For years I have always been active, but within the last 3 years I have noticed that my activity levels have gone down and I have been suffering with chronic pain. Finally after going to many dr’s I was diagnosed last summer with Fibromyalgia. I was told that it is a condition that is best explained as rheumatoid arthritis of the muscles and ligaments.
The pain I live with is daily and some days worse than others depending on weather and how much I have done the day before. 🙂 I have gained weight over the past few years due to my activity levels dropping, but I am determined to try and get rid of this 20lbs that keeps following me around. Any suggestions as to what would be the best approach for me? Also I have thougth about going on a detox program because toxins in the body can be linked to pain. What kind of detox program do you feel would be safe? Thank you and I am so happy to be a part of urban moms.
Jen
Thank you Michelle for your advice. Where do you get the natural supplements that you mentioned? Currently I have only been dealing with ibuprofen for the pain, which isn’t always that effective. And then I have been taking vitamin B to help with my emotional well being. Do you get “the look” from people when they find out you have Fibromyalgia? I find that there is such little information around about it, and such poor support from the medical personal, that many people feel that it is all in your head. It’s frustrating to get that feeling from people. I just wish these same people could spend one day in my shoes!
I was diagnosed just over 5 years ago with fibro.Don’t let them put you on amtriptaline!!The average weight gain with it is 35lb ……just what i gained before finding this info out!
Exercise with fibro has to start very slow and always includes a lot of stretching!Then the very best exercise is slow exercise in warm water maybe an arthritis program….check out your local recreation centres.
What are you taking for the fibro?If you are looking at natural suppliments heres what i take.
3 tsp daily d-ribose for energy(this stuff is great)
2 tabs daily fibro-m which is magnesium and malic acid for the muscle aches and spasms.
vitamin D is important too
5-htp to help with sleeping(i take the coated kind as the uncoated makes me feel nauseous 🙂
I also have fibromyalgia and although I was walking regularly for quite a while several things happened that stopped me from doing so. It has been a couple of years now since I have been walking and although I want to and know I should be going back to it, I am finding it very hard to get motivated. Once I get started I know I will be okay, I just need that push to get started. I don’t have any friends or buddies to help, so don’t suggest that. I have to do this on my own. Any ideas?
Thank you Jen and Christine. It is amazing how pain can affect you not just physically, but emotionally. It is frustrating that it is a double edged sword because the exercising, although can help the emotional part very well, it can sometimes make the physical part worse. 🙁 Oh well, I am really learning that moderation seems to be the key and listening to my body. I don’t rely on pain meds because I don’t feel comfortable masking the pain I would rather use it as a reminder to take it easy. Pain is to allow us to know that something is not right and I know it’s important to understand that this is the type of pain that you can’t “work through.” Besides with only being 38 I don’t need the pain meds to do damage to my kidneys and liver etc.
Hey Jen. I was recently diagnosed with an auto immune disease which I first investigated due to very swollen and painful joints when running. Although I haven’t gained a lot of weight it has stopped me from being able to run regularly and has certainly impacted my mood and fitness level.
I am right there with you trying to turn things around! What is a safe and healthy way to kick start things both physically and emotionally?
Hi Jen,
So sorry to hear about your pain! A detox is a fine idea, but I do recommend you see a professional so that you can do it safely and get the most bang for you buck. A naturopath in your area can be really helpful. My main concern when people are interested in detoxing is:
1) You may be allergic to some of the ingredients in the detox. This is especially the case if you have seasonal allergies as many detoxes contain mixes of herbs that may be present in the spring.
2) You need to check the ingredients to be sure that they don’t contraindicate with any of the medications you are on (if any) or any health conditions you may have.
If you don’t have allergies and are not on any medications, nor do you have any major health concerns (ie. high blood pressure, heart disease) then the first place I will usually get people detoxing is the bowels, the second is the liver.
For the bowels I usually recommend added fiber and a good dose of healthy bacteria (I like the brand Bio-K for this). If you are constipated you may need to add in some natural laxatives like Senna Pod (do not continue this long term though).
For the liver I will usually recommend the herb Milk Thistle as it is the most well studied (it should be standardized to contain 80% sylimarin) and tends to be very safe with few contraindications.
I hope that gives you a bit of insight. Without knowing you or your full history I don’t want to recommend too much but a bowel and liver cleanse would probably be the best place to start. Also of course cleaning out the diet, removing things like dairy, meat, sugar, wheat, eggs, colourants, additives, saturated/trans fats, coffee, alcohol etc. will enhance the detoxification process.
Best wishes,
Christine