I personally, have used acupuncture in the past, and it did help lower the severity of my Fibromyalgia symptoms, so this is the next thing I want to discuss in our ongoing 'Ways to Manage Your Fibromyalgia' series.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicinal treatment in which long, thin needles are inserted in strategic acupuncture points at various depths long the meridians or pathways of the human body to restore balance to our Qi (pronounced "chi") and allow the body to heal itself. Now I personally, have a HUGE fear of needles, but there is so much information out there about the benefits of acupuncture for any number of illnesses, and I liked the fact that it allowed the body to heal itself rather than introduced something new into my body to attempt to mask a symptom rather than treat it, so I tried it- and I have to tell you, the first time did not go well.
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In continuing our managing Fibromyalgia series, our next tip is using essential oils/aroma therapy to help manage your Fibromyalgia symptoms. I'm obviously not a doctor, and any new treatment method should be discussed with a medical professional, but there are more than 17,000 medical studies on essential oils that prove their therapeutic benefits for a number of health concerns—among these are chronic pain, depression, and stress, so it's worth discussing. Because each essential oil is different, you can customize your experience and combine specific oils to maximize the healing medicinal properties that you need to help battle the symptoms that you have.
Essential oils are essentially plant extracts, and contain the essence of an herb or plant. It is the healing properties of these plants that are infused into these oils, and it’s not the scent that can make you feel better- it's the herbal/healing components that you take in. Chemicals from the herb get absorbed, these chemicals eventually reach your limbic system — the network of nerves in your brain that controls your instincts and emotions- so using essential oils can alter your perception of pain and potentially improve your mood. After using, you can feel the affects in as little as 30 minutes, and the affects can last hours and can be easily reapplied as needed. "Listen to your body" is the mantra of the chronically ill. We say this to ourselves and to each other, we know it to be true, and yet oftentimes we feel guilty for resting when we need to or prioritizing sleep over other things. There is something about our culture that prides itself on long hours and never-ending to-do lists that leaves those of us who need the occasional respite from this "all go, no quit" world feeling like we're not quite doing enough. Because of this, a lot of Spoonies tend t0 over-extend themselves, thus making their symptoms worse and perpetuating the cycle, when pacing yourself, resting as needed, and getting more restful sleep will actually help keep your flares to a minimum.
"Different" isn't something humans deal with very well (to put it politely), and having different physical limitations is something a lot of people just "can't understand." But really, they say you can only understand something from your own perspective, so if you've lived a relatively healthy life, it makes sense that you wouldn't really be able to grasp living a life in which you never really feel your best, a world where you may need to rest after showering or doing another "simple chore." Now, I'm not saying this excuses the deluge of unhelpful and often hurtful comments that tend to come from these types of people, and I'm definitely not saying that having people like this in your life doesn't make things like the guilt described above even worse. What I am saying is that not everyone will get it, but those of that do get it are here to support you- and to back you up with some facts. When we first mentioned on our social media channels that we were starting a blog series about the different treatments/techniques/lifestyle changes Spoonies make to help them manage their Fibro symptoms, lots of responses came pouring in! Last week we talked about massages, and over the next couple of weeks we'll be talking about a different treatment each week, and one of the top responses we got from our followers was light stretching/yoga for managing Fibro pain, so we're tackling that topic in today's blog.
Like most people with Fibromyalgia, I do a lot of different things to manage my Fibromyalgia symptoms, and one thing I like to do at least once a month is get a nice 60 or 90 minute full-body massage. I find it helps loosen-up my muscles, eases my pain, and also usually helps me get a good's night sleep afterwards since I schedule my massages in the evenings and then go home and go to sleep right afterwards.
There is a lot of information out there about how massages can help relieve Fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms (seriously, a quick google search will bring back about 6,090,000 results) and I would have to agree. I first started experiencing chronic pain when I was 14, and just a few years later I discovered massages, and I've been going regularly ever since. I have been more tired than usual lately- and as someone who's usually tired, that's pretty darn tired! Every once in a while, I have a day where I spend more time sleeping than I do being awake, and I recently had one of those days. When my body is telling me that it needs to rest, I try to listen, and rather than beat myself up about "wasted time," I think of it as taking the time to recover so I can continue to be my best self.
One thing that Fibromyalgia has taught me is how important it is to not only make sure you're doing what it takes to make it through today, but to also make sure you're doing what it takes to make it through tomorrow, and the day after that. Self-care has become self-preservation. Apps pretty much run our lives these days - and when you have a chronic illness like Fibromyalgia, apps can definitely help you manage that too. Here are a few of my favorite apps that I use (or have used) to help me manage my battle with Fibromyalgia:
Since being diagnosed with Fibromialgia I've done a lot of reading, research, and talking with my Dr.. Now, I am not the kind of girl who is good at taking pills every day let alone the kind of girl who has it in her to keep a medical journal, but with my symptoms persisting, more frequent flare-ups, and after 10 years of chronic pain and nausea- I've started a Fibro-Journal. Well, I've started taking better notes about what symptoms I feel and when in the day I feel them, and I have a few other cut outs and notes I want to consolidate in there as well. Different meds I've heard of, notes on research I find interesting- things like that.
I want to try and be more proactive about my health- expecially as it seems to be getting worse. Has anyone out there ever kept a medical diary of any kind? If you have, do you have any pointers? *This post was originally featured on our Founder’s personal (discontinued) blog, and was copied to The FSC Blog with full permission. |
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