February 22, 2020
Fibromyalgia
Widespread muscle pain & tenderness, supposedly cannot be cured, severely misdiagnosed and undiagnosed, much more common than people believe, and perhaps it actually is curable... Let's discuss.
Those with fibromyalgia have an over-active sympathetic nervous system. What is that? Think about your fight-or-flight response. You release adrenaline, dopamine, cortisol, etc.
If your body remains in a state of over-active sympathetic nervous response, your dopamine will become drastically depleted and imbalanced. Lack of sleep to restore this dopamine will prevent you from healing, which a lot of us parents get very little of to begin with. This may also indicate why women are more susceptible to fibromyalgia, because women are more likely to internalize pain and be receptive to others pain and want to nurture, more likely to stay up late or wake up frequently with children and we are naturally more susceptible to having our sleep disturbed than a man, because we are biologically programmed to wake up to noises more easily, for our child's cries, even if we do not yet have children or our children are grown and out of the home.
Once you start to tank your dopamine, your natural pain relief and beta-endorphins in your body cease to protect you, therefore your sensations are amplified. This can mean migraines, heightened sense of smell, vision, excruciating pain. You can experienced hyper-awareness of allergies, sickness, sinus pain and issues, yeast infections, fluid retention, hypoglycemia, endometriosis, chronic colds, sunburns, insect bites, ingrown toenails and hairs, adverse reactions to medication, dry skin, sore throat, PMS, achy joints and dry eyes/mouth. Fibromyalgia may be mistaken for an auto-immune disease because of this.
All of this hyper-stimulation triggers your fight-or-flight response system even more, and you fall into a cycle, which is why doctors deem fibromyalgia incurable, because most people do not know how to pull themselves out of the hole. But YOU CAN.
First write down all of your pains, your case history, which is your pain and illness history, for the most part. Documenting when everything started, what triggers it to be worse, what helps, is your groundwork for improving. Common triggers are lack of sleep, sleep apnea, stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Inflammatory disease, trauma, restless leg syndrome, hyper mobility (double jointed), constipation and more.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia include pain, fatigue, morning stiffness, restless sleep, hyper-sensitivity, confusion, trouble concentrating, easily irritated skin, numbness, itching, too cold/too hot, flushed skin, discomfort in crowds. Note the relation between triggers and symptoms.
Use the power of silver mind control and adjust your sleep first and foremost. Saying things like "it's been such a stressful day, I am never going to fall asleep" is not positive mental preparation for a good nights rest. "I am going to get a great nights rest for a wonderful day tomorrow, lets put on some nice calm music to relax and go to sleep" is much more positive for a nice, restorative slumber. Don't get stressed about getting a particular amount of hours of sleep.
Adjust your adrenals with acupressure or acupuncture.
Loosen your stomach muscles and jaw frequently.
Be aware and conscious of your breathing patterns, make them deeper, focus on your breathing often.
Journal
Exercise
Do the things you enjoy
Take time for self-care
Avoid your stress triggers
Journal!
Nutrition and Fibro
Good things to eat to help:
Organic, raw milk or a nut milk
Healthy fats such as coconut oil and avocados
Whole sprouted grains
Sprouted beans and legumes
Nuts & Seeds
Artichoke, olives, broth (healthy proteins)
Tahini
Fermented foods
Herbal teas that reduce inflammation and calm the body
Foods to eliminate:
Processed dairy
Peanuts
Processed wheat & gluten
Processed sugar
Caffeine
Fried foods
Over-abundance of citrus
MSG
Processed meat
Alcohol
Nightshades
DRINK LOTS OF WATER - Hydration is key to a functioning body
GET SUNSHINE - Vitamin D immensely improves fibro symptoms
Only take food based supplements
Hopefully this gets out there and helps someone regain their health!!