Welcome!
Posted by admin on Sep 23, 2009
Welcome to the Fibromyalgia Diet and Exercise blog. This blog is dedicated to helping you live better and healthier while living with fibromyalgia. This blog is filled with information on fibromyalgia diets, nutrition, and exercise programs. Our goal is to provide qualify information so that you can make informed lifestyle choices, and begin reducing the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
We are adding great information all the time, so feel free to bookmark this site and come back often.
Scott Spooner
Managing Fibromyalgia: 10 Things You Can Do Today to Regain Control of Your Life
Posted by admin on Nov 15, 2009
By Larry Payton
Fibromyalgia is pervasive. If you or a loved one are afflicted, you already know this. Left unmanaged, it can take control of your daily activities, your thoughts, your sleep, and even your interactions with other people. Since fibromyalgia is a long-term chronic disease, most patients eventually come to the realization that it is better to be proactive than to allow further erosion in the quality of their lives. With that in mind, here are 10 things you can do today to start getting your life back in order.
1. Take Back Your Sleep Cycle
Set up a regular routine for sleeping by going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, and make sure your bedroom has an atmosphere that is conducive to sleeping. This means not watching TV or spending time on the computer while in bed. Keep your bedroom dark, quite and cool. Try to avoid spicy foods or too many beverages before going to bed, and never underestimate the value of a good pillow.
2. Eat Right
This is a lot easier said than done, but it is possible. Look around the web and you’ll find a lot of advice about fibromyalgia and diet, but the advice is often contradictory and confusing. What works for one patient may not work for the next. Fibromyalgia is a perplexing syndrome. It’s a diverse disease that doesn’t present the same way in every patient. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up on eating right, though. You just have to do a little trial-and-error first.
Experience has shown that a few foods seem to cause problems for most fibromyalgia patients, so eliminating them is a good place to start. These include coffee, carbonated beverages, alcohol, and foods high in fat. It is important to realize that there is no “Fibromyalgia Diet” suitable for all patients. It will take time and effort discern the most appropriate diet for you. A journal of your dietary habits can really help speed this process.
3. Keep A Journal
Journals aren’t just good for remembering what you had for dinner. Keeping a brief journal of your activities should become an important part of your daily routine. This doesn’t have to be extremely detailed or time-consuming, though detailed journals are usually more effective. As a minimum, list your day’s basic activities, any pain experienced and the approximate time of onset. Eventually, correlations between what you are doing and how you are feeling will become evident. This does require some diligence, but remember that greater effort will mean faster rewards.
4. Know Your Triggers
You may already know some of the factors that cause your fibromyalgia to flare, and your journal will help you discover more. Be cognizant of these triggers, even going so far as to write them down. Learn to recognize and avoid them even when you may be preoccupied. Fibromyalgia is different for everyone; it pays to know your fibromyalgia.
5. Educate Yourself
Fibromyalgia is personal, varying widely from individual to individual. No one knows your condition better than you (not even your doctor), so it is important that you empower yourself with knowledge. A standard treatment protocol does not exist for fibromyalgia. Because of it’s nature, your fibromyalgia must be managed by you.
6. Exercise
This goes against the natural tendencies of most fibromyalgia patients. After all, who wants to exercise while sleep deprived, with sore joints and a migraine headache? It may be counterintuitive, but exercise does benefit most fibromyalgia patients. The key to a successful exercise program is to start slowly, always being careful not to overexert yourself. Strength training, flexibility exercise, and aerobic activities are of particular value to fibromyalgia patients.
7. Start Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This form of psychotherapy utilizes rational analysis to influence our thought processes and ultimately our behaviors. It has proved itself particularly useful for fibromyalgia patients, and best of all, you can do it all by yourself. A quick web search should point you in the right direction to get started.
8. Communicate
Let the people you care about know how you are feeling. Tell them in advance when you are in pain, stressed, or feel your patience waning. Do not hold your feelings inside until you feel compelled to release them in anger or frustration. Your family members want to help you. Remember to let them know important they are to you.
9. Accept Your Limitations
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease and it is not likely to leave you. It may limit the quantity of what you can accomplish, but doesn’t have to limit the quality. Focus on those things that you can do, and pace yourself so as not to become exhausted or frustrated.
10. Congratulate Yourself
Fibromyalgia patients endure a lot, suffering in silence most of the time, but they also accomplish some amazing things in light of their condition. Raising a family, going to work, walking the dog… all of these things take extra effort for the fibromyalgia patient, yet everyday they get done. So, give yourself a pat on the back occasionally. You deserve it.
Fibromyalgia Alternatives with Dr. James Biddle (Part 1)
Posted by admin on Nov 4, 2009
This is Part 1 in a series of short videos featuring Dr. James Biddle.
Fibromyalgia is a rising symptom complex characterized by chronic fatigue and pain, brain fog, and insomnia. While conventional medicine is limited by pharmaceutical answers which only treat the symptoms, Integrative Medicine seeks to understand the root causes behind the imbalances which lead to symptoms, then restore the bodys natural balance.
Dr. James Biddle, MD discusses how to regain health and reduce suffering from fibromyalgia through nutrition, healthy lifestyles and mindsets, hormone balancing therapies, and detoxification.
Duration : 0:8:50
Fibromyalgia Alternatives with Dr. James Biddle (Part 3)
Posted by admin on Oct 25, 2009
This is Part 3 in a series of short videos featuring Dr. James biddle.
Fibromyalgia is a rising symptom complex characterized by chronic fatigue and pain, brain fog, and insomnia. While conventional medicine is limited by pharmaceutical answers which only treat the symptoms, Integrative Medicine seeks to understand the root causes behind the imbalances which lead to symptoms, then restore the body’s natural balance.
Dr. James Biddle, MD discusses how to regain health and reduce suffering from fibromyalgia through nutrition, healthy lifestyles and mindsets, hormone balancing therapies, and detoxification.
Duration : 0:9:24
Help For Living With Fibromyalgia
Posted by admin on Sep 24, 2009
Help For Living With Fibromyalgia
By Laraine Turner
If you’re like me then it was surely a great relief when you were finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
You no longer thought that you were going mad with those niggling pains and extreme tiredness and looked forward to receiving treatment that could cure you!
As you’re also probably now finding out – it isn’t that easy! Especially if like me, you’re not a fan of orthodox medicines and their side effects.
So welcome to my research for a natural cure for Fibromyalgia. My logic being that even if a natural cure can’t actually make me better that at least it won’t make me any worse!
This research for a natural cure for Fibromyalgia is into Bach flower remedies- We are, in essence the sum of our thoughts & emotions. The flower remedies, of which there are 38, work on our emotions to literally make us feel better.
Having the chronic pain associated with Fibromyalgia can be very draining and make everyday life seem like an uphill battle at times, so taking a natural cure for Fibromyalgia that will instantly lift you seems like a good place to start.
They are readily available from Health shops & chemists and easy to use. Normally a few drops in water are all that’s needed to be sipped throughout the day, or follow directions on the product label.
I have chosen just 4 from the 38 remedies that seem the most relevant to sufferers.
Aspen: This is a remedy for people who suffer from vague fears and apprehensions–often fear of the unknown.
As a sufferer of Fibromyalgia I know this feeling. Often, normally when something really exciting or pleasurable is coming up, I get the foreboding of ‘Oh I hope I’ll be well & that my pains or tiredness don’t spoil the day for myself or others.’ Then I’ll get cross with myself that I’m even thinking like that and so the stress begins and ultimately more pains etc as stress exacerbates the fibromyalgia condition!
Taking Aspen helps restore confidence in the powers of good. As the anxiety fades, the heightened receptivity that makes people like us so open to irrational fears is re-directed into more positive channels. This natural cure for Fibromyalgia is a favourite of mine & I can strongly recommend it.
Gorse: This is a remedy to take at the times when you feel as if you will never get better and we’ve all been there haven’t we?
It can’t work miracles; but what it does do is that it gives you a sense of detachment, so that you can plan ahead unhindered by the despair that accompanies all chronic conditions.
An excellent natural cure for the despair often associated with Fibromyalgia.
Impatiens: This is a remedy to take when you can’t ease the feelings of impatience about getting better. The nervous tension that builds up because of this then has an adverse effect on your Fibromyalgia– that old vicious circle thing!
This remedy helps you become more relaxed. It will allow you to discover new depths of patience and tolerance, especially with yourself!
Mimulus: This remedy is very good at dispelling the fears surrounding being ill. With Fibromyalgia the symptoms can sometimes resemble heart attack symptoms and although you know you’ve been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and it’s unlikely that you’re having a heart attack, “what if?” still gnaws away at you. This will help– trust me.
This remedy brings runaway emotions under control and gives sufferers a quiet courage to face life’s problems with a lighter and more comfortable heart.
Well, that’s the last natural cure for Fibromyalgia for now- hope one works for you.
To discover even more natural and safe remedies to ease your Fibromyalgia symptoms & pain visit my website at http://fibromyalgiaholistic.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laraine_Turner
http://EzineArticles.com/?Help-For-Living-With-Fibromyalgia&id=417796
