Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Health & Fitness with Fibromyalgia.

not my photo. image googled from around web.
When I was 16 years old, I couldn't walk up the stairs at school without falling. I was dizzy. I didn't notice when classmates said hi to me in the hall...I was in a fog. I fell asleep in all my classes. I couldn't sleep at night because I was in pain....all the time.
I went to a specialist and found out why I had all these symptoms.
I have fibromyalgia. 
17 out of 18 "tender points" ( tender points are a  part of how they diagnose)

Fast forward to today. I am 27 years old. I am so much happier and healthier than I was at 16. I would never go back to 16.
I still have problems though.

At 24 years old....
After figuring out that I had Celiac & removing gluten from my diet, a lot of my symptoms nearly disappeared. I was exercising  5 days a week, sometimes twice a day. I felt good. I did have days where I was sick, but they were few and far between.

When I was pregnant with Baby A at 25, I started to feel fibro symptoms on a more regular basis. Pregnancy aggravated my health condition quite a bit. This made exercise hard, so I relied a lot on yoga and walking in the later part of my pregnancy.

Since having Baby A, my fibro has remained aggravated. I believe that breastfeeding had some to do with it. Simply because my body was working so hard to make enough milk for Baby A. This winter has been a hard winter. The back and forth weather, the air pressure and temperature changes have really taken a toll. As a result my workouts have also taken a hit.
I missed a cardio workout and a weightlifting workout this week. I didn't feel well enough to run 6 miles or leg press more than my body weight. I couldn't even stand for more than a few minutes.

My hands and feet felt like they were on fire, and they were so swollen ( like if I was 9 months pregnant swollen!). I had pain over my entire body, and the worst part I was so exhausted, yet I could not sleep through the night. 

It can be difficult to stay fit with fibromyalgia, but I am dedicated to my fitness plan.
Eating a clean, healthy diet and taking my vitamins has made a dramatic impact. Even though my fibromyalgia has been bad this winter, it doesn't even come close to what it was when I was a teenager. 

If I didn't eat clean or workout, I wouldn't be able to be a good mom to my daughter. 

Do you have fibromyalgia? What do you do to help yourself?
I went the pharmaceuticals route when I was younger, and it was a big disappointment. There was no relief at all. Now, I am looking for natural ways of relieving that pain and swelling and exhaustion. I have found that yoga helps on the days I do yoga. I am also looking into essential oils for relief. I have read that eating pineapple and avoiding eggplant can also be helpful. I will be exploring these natural options further, and hopefully posting about them on my blog if interest is expressed in reading it. 

Be Happy Healthy & Strong,

Lolli

4 comments:

  1. That takes a lot of dedication and that is amazing that you work through the pain sometimes!
    Most people would just give up. You are truly an inspiration!

    ¤´¨)
    ¸.•*´
    (¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
    www.raising-reagan.com

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    1. Thank you Lanaya. It is a daily battle, but I'd like to think I am winning :) Thank YOU for all of your supportive comments on my blog. You are so kind.

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  2. At the moment I'm in the I don't know what do to stages - I have battled depression since my early teens had it ingrained into me you get up and go you don't stop whatever your body is telling you it's depression.

    I now know that alongside the depression I've always had CFS that was brought on by bird fly, then swine flu brought on fibromyalgia around 4 years ago - I found out 2 years ago what was actually going on but by that point I had nothing left, I've since tried so much to get back on my feet but I'm yet to manage much I still walk with a stick and often use a wheelchair.

    I miss having energy so much, I hope one day I can to where you have been feel better again.

    Thank you for this post - it's given me some hope.

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    1. Wow, it sounds like you have been through a lot. Depression is hard, but it sounds like you are working hard to get through it! Thank you so much for the well wishes! It is my wish that you can walk again too! I will be sharing what I discover works for me along the way, I hope that maybe some of it works for you. Keep hoping, staying positive is ALWAYS a good thing :) Thanks for reading my blog!!

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