Cleanse Day 1 - Graperific

I've never done any type of cleanse or fast before.  This was a little scary for me!  I was worried I would be cranky, hungry, have a headache, not have the will power to follow through.
I prayed this morning for God to give me the strength for just today to endure.  And He has!  I'm in a great mood, I am hungry and have a slight headache, but confident that I have made it through Day 1 of 10.

The cleanse I am following from Perfect Weight America teaches that on day 1, I need to drink lots of water 3/4 oz per pound of body weight, and 4 meals of grapes (any kind, I got both) throughout the day.  Along with some special supplements that you can get at Perfect Cleanse.  It's a good thing I like grapes! 


I did alright during the day.  Around 4pm I was starting to get hungry and was worried that grapes for dinner wouldn't be enough.  It was just fine, even though I wanted what the rest of my family was eating.  

I'm feeling pretty good tonight.  My tummy is growling (for the first time today), but I'm heading to bed (it's just after 10) as soon as I finish the last of my water for the day, so I wont be tempted by leftover dinner or popcorn.  I'm looking forward to my mango for breakfast in the morning!  Night!

Running – It’s What I Love

I quit running back in September 2011 because of the horrible pain I was experiencing at the time.  This was before I went to see my Dr. and learned I have fibromyalgia.  I was never a great runner, but I loved it.  I had only started a few years before and worked my way up to running a few 5K races with an ultimate goal of doing a ½ marathon someday.  The Tinkerbell ½ Marathon at Disneyland to be exact.  A lot of my pain in the beginning was joint pain, in my feet, knees and hips.  I was stiff in the mornings and so very sore in the evenings I could barely walk.  When I did see my Dr. in November, he confirmed that I should not be running.  Walking instead would be best.  But when I went to see a Rheumatologist for a 2^nd opinion she suggested that I continue to do what I loved, just start slow, build up very slow, pace myself, and listen to my body so I don’t overdo it.  It turned out a lot of my foot/leg pain was Plantar Fasciitis, and I was able to get that under control by learning some stretches and wearing good supportive shoes all the time (very hard for this flip-flop or barefoot girl!  Thanks to my sister-in-law who also deals with this, I was able to find some pretty cute supportive flip-flops by Orthaheel) It took me a few months to try running again.  I wanted to focus on healing my body a bit.

When I first began running I followed the Couch 2 5K Running Plan from coolrunning.  It is a very mild approach of walking/running and building up slowly to avoid injury over 9 weeks.  I loved the program, so I figured I would try it again.  It turned out that trying to run 3 days a week was too much, so I dropped it down to 2.  I have learned a lot about energy management, and for me, this is what I can handle.  I also believe the supplements I have been taking have helped with my energy and opened up more of my day to be able to exercise.  I have to run on days when I don’t have anything else going on, to give myself plenty of time to rest and recover.  Sometimes I have overdone it and suffered for a couple of days after with pain and fatigue.

This was one thing that was worth it to me to try and get back from my life before fibro.  I missed the quiet prayer time with just me and God (and usually my little one ridding in the stroller).  Getting out in nature (well, suburban nature) and feeling the sun on my skin.  It’s always been a great stress reliever for me, and given me a goal to work towards.  So once again I have set that goal of running the Tinkerbell ½ marathon someday.  Currently I am on week 7 of the C25K program although I have been running for 10 weeks now.  I feel great over all.  It has helped with energy, motivation, stress relief and more!

I want to point out that I am NOT telling you to go out and run.  This may not be right for you.  I also understand that I may not be able to do this forever.  You should seek advice from your Dr. about what type of exercise is best for you.  Start slow and build up slowly.  The normal recommendations for people with fibro are
low impact; walking, yoga and aqua therapy.  Even with those
you must build up slowly.

It takes time! 

What do you do for exercise?

Priorities - Where Does Fibromyalgia Fit?

It sure takes a lot of time and effort to revamp your life.  Lots of reading, studying, testing and practicing.  I feel sometimes like this is a new job.  I guess it is.  I have spent hours and hours reading, and talking with others who are living with fibromyalgia, trying to find what God leads me to put into practice in my own life as steps towards healing.  This can quickly take over your whole life,  putting God and family responsibilities on the back-burner!  I KNOW that is not what God wants for me, so where does getting healthy fit into my priorities?

Here is an illustration that shows the Circles of Priority for a Christian Adult according to
Bearing Fruit in God's Family by NavPress:

After talking about this with my husband we came up with the idea that for me, fibro should fall between “Work” (I should point out that "Work" does not necessarily mean a paying job) and “Other."  We’ll call it “Self/Health,” not “selfishness,”  but “Self/Health.”  This is the place to work on getting healthy.  My list for “Self/Health” would include; 

-reading/research on my illness

-healthy eating

-supplements

-exercise (which for me includes lots of prayer time & scripture meditation)

-Dr. appointments

-resting (which could lead back to God)

-blogging (which could also be helping others)

Maybe you would add massage, chiropractor or acupuncture.  Whatever you do that surrounds your illness and healing.  All of these are important and have a place on our priority list.   Here is my new visual which you can grab, print & customize with your own priorities:

 

Certainly there are times in people’s lives where health needs to be moved up on the list.  If you are hospitalized, or going through something like Cancer, your priorities may look different for a season.  When your illness has you so down (physically or emotionally) that you can no longer do the things on your priority list, that is a problem that needs to be addressed.  You should seek help to get things under control.

As I spoke about in a previous post, Job - Help for the Hurting, God allows things to happen in our lives for the purpose of bringing us closer to Him.  Don’t let anything get in the way of that relationship!

My point is this.  Let’s not let fibromyalgia (or whatever illness you have) take over our lives to the point where we are ineffective Christians.

Let’s put it in its place.

New Habit – Supplements

I hate pills.  Always have.  I’m not one to take them unless it’s absolutely necessary.  Just the idea usually turns my weak stomach.  Let’s face it though; we are not getting the nutrients we need from our food.  People with fibromyalgia are often deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, and may need some help getting our bodies back to the right levels.  It IS necessary.  My Dr. recommended a few for me, and like I mentioned in a previous post, Figuring out Fibromyalgia, one of the things suggested was to take a few supplements.  So I decided to give it a try and see if it made any difference for me.

I began to do a little research on the supplements I should be taking and quickly became overwhelmed.  There are so many to choose from, so many different brands, dosages, different kind of pills, powders & drinks.  I had to walk away from the computer in frustration many times.  I had no idea what the best way to take each one was, the best time of day.  BLAH.  Then one day I was out shopping at Costco & just decided to go get what I needed there, give it a try and then change later if I needed to.  I stood there in the isle with a very unhappy 2 year old in the cart (he hates shopping) and read through the supplement chapter of Figuring out Fibromyalgia on my Kindle.

1. Triple Omega

     2. Super B Complex 

        3. Vitamin D3

 

Got it!  Now I was committed.  Those Costco size supplements are no joke.  It was around $50 for all 3.  I'm getting close to running out of the Triple Omega now, but the other 2, I still have plenty!  And it's been months since I bought them.  Little tip, keep them in your fridge!  (They keep longer & no fish smell from the omega)

I devoted myself to taking them every day.  And for the most part I have!  I forget some mornings, and there was a month that I stopped as a little test to see if they really were helping, and about a week when I was pretty sick.  Other than that, I have been faithful since January 2012.

Another thing I wanted to try was herbs.  My sister is studying to be an herbalist.  She took some time and knowing what was going on with me, made up a few different things to help.

For me, just doing this small thing with just these few supplements & herbs has made a HUGE difference in my life.  It took about 2 weeks to really kick in.  Taking the Omega Blend has helped tremendously with my brain fog.  I would say I have about an 80% improvement.  The B complex has given me a little bit of my life back.  Instead of heading downhill at around 4pm every day, I’m usually just fine until bed time.  Having more energy is such a blessing.  I would rate it at about 50% improvement (and getting better).  I don’t feel any difference with or without the Vitamin D3, but from what I’ve read, this is worth taking.  And it’s just a little easy pill.  The herbs that I take have helped me with a few other health issues, not necessarily related to fibro.  The more I read & learn, there are probably some more supplements that would be helpful for me.  I have just started taking MagnesiumGlycinate.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

I urge you to talk with your Dr., get some testing done to see if there are deficiencies, and do a little reading for yourself.  It is worth it!  I am VERY pleased with my experience & will continue to take my pills every day.  Hey, it forces me to eat a little breakfast every morning so I can stomach taking the pills.  There’s another good habit.