Does Fasting Help Fibromyalgia?
Filed under: Headaches, Listening to your Body, Reversing Fibromyalgia, Trigger Points, Wellness
I tried to fast a few times in years six and seven of my recovery. I was unsuccessful. I could never go more than 24 hours without eating anything. I recently got this message from a reader though:
I found your site because I just started an ‘eat, fast, live’ 2 day a week intermittent fasting regiment with very interesting results. On the day of the fast… no IBS, no gas, no leg and hip pain (a big issue for me) and no back pain. I was so afraid of getting a headache and I did not. I am amazed. I am using juicer on fasting days and also drinking coconut water
how amazing is that? All she did was not eat solid food and her pain goes away! So why would this be. I have some guesses.
My first guess is that if she has irritable bowel syndrome, which it sounds like she does, digesting food puts a strain on her body that causes a ripple effect of stress that causes her pain.
My next guess is that it’s actually an organ within her digestive system that is causing the pain to be referred to her hip and leg. Maybe she has a hernia that she doesn’t know about and food causes pressure on the hernia that gives her pain.
My last guess is that fasting equals rest for her body. for me, finding a way to rest beyond sleep was very important in discovering how to relax enough to alleviate my pain.
The original emailer read this and wrote me back and said this:
A few points of clarification. I am only doing intermittent fasting (2 days a week for no more than 24 hours at a pop). I find it most effective and route of less pain to fast from 8 PM the night before until 8 PM the second day. I know that I don’t have a hernia beause I am very active; however, i noticed that certain food combinations cause havoc within my body. I suspect that not eating clears the system out and allows the body to not use energy to heal rather than digest.
Now if you read any of my stuff you know that I say most pain in your body is caused by trigger points in your muscles and an overall tightness in your muscles so how could fasting help trigger points?
Honestly, I don’t know if fasting could help trigger points and the man who wrote the trigger point manual says that nothing will help trigger points except for frequent massage. However, the only trigger points that cause pain are active trigger points and latent or asleep trigger points just sit in there waiting to be stressed out to cause pain, they usually don’t cause pain themselves. So maybe juice fasting is enough for her to her points to go latent for the day.
Anyway, has anyone else tried fasting for fibromyalgia? What kind of results did you see? Do you have any guesses as to why it helped or didn’t? I am really interested in hearing from you.
p.s. … after looking up this Eat, Fast, Live I am going to try it myself!!!! 
Fibromyalgia and ADHD
I am having some interesting thoughts about fibromyalgia and ADHD. I am reading the book Scattered by Gabor Mate, someone I highly respect ever since I read his book Hold on to your Kids and in the book he says two things about ADHD that make me think it can be related to fibromyalgia.
1) It is more likely in people that are sensitive (I have already discussed here how I am very sensitive and I believe many others with fibro are too)
2) What is affected in people with ADHD is the autonomous nervous system, and this nervous system also controls how tight your muscles are – they “set the baseline tension levels for voluntary muscles”
Interesting yes? I have always known that I tend to hold my muscles very tight, and this is something that I now pay a great amount of attention to – trying to relax more and not hold so much tension.
Thanks to this book, I now also know that I have ADHD. I was never “diagnosed” with it because I don’t have hyperactivity, but then lots of girls don’t.
Not that I care about a diagnosis, but it does help me to know this in many ways.
So tension … why is that important? I believe that muscle tension can create and definitely worsens fibro in a couple of ways.
1) When our muscles are tense, metabolic waste and stress chemicals get trapped in them and this can create pain, especially when you have 30 years of trapped waste and chemicals like I did. Tension creates trapped crap and trapped crap creates more tension.
2) When our muscles are tense and overused trigger points can be created, and trigger points were a HUGE part of my fibromyalgia. I spent years clearing them.
and one more
3) When our muscles are tense, our mind is tense – an anxious mind and tense body feed each other in ways we probably don’t even realize. And anxiety definitely worsens much about fibromyalgia. It sure did for me.
So back to ADHD – guess what the author of scattered says it is caused by? This is a very simplistic version of what he says in the book but basically, a sensitivity in the child combined with an absent-ness in the mother figure for whatever reason.
My oldest son has ADHD, and my absent-ness was caused because I had fibro, and I hadn’t healed from my abusive childhood.
I was never abusive towards my son, but I was never 100% there either. I have a newborn right now (9 years later) and I have a very good feeling that we will be able to side-step ADHD with this one, even though his dad and I, and his older brother all have ADHD.
Everything is so different this time. I’ve done 9 years of healing, and I am much more present and happy with this baby than I was with his brother.
So what’s the fix for an adult with ADHD and fibromyalgia who doesn’t want to have either anymore?
I still tend towards tense muscles, and I still show ADHD symptoms sometimes, but my fibro is gone. This website is 100% about all the things I did to stop the fibromyalgia pain. One thing I don’t mention often, because I’m not sure how much it helped is that I did Holosync too.
The holosync company might be out of business now, but basically it’s a cd that you listen too that puts your brain into a different state then it usually is in. This is supposed to heal it.
What’s interesting about this, is that the book I am talking about says that ADHD is a brain development issue – that the pre-frontal cortex (or something – I didn’t look back in the book to confirm this) is under-developed because of the absent mother figure – the infant was lacking in interactions that would have developed this part of the brain more.
So, can you heal your brain with Holosync or something like it? And will this in turn allow your muscles to be more relaxed on a minute to minute basis?
All interesting to think about. …. especially when you consider that I believe guaifenesin works to cure fibromyalgia because it relaxes the muscles ….
So, what about you? Do you believe you have ADHD? Have you ever used a meditation CD? Do you think fibro and ADHD are related?
Highly Sensitive People and Fibromyalgia
Do you have fibromyalgia because you are a Highly Sensitive Person?! Maybe.
I am a highly sensitive person for sure. I am not sure if I was born this way, or if my childhood evoked it. But I was probably born this way, because my mother was also Highly Sensitive and so is my son.
Of course, my mother also had the type of traumatic childhood that could cause this, but my son has not. and He was definitely highly sensitive on the day he was born. I remember that well. lol.
The reason I am writing this is because I recently read this post about Higly Sensitive people and the link to fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue
I have not read the Highly Sensitive Person Book, but I have read online articles by the author, and basically she says that approximately 20% of the population is highly sensitive and always has been. She says this is good and natural and back in the old days Highly sensitive people were very valuable because we sensed danger before everyone else.
That makes total sense. Total and complete sense to me. That explains both why highly sensitive people would exist and would have evolved, and also why we would be more prone to developing fibromyalgia than the average person.
In the paper I referenced above, the author talks about a link, but does NOT say that being a highly sensitive person will make you more likely to get fibro, unless maybe if you are stressed, not sleeping, have a major infection, or have had a lot of trauma.
For me, in order to heal from Fibromyalgia, part of what I had to do was what I call emotional sculpting – which meant I had to change 2 major things. 1) What emotion I normally hung out in (it was resentment or anger – now it’s contentment or happiness) and 2) how I reacted to things.
I had to learn how to let things go. I had to learn how to choose the better thought that would allow me to calm down. I had to learn how to get calm after something got me riled up. I also had to step away from life a little bit. I learned to choose what would keep me calm and happy and stay away from situations that would get me all worked up.
There is no drama in my life. There is no angst. I avoid all of that. And if that means I stay home, so be it. I like home. If that means I don’t go to family gatherings, so be it. Other people may think I’m weird or stand-offish, but when I am one on one with people I tell them why.
“I’m very sensitive. I protect myself a lot so that I don’t get fibromyalgia again.”
If they don’t or can’t accept it, then they go on my “to avoid” list.
So how about you? Are you highly sensitive with fibro? Do you think there is a link between the two for you?
Ice for Fibromyalgia Pain?
I had a company contact me today and ask to put some advertising on my website.
They sell Ice wraps.
The representative said “I’m sure it won’t surprise you that many of our customers are fibromyalgia sufferers”
Actually, that surprised me quite a bit, so I thought I would share my opinion on using ice for fibromyalgia pain.
It’s a bad idea if you ever want to cure fibromyalgia.
Here’s why. It REDUCES circulation to the area that it is applied to, and honestly, I think reduced circulation is a huge part of fibromyalgia pain in the first place, so applying ice will essentially make things worse.
Sure, it may dull the pain in the moment, but it can’t help heal anything.
My intent, when I had fibromyalgia, and I discovered I could make it better with stretching and trigger point massage was always to FEEL BETTER in the long run, not just the short run. My intent now that I am cured is to help others cure it too, and not just feel better for a little bit.
So I never recommend ice. It doesn’t have the ability to increase circulation like heat does. When you stretch and do trigger point massage you are also increasing circulation.
That’s why I like heat. It makes whole muscle groups looser and increases circulation to the area.
Heat always helped me. I used to take a big microwave activated heat pad and put it on my back every night – like this one
Just recently I found a horrible trigger point on my stomach and rubbing it with my fingers made me feel like I wanted to puke for hours afterwards – so I just rubbed it really lightly and then I applied heat.
It went away in just a few days.
I didn’t like to use that pack during the day – because it would sometimes make me feel tighter after I stopped using it, so I liked thermacare during the day.
Those things are awesome. They last for 8 hours and can go almost anywhere on your body. I know they helped me cure fibro.
You can sometimes find decent deals online for them, but I like to get them from rite aid and walgreens – I watch the sales on them and then buy in bulk.
I have a whole cabinet full right now actually cuz I haven’t needed any in a while.
Also, if you go to the website and click on special offers you can get a one time $3 coupon.
So, that’s my views on hot and cold for healing your muscles and fascia.
I never rotate hot then cold, hot then cold either. I know some people recommend that. I never found it helpful.
I only use cold within 24 hours of an injury.
Even when I fell on the ice 2 years ago and hurt my knee really badly, I just used cold for a few hours, and then I
went straight to heat.
What do you think about heat or cold for fibromyalgia pain?
Fibromyalgia caused by Tooth Extractions or Birth control pills?
I just sent this message to my mailing list – (sign up on the home page). and see the results at the bottom.
Fibromyalgia is extremely complex, and I don’t think any one thing *causes* it.
However, sometimes I run into interesting correlations that I would like to explore further.
A few months back a friend told me that she thought her fibromyalgia was caused by hormone imbalances after years
of taking birth control pills.
Interesting! Because I also took birth control pills for
many years.
Also interesting because one of the reported benefits of
yoga is balancing of hormones, and yoga was one of the
major ways I got better.(I started with restorative yoga)
Today, I read that another friend of mine discovered that
her chronic fatigue syndrome was caused in part by
4 tooth extractions as a child.
Interesting! Because I also had 4 teeth pulled as a child.
My assumptions regarding tooth extractions would be that
both the physical act of having it done and the great
trauma and pain and tension associated with it would set up
trigger points in the jaw and neck and face.
Neck trigger points are the worst. worst. worst. worst.
And the fascia that covers the jaw muscles also covers
the neck muscles. Poking holes in jaw fascia (with novocaine
needles) could easily set up lines of scar tissue that
could start pulling funny on neck fascia.
So, my questions for you are:
Did you take birth control pills?
Did you have teeth extracted or much dental work done?
There are currently a few hundred people on this list.
I would love to hear from everyone. I will compile the
results and send them out.
It won’t prove anything, but it will be another notch
of knowledge in our belt.
If you just joined my list recently, you may be getting
this after the first time I ever sent it out.
That’s cool – I’d still like to hear from you. I’ll
just keep a running tally of comments I get and
sometimes post to let everyone know the updates.
Results
So far, here’s the results from everyone who has responded
Total: 20
Never took birth control pills or had dental work: 1
Took Birth control pills: 9
Had Dental Work: 16
Took Pills and Had Dental work: 9
There is nothing scientific about this, and there is a good chance that most of the people who didn’t respond did not ever have lots of dental work or take birth control pills, and that’s why they didn’t bother to respond.
I did have one person say that she had the worst continuing pain after back fusion surgery – maybe that should be my next question. Have you ever had surgery?
new answers coming in about surgery
respondents 2
had surgery 2
had surgery, took pills, and dental work 3
WHY Do I Have Fibromyalgia? How Did I Get Fibromyalgia?
Summary: There is no definitive answer to this question, but this article discusses if my sense of how much value I felt I had as a human being had anything to do with me getting fibro. If you don’t want to read about that, head over to my article about the truth about fibromyalgia for more of a sense of what I believe are the physical changes that cause fibro to manifest in our bodies. It’s got more meat and less philosophy.
Otherwise, stick around and let’s wrap our brains around whether or not I got fibromyalgia because I believed people who “told” me that I was an unworthy human being.
So, millions of people have fibromyalgia. And how did they get it? Why did they get it? ( I had it, but I don’t have it anymore – that’s why I think I have some reason and authority to write about it).
I’m not a doctor or nurse or even in the health profession at all. But even so, I’m pretty sure that mainstream medicine does not have an answer for this question.
I’m fairly certain that most doctors would say “no one knows” when asked what causes fibromyalgia, or “why did I get fibromyalgia?”
Dr. St Amand says that fibro is caused by the person with fibromyalgia missing an enzyme in their body that allows them to excrete phosphates. I believed that when I read the book years ago. Now I think it is a flawed theory, although I still believe strongly in guaifenesin for fibro.
Dr. Lamb says that fibromyalgia pain is caused by muscle and tendon shortening all over their bodies. and by the living of life (which can cause the shortening when the life is stressful). I believe strongly in both these answers. They proved true in my experience.
Just as an aside, I have talked with one person who had been a patient of Dr. St. Amand at one time and two people who were Dr. Lamb’s patients at one point. All three still had fibromyalgia issues and were coming to me for further help. Which surprised me. I personally would have thought that if anyone could fix fibro, these two could.
Maybe these doctors really are missing that one critical factor though, which we are going to talk about here.
How do I feel about me?
I’m reading a book called Little Voice Mastery right now by Blair Singer. I’m reading it because I am trying to increase my wealth right now, and this guy writes books with Robert Kiyosaki (rich dad / poor dad).
Now that I have the book though, it’s more of a “How to Win at Life” book. On page 14 he says
If you don’t have people on your team, it’s because you don’t acknowledge and value other people enought. If your health isn’t good, it’s because you don’t value yourself enough. If you don’t have enough money in your life, it’s because you have lost your ability to determine value and you’re being cheap someplace else in your life. If you’re going to be cheap on yourself, other people are going to be cheap with you. You act as a magnet, attracting the same things to you that you’re putting out there.
Let’s pull out this sentence
If your health isn’t good, it’s because you don’t value yourself enough.
5 years ago I would have glossed right over that line. 10 years ago I would have laughed at it. Today, I totally and utterly believe it. Based on my own experience.
So what is that line saying? Is it saying that Fibromyalgia was all in my head?! NOOOOOOO!
Is it saying that I created my fibromyalgia? hmmm, not really. Although these days I believe I did, in a way.
More specifically, I believe that people close to me when I was very young treated me so poorly that I developed beliefs about myself that were very counter to the truth. (keep reading to find out exactly how these beliefs caused me to act that gave me fibro)
Beliefs like:
–
these were beliefs that I believe formed when I was very young. And they were reinforced daily until I was about 17.
As an older child and an adult I didn’t realize that I believed this about myself. I would not have said something like this or admitted to believing this about myself if asked.
But today, at 39 years old, I recognize that I have believed these things about myself most of my life. About 3 to 4 years ago I started to recognize that I felt this way about myself and I started to actively work to change it.
8 years ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The first 4 years or so I did all physical work on myself – I stretched and did yoga and tried supplements and dietary changes and guaifenesin.
The last 4 years of my recovery (I considered myself cured at about 5.5 to 6 years after my diagnoses, but I still work on improving my health and the way my body feels every day) I have worked much more on improving my mental state of being than on the physical aspect of my healing, although I still believe both are important.
So 3 to 4 years ago I started realizing these things about myself: I don’t believe I am a good person. I don’t believe I am worth much.
that was hard to realize, and harder to figure out how to fix. I can say “I am a good person because I did this or because I believe this” but changing the actual way that I FEEL about myself isn’t phased by me making a statement.
the way I FEEL about myself is kind of hidden. It’s wrapped up behind layers and layers of thoughts and beliefs and connections and assumptions.
People are complex. Society is complex. Our relationships are complex. Our thoughts and emotions and complex and probably mostly hidden from us on a day to day basis unless we really contemplate them.
At about year 3 of my recovery I read a book called Feeling Good by David Burns. It’s not really a book that I recommend because it didn’t quite work for me and I didn’t read all of it, but there was one HUGE concept that I learned from it.
the concept that I have a little voice inside my head that is talking to me but is not necessarily telling me the truth about life and everything
Until i read that concept I didn’t even REALIZE that I was having conversations in my head. I never recognized them or heard them. The thoughts in my head were so much a part of my identity that I didn’t even realize they were there.
Blair Singer from this newest book I am reading says they are the sum of all the experiences we have ever had that we don’t think about much.
Abraham-Hicks says a belief is just a thought we keep thinking.
I don’t ever remember having a thought in my head that says “I’m not good enough” or “I’m Bad” or “I’m not worthy” but I know what that thought FEELS like.
Those THOUGHTS are still pretty buried in my head but I recognize the FEELINGS they generate when I feel them these days.
I don’t think it’s something that I can explain .. but it’s kind of a sick feeling. An “I should just forget that” feeling. A feeling that I hope people don’t look at me or notice me. A “I want to hide” feeling. None of that explains it. It’s kind of a being held under the water feeling – or looking at everything through a sick haze feeling. How do you explain a feeling or state of being?
I can’t do it. I can only attach words to it. And it probably feels different to everyone so why am I even trying?
So what does any of this have to do with me getting firbomyalgia?
Well, I think it all comes down to anxiety and tension.
Remember when I said that I believe what Dr. Lamb says about muscle and tendon shortening causing fibromaylgia pain?
Well, here’s how I think these beliefs caused this muscle and tendon shortening that caused all my pain.
So, I had many experiences in my life that caused me to ultimately believe these things about myself. Many of them caused me to become a very tense and anxious person.
Many of them caused me to flood my body with stress chemicals over and over again. The stress and tension caused these stress chemicals to become trapped in my fascia and muscles.
Over the years, I became more tense and more anxious. Every time I tried something new or contemplated doing something that I didn’t feel worthy of, or any time I was criticized or any time I failed or any time I compared myself with someone I believed was ‘better’ than me (everyone) I triggered these beliefs.
When I triggered these beliefs I relived the things that caused the beliefs to be implanted in the first place (particularly emotionally charged circumstances from my youth – things like beaten at home and teased at school).
These triggers would being the emotional charge into my present and the stress chemicals would be released and my body would tighten up even more. and on and on.
I am a highly sensitive person anyway and so just about anything could trigger me. there was a point shortly before my diagnosis where I would cry at the drop of a hat – or blow up at the drop of a pin.
These days, with all the work I have done, I am far less likely to trigger these beliefs in my daily life. I actually feel differently about myself too. I still sometimes recognize the feeling but I call myself on it and am sure to try to contradict it.
that’s not the real me thinking I am not worthy of anything. That’s some fake me based on experiences in my past that I didn’t deserve.
Do I blame the people who treated me so poorly? No. (at least I try not to). They have their own demons. Their own beliefs. Their own history. Otherwise why would they have done that?
At least I somehow found my way out of the hell of not liking myself. My mom never did until after she died.
I know for a FACT that the people who treated me this way hated themselves, because when I feel good I treat my son like gold. I laugh with him, I smile at him, I hug him, I do things for him, I compliment him, and I play with him. When I am feeling good about life and about myself, I can’t treat anyone bad. Even myself.
So let’s talk about it. Do you have a comment? Would you like to read my book? Do you agree or disagree with me? I would love to hear from you.
Your Mother and Your Fibromyalgia
So yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I had twice the normal amount of sales for my book.
Wow, that gave me pause. I even posted on my facebook status that “Mother’s Day must not be good for Fibromyalgia.”
This morning, I got a really awesome email from a parenting advice group that I subscribe to that gave me some insight into why more people may have been perusing my website and really serious about getting better on Mother’s Day.
… Cultural Messages and expectations that just aren’t realistic …
Did you think I was going to say something about Mothers? What do you think? Do you think your Mother caused your fibromyalgia? Do you think your Mother screwed you up royally? lol. Well, let’s talk more about that after I talk about the email.
Basically, the parenting group sent out a message that quoted two people. The first was a woman who said she wanted mother’s day to be perfect – but her kids and her husband didn’t get it. Why couldn’t it be perfect for just one day?
The second email was from a woman who got really sad and upset after reading a bunch of facebook statuses about how people were appreciating their mothers for always supporting them – and one person who actually said
Thanks Mom for always saying I was the prettiest, the smartest, and the best, even when I wasn’t”
So, this woman who was quoted in the email reads this status and starts to cry. All she ever got from her mother was criticism.
Wow. I can identify with that to some degree. Can you?
Dr. Markham, the list owner, wrote back a really awesome “letter from your mother” that starts out like this
My Dear,
I know I wasn’t the perfect mother for you. Maybe there are no perfect mothers, but you deserved one. You were born perfect, and you deserved unconditional love and support. I apologize that I didn’t know how to give you that. I hadn’t gotten what I needed in childhood, you see, and I was so wounded. I know that’s no excuse. I wish I had had the support and courage to change for you. I so wish I could go back now and give you the childhood you deserved.
if you want to read the rest it is here
So let’s talk about this first …
Is your Mother to Blame for Your Fibromyalgia?
Do you blame your mother for your fibromyalgia? Or is this something you’ve never thought about before.
I believe that anyone who is on a true healing path from fibromyalgia has to have contemplated how the major relationships in their life may have contributed to them being who they are today.
For me, I could definitely blame my mother for my fibro in some ways, but you know what? My mother treated me a lot better than her two mothers (her foster mother and her bilogical mother) treated her.
And my mother had fibromyalgia a lot worse than I did.
and if we really get down to it … I know my mother did the best she could.
What’s interesting is that my father was murdered when I was two, and that could have had a lot to do with me developing fibromyalgia because 1) I was in the house when it happened and 2) it changed my resulting life in extremely profound ways.
However, I don’t blame the person who shot him. Thinking about it now, I think I don’t blame him because 1) I don’t know who he is and 2) he was never a part of my life.
I think we tend to blame people whom we see and think about every day. People we focus on in negative ways.
I definitely think the emotion of blame can cause fibromyalgia – if you spend many hours and days and years steeped in blame and resentment ( I have) the chemicals flowing through your body that whole time are not good-for-you chemicals.
They are nasty chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol that can destroy bodies over long periods.
If you are sitting and stewing over something someone did to you, you are definitely not out enjoying life. You may not even see life as something to enjoy anymore!
I know lots of people who think life sucks and the only reason they are still here is that they are afraid to die. I may have spent a few years feeling that. 
Honestly, in the years that I felt like that, I never would have recognized my over all state of being as “life sucks and the only reason I’m here is because I am afraid of not being here.” I just wasn’t that aware of who I was and how I really felt and why I felt that way. I focused all my energy on blaming people and circumstances in my life for my crappy day/week/month/year/life.
So do I think your mother caused your fibromyalgia?
Actually, I do think that childhood trauma plays a large part in the development of fibro, but I think that what keeps us from easily regaining our full health is that we LEARNED the attitude and way of being that creates and perpetuates fibro from the people we lived with and now we can’t UNLEARN it!
So yea, my mom may have had a part in my body creating fibro – but if I blame her for it, I make my fibro worse and then I have no one to blame but myself. That’s part of the work that we all must do.
Now let’s talk about
Do Cultural Expectations Cause Fibro?
So now on to the woman who said she wanted mother’s day to be perfect – but her kids and her husband didn’t get it. Why couldn’t it be perfect for just one day?
This is actually a personal expectation this woman had, that has roots in what our culture portrays to us as how we should be living.
Meaning, everywhere you look (ads, movies, tv, your neighbor putting on a front) mothers are portrayed to always be kind and loving and children are portrayed to be appreciative and husbands are portrayed to be strong but understanding and perfect.
A perfect mother’s day might be a day where mom gets breakfast in bed from a cheerful and smiling family. Then the whole family does something fun together and no one fights or gets upset. The family eats together – still happy – someone other than mom happily does the dishes. The kids happily go off to bed and fall asleep easily, and mom gets a big, expensive present from dad.
Wow, that’s NOT what it looked like in my house. How about yours?
But do you know what I said to my husband before he went to bed? “best Mother’s Day ever!“. Honestly though, it was just a normal day.
We had some tears when a program my son was trying to use didn’t work. My son dropped my husband’s laptop and cracked it, and my husband still doesn’t know.
My husband grilled steak for dinner but my son didn’t eat it because steak is feeling to full in his throat – something we’ve been dealing with for a few months. (I ate it, it was yummy).
My plan for the day was all jumbled up because we were afraid that costco was going to close before I could get there if I did all the things I had wanted to do – so I switched everything around.
But do you know what made it a good day and a great mother’s day? I threw all those cultural expectations out the window a long time ago.
I didn’t expect anything from my husband, although he did clean the kitchen and the garage and grill steaks and clean a carpet in one room. He did all those things because HE WANTED TO.
He chose to do them and I chose to appreciate them.
That wasn’t always the case. There was a time when I would have expected him to do all of that and not given him a shred of thanks afterwards, because it ‘was his job’ or because ‘he should have done it anyway’.
AND, if he didn’t do it, I would have silently fumed about it all day until it was obvious that he wasn’t going to and then I would have picked a fight with him. Wow, those were painful days for me (physically and emotionally).
Sure, there’s a lot that needs to be done to run a family, but the cultural expectation that ‘everyone will pitch in and do their fair share regardless of whether they want to or not’ and ‘the house will always be clean’ cause a lot of pain.
Another status I saw on facebook yesterday was
“I’m so fed up with my daughter, all the lies and laziness – she can just find another place to live”.
Oh my GOSH. How horrible!! Can you imagine how crappy both this mother and daughter are feeling?!
And when you have fibromyalgia, feeling crappy means more muscle pain – either now or later.
Have you made that connection yet? That the worse you feel emotionally the worse you feel physically?
I recognized that in about year 3 of my healing – it didn’t matter how much stretching and yoga and trigger point massage I did or how much guai or motrin I took – if I got really upset at someone, my body (and my day) was shot until I got a chance to sleep.
now here’s a connection that was even harder for me to make.
That no matter what happened, no matter what my husband or son or mother did, no matter what the circumstance … I did not HAVE to get upset. and if I got upset I did not have to STAY upset.
So, although I’m pretty good at not getting upset at things these days, I’m not awesome at teaching it. I do have a lot of information in my book about things that I have done, but the books that I learned from may be even better if your focus is just your mental health right now.
Some of these may be in your library. Pick one and read it and see what happens. (meaning don’t get them all at once)
Waking the Tiger – great for healing trauma in your past and eliminating it from affecting your today
You Can Feel Good Again – great book, I’ve read it three times and I get something new from it each time. I cried when I found out the author had died. He really helped me a lot and I’m sad he won’t be writing more books.
Emotional Clearing – one of the first self-help books I ever read. It helped learn how to deal with my emotions in the moment. good book.
anything by byron katie amazing books, especially I need your love, is that true? really life-changing
We are all in Shock – learn the true art of self care.
Ask and it is Given you’ll never look at life the same
Headaches and Trigger Points and Pain
Filed under: Headaches, Listening to your Body, Reversing Fibromyalgia
I have a quick question about headaches. I’ve been working on trigger points in my neck, shoulders and back. I often notice that when I’m done working on them, I have a worse headache and my eyes burn sometimes. Maybe it’s a coincidence, I don’t know but did you ever have an increased headaches after working on trigger points?
yes, yes i did. always. As the muscle lets go of it’s load of stress chemicals and metabolic waste, the area will be more sore for a while. At first it was days for me, then it was more sore till I was able to sleep, and now it’s a matter of hours and it goes away. As your body gets healthier, and has less to get rid of, the basics stay the same, but the time required to heal and the intensity of they pain both lessen considerable. …. I got your other email .. will reply soon
Interesting- so your headaches worsened not just your neck/shoulder muscles? So I should keep doing it?-oww it hurts though!
yes, what I have found, is that the worse off a muscle group is, the more it refers pain to another area, and the more INTENSE that pain is. So if your neck and shoulder muscles are all bound up right now, your headaches will get worse.
Eventually, not only will they not be so painful for so long, you will start to feel the pain in the actual muscles instead of the referred area. So you won’t get a headache, you’ll get a pain in a certain muscle. And the type of pain and what it feels like will tip you off to exactly what you did, what muscle it is, and how to fix it. It’s like being the best doctor in the world.
Did I tell you I fell on the ice and hurt my knee so bad I couldn’t walk or put any weight on it 5 weeks ago? This knowledge I have about my body helped me SO MUCH through that ordeal. I never went to a doctor, my limp was gone in 4 weeks, and now I am almost back to full strength and flexibility.
It was a super-bad injury, but after the third day, there wasn’t one day that I didn’t wake up feeling a little better with a little more strength and or flexibility than the day before. and I always KNEW exactly what to do, how much to do, how much I could handle, and what my body needed.
All this I learned from my 5 years spent learning to heal fibro
Emotional Pain, Stress, and Fibromyalgia
This is an email conversation with a woman who said I could post it here.
Thank you for your inspiring email. It’s nice to hear that my body is ok and that I can recover. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a week ago but have been experiencing pain for awhile now. I’ve been active in support groups online but it seems as if most people who post comments are people who don’t believe they are going to get better. They talk about filing for disability and how my fibromyalgia isn’t going to get any better. It’s heart-breaking! I do suffer from depression; I’ve suffered for about 9 years– I am 30 now.
I bought your e-book yesterday and have been reading through it. I just ordered a yoga bolster so I will begin the program once that comes in. I’m in a scary place right now. I miss my old life and I have a lot of fear that I will not get better. I’ve had a lot of stress in my life–especially this year. My fiancé and I broke up, I lost my job due to chronic headaches, I’ve had to move back in with my parents where I don’t have much emotional support because my family thinks my pain is “all in my head.”
I apologize for the long email- I just needed to vent to someone who has beat fibromyalgia instead of venting on the support forums. I get a lot of “you need pain medication” “go on disability,” etc. I don’t WANT all of that, I WANT to beat this. I want to fall in love again and have children-that is my dream. I’ll be damned if that is all taken away from me (sorry for the language).
Anyway, I look forward to following the strategies in your e-book. I’m a little concerned about the Guai Protocol as there are so many products that you can’t use. I see a rheumatologist next week. Do you recommend that I bring it up to him or do it on my own?
Congratulations on beating FM- you are most definitely a success story! I hope one day I can be a success story too!
thanks for the letter, and thank you for purchasing my book .
Yes, many people come to me with that issue with support groups. I myself try to go to groups and tell them “I had that, this is how I fixed it” and my voice is totally drowned out by the people saying “poor baby, there’s nothing you can do”
I LOVE my bolster I got one for my husband too so I actually have two ( hee hee). You will love yours I bet. It’s become such a place of comfort to me.
I am so sorry to hear about all the recent stress in your life. That is really hard and is not going to make things easier for you.
That is going to be job number 1, is controlling your response to the stress. You can’t stop it from happening, so you have to find a way to be ok with it.
re guai, I totally recommend you bring it up with your doctor you are going to see. You can gauge his or her reaction by just asking what he thinks of it, or if he has ever heard of it.
If he has heard of it and supports it, that’s a strong team member on your side that you can use to help get over setbacks if you have any.
If he poo poos it you can just say OK, and decide what you are going to do from there. Once he’s heard of it once, he may be more open to it if he hears of it again, and his future patients may benefit.
Thank you! I’m so glad that you have found some inspiration in my story. I am certain you can get better. I can’t wait to hear some good stories from you.
Thanks for your quick response! Yes, reading the online forums is upsetting to me. I go on them looking for hope and end up upset because I’ve read about a woman whose FM put her in a wheelchair. That scared me!
I know that I need to get my stress under control. It’s going to be tough for me but I have to learn how to better deal with it. It’s only complicating things for me. Changing the way I think is so important. I’m so incredibly stressed that I have this illness which further depresses me and then my thoughts go crazy. I have thoughts like! “No one will want to marry me, I won’t be able to get back to work”, etc. I’m so insanely jealous of people who aren’t in constant pain. How can I let that go?
I’m looking forward to receiving my bolster! I’m hopeful that I will start feeling better soon. I go to a rheumatologist on Wednesday and I will definitely bring up the Guai protocol and see what he says.Thanks again for your response. I look forward to hearing from you again soon!
I don’t know if your question about how to let your thoughts go was rhetorical or not, but I do have an answer about things that helped me.
I had a huge problem with my thoughts for most of my life and I didn’t even KNOW it until a friend gave me a book that kind of introduced me to the fact that I was thinking inside my head and having physical and emotional responses to thoset thoughts. I identified SO STRONGLY with my thoughts I didn’t even realize that they were there. I don’t know if that makes sense or not – but until I read this book I never even realized that there were voices in my head. lol.
Ok, so the book my friend introduced me to was You Can Feel Good Again. It’s here or you may be able to find it in the library.
I’ve read this book three times, and I’m sure I will read it again. It has helped me SO MUCH. every time I read it I get more out of it, because every time I have read it I am a bit different of a person.
Then, after that book, other books that have helped me immensely are anything from Byron Katie. If you are going to read one of her books I suggest you start with “I need your love, is that true?”
that also helped me immensely. I am married, but I had this huge issue with how my husband treated me (not well, I thought) and appreciated me (not at all, I thought) and so our relationship was bad. Just letting go of some of that stuff has made all the difference in the world.
I’ll tell you something else too, … I did 5 to 6 years of physical actions to try to heal my fibromyalgia, and while I was doing that I was also trying to get my mental act together. Sometimes, these days, I think that the mental part was much more important than the physical part – like the mental part was the important part and the physical part would have taken care of itself.
Thanks for your response! No, I was really asking how to just “let it go!”
It’s interesting b/c all over the support forum boards are people who don’t believe they’re ever going to get better. The say that they’ve tried everything and the only thing that gets them through is painkillers. I understand their frustration with FM but I want to believe in myself. Interestingly enough, I don’t think I ever have. I understand what you mean about the mental part is the most important piece to this illness. It’s so hard to believe that my emotions could wreck such havoc on my body but I guess so.
I’ll admit that I am scared. I’m scared sh*tless but I can’t continue to live this way. I was miserable before I got fiber, now I’m even more miserable, so I’ve gotta change my thinking. It is very tough when you’re in pain all of the time but I believed I kind of worried myself sick. I had headaches for 2 years-constantly and I worried so much that they would never go away. Headaches were all I talked about. Now I still get them along with the all over body pain-which I’m going to change! Before the headaches I was just filled with unhappiness and depression. I still am but maybe FM is a wake up call, ya know?
I bought “It’s Easier Than You Think” by Richard Carlson. The bookstore didn’t have “You Can Feel Good Again.” I’ll have to buy it off Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to check out Katie Byron’s books too!
I’m trying to get myself to sleep better. It sucks that fibro people tend to kick themselves out of stage 4 sleep. Do you remember how you managed to better your sleep? Forgive me if you wrote that in your book-I am working on reading it through.
Well, thanks for corresponding with me. You’ve been a big help. I like talking to someone who’s gotten better not people who don’t believe they will.
OK, good, I’m glad you were asking. You know, as I read over this conversation, I think that it could really help people. Do you mind if I post it on my website? I would remove your name and any identifying info, of course. If you don’t want me too, that’s fine too.
I don’t remember the last time I felt calm or at peace inside..it’s been years. I grew up not ever feeling good enough..I had girlfriends but inside I always felt a little nervous to open up to them (this feeling began in gradeschool). I think this all stemmed from my mom-she would call my sister and me names and I always felt like I was either in the wrong, in trouble, or not good enough.
I can totally relate to this – and I that is definitely part of the healing from fibro – learning to become calm, and even joyful inside. You can do it. If I can do it, anyone can do it, I promise
My fibro started with headaches too. I had headaches every day many years before I was diagnosed with fibro. It’s all neck, shoulder, back, and hip tension and trigger points.
So, just talking here …. what would make you happy and excited? Is there anything that you could do yourself that would make you feel happy? besides feeling better? that is one good thing about fibro, it gives you something to focus on that’s in your control. Or at least I believe it’s in your control for the most part.
I’m glad you got something by carlson – I’ve read a few books by him, but the You can Feel Good Again is definitely the very best.
What helped me to sleep was flexeril when I was at my very worst – if you have a doctor who will prescribe you some, and valerian root for a while, and occassionally I used to use benadryl too. I don’t need anything now though.
Well, thanks for corresponding with me. You’ve been a big help. I like talking to someone who’s gotten better not people who don’t believe they will.
You are very welcome. It’s very important, I believe, if you want to get better, to either talk to people who believe you can, or talk to no one at all – otherwise the other people will bring you down and decrease your belief. Your belief is important. In a way, I believe your belief instructs your brain and body to heal just as your disbelief can instruct your body and brain to not heal.
If you are ever looking for something else to read, you may want to look into books about healing like spontaneous healing by Dr. Andrew Weil. Just something to put on your list
I’m sorry it’s taken me a few days to get back to you, my symptoms have flared-up. Sure- you can definitely post our conversation on your website. If it would help other people then I would be glad!
A couple of things I could add to that: I often don’t know how to “let go” or be myself. I don’t believe in myself which definitely is hindering my ability to get well. I’m having trouble finding happiness because I’ve been through a lot and feel so sick. If I learn to become calm, you really think I could feel joyful inside?
You said that your fibro started with headaches? How long did it take for you to get rid of them? I never got headaches too much growing and now they are everyday- ugh! I have to say my head, neck, face and jaw are my worst symptoms. My face and neck will burn at times-gosh, it will hurt so bad.
I’m a teeth grinder/jaw clencher at night so I have a lot of trigger points in my face and, for sure my neck. I was reading a post on your website about denervation. I assume that’s why parts of my body will burn at times. Did your face ever burn? I just bought the trigger point workbook so I plan to start working on them. I will roll around on a tennis ball and sometimes after I’m done my back/neck feels worse. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe I’m doing too much?
To answer your question: what would make me happy and excited? Is there anything that I could do that would make me feel happy? I’m not sure. I mean, of course feeling better would make me happy…ecstatic but deep down I know that’s not going to happen unless I work on changing my ways. I’m pretty much obsessed with fibro- it’s all that I think about.
Maybe finding a distraction would help me. Distracting is really hard to do though when you hurt all over. It would be nice to feel in control of something though. I plan to start doing yoga and I’ve been walking on the treadmill. I notice that my back will start hurting after a few minutes on the treadmill. I wonder why that is? It’s possible that I’m walking too fast of a speed. I would love to go to the gym and do a whole yoga class but I’m not sure my body is ready for that.
Anyway, back to your ? of finding something that would make me feel happy or excited. I love music and would like to start a blog about songs and lyrics. I’d also like to reconnect with a couple of friends. I basically feel like I lost all of my friends since I’ve been sick. My sister even stopped coming around. Ouch-that hurts.
My friends/family just don’t seem to understand–as much as I try to explain. I can’t change other people, I’m learning. I can only change myself and my reactions to other people. I try SO HARD and put SO MUCH energy in trying to get my mom to understand what I’m going through and she just can’t get it. Then I react horribly to her, get myself all worked up for what?? So my mom can be convinced further that I need therapy?-lol.
I’m long-winded today- I hope you’re not bored. I used to take flexeril, maybe I will ask my dr. for some. I take benadryl sometimes too. My drs want me to be on an antidepressant but I’ve tried so many in the past with not so great outcomes plus they have horrible side effects.
I will look into Dr. Andrew Weil’s books, thanks for the recommendation. Well, thanks again for talking to me, you have been such a big help! I hope to talk to you soon and in the meantime I will work on believing in myself and my trigger points.
No problem – don’t hurry to get back to me, I understand
Thank you for letting me put this on my site – I’m sure that these discussions will help someone. There are a lot of people feeling like you. I used to.
Offhand, have you ever heard of abraham-hicks? This kind of view clashes with some people’s beliefs sometimes, and if that’s the case with you, then disregard, but I thought you might be interested http://www.abraham-hicks.com/ … if you were open to it, it could help you with these feelings of not being able to relax and let go and be yourself.
Personally, I believe we are all joyful at our core. I believe that our connection with God or our inner Self or Soul is pure love and joy, and we as humans cover all that up with a multitude of crap, so yes, I believe if you can find your way to your core you can feel joy, because I believe everyone can.
Knowing me, and knowing myself, and knowing my past and how I used to be … if I can then anyone can.
Not saying that I feel pure joy and love all the time, but I am have had many deliberate moments where I do feel joyful and I do feel good and I have learned how to train my thoughts into patterns that allow me to feel good and be happy so much more of the time. this is the work.
Yes, before I got fibro, for a few years I would come home with a headache, take a couple of motrin, take a nap, and get up and go about my day.
Now I can see that what the headache was telling me was that I was stressed and my muscles needed attention and care, but I just took motrin and didn’t care for them – so essentially that was probably a big part of me getting fibro. I didn’t know … I personally think this kind of stuff should be taught in school.
I never ‘got rid of my headaches’ per se, I just developed fibro and then I was in a lot of pain all over my body all the time. As I started figuring out how to care for all this stuff, I got less and less pain and less and less headaches. I actually went about 2 years without ever getting a headache ..
My son used to grind his teeth at night – we figured out it had something to do with congestion and decongestants would stop it. I don’t know if that has anything to do with yours – you just may have tension that doesn’t know how to relax at night.
Yes, I would sometimes get burning in my face or ear area – I think it is denervation, even in the face.
If you feel worse after rolling around on the ball that means either 1) the area is really bad and needs a lot of work or 2) you got something big to let go and now all the stress chemicals and metabolic wastes that were caught in the muscle or fascia have been released and the blood is trying to clear it all out of the body.
or at least that’s what I have found in my experience.
You may want to start with a rest and relaxation yoga class – that’s how I started. I went every week for a couple of months before I ever went to a real yoga class. It was wonderful. I should do that again
and take it easy on yourself … and your mom You may never be able to get her to understand. If you can find a way to be ok with that then you will be happier.
I know though – it seems like our parental relationships are the absolute worst and hardest ones … that’s where all my issues seem to like too. lol
hope that you are doing well. I am really thankful that I found you. It’s so nice to read your blog and emails and have hope. Like I said before, online forums stress acceptance and finding a way to live a “normal” life with this illness. That upsets me because I want a healthy life. My mind is spinning every single minute of every day, thinking, worrying, projecting, it’s driving me mad! I have the scariest thoughts which cause me to be incredibly anxious (I received your email, “Major Anxiety from Minor Thoughts?” and am going to respond to it.) I have MAJOR anxiety-sometimes from minor thoughts and sometimes from major, horrific, scary thoughts.
Anyway, I’m a little familiar with Abraham Hicks. I am familiar with the book “The Secret”-the message being that if we believe that we are well then we will be. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.. or something like that. No-that view doesn’t clash with me at all.
About the headaches that you used to get.. I think you wrote in your blog that your neck bothered you a lot? Do you think your neck contributed to your headaches? I have trouble with my neck. I think I have a lot of scar tissue b/c I had neck surgery this past April for a herniated disc. By the way, that’s awesome that you didn’t have a headache for 2 years! My time will come- it better!
I believe that we are all joyful at our core too. Finding my way back to the joyful Pam would be absolutely wondrous! How did you focus on being happy when you were in such pain? You wrote in your in your book something like we need to learn how to be happy in the now without attaching any conditions to it. I definitely think all of the time “I’ll be happy when I feel better and free of fibro.” I’m sure I will be happier but it’s my own low mood and negativity that is making me sicker. YES- it is work to change your mindset and start thinking more positive. I’ve been so negative for such a long time- I don’t like the way it makes me feel- depressed and hopeless. Do you think that people with fibro don’t get well b/c they are not positive about themselves and maybe have a bleak outlook? What about the people who DO have a positive and still have pain? I guess I wonder why positivity works for some and not for others.
I definitely have tension that doesn’t know how to settle down at night. I’m so anxious all day long that when it comes to sleeping, I guess my I clench my jaw. Oww- that hurts! I’m going to try doing the child’s pose restorative pose before bed- I’m sure that will help calm my mind.
Did you have trouble with “fibrofog”? I feel out of it a lot-my eyes are blurry and burn. I don’t like that feeling. Was there a supplement that helped you deal with that?
When you did the Guai Protocol, did you get your body mapped? I just ordered Dr. St. Amand’s book. I’d like to try it but am having trouble finding a physician or a physical therapist who knows about Guai or who is willing to learn. I’d love to start to see some improvement.
Thanks for letting me email you- I really appreciate it. I’m sorry if it’s a bit negative, I’m working on turning that around!
I had another thought this morning too … about racing thoughts. I am going to actually write a post on it because it’s a good one, but here it is for you.
Racing thoughts are the result of emotions that have not been directly experienced. As children, we all instantly feel and process all emotions (usually by crying). Eventually, schools, peers, and parents have convinced us to not feel our emotions and think about them instead.
This is my experience and my opinion – I don’t like to make blanket statements, but talking like this will help me try to make my point.
So, when you have thoughts that won’t stop coming into your head, it’s a tip-off that you had something happen recently that you didn’t directly experience, and now the emotional energy is pinging around in your body, trying to get you to feel it .. expend it … experience it so it can pass through.
Last night I fought with my husband shortly before bed. We made up and I went about my night. This morning while I was in the shower I couldn’t stop thinking about him and how wrong his actions were and what I should have done and on and on ..
“wait a minute” I said to myself “this is over – why can’t I stop thinking about it?” and then I realized I probably hadn’t directly experience the feelings as they were happening – instead I jumped right into anger and verbally attacked him. After we had made up I still didn’t experience the original feelings, so they were still there in my body.
So, then I asked myself “what does this make me feel?” and the answer came “frustrated, irritated” and then I asked myself, “and what does that feel like?” and I ‘opened myself up’ to feel frustrated and irritated … and I felt it right away and a whole bunch of feelings came flooding up and sicked up … and then I was fine and the thoughts stopped coming into my mind.
So, I remember a period in my life where I had to sick up about 30 years of feelings that were never directly experienced. I read a book – I’m forever reading books this one … and I took it seriously. emotional clearing
oh, and there’s another one … have you ever had any trauma in your life? this one gets into traumatic memories and emotions stuck in the body
waking the tiger
After a few months or years of ‘sicking up’ everything that had happened in my life (I had an extremely violent and abusive family) I felt a lot better in general – the whole mental thing just wasn’t that big of a deal anymore. but it’s something you have to stay on top of.
Ok, I’ll have to write you another email for the rest of your questions .. getting late here
I appreciate it more than you know that you have taken the time to correspond with me. I don’t feel as alone now. There is a woman who has a blog and many video recordings on Youtube regarding her recovery from fibro. She thinks she’s had it for her whole life (she’s 41 now).
She is 95% recovered due to the Guai Protocol, other supplements and certain lifestyle changes. I’ve written to her and she has given me some helpful advice as well. I feel a lot better talking to you and her than I do participating in online forums where nobody has really gotten much better, or if they have, they still sit there and discuss their symptoms all of the time.
That scares me because I do NOT want to be in a wheelchair or walk with a cane. I mean, there is nothing wrong with that, I understand that people have disabilities.. But if fibro can be reversed why are these people getting worse? What aren’t they doing that causes them to become disabled? Any idea?
Before I was diagnosed with fibro, I had been suffering from depression and anxiety for about 8 years. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a feeling of not being good enough and I think that’s what has fueled the depression and caused fibro. (I think I told you this all before but I’m not sure).
I don’t know HOW to think any differently about myself. I’ve been doing your recommended stretches and find that they help which is a good thing. It’s the emotional stuff that is going to take WORK. I find myself thinking, “If all I need to do is think positive instead of negative than why aren’t more people better? Why isn’t THAT the cure?”
I have a question– how did you deal with “normal people” doing “normal things” like shopping, going to the movies, dinner, having a social life, etc. when you weren’t able to because of fibro?
I get so insanely jealous of my family and friends doing things while I’m hardly able to fend for myself some days. Would you recommend me telling myself over and over that I “am recovering and I will be able to do all of those things again someday?”
You had sent an email about a week ago regarding “Major Anxiety from Minor Thoughts?” I have A LOT of anxiety (I’m sure you can tell by my emails- LOL) and my worried thoughts cause me so much emotional pain. I’m not so sure if they are “minor” thoughts, I think they’re pretty major but I will think things like, “I’m never going to get married and be able to have kids because of fibro.
Who would want to marry someone who is chronically sick?” (I really want kids more than ANYTHING so this thought causes intense anxiety for me.) Really, thoughts like this are NO good for me but for some reason I just keep thinking them. Another thought that I have that causes me to feel panicky is somewhere along the lines of “I’m such a loser.. I am 30 years old-back living at home with my parents.” Thoughts like that make me feel really bad about myself.
Deep down I know that it’s not true that I am a loser- but I see friends, acquaintances, etc getting married, having careers and I feel like I am being cheated. I guess when I didn’t have pain I totally took good health for granted. It’s just so scary to wake up everyday feeling bad and not knowing if I will ever see the light at the end of the tunnel. My mom tells me to “believe” all of the time. I’m working on it- I know recovery may take some time but if I don’t believe that it will happen then it won’t.
Today was better–I ran some errands with my mom, did some yoga and cooked for myself. I’ve been trying to follow Dr. St. Amand’s Hypoglecemic diet. I have a feeling that part of my pain is because I’m carbohydrate intolerant. I’m not sure, but time will tell.
You said:
Racing thoughts are the result of emotions that have not been directly experienced. and–So, when you have thoughts that won’t stop coming into your head, it’s a tip-off that you had something happen recently that you didn’t directly experience, and now the emotional energy is pinging around in your body, trying to get you to feel it .. expend it … experience it so it can pass through.
So you mentioned that you and your husband got into an argument one night and even though you made up, you were still thinking about the fight the next day because you didn’t allow yourself to feel in the moment. So you ‘opened yourself up’ to feel frustrated and irritated … and felt it right away and a whole bunch of feelings came flooding up and sicked up …
HOW DID YOU DO THAT? LOL!! You just ask yourself what it feels like to be “feel frustrated?” There are some things that I can’t think about because they hurt too much. For example, I had a fight with my sister the other night. She is upset with me because I am not “there for her” and “all I care about is myself and my ‘illness.’”
We screamed and yelled and she said “You don’t have fibromyalgia, it’s all in your head!! All you do is sit there and think about how bad you feel”… I proceeded to get so upset that I punched the door and she thought that I was trying to hit her. Well, I wasn’t but that’s besides the point. She ran off angry and left me feeling all of these horrible emotions about myself and my situation. Now when she calls the house and I hear my mom talking and laughing with her, I feel so many different things: sad, angry, lost- it stinks.
I’ve never had a huge trauma in my life but maybe a bunch of little ones throughout the years. SOMETHING happened that left me feeling inadequate about myself. I bought the book, “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie and am looking forward to reading that. I might look into reading “Waking the Tiger : Healing Trauma” as well.
Ok, well I’m off to do some stretching. OH- one more question– I did some yoga today- I only did about 5 or 6 poses from a “Simple Yoga” DVD but my back is burning sore now. Does that happen in the beginning? I also over stretched my arm/rib muscles the other day and had horrible chest/rib pain for 2 days. I guess I have to go at it slow.
Thanks again for your wisdom and understanding. Have a great holiday if I don’t hear back from you sooner!
Merry Christmas! I hope it was OK for you.
She thinks she’s had it for her whole life (she’s 41 now). She is 95% recovered due to the Guai Protocol, other supplements and certain lifestyle changes.
That is so awesome I am so happy to hear there is someone else spreading the word like this
But if fibro can be reversed why are these people getting worse? What aren’t they doing that causes them to become disabled? Any idea?
They don’t believe they can get better. So they aren’t taking any steps toward it. And they are doing the same thing they have always done. I believe fibro is cumulative, and if you do the same thing, you will get worse and worse.
I don’t know HOW to think any differently about myself. I’ve been doing your recommended stretches and find that they help which is a good thing. It’s the emotional stuff that is going to take WORK.
Oh yEAH, the emotional work is the hardest work. I’m not sure exactly HOW I did it, except I read all those books I recommend over the course of 5 years, and it just happened. I read the books, I implemented the things they talked about, and I got better, step by step, inch by inch, I got better and I became a different person.
I find myself thinking, “If all I need to do is think positive instead of negative than why aren’t more people better? Why isn’t THAT the cure?”
Ha! Doctor Sarno says that people don’t even need to think positive, they just need to get real with themselves and those around them, and stop repressing rage. I read all his books too … and he says it is a total and complete cure. He says he doesn’t even recommend physical therapy anymore because it distracts from the real cure.
Abraham-hicks says if you can think and FEEL positive not only will you stop your pain but your life will all around get better this is what I am going for
I have a question– how did you deal with “normal people” doing “normal things” like shopping, going to the movies, dinner, having a social life, etc. when you weren’t able to because of fibro? I get so insanely jealous of my family and friends doing things while I’m hardly able to fend for myself some days.
Well, let me be really honest with you here. I used to have a friend who that I was quite jealous of – she had no issues or problems and I had all these issues and problems.
Then, over time, I got better, and not only did I get better, I discovered this huge secret about my body – how to take care of it, how to stretch it, when to stretch it, how to fix aches and pains – I got proficient at getting rid of any pain I had for any reason …. I learned what sensations in my body meant and what would help or fix them …
and then I ran across that friend at a party, and her back was out, and she’d been to the doctor and he couldn’t help her and she didn’t know what to do. And she’d been miserable for months.
And I was getting better, and although we were both getting older, I didn’t have to fear it, because I now had an ‘owners manual’ to my own body. Fibro had given that to me. My friend had no such thing.
… so now you are getting your own ownder’s manual
causes intense anxiety for me.) Really, thoughts like this are NO good for me but for some reason I just keep thinking them. Another thought that I have that causes me to feel panicky is somewhere along the lines of “I’m such a loser.. I am 30 years old-back living at home with my parents.”
These thoughts aren’t going to go away. You have to ‘short circuit them’ and train your mind to think different thoughts instead. Thoughts that make you feel good. Thoughts like “there is someone out there for everyone, and there is someone out there for me” … go down that road. Listen to abraham-hicks on youtube – they give lots of suggestions for how to change your thoughts. And also Dr. Carlson – he has good suggestions too.
There is going to be a point where you just have to decide that your life is good and getting better, even if you don’t believe it yet. Just decide it and don’t let your mind or anyone tell you different. And then some good stuff will happen and then you will have some evidence
So you ‘opened yourself up’ to feel frustrated and irritated … and felt it right away and a whole bunch of feelings came flooding up and sicked up …
HOW DID YOU DO THAT? LOL!! You just ask yourself what it feels like to be “feel frustrated?” There are some things that I can’t think about because they hurt too much.
lol. Ok, so I had to learn how to do it. And I learned while reading a book – emotional clearing. And I just keep trying and I get better and better. My father died when I was two. And while I was reading this book, the crocodile hunter died, and I used that incident to ‘feel’ and ‘get out’ all that crap from my father being gone. I spent two hours on my living room floor screaming at him for dieing – apparently I was pretty mad about my own life situation.
So, that was definitely a turning point for me.
Then, I read another book, waking the tiger, I think I’ve mentioned it before, and it has a very specific method for gettin over traumatic memories – and I did that twice, and those were also ver defining moments for me.
You just have to keep working at it
She ran off angry and left me feeling all of these horrible emotions about myself and my situation. Now when she calls the house and I hear my mom talking and laughing with her, I feel so many different things: sad, angry, lost- it stinks.
Yes, I can relate, and it’s harder because it’s your sister. And she’s can provide you with all you need to heal. If you can talk to your sister and forgive your sister and love your sister no matter what .. then you will be free It’s not that easy though .. there’s someone in my life I may never forgive. I guess that’s my choice.
Ok, well I’m off to do some stretching. OH- one more question– I did some yoga today- I only did about 5 or 6 poses from a “Simple Yoga” DVD but my back is burning sore now. Does that happen in the beginning?
Yes, that can happen in the beginning. You do need to go super slow, and just know you’ll feel better eventually. I am doing a new chest stretch a few times a day, and I am feeling some pain, especially in my neck muscles.
Fibromyalgia after Surgery and Pain Medicine Paradox
Filed under: BodyWork, Reversing Fibromyalgia, Sleep Better, Supplements, Trigger Points
This is an email conversation I had with a woman who had two surgeries and now has fibromyalgia and extreme pain. She gave me permission to post this online in the hopes we could help someone else.
Hi Lisa,
Waking up this morning at 5 am in pain, I decided to open up your e-book as I always do when I need a reminder that things can and will get better.
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia following 2 surgeries to remove ovarian cysts- woke up in immense pain which has continued to control my life- 7 months later. I am beginning your protocol because what you have said makes so much sense to me. I see so much of what you have said about yourself in me, and I am so excited to begin this new stage in my recovery from fibromyalgia.
I just had a question for you. I know that our central nervous system plays a huge role in our healing. I keep struggling with the concept of pain medications with my healing. My pain at this point is all over my body, it wakes me up in the night, I am stiff as a board when I wake up in the morning, and I am entirely exhausted all the time. In order
to help get through the pain I am having to be on pain medication 3x a day- I am currently prescribed Ultram. The funny thing about the pain medications is that they actually are giving me energy.I researched the different types of medications I have been prescribed… the list goes on and on (percocet, Nucynta etc) and have come to find that pain medications are generally have a nor epinephrine reuptake inhibitors-as well as some even have a nor adrenaline component.
With knowing as much as I do about the CNS, and trying to stay on a level of relaxation, I am concerned that they may hinder my recovery. However, the tylenol, advil, etc just do not touch the pain. I was curious, if you don’t mind sharing, your thoughts on the pain medication issue.
It has truly been hard for me to accept the fact that I have to be on pain medications around the clock, I struggle with this daily. However, when I do not take them I find myself depressed, unable to get out and move, my mood is infact very negative due to the constant pain- none of which promote healing.
Did you find when you took pain medications that they in any way hindered your healing process. Was there any specific medicine that worked well for you? When you say that you were in pain all the time, were you to on pain medications daily during the first year of so of your recovery? I am twenty six years old, just finished my graduate program, had a job for about two months before I was diagnosed and have since had to resign. My life
has changed completely and I am so glad that you took the time to tell your story as it has already helped to put me on a better path.For the past few months I have been sinking, but I am going to take charge and get my life back.
Thank you for emailing me. I am so glad you have my book and are reading it Your intelligence and willingness and ability to investigate medical matters speaks volumes for you.
You are going to get better, I’m sure of it.
Ok, when I was diagnosed I was offered NO pain medicine except muscle relaxers. I’m not sure why. So I never took anything except muscle relaxers and army-size doses of ibuprofin. (when I was in the army, they used to give us 800 mg tablets of ibuprofin and tell us to take 2) so I had no problems taking 8 regular ibuprofin at a time. I wasn’t scared of them.
(please don’t do this – I look back on that with horror now – very dangerous)
So, my pain medicine was that I would take tons (TONS) of motrin a day.
I still take motrin occassionally, but thank goodness I only need one or two now.
My FIRST THOUGHT upon reading your email is that your fascia and muscles around your surgery sites are going to be FULL of trigger points and scar tissue.
Yes, I totally believe that this is enough to create and perpetuate fibromyalgia. What happens is the fascia shortens in these areas, but because fascia is connected all over your body, it pulls, and the rest of your body feels the pain of the shortened, kinked, tightened fascia in these areas.
Many of my worst trigger points were in my abdomen muscles and my groin muscles and my hip muscles.
I always thought they were in my back and neck because this was where I had the worst pain. I did have trigger points in my back and neck but the ones that MESSED ME UP the worst were in my abdomen, hips, and groin. (oh and neck was pretty bad too – these were the ones that made me nauseous)
So, I never had surgery. I can’t speak with any authority about what it takes to remove issues in fascia that has been cut.
I did have a lot of scar tissue though – I could feel it and I am sure it was from abuse when I was a kid – and I have been able to heal it and smooth it out … and I *believe* that fascia that has been cut will react similarly. You may always have the holes or the line .. but I think you can get the fascia back to full working order anyway.
What does it feel like to press on these areas? Is it quite painful? Can you find any ‘knots’? What did the doctor tell you about healing?
Honestly, I think that for you I would find a good massage therapist who believes in trigger points and have them examine your ‘spots’ and see what they would do. I would actually find two or three and see what each of them says.
I learned so much from each of my different massage therapists and their different approaches and techniques and thoughts on my body. Consider it a journey.
And then replicate what seems to work the best at home. (whatever hurts the most might be what works the best) Do you have the trigger point book?
Ok, that’s not what you asked me Sorry .. just had to get that out there.
On to your question about pain medications.
YES, I do believe that most (maybe all) pain medications will help with the pain but actually keep our body from healing (cruel irony – ha!)
That being said, don’t stop your pain meds! I understand your fear and your issue with this. I have felt the same way. But, like you understand, you do need to take your pain meds just to function and not feel like everything is pointless. There comes a point where the pain is so bad that you won’t be able to do what’s required. so don’t go there.
I would suggest starting to work on your fascia, and then wean yourself off your pain meds – with the help of your doctor – I’ll be honest with you here too … when you start working on your fascia, you will feel worse at first. so you definitely need your pain meds, in my opinion.
…. Have you considered the guai protocol?
…. One more thing I have to talk about. I don’t say too much about this in my book because it’s something I’m just discovering. Systemic enzymes. I talk a bit about enzymes, but not enough.
My son has cough variant asthma so I started looking into treatments other than steroids for him recently and discovered enzymes. Then I read a pain book that recommended enzymes (The Permanent Pain Cure). then I read another pain book that recommended enzymes (The New Aspirin Alternative) and now I am convinced that they are going to be a big deal in the future in helping with fibromyalgia.
The blurbs on the cover of The New Aspirin Alternative say
“The Natural way to overcome chronic pain, reduce inflammation, and enhance the healing response.”
and
“Escape toxic prescription pain drugs” and Capture your flexibility and rejuvenate your ability to be active and shed years of pain with systemic oral enzymes.”
This book recommends Wobenzym
The Permanent Pain Cure talks a bit about fibro, but the New Aspirin Althernative does not. I wish it did. It talks about Lupus and Arthritis and MS but not fibro. I think this is because it quotes clinical studies and no one has thought about enzymes for fibro yet so there aren’t any studies.
Anyway, the book says that systemic enzymes are as good as pain killers for controlling and stopping arthritis pain with no side effects.
From the above article
Fibromyalgia is a multi-faceted disease demanding a multi-faceted solution and since a major aspect of the problem is the pain of ischemia, the only treatment available is also the safest treatment available, the use of highly fibrinolytic orally administered systemic enzymes, to safely lyse away the fibrin, free strangulated muscle tissue and open peripheral circulation by lysing away the fibrin that is clogging the blood vessels. If the unrelenting pain of FMS can be dealt with then the rest of the problems relating to the condition can be ameliorated with ease.
Basically, if you read the article, you will understand that the above quite says the only ‘medicine’ that can relieve fibro pain is one that can get rid of the fibrin and scar tissue that is all over all the muscles, strangling them. Only systemic enzymes can do this. This is why pain medicine doesn’t even work well with fibro, because the only thing that can restore peace to muscles without oxygen is getting oxygen to them.
There’s no dose given … the New Aspirin Alternative says many people start enzyme therapy on their own but if you have a doctor you trust you could start an informed treatment plan with them.
I did a week of high-dose systemic enzymes as recommended in the Permanent Pain Cure just a few months ago, and you know what, I saw results (which is hard – I don’t often find anything that gives me results anymore because I am so well). By results I mean I felt worse at first (low grade muscle pain) and then noticed more energy and flexibility.
So … I think that you might need to pick up a copy of the New Aspirin Alternative, and print out a copy of that article, and take it to the doctor that gave you the pain pills and see if you can work out a weaning schedule while you do enzymes instead.
But start self trigger point massage first. It’s important.
and don’t go too fast. … This happened over many years for me.
What are you thinking? … and can I share this on my website without your personal info? I think it could help many people. thanks!
You sure can post my story on your
site!Sorry it has taken me a few days to respond.. I have been having quite
the hard time lately and have not even felt emotionally or physically
well enough to get on the computer. I remembered today that I needed
to write you back, so I am doing just that- no matter how I feel!Okay, to comment on your email. I def agree with you with regard to
the muscle pain and trying the trigger point massage. For about 2
months, I was seeing a myofascial release physical therapist- who
deals with fascial restriction and releasing the fascia as well as
integreting deep breathing techniques into the treatment plan.. The
treatment was one hour long and I saw the therapist twice a week. It
seemed to really help calm the nervous system and it felt amazing
(most of the time).But after the two months of sessions, I just
recently called a quits. I found myself so discouraged. I have been
running around from doctor to doctor for 6 months trying to get my
symptoms under control.I have a great massage therapist who I was
seeing twice a week. I have not seen her the past two weeks because I
have been in miserable pain and in somewhat of a depression as a
result of this illness. My pain seems to be in the muscles, however,
I also have pain in my fingers, and my teeth are sensitive as well.Let me just give you a little back round about what happened following
my surgery.When I awoke from surgery, it was as though my nervous
system went hay wire. Lights, sounds, and the pain was out of
control. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days following ovarian cyst
removal which is generally unheard of. The pain originially started
in my lower back following ovarian cyst removal. The pain was so bad
for the first three months that I was on pain medicine around the
clock and was on sleeping pills (AMBIEN at that) for about 3 months.The lower back, although still a bad sorce of my pain (I wake up in
the morning and it feels like I have been beaten to death- everywhere)
is not the only source of pain anymore. With time it spread to my
upper back, shoulders, now wrists, fingers, arms. Just depending on
the time of day.It is so bad at this point that I have to be on pain
medication from the minute I wake up until I go to sleep. My sleep has
also been effected, I have the worst time falling asleep at night, no
matter if I take Lunesta (sleeping pill) or a muscle relaxer. Did you
have issues with sleeping during your healing process?I have read your book entirely and will be printing it out. There is
so much good information that I am going to read over it again and
highlight what is most important.So from your standpoint, you
believe that the trigger point book is worth investing in. I spoke
with my massage therapist about trigger points and she had said that
she wanted to hold off until my pain was more stable. As for the guai
protocol, I am currently under the care of a chiropractor who is also
a wellness specialist.He seems to think that this protocol does not
help with the symptoms and pain. He has this less is more attitude,
like your body can heal on its own if you just give it what it
needs… ie. fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish. I am currently
taking many supplements- fish oil, vitamens, progesterone (due to
estrogen dominance).I feel like I am being pulled in all different
directions because each specialist tells me something different. My
life has changed completely. I also have adrenal fatigue- which I am
currently taking supplements for- and I am hoping this will help to
give me some of the energy back. I wake up in the morning weak,
however I am unable to nap or sleep at night, it’s a vicious cycle. I
was originally put on cymbalta to help with pain, which did seem to
take a good amount of the pain away, but it caused me to be more
depressed, so I had to get off of it.I have always been an anxious
person, and feel that I have always needed something to help with my
nervousness, but anti depressents don’t seem to do the trick for me.
If you do not mind me asking, were you prescribed any SSRI’s or SNRI’s
to deal with the condition, and if so did anything seem to help?
Although my chiro wants to keep me on as little medicine as possible,I am willing to give anything a try at this point- especially the
guai- it seems like it’s worth a try, especially if you had good
results with it. Doctors can give advice, but sometimes they just do
not understand the pain- and at this point I am looking for relief,
but also looking for something that will not interfere with my healing
process.I will follow your advice and get the trigger point book. Do you
think that guai was helpful for your recovery? Or would have been
helpful in the first stages of fibro? Did you notice symptom relief?It’s funny because I have joined a support group, and many of the
women say that they have fibromyalgia “flares”- with both good days
and bad days. I have yet to have one good day since I had the
surgery. It makes me wonder if I have a really awful case of
fibromyalgia.When you were first diagnosed with the condition, did
you have good days where you were able to function without alot of
pain? I think I get discouraged because I hear of all these people
that are managing their fibro with just supplements, and my body does
not seem to be responding to anything I have done this far.I do not
believe that my body has recovered from the initial onset of the
fibro, because I have yet to have relief. I know you had said on your
site that your first year was the worst- you were in pain all the
time. Did you work during this year? How on earth did you get through
it?Also, were you able to exercise? I often notice that I hurt much worse
after exercise, even if I am on pain medication. I have been doing
light walking- about a mile every other day- but I am wondering if I
should call that a quits too.Also, in your book you say that
stretching helped you alot in your healing process, how long would you
say it took for you to see results? I will continue with my stretches
and meditation. In my case, I think that my body crashed after the
surgery. I think my central nervous system has gone hay wire and I
need to get that under control, I am sure it takes time.My
pessimistic attitude has not helped either- I am such a worrier and
always have been- this is probably why I have ended up with the
condition. I was also on adderall for abou six years through college
and a Master’s degree (just finished in 2009), this medicine allowed
me to push myself beyond belief. Another reason why I believe the
surgery was the breaking point to my health.Oh and I am currently seeing a compounding pharmacist and will talk to
him about the enzymes. Thank you!!!You give me inspiration. Thank you for your response. Let me know
what you think.
Hi Michelle,
I understand if you can’t get back to me at some point – don’t rush for me.
I definitely recommend that you see your therapists if you can. Massage and fascial release will peel away layers for you. Very helpful.
Regarding what happened to you with your surgery – it sounds very extreme to me. I’m sorry it happened and it sounds to me like you are going to need a lot of time to heal from this. How long exactly has it been?
I did have issues with sleeping, but nothing like you are describing. Mine was more because I couldn’t shut my mind off and would wake up to any noise and not be able to fall back asleep and sometimes I needed to eat – stuff like that.
The trigger point book is really important for you I think. You are going to want to learn to treat your own trigger points because you will learn so much from your body that way. You can become the expert on your body, and you can come to a point where you will ‘know’ – you will get an intuitive sense of what’s going on with your body. This is what you want, and learning to treat your trigger points can give this to you.
Plus, if the massage therapist thinks your trigger points are bad enough that she is not going to start on them yet, then you treating your own will give you the control to start soft and easy. .. to do only one muscle or group at a time … stuff like that. A massage therapist will generally treat everything she can fit into an hour, leaving you a sore mess later that evening and the next day.
Guai protocol … I had great results from it. Immediate results, but I don’t know if you will. Your biggest issue seems to be your nervous system, and your fascia (muscles) is seconary to that, instead of the way I had it, which was fascia biggest issue, and nervous system was secondary to that. … essentially. …
I do think that my nervous system being overactive had a lot to do with me getting fibro, but there was a point where the fascial adhesions took over and became a bigger problem – to me though, it sounds like instead of your muscles surpassing your nervous system as a problem, your nervous system just keeps getting worse along with your muscles. what do you think?
I do like that you are under the care of a doctor that believes in the healing power of the body, that’s wonderful, but it would be nice if he were open to things you want to try. If he were trying to keep learning new ways to help people and not just think he knows everything. There is nothing toxic in guaifenesin as far as I know. There is no reason not to be open to it.
Ok, the anxious person thing … yes, you are going to need to tweak your personality a bit to get totally better, I think.. I was always anxious and high-strung too, and that had to go. I worked and still work very hard on that. I do yoga every day. I take baths. I stay calm. I throw out thoughts that make me feel nervous. Earlier today I had a thought trying to wiggle its way into my brain that would have made me very anxious about the future, and I just had to laugh at it and let it go. … and I can do that now. .. and it took me many years to get good at this. I read a LOT of books. I did a lot of self-therapy. I tried everything. and it’s paid off.
I was not prescribed anything except muscle relaxers. I’m not sure why. It was almost 8 years ago – maybe that has something to do with it – or maybe because I never went back to the doctor after she basically told me she couldn’t help me.
Yes, your fibro sounds very extreme to me. But you can still get better. really. I was mostly able to function, although I was ALWAYS in pain. I didn’t start having pain free days for about a year I think.
Now that I am 7 years in, I have one day of pain every … say two months, and I can always pinpoint what I did that caused it. Always. (an usually it’s more like a few hours of pain and then I fix it) The rest of the time I feel fantastic. Everyone I know my age is always complaining about how they are stiff, and they can’t get up off the floor if they go down and their back hurts and on and on .. I don’t have any of that, and that is a gift I got from reversing fibro. You can have that gift too
I got through it because it’s either get through it or die and I wasn’t ready to die and neither are you. Don’t worry, I have a feeling you will have a decent day soon, and then you will get some hope.
I was able to exercise. Certain exercise would make me hurt worse, but walking never did. And so I walked. I wouldn’t stop walking. Definitely do something if you can.
Stretching, there’s a certain type to start with – I have outlined them in my book. this on the floor restorative stretching is different and will have different results than anything else you do. The supproted childs post and twisting child’s pose are really important. I did those for hours each day. I think I started seeing … I don’t want to say ‘results’ because that seems so measurable, and nothing was really measurable in that way … but I started feeling better right away after I first started that stretch … while I was in it. I started feeling better the rest of the day maybe in 5 or 6 months.
Wow, I’ve never heard of adderall but I just looked it up and yes .. I think that could do it to you. There’s your nervous system jacking up issues. But that’s ok, you still can get better. I know it. Does your doctor know you took that for so long?
I am sure enzymes can help you. I also wonder if fasting could help you.. have you ever thought about fasting? Do you have any eating issues? People don’t generally recommend fasting for fibro but I have read such wonderful things about fasting and healing that I wonder if it would work well. Especially for someone who wanted to get well as quickly as possible.
Anyway, let me know what you are thinking here. Wishing you a good day, Lisa