Fibromyalgia: Do You Really Get It?

A little of a year ago, my life was changed forever. 

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

I was a single mom of a just turned 4 year old.

I was DEVASTATED.

Fibro is like  kids. Unless you have it. you don't really get it. You can understand the concept 'kinda' but you don't REALLY 'GET IT' until you experience it.

Unlike kids, it's not really a rewarding experience.

This is a good explanation of just the PAIN portion of what we deal with

The Ridiculously Long List Of Fibro Symptoms

Out of the 275 symptoms listed here, I have experienced 146 of them. (I can specify which they are if you really want to know.)  Some of those are constant, some are intermittent from weekly to monthly. There are also other things I suffer from which aren't listed here, so I'm unsure if they're even fibro related. Fibro is the Lupus that 'won't kill us'. It's still just as debilitating, just with no end game. 

I'm not posting this for sympathy. I don't need that. I'm posting it for understanding. I know some of you silently judge me and think it's all a pile of shit. I wish that were the case.

Suggesting I just exercise is the WRONG FUCKING THING TO SAY! 
When every part of your body is screaming at you and you haven't even gotten out of bed yet, are you going to have the fortitude to exercise? 

(Did I mention that even though you're awake after 6-8 hours sleep, you're STILL tired?  The only reason you get up is because you're uncomfortable in the bed and have to pee.)


No. You're not.

Especially when you know that the exercise will not only be painful while you do it, but tomorrow and for as many as 4 days after, you'll pay for it with exponentially multiplied pain. 

But guess what? You can't just loaf about til you feel better, because you may NEVER FEEL ANY BETTER.

 This may NOW BE as GOOD AS YOU"LL EVER FEEL AGAIN. 

You really hope that isn't true, but the pain didn't used to be THIS bad on a regular basis, so it only stands to reason that it most likely will continue it's slow ascent. 

It's terrifying. 



So feel free to fuck right off, because that is what YOU can exercise.



Thanks.

Day 9 cont'd

Afternoon's juice

1 mango
2 organic oranges
1 handful cilantro
1 bunch watercress
1" ginger
Juice of 1 lime
2 pear
3 sm cucumber
2 granny Smith apples.

After another shop, we've replenished fruit mountain and the fridge is packed all the way to the back with fresh veg. 

Day 9 of lard losing.

Last night was a bad night for before bedtime binging, although not nearly as bad as its been in the past and half of it was a bowl of strawberries and to them applied about 2 Tbsp of chocolate cream cheese. My stomach has vastly shrunk. The guilt is filthy, knowing its setting me back and fooling no one. Fuck. Try again tomorrow night. On the upside, I was asleep before 2100 last night so the binge ended really quickly and early.

Morning juice 2 lg handfuls spinach 1 beet no greens 1 1/2" ginger Red pepper 2 celery stalks 1 zucchini 3 organic galas 3 organic oranges

Day 8 of Fighting the Fat!

So yesterday I was SO very ill. I felt like I was run over a train and then stampeded by a herd of angry rhinos. It was horrible. I had a juice in the morning and it was literally all I could muster. The rest of the day was spent in bed with B, watching movies on TMN and napping.

This morning, Boy Wonder had it too. I had a dose of oil of oregano and made us (BW watched the documentary and has decided to join me in juicing, YAY!) some juice.

1/2 bunch swiss chard
1 pineapple peeled, but NOT cored ( a TON of nutrients are in the core and it's not too tough to juice)
8 small organic cucumbers
1 peeled lemon
1 1/2" ginger
2 med carrots

I then went about cleaning and laundering all the clothes and bedding, super excited to FINALLY get to revive line drying!

Lunch time rolled around and I made another juice for BW and myself.

2 zucchini
1 lg green pepper
3 small red peppers
1 small yellow pepper
2 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic
2 beets with greens
1 pint grape tomatoes
2 large tomatoes
1/2 romaine heart

I've gotten nearly all the laundry done and enough housework to say it's been a successful and productive day!

How we should be eating.

Here are some great illustrations for the way I'm eating.

Day 6

Well, I've lost 16 so far. This weekend I've totally indulged and eaten some crap, but still had juice and water too.
This morning's juice was one I just threw together.
6 pears
2 cups mixed fruit (listed most to least: cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, grapes, blueberries)
5 leaves of romaine.

I've eaten about a pound of grapes today, and dinner was the photo.

No junk tomorrow, though. That was enough for one week. This Friday is my birthday weekend, so that will be indulgent, no doubt.

I never posted this about 4 mos ago when I wrote it.

So! I came home at about 2100 tonight put my beautiful sleeping baby into bed, was yakking on the phone and then checked the mail. This is what I found:

This paper is merely a scrap. About a 1/4 of an 8.5x11.  Clearly this was due to the mass productions (you could tell they'd photocopied it) and most likely, on the other 3/4 of the page that is NOT here, the exact same words would be found. These people are on a mission. ;)  Please note that this is typed VERBATIM! It was in no way altered or changed. Same spelling and grammatical structure, to-the-tee!

                                            This Same Jesus (this was also underlined)
     Acts1:9 After He said this, He was taken before their eyes and a cloud hid Him from their sight. 1:10, They were looking intently up in the sky as He was going, Suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them,
Men of Galilee they said, Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus who was taken from you in to Heaven, will come back in the same way as you seen Him go into Heaven.

     Revelation 22:20, He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming soon!.

     I have written these scriptures to give you hop, That is Real just as Jesus has promised you,
Ask Him into your hear today, Then pray that He will lead you to a Bible beliving church.

                                                               In Jesus Name, For His Glory

Now, I am not really happy about this and it seems pretty fucking ballsy to me and I wrote a reply. I could have written SO MUCH more, and really, I might just do that and attack it to the one I started. I may add a $5 bill and tell them to give it to their god. He seems to be bad with money, as he sure does need a PILE of it. 10% of your earnings, in fact. ;) Maybe they could use it to help the catholics get some better screening for their priests and prevent some more kids from being raped.  Just sayin'...


Dear Severely Indoctrinated, Sanctimonious asshole:
(Yes, I knew you'd return to see if I got it)  I am an athiest.  In this house we live by the following rules:
(We didn't need a fake diety to figure them out either!)
Don't take more than you need.  Give back everywhere you can.  Be kind to the earth and be grateful for its bounty. Take care of each other.  LIGHT AND LOVE =:)

Day 5 Cont'd

So this afternoon/dinner juice is what was left over last night (about 2/3 of a litre) added with the following:

1 zucchini
1 beet, including greens
2 lg tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
3 wee yellow peppers
1 carrot

it's freaking awesome. The flavours are perfectly balanced.

If you want to know what was in last night's juice, then read Day 4 Continued. All ingredients are listed there.

Side note: I bought B some organic cheesies today. They are HANDS DOWN the best cheesies I've ever tasted. We will never by another GMO and chemical infused cheesy again!

Battle the Bulge! Day 5

I slept well last night. Perhaps the windows open, perhaps all the cleaning I did in the morning and then was outside for the day's duration. I got nearly no sleep the night before and still felt pretty good, not fatigued at all, although I was also in bed by 2100 and sleeping not long after 2200. That said, drinking all this juice, I have a TON of energy. Like scads. The pain is not REMOTELY decreased, but the energy is WAY up. I'll take it! :)

This morning I stepped on the Wii Fit to do a body test. I hadn't done one in 546 days. Yikes. In that time I have gained 15kg and change. HOLY EFF! My BMI was 40.6. those are some scary ass numbers. Also, my weight in kgs is over 100. I am not a fan of that shit either. 

Confession: I night binge. Like a champion. I know this is because I'm 'too busy' to eat during the day. I eat my first food generally between 1-3 in the afternoon. No wonder I'm starving at 9pm. It's freaking dinnertime according to my body. So I lay in bed, watch TV and gorge myself on whatever I can get my hands on   (usually savoury followed by sweet, literally one night it was wheat thins and peanut butter baking chips) til I'm beyond full and pass the fuck out. Nice. Real nice. Sexy, in fact. **BRARF**

And so I shall keep juicing!

This morning I wanted something sweet and delicious. So I fired up the following in my juicer:

4 organic Gala apples

1 very ripe banana

3 long carrots

5 leaves of Romaine

1 cucumber

 

It is sweet, but not too sweet, and delish!  The romaine really adds some depth to the flavour and the cucumber makes it so refreshing. 

Listen to me, going on about my juice. 

Cheers! 

Day 4 continued.

So today I have only eaten a bowl of veg soup and have now just made a jug of juice.

This juice was my own concoction, based on what needed using up. :) Produce is FAR too dear to waste. 

1 over medium sweet onion

4 oz fresh organic spinach

1 sweet red pepper (I'd put in another next time or at least a green)

3/4 cucumber

3 large celery stocks

3 large carrots 

3 large tomatoes

this nearly filled a 2L jug. Into that I mixed the juice of one wee lime.

I then blended the juice with 1 T raw pumpkin seeds and 5 basil leaves.

This is quite delish, really. It wants a bit for a clove of garlic, perhaps another carrot and perhaps a beet (greens included)...

looks like I'll be going back to the shop again tomorrow.

Day 4 of Mission Fat Bust!

Thus far today, I've only drank 2 L of water. I'm also down 12 lbs. INSANE!
Last night I had THE WORST migraine I've had for a while. I was trying SO hard not to take pharmaceutical meds, since doing a cleanse is to get rid of toxins, which pharms are FULL of.
I rocked back and forth for an hour at 2, then paced for an hour at 3. Finally took 2 toradol and then threw them up after about 30 min. Threw up for a solid 15 min then went and took 2 more toradol and the last time I looked at the time it was 5 am. YUCKY!
Meanwhile, my body really hurts but I still cleaned the house and opened ALL my windows, went into my back yard and thoroughly enjoyed this downright BALMY weather!

Today's juice is Spring Clean Juice


Spring is starting to sprout with sunny days and warmer temperatures.  Root vegetables and produce like apples and pears are perfect for seasonal eating or juicing.  Celery root has a fresh scent and is rich in electrolytes, potassium, sodium and magnesium making it a perfect choice for before, during or after exercise.  Celery root also contains Vitamin K, important for bones and blood, calcium, iron and protein.

Ingredients:
1 celery root (also called celeriac)
2 small pears
2“ ginger root

Directions:
1.) Wash all produce well.

2.) Cut ginger into a 2” slice.

3.) Cut pears to remove core/seeds.

4.) Cut celery root to fit into juicer chute.

5.) Juice, pour over ice and enjoy!


Substitutions:

Celery Root: Jicama, celery

Ginger: Horseradish, Lemon, lime

Pears: apple

I added a bunch of organic kale and did NOT add any seeds this time. Mostly because I forgot. :(

I feel pretty good and VERY much energetic, despite in a ton of pain.

Lard Busting, day 3

I'm proud to announce that I drank 4L of infused water yesterday and through the night! I will be drinking the same infusion today because I can get 2 full day's of use out of those ingredients. This morning, only the herbs were starting to look a little waterlogged. Tonight I will be making 'The Granite' (still from the same lot posted all over FB). Recipe is as follows:


The granite : Strawberry/Lime or Raspberry/Lime
Mix in a pitcher : 10 cups of water + 6 strawberries/Raspberries and one thinly sliced lime + 12 finely chopped fresh mint leaves. Leave in the refrigerator overnight before serving.


The juice I made for the day today is called Glowing Green Pepper Carrot Juice.
I added 1 bunch of organic kale (remember to buy organic where you can!) as well as 24 oz of raw whole figs.  I saw these in the shop the other day, all marked down and gave a quick Google to see what figs were 'good' for and whether they could be juiced. Turns out they can be, I just needed to follow them with something really juicy, like a cucumber or green pepper.

Here is what I've learned about figs, and what spurned me on to purchase said reduced fruit.

NOT shameless plugging, just referencing my sources.

So, here are some great things which are helping me along my journey:

This is a torrent for the documentary made by Joe about his journey across the US on his juicing mission. It was fascinating and inspiring.

http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/6776023/Fat_Sick_And_Nearly_Dead_2010_DVDRip_XviD-WiDE

This is where it starts to look like shameless plugging, for a second.
In order to download this torrent, you appropriate software. This is what I use. Pick the free one.

http://www.utorrent.com/downloads


In order to watch this, once you've gotten it downloaded, you need a good (and free) viewer. I use this one


http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

This is the other thing that spurned me on.


http://www.dietgirl.org/book

this book is brilliant and totally made me wanna lose my fat ass.

Time to get THIN!

OHMIGOD SO much time has passed and there is FAR to much to update for my ADHD brain to get through and STILL arrive and a point even remotely within the context of the original thought!
See, already getting ahead of myself here!

So I've started to change my health using whole foods. This is the beginning of the journey.
If you want me to catch you up on days past, I can, but only if you really want an update. Ask and ye shall receive.

This originally started on Facebook, but I thought it made more sense to do it here. And with a Google product. Ya, that's right Google. I see you. ;) *cue barry white**

Yesterday morning:
Beginning a quest for a lifestyle change. While I know that losing the 70 lbs that I've gained in the last 2.5 years won't reduce my pain (it was just as bad when I was 168 lbs, yes, you did the math right. I'm a fat ass), I also am fully aware that hauling around 70 extra pounds of lard and blubber is total nonsense for my already struggling body. Thus, it begins... 
Firstly, I think a parasite cleanse is in order. This does NOT mean worms, scabies, etc. This is in regard to the parasites that live in your gastrointestinal tract which people are never aware of having. A parasite cleanse isn't magic, nor does it require pills. Just a change in diet to clean those suckers out. Excretion is ghastly, but what a difference!
I've done a LOT of hard mental and emotional work over the last 8 months and it's HIGH time I started the physical work.


This is an awesome site that gives a great overview on what I'm doing: 

http://www.livingfood101.com/cleansing/how-to-do-a-parasite-cleanse.html

Yesterday Afternoon

The parasite cleanse has begun! I have just been to the grocery store and bought about $120 in groceries, all but $10 (on shit tickets) was produce (I selected organic where I could) and a 1/4 of that was even clearance veg! I figured I'd save the money where I could, after all, I was just going to come home and juice it, no matter if it's a bit over-ripe.
After the shop, I came home and washed all of the produce in a sink of cold water and a cup of white vinegar.
Then took 15 drops of black walnut oil (parasite killer) mixed in some 'juice' which was actually 2 scoops of all greens super berry concentrate powder and about 500 ml of water.
On to the juicing. This is the recipe I used (verbatim), found onwww.rebootwithjoe.com:

Orange Garden Juice
This brightly-colored juice is packed with the vegetables you may not think of when making a delicious and healthy juice — fennel, peppers, carrots. Fennel is packed with colon-healthy quercitin (also found in pears and apples), and antioxidants anethole and rutin. The antioxidant anethole is known for helping to ease upset stomachs and for aiding digestion. Fennel is also a great source of potassium and vitamin C.

Make this tasty juice as a morning meal or as a snack to go. It is quick to make and the ingredients are easy to find.

Ingredients:
7 medium carrots
1 medium orange bell pepper (capsicum)
1 pear
2 inches ginger
1 fennel bulb

Directions:
1.) Rinse all ingredients.

2.) Remove top off pepper; and remove seeds.

3.) Add ingredients through juicer.

4.) Serve and enjoy!

It wasn't as tasty as I wanted it to be, but it's certainly not disgusting, either.

http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/seven-juices-for-spring/

Last night:

After a walk/bike ride to the park a few blocks away, playing in Blackie's (Blackie is a friend of mine, she has 2 boys) backyard, a walk to the store and MORE playing, my poor girl couldn't even make it to Momma's bed. She was passed out on the couch waiting for me to get tomorrow's water infusion ready. Momma is tired too, and SO sore. My body isn't a fan of lugging its corpulent self around.


Today:

Today has been an interesting one. In a TON of pain today. From the weather (it's been rainy and shit today, although the sun is out right now)? From the starving parasites and candida? From ALL the walking? Well, my lower back, legs and feet might be from the walking, but my hands? We all know I wasn't using those to walk. Although I was pulling a wagon for a bit. Regardless, I'm in pretty incredible pain.
Today, I've only eaten a scone so far, oh and some s'more thing that Ashley coerced me into, and have just drank juiced produce (once added 1tbsp of ground flax but I measure the flax before it was ground and threw it all in; and the second glass had 1Tbsp of ground raw pumpkin seeds, again measured whole) or the lemon -cucumber-basil-mint infused water (recipe below). It's totally refreshing and rather tasty. My aim is NOT to get lazy this time and keep drinking infused water in various flavours and concoctions indefinitely. This is one are where I've failed previously.
I did NOT have coffee this morning, and will have a one cup tomorrow and then skip the next day and have 1/2 c the following day, until I have weaned off caffeine and avoided horrible migraines. Caffeine is ONE sucker I can't 'cold turkey'.

Anywho, here is the recipe I used for today's water infusion. It's been in my news feed at least a half dozen times that I've noticed it, in the past week. I have just made mine into a 2L juice jug with a strainer bit on the lid which is great for pouring. It came from the $1.25 store. ;) I use my 4L countertop brita to fill the jug. I have refilled it once, and probably will again, without adding any 'fresh' ingredients. There was still a LOT of flavour pumping outta those delicious herbs.

1 cucumber and 1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/4c finely chopped basil
1/3c finely chopped mint
10 c H2O

best if steeped overnight in the fridge. otherwise, still pretty darned good in a cpl hours!