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Feb 17, 2011

Myofascial Pain

It's amazing what you learn when your health is on the blink! I am learning all sorts of things I didn't know about muscles and what is called the fascia. A lot of people with Fibromyalgia also have Myofascial pain, but they are not the same kind of pain. I went to physical therapy yesterday specifically for myofascial pain relief and feel like I have a little better understanding of what is going on in my body. You can read a brief explanation of myofascial pain here. I would probably butcher any explanation I could give, so you are better off reading up on it yourself if interested:) All I can say is that it HURTS!! The physical therapy hurt, but it was kind of a good hurt~if that makes any sense. She told me I would probably be sore afterwards and she was right! She also said that what she did on me was 'light' because she didn't want to hurt me even more. If that was light, I would have died from whatever she considers 'heavy'. Don't get me wrong, I trust her in that what she did will eventually help, it's just that sometimes things may feel worse before they get better. I really did like the therapist and she was very knowledgeable. I will be seeing her once a week as well as another therapist that I have already been seeing for a while.

Due to having a better understanding of myofascial pain, I also now have a better understanding as to why I CAN NOT do yoga! Myofascial pain can NOT be stretched out! It has to be released or manipulated by someone else. That explains why every time I would try to stretch to relieve my pain, it would only make it worse! This gives me hope that after some time with therapy, I will be able to do yoga again! I don't know how long it will take, but if I'm learning anything through illness, it's to be patient. Both of the therapist that I see are recommending that I not do any kind of exercise other than swimming for a while. So, I am going to a warm water therapy pool today and I CAN'T WAIT!!! See, there are some good things that come from having limitations:)

Feb 3, 2011

The Longest Dr. Visit of my Life!

I have been meaning to post an update of my latest Dr. appointment and just haven't had time to sit down and do it! Anyway, last Monday I went to a new Dr. for my fibromyalgia and some other health issues that I have been struggling with for a LONG time. I went with a dear friend from my church, who also has fibro. I spent the night at her house the night before because it was a 2-1/2 hour drive and we had to be there by 8:30. We packed our food for the day and headed out bright and EARLY that morning~and it was COLD! I don't like early or cold:)

The first thing they did when I got there was take blood. Then they let me eat my breakfast~yay! I had the most complete physical I have ever had in my life! After the physical exam, we spent the rest of the day (literally!) talking about the best course of action for me. I have never had a Dr. that asked so many questions and spent so long explaining things. As we were talking, he would sometimes just stop and THINK! Most Dr.s spend about 10 minutes with you and then hand you a prescription and send you on your way. Don't get me wrong, I still really like my regular Dr. and he DOES take time to listen to me, but most Dr.s I have been to are not like that.

Anyway, this new Dr. put a LOT of thought into what would be best for me. I also liked him because he is an MD but he also does alternative therapies. He tries to keep things as natural as possible and I appreciate that:)

So, here's the scoop~
1~He changed my hormones that I was on. I had been on Vagifem for a while without much (if any) success and he changed me to a natural Estriol cream. Estriol is the safest of the three types of estrogen. I was using the Vagifem 3 nights a week and now I am using Estriol twice a day! I have had SERIOUS female issues for the last 2 yrs. and 4 months and he is hoping this will help. He also has me using a natural progesterone cream twice a day. Then, a couple of days ago, he called to tell me that my testosterone is low for my age so now I am waiting to get that shipped to me. He uses a pharmacy in Alabama for all hormones because he feels like the quality is best from them. I am just so happy that all these hormones are bio-identical/natural:)

2~He changed my diet! Oh boy, that one is HARD! I am gluten free, dairy free, completely sugar free (not even stevia for a while), grain free and low-oxalate! Talk about a little overwhelmed! He also wants me to only eat every 5 hours. I thought that would be really hard, but as long as I eat like he told me too, I am very satisfied. He stressed to NOT eat a low fat diet and to make sure I get adequate protein for my weight. He also stressed the importance of eating good clean meat~like grass fed etc. Good thing we have deer meat in the freezer. You can't get much cleaner than that:) I am going to start blogging at Living Free again just to have a place to share my meals/ideas etc. on such a restricted diet. Hope you'll come on over and visit me there too!

3~He changed me from Savella to low dose Naltrexone. I am totally off of the Savella now and just started the Naltrexone last night. You can read up on low dose Naltrexone here. I am also taking several vitamins/supplements and probiotics. I thought it was interesting that he said that you can't truly be healthy unless you have a healthy gut! I haven't had a healthy gut for years, but I feel like we are on the right track. I feel good about changing medicine because I feel like if he is willing to prescribe a 'drug', then he must feel it is pretty safe. I have read some testimonies from people who have tried Naltrexone and had good results so I am hopeful:)

I know this was a really long update, so I'll close now:) I will still be posting here about health stuff, but will also be posting at my old blog about yummy food stuff! My friend and I laugh because we can't ever talk to each other without talking about FOOD at some point:) Living Free is a place where I can do that too.

Hope you are all having a blessed week!