Portable Heating Pads

The other day I had a stitch in my side that just would not go away. I had it for several days. I decided to try one of those portable heating pads. Like the Thermacare, but really it was a store brand. You see I'm kind cheap or well frugal.

I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did it help my side but it helped keep me warm all over. Since keeping warm is one of the things that helps my Fibromyalgia, you can see why I'm so excited. I have some at home and some in my desk at work now.

They are not exactly a natural remedy but they certainly are not medicine either!

Foods That Help with Pain

These are the foods that I have found that help with pain.
Dark Red Cherries: An older friend suggested this one to me. She told me how her grandmother ate a handful of dark red cherries every day and sometimes severa times a day. I have tried it and it does take the edge off my fibromyalgia pain.

Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother: It has many benefits, helping with pain is one of them. When I use this I put about a jigger full in a large glass of water. I know some people who put theirs on thier salad. I have done this for a couple years and it helps every time. I don't even realize it.

Well I am still drinking green smoothies. You can not imagine my surprise either. I noticed when I drink them I have less indegestion.

Today the smoothie had 2 small cups of red cabbage, 1 cup of sliced peaches, 1/2 cup of red raspberries, and 1/2 banana. I don't think I will do the red raspberries again as it has too many seeds. I just needed to finish them up.

I decreased the banana from a whole one to a half today too. When I started doing smoothies in December I was using 2 whole bananas and that was entirely too much. A whole banana every day is still alot. But if you don't use banana it doesn't have a creamy taste.

I tried it that way. The flavor of the greens was too obvious. The fleshy fruit of the peach seems to do it though. It is still creamy with the peach and half a banana.

Anyway the inflamation is still low depending on what else I eat. That helps. I can't really say the smoothies do alot for the pain though. Part of the reason maybe that I somehow hurt my back and that clouds everything though.

Does anyone else use food as medicine? How is that working for you?

Inflamation and Fibromyalgia

Inflamation is one of the problems with my Fibromyalgia. I can feel it in my mouth. It's swollen and hurts. I usually take medication like acetaminophen when it's really bad.

I started drinking green smoothies every morning. Mind you I have only been drinking them for the past 5 days but I noticed that I have very little inflamation those days. Still hurting but the inflamation seems down. Have any of you tried green smoothies?

Sleep and Firbromyalgia

I know I have said it before but it is mind boggling to me how much my sleep affects my Fibromyalgia. For instance, last night I had to work which was already going to make me ache. Then my daughter, who has a disability herself, came over at midnight.

I missed more sleep. So now I'm having trouble with the shakes and pain. Time to start some of my pain reducing strategies. I'm still amazed at how much sleep is a part of this for me though.

Does anyone else have this experience?

It's Been Awhile

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I posted. Not that I am not thinking about Fibromyalgia every minute of every day. I just get frustrated.

I have been thinking about triggers lately. Probably because I was in a wreck with a semi. I was jostled a bit. But the stress of the wreck is what did me in. Put me to bed right away.

I know stress is a trigger but that brought it to my mind in a large way. I needed to document it and could not think of a better place.

My rememdy was sleep. Even though I still work, sleep is still my remedy of choice. What about you? Does stress affect you the same way? What is your rememdy of choice?

Fibromyalgia Is Real

Even in this day I still run into doctors who do not believe Fibromyalgia is a real condition. Some times it is a general practitioner or a specialist who does not believe. They will treat someone with a large number of what are typical symptoms and still not see it.

It seems like the legitimacy of the disease should be based on strong evidence of its existence. This is true for a lot of diseases so this is not unreasonable. This is similar to my understanding of the psychology of pain.

Basically, you can not feel my pain, but if you could it would hurt. All of this reminds me of the psychology of pain. If I have pain it can not necessarily be measure, but if I feel it intensely, it is real. It is real whether you believe it or not.

One other issue is my surprise about how professionals think. Many professionals are having to realize they do not know everything. Myself and people I know are in pain. They have the same symptoms and problems as many other people.

These people may live thousands of miles apart and not know each other. They may not even know what this disorder is called. Surprisingly, they all have similar symptoms.

It is hard to retain a sense of humor or composure when people call what you feel tired butt syndrome or lazyitis. It just seems with the amount of people involved there is more going on, a real disease.

Some people will be tempted to give it a psychological name. Unfortunately this was also true for many diseases we now know. Science had to catch up with what real people were reporting. Science thought of these diseases as myths until it found a link between cause and effect.

Diseases that make you feel weak, sick or dizzy and even take away your will to live have no psychological component. At least until you start feeling however the disease makes you feel.

Gulf War Syndrome, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and even a disease that makes you laugh yourself to death were once a myth. They were a myth until a relationship was found in the chemical section of the brain or body. This may well what happens in Fibromyalgia.