Know Thy Enemy

This is the fourth draft of this blog post, which is a first for me. I don't usually rein myself in. I just post and leave it as is. But under the title "know thy enemy" I began to digress, a lot. I had so much information and personal opinion that I don't think anyone would have read the novel.

So I'm going to try to break up my thoughts a bit and stick to the basics.

Our enemy is Fibromyalgia.

The biggest problems with Fibro are:

-Fatigue
-Body Pain
-Digestive health
-Female (hormonal) issues
-Migraines
-Allergies

There are many other "sub" issues but for now, I'm sticking with this list of problems to use in my example.

I spoke last time about knowing yourself and your symptoms.

Once you know the symptoms that plague you the most you have to do a lot of research. Find out everything there is about the symptoms and what else besides Fibro they could be. Just because we have Fibro doesn't mean everything is related to it. (Although as most of us find out after a bunch of tests...it usually is "just Fibro".) We always have to error on the side of caution though.

Then you have to start your treatments. Let's take IBS for example. First you have to make sure there is nothing wrong with your intestines, your liver, your kidneys, your stomach, or your colon. Once all of that is determined in working order, you then have to start working on the treatment of IBS itself. Dramatic dieting? Pill popping before every meal? A little bit of both?Whatever works best for you. For me, my treatment was dieting. I ate a lot of zucchini bread, sour dough muffins, and chicken with rice. I couldn't step outside of that for months. If I did, I was sick again.

But one day, I treated myself for a yeast infection and my IBS started to improve. It's been over a week now and I was able to eat a hamburger and... Taco Bell!! (Not that I should have, mind you. Slipping once I showed improvement could have put me right back at the starting gate and is not a smart move. Still.. Taco Bell is my Achilles Heel and after four days of solid movements, I made a run for the border.)

Why did this work for me? Is there some link between IBS and yeast infections that come and go often with me ever since giving birth to my daughter? I don't know. I'm in full research mode to find out why my body reacted the way it did.

This is what everyone should do. The moment something starts to make you feel sick, you do research. If you stumble on something that makes you feel better...you do research.

This is KEY to knowing how Fibro affects YOU PERSONALLY.

The more research I do, the more I realize the intricate web that surrounds the deviant core of Fibromyalgia. Our conditions are as different as our fingerprints and yet the things that we feel relate so well to one another.

What does this mean?

There are too many variables for advice to be universal. What works for one person could harm another. We can learn from others and try what works for them for ourselves but we have to keep in mind that someones regimen of diet, exercise, vitamins, supplements, pharm drugs has a lottery chance of working for us.

There are other factors to Fibromyalgia that you won't find anywhere on the internet except here. The condition in which you keep your body, and the determination you have to fight it.

Those are two factors that most Fighters do not take into consideration. You can have Fibromyalgia and be seeking treatment, but if you're allowing your depression to bring you down, you're doing as much harm as good. The medications you take are locking horns with your lack of hope and depression and poor health habits.

You can take all the medications you want but they'll have little to no affect without the right attitude, the right inspiration, and the determination to get better. These factors are the key to success when learning about how to fight YOUR Fibro.

Having said all of this, those of you who know me know that I have to say despite the "Fight Fibro Your Way" message here, that I still believe whole-heartedly that in order to Fight Fibro successfully, you must make sure your body is well armored.

Take your vitamins, eat better, exercise a little. Give your body the leg-up in the form of being full of vitamin goodness.

As always, my friends, I'm here to help, encourage, answer questions and give some head-smackings when needed...taking my own as they come as well.

You are my inspiration to keep up the 98% days, and I thank you all.

My best,
Gin