Fibromyalgia and how it effects you and what to do to help naturaly and otherwise to help!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Akasha StormRaven on July 31, 2009 at 9:06am

Thank you, I appreciate this. Sometimes it's just so hard to stay moving, to stay motivated. I'll try those other things too.

Permalink Reply by moondragon aka cyndi on July 31, 2009 at 9:34pm

your more than welcome I live with this daily and I know the day to day "can I get up today,can I do anything today " kinda of feeling it sucks but we have to deal with it and just learn new ways to make it wk and find lil tricks to help us on a daily basis..I wish you the very best and have faith be strong,,brightest blessings merr part.cynthia moondragon

Permalink Reply by spiralspirit on August 10, 2009 at 4:59pm

I don't have fibro, but do have CRPS and joint probs., etc. Basically I just say all that 'cause I want you to understand that I know some of what you're feeling, and I know Chronic pain can be devastating!
I agree with the remedies you offer, but want to add something; Yes, keep moving IS important but sometimes we just have to stop pushing ourselves. We have to forgive ourselves (for not being what we used to be and/or for feeling so much pain) and then give in. Occaisionally I think we should just curl up in a ball and pull the covers over our heads! In my experience, when I keep pushing myself to work, walk, move etc., I usually end up overdoing it, not pacing myself like I should, and having so much more pain & tiredness than I normally would have! So, when a tornado of pain, weakness etc. hits me- Sometimes, I give in (but not for too long!) & allow myself to feel and then I find it easier to release some of the pain or let go of the pain. It's like I stop fighting myself for awhile and then I feel better- Combined of course, with any of the other ways I/we have to fight with; meds,exercise, working on something that fulfills us, sleep, etc.!
I wish you gentle hugs and Blessed Be!
Spiral Spirit

Permalink Reply by moondragon aka cyndi on August 14, 2009 at 1:20am

yea i agree with the just giving in a lil and not pushing to hard part ,just dont give up completely and give in or give up lol i learned from it..lol..thanks for your support and kind words and I wish you very best also..many blessings merry part

Permalink Reply by Milli (Millicent Purae Omallia) on January 3, 2010 at 4:37pm

MM All!

I'm new to this group and also have fibromyalgia. I saw this discussion and felt the need to add my input. I took a pain management class; and while I heard many of the suggestions I see here, there is one missing. This is the hardest one for us. The term is called, "pacing". This means to go a little farther when you don't feel like it and do a little less when you're up to doing more. It sounds crazy at first; but, it does work. I've also found that through my efforts as a practicing student of the Craft, I find some relief. I must ground and remain active as much as possible.

Permalink Reply by Crescent (Rev) on January 3, 2010 at 6:15pm

MM, I'm new to the group, but rather "old" to pain. In addition to Fibromyalgia, I also have Osteoarthritis from my neck, back and down to my knees (with torn meniscus in each knee), Sacroiliitis, then Plantar Fasciitis in both feet. So I take a lot of meds, TRY to make it to the gym where they have a "Sit 'n Be Fit" class and a low impact water aerobics class where I can swim a few laps across the saltwater pool. Then it's whirlpool and sauna time and by the time I get out of there, I'm ready to lie down on the sofa. When my back starts hurting so bad (Fibromyalgia plus my T12 disk), only lying down will help it. Being upright just makes the pain more intense. My doctor has me on Lyrica for the Fibro.

So I'm hoping, as I'm relatively new to Witchscool, that learning to control my body's energies will help me somehow.

Permalink Reply by moondragon aka cyndi on January 4, 2010 at 1:14pm

Merry Meet it will,and the plan your doing with the swimming and stuff so far sounds good!hot pad on your back will help when your relaxing for short periods at time also! lyrica works also my doc has put me on it and is uping it a lil at time. but i stay on the other things Im on also with his knowledge make sure if you use any other meds herbs etc vitamens let your doc and pharmacy know so they can tell you any interactions! and saftys and u can take this with this but u have to wait so many hrs later to take pill B later hope u understood that its for safty reasons!If you can affor a Wii its excercis fun programes on there and the yoga ones are good too I saved up and put one on law-a-way at a pawn shop lol and got all the board and mat too with it at same time so it helps Im losing the lil weight I need to slow but steady and fun but easy,and it it makes it fun and keeps track of ut weight and other stuff for u also! plus I do my relaxing salt baths and meditations with candles and aromatherpy with scents any scents that u like is good in an oil burner is great..while listening to calming relaxing cds like the oceans or waterfalls or other such meditation cds!.Do you Have some one to use massage oil on your back where it hurts or can you afford to go to a massage theripst if so on either on do so make sure if u have a partner doing it warm the oil slightly like i use a baby bottle wamer the king u plug in to warm up a baby bottle or diper wipes put a few of your fave oils in there and plg in when its massage day plug in when ready then lite candles put cds on relax lol..I have never heard of what you have with your feet..Ask your doc if its ok to use a massage oil on them so u can relax them also im not sure just ask always ask questions thats what they are there for if they think u ask to many questions they arnt a good doctor anyway we know our bodys and we want to know best way to heal and take care of it! aks what you can use on it naturaly that u can mix with ur meds safely like massage oils or herbals baths teas or herbal bath salts etc these things wk but we have to know if they can wk with our meds so ask question call him/her then try what you can! your in my thoughts if I can help some more Ill do my very best so so rambly lol Im a lil off a lil achy its the weather way cold! brightest blessings merry part Cynthia moondragon

Permalink Reply by Purple Hedgewitch on May 2, 2010 at 10:48am

I agree with you Milli
I'm new to this group, but not to Fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed with it a year ago. but it's one of many Chronic conditions I have. but Pacing I know all too well about, as I am living the effects of NOT pacing myself. On Thursday it was a lovely day and I went to help my Son and his family move into their new place. I felt great so went at it from about 1pm till about 6pm. stopping in between but pacing went right out of the window. I have been paying for it all weekend. Widespread pain everywhere and pain in my lower back that I haven't felt that severe since I was last in labor lol. Many years ago but you don't forget that feeling :)) I normally try to pace myself and for the most I am successful but this was not one of those times. I am also battling with Sjogren's Syndrome (autoimmune disease) CFS, Depression, Migraines,Glaucoma, Osteoarthritis & the start of a Cataract on my left eye. I don't think I missed anything lol..

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on January 4, 2010 at 2:39pm

These are some great suggestions. I have a couple of others, but I also want to add that in addition to FMS, I have CFS and Lyme Disease, plus migraines and 2 herniated discs with another bulging disc in my lower back. Not that this is a competition! LOL Just wanted to let you know what I'm suffering from so we all know one another! :)

My suggestions are: a wonderful blog that I stumbled upon called "How to Cope with Pain Blog," you can google it to find the URL, or if anybody really needs me to post it, just let me know, I'll be glad, cuz I have it bookmarked! You can sign up for updates when something new is added, and it's a weekly blog. It begins anew each year, so there should be a whole new year starting up now. The updates by the owner will start on Mondays usually, sometimes Tuesdays, depending on what's going on in her life, but it's been very inspiring. A lot of the suggestions revolve around visualization and meditation, which are techniques which the average Wiccan will be quite familiar with.

Another is this: a spectacular support group I found called MDJunction. The URL can be found on my profile page, or again, if anyone wants me to post it here, I'll be glad to, just ask--I am always hesitant to post URL's for things in a group that is designed to be a support group and redirect someone elsewhere. I figure if you want to go there, just ask me instead of me posting the URL! LOL ;) There may be rules I don't want to violate, but I can't tell you HOW much this place has helped me. MDJ is literally "People helping people," and there are support forums there for just about any ailment you can imagine. I belong to a number of them. You simply go there, register, and then join whatever groups you feel you need to join.

For massage oils, I prefer the ones with peppermint, eucalyptus, lavendar, geranium, and marjoram. I mainly prefer them because I so often have migraines, and they relieve different forms of migraines. But they help pain in general as well. I'm very sensitive to massage oils, so I tend to use oils like almond or evoo.

For bath salts, I mostly prefer lavendar or sage. Lavendar will help you sleep, and sage tends to wake the senses. But too much sage makes you smell like a cooked turkey, so you gotta be careful about it! LOL I love an herbal blend with cinnamon, too. It wakes the senses and it makes you feel spicy and sexy. You'd be surprised what you can do with bath salts. Spicy types wake you and calming help you sleep--lavendar tends to be much preferred by so many I talk to.

One thing I recommend when you work with massage oils and bath salts is that you use what you prefer for scents. It's not always about what you think will help you to heal, but if you don't like the smell, it's not going to work. Another thing I warn against is using too much essential oils--some people think that more is better, but because the oils are so concentrated, you can't do that when you make your own.

I do use some herbs, but I usually buy tinctures and such for Lyme, rather than FMS--I have a belief that my FMS was caused by Lyme, and I recognize that my symptoms improve when my Lyme is getting better, so that makes a lot of sense to me, logically. I would recommend if anyone hasn't been tested for Lyme that you consider it, only because I was diagnosed with FMS and CFS, then came across Lyme. I'm in the process of being tested for Lyme because of some info that came out. I'm not going to say too much, it would take a book, but I do know that I have Lyme, and the tests would really just be confirming something that we already know. So... it's just worth researching, and if anyone wants links to info about Lyme, please let me know. It's kinda consumed the last several years of my life.

Hugs and BB,
Jen :)

Permalink Reply by Milli (Millicent Purae Omallia) on January 5, 2010 at 12:12am

Wow! I guess I'm in good company. I guess I should share all of my difficulties/challenges for the group. Not only do I have fibromyalgia, I once weighed 364.3 pounds. I now weigh much less after having weight loss surgery eight years ago. However, I was always active. So, I didn't act like your stereotypical fat person. I destroyed all of my weight bearing joints. I have osteoarthritis. I also lost two discs in my lower back and have two bulging discs in my cervical spine. I have complicated migraines, the kind that cause partial blindness, nausea, and dysphagia. I have a wheelchair but only use it when shopping. I refuse to stay down. However, my body tends to get its' way from time to time. I've found many of the suggestions I've read to be quite helpful. My new found spirituality along the Wiccan path has benefited my greatly, allowing me much more freedom than I once had. Meditation, herbology, and moderate exercise all help alleviate symptoms. I cannot afford the luxury of letting myself wallow in self-pity and depression. These will only increase my pain. I look forward to offering my support and making friends.

Love, Light, and (((((((((((HUGS)))))))))

Milli

Permalink Reply by Jennifer Surdam on January 5, 2010 at 4:36pm

Wow! That's a lot to deal with, too... My migraines are complicated as well, and very little will work to cure them. I take topamax daily at the highest level my neuro feels is acceptable to take. No medications that are supposed to stop them will do so--the tryptans, I think they are called. And so right now the only thing that is working is DHE injections I administer at home. Vicodin and Valium don't even work! Nothing seems to help. And DHE makes me sleepy, so it upsets my sleep cycles, which are already messed up! LOL So, I usually go a whole day with one, then take the injections at night.

I am a fighter, like you, I refuse to stay down. I believe that Wicca has really helped me. It sounds like we're a lot alike! I won't wallow, I help people, like I said above, so that helps me in and of itself.

Love and hugs to you and everyone else here!
Jen :)

Permalink Reply by Crescent (Rev) on January 6, 2010 at 8:54pm

Jenn, I used to be on Topamax; it didn't help me much.
Crescent

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