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