From medicines to natural remedies to ways of being, here are 73 of the ways I live with fibromyalgia.
Forget surviving. We’re talking living. Starting off in good order but then frantically mixed up in no particular order (thank you fibro frog fog).
- Accept the diagnosis. Fibromyalgia doesn’t have to become you, but you do need to accept it to move forward.
- Learn about fibromyalgia.
- Find a good, empathetic doctor who listens.
- Find empathetic, reasonable friends who listen.
- Accept that part of managing better will absolutely likely need a change of perspective, and perhaps different ways of being.
- Now, be open-minded.
- Stop.Being. So. Darn. Hard. On. Yourself.
- Screw those awful thoughts. Remind yourself –feelings sometimes influence your thoughts, including that self-critical voice in your head.
- Find a friend who lives with chronic pain. Or go to a support group. Or both.
- Share
- Find meaning in the suffering. Use your pain.
- Throw out anyone who is tells you ‘it’s all in your head,’ calls you ‘lazy,’ or isn’t supportive.
- And I don’t mean physically (although that’s good too).
- Make sacrifices. It’s going to hurt sometimes but toxic or stressful relationships won’t make you better.
- It will take time but learn to stop caring about what other people think.
- Start loving your body. Yes, that body reeling in pain, weary like an engine that doesn’t seem to want to start. Love it.
Photo by Oakley Foxtrot - Think of your best friend, or someone you really, really care about. Now, treat yourself as you would that friend.
- Make a note of all your worse symptoms.
- Make a plan to start addressing them. Ask your your doctor for help. Start with referrals to specialist care, like physiotherapy for instance or psychotherapy if you also live with co-existing conditions like depression (which plenty of fibro-mites do).
- Don’t stay on medication whose cons outweigh the pros. Find the right one for you, no matter how many times you have to change it.
- Ditch your doctor if they’re not working for you.
- Address your lack of sleep. I’ll let you in when I find the solution. In the meantime, Amitriptyline and working full-time helps.
- Don’t depend on your doctor alone. Evaluate your life and see what lifestyle changes you can make to help yourself.
- Be practical. Maybe you can’t wear stilettos like I won’t wear a bra. Allodynia is a thing.
- Start reading other people’s stories to see how they live with fibromyalgia and chronic pain.
- Drastically reduce or cut out your intake of ‘junk’ and processed food.
- Look out for foods that trigger symptoms and cut them out, or reduce if possible.
- Try to eat as fresh as possible, including fruit and vegetables.
- Eat lots of oily fish like mackerel.
- Learn to love cooking.
- Look to the natural food sources that help chronic pain and other fibro-related symptoms. Fresh is best. For example plenty of turmeric (the root or ground- not supplements in this case) for pain. Ginger is great too.
- Drink ginger tea.
- Turmeric tea is awesome too.
- Take a magnesium supplement.
- Take an omega 3 oil supplement.
- Take a glucosamine supplement.
- Take a probiotic. Great for IBS.
- Soak in Epsom salt baths for as long as possible as often as possible.
- (Wong to Yick) Woodlock oil
- Phorpain gel
- Find a reason to get out of bed. Every. Single. Day. Make sure it’s a damn good reason because you’ll need it when the shadows of pain and fatigue tower over you. (All a lie by the way – your shadow eh bigger than you and neither are pain and fatigue).
- Volunteer.
- Get a little exercise every day. A short walk, a swim, whatever.
- Learn to pace yourself.
- Never (ever!) get carried away on a ‘good pain day’ and try to do ‘as much as possible.’ Ever.
- Remove as many stressors possible from your life. Caring for yourself means being good to body and mind (see numbers 3, 9 & 11).
- Celebrate every victory, big and small.
- Be thankful. Be positive.
- Whatever that means to you.
- Practise mindfulness.
- Dare to dream. That thing you really, really want to do. Know that you can make it work.
- Know that only you can stop you.
- Life with chronic pain needs compromise. You can still have your dreams with a little tailoring.
- Do things you love. You have one life, chronic pain on not.
- Love.
- Accept love.
- Hope.
- Take a chance.
- Put the radio on.
- Sing.
- Dance.
- Then some more.
- Plenty.
- Be curious about the world around you. Explore. Discover
- Learn something new. However small.
- Talk to someone new as often as possible.
- For the second time, stop judging yourself so harshly.
- Know that you’re strong. Many healthy people wouldn’t cope so well had they had to live with chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia.
- Believe in what you’re doing.
- If you’re not coping, ask for help.
- Never, ever suffer in silence.
- Remember you’re not alone.
- Never, ever, ever give up.
Gentle hugs 🙂
Cover image by Brendan Lally
Love this! Thanks for posting. I hope you are doing well! Gentle hugs to you!
Thanks Deb! How are you friend? Gentle hugs 🤗 😌
I love this! Especially #53!
Thanks Melissa! 🙂 me too! xxx
Great Post! Thank you
You’re welcomed:)