have (Fifteen years I believe), so my mum has a lot more experience than I do but our symptoms can differ.

Now pain can be pretty severe most days to the point where I don't ever want to get out of bed, I don't want to eat because my nausea is so bad and I don't want to move because of my joints and how stiff they are and my skin is so sensitive I don't want anything to touch me.

The one thing I have found that eliminates a lot of my symptoms is CBD oil, say it with me... CBD OIL!!!! If I didn't take this stuff I would have multiple seizures a day when if I take my oil I only have a seizure maybe once every few weeks. Cannabis oil is amazing and it does wonders and I'm sure there is a lot of people out there that would disagree with me, but to be perfectly honest with you, my whole family uses it and it does nothing but help them.

Now I don't take THC based oils but sometimes a mixture of CBD/THC can be a good combo. I usually take it in oil form and put it in little gelatin capsules because usually the oil doesn't taste too good. Taking it in oil form is a lot better than smoking it, oil lasts a lot longer than smoking a joint because you're really only high for a few hours and believe me I've smoked a lot of weed, not THC stuff because I'm actually really sensitive to it, so if I were to smoke it I would usually go for a higher CBD ratio with a lower THC level.

I'm no doctor when it comes to Marijuana but I have seen a licensed doctor that actually specializes in this stuff which is how I get my prescriptions and stuff. Another thing that sucks is Cannabis oil can be rather expensive and as a young woman on disability, I can hardly afford it half the time.

If you are interested in using CBD oil to manage pain or anxiety, please do your research and consult a proper doctor.

Alright, stoner jokes aside, struggling with Fibromyalgia can be hard, depression is a big one and it lingers behind you all the time, like you're constantly dragging it with you everywhere you go. When you have Fibro, it feels like you can't do anything, that you're useless and you'll never accomplish anything. That is not true!

Do not think this way because you'll only dig the hole deeper, I'll say it now and I'll say it again.

SLEEPEATMEDICATEEXERCISE
You need proper sleep to function, you need to eat all those healthy foods because food is fuel and you need to take your medication if you take meds because it helps your brain my dude. Now I know a lot of you out there are not fond of being active, especially when you're in as much pain as I am on a daily basis. But I'll let you in on a little secret, if I didn't exercise, I wouldn't be able to move. Exercising and stretching on a daily basis or a few times a week helps your body in the most helpful of ways and it's extremely beneficial. Our bodies were made to be active and when you have Fibro, you don't want to move and as much as its going to hurt the first few times it's worth it in the long run and you will thank yourself immensely.

Stretching daily and exercising my core on a weekly basis has helped my muscles and joints feel better, I'm not as stiff and I've lost a lot of weight, considering my heaviest was 310lbs. The last time I weighed myself I was 215lbs, so overall I've lost 90+ pounds and I'm still losing weight. I've cut out almost all junk food but do tend to go overboard on my lady time, I've cut out pop completely and have a soda stream and if I do ever eat out I have subway or sushi. I don't eat red meat, only fish really and mostly chicken and I always have vegetables and fruit because they are hella delicious compared to kfc and shit. I also am lactose intolerant so I don't eat cheese or dairy. Dairy is really bad for you anyways and I'm more of a soy and almond girl, I like my nut juice okay.

So really, all I eat is vegetables and fruit, chicken, and vegan substitutions when I can afford it. Though occasionally I do treat myself but if I ever do want a treat like chocolate chip cookies or I'm dying for a lemon loaf, I make it myself because I know what I'm putting in my food and I know it's not going to be filled with a bunch of preservatives and crappy chemicals.

Now I have a horrible sweet tooth, I love sugar but after changing my diet, processed food tastes horrible and it makes me feel awful, which is why I usually go for my dairy free substitutes, like coconut whipped cream and fruit, oh my golly it is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life. Yes I would rather a slice of chocolate cake but to be honest, the cake would make me feel like crap, my stomach would hurt then I would get dumping syndrome from all the sugar. So really, the fruit and whipped cream is a much better and healthier option.

But you also have to be really careful when it comes to dairy free options because a lot of products love to lie to you, sometimes it can be really frustrating when you can't eat at a restaurant because everything is drenched in cheese and butter and MSG.

Now I know you're probably thinking, oh this stranger is telling me to go on a diet! NO! Dieting in the sense of 'Oh I just won't eat anything', that is the worst possible way to lose weight, believe me I know. Starving yourself only deprives your body and it goes into starvation mode and whatever you ate last, your body turns into fat because it's going into apocalypse mode. Dieting is a horrible word, being healthy is more of a lifestyle, not just something you do for a few weeks. Dieting is not healthy and it can include taking pills and not eating proper food and your body needs fuel. So what do we not do? Diet because it is what? Bad!

I'll mention again I'm no doctor, I'm not a nutritionist but this is just my experience and my struggles with Fibromyalgia and my weight and all of that. It works for me and it might work for you. I'd love to know how you feel on the subject, do you struggle with Fibromyalgia too?

I hope I went over everything, again I do apologize for not posting, haven't been feeling well lately and depression has been getting the best of me. I'm proud of myself that I finally got around to doing this post and I hope all of you enjoy it and hopefully it helps some of you out there.