Fibromyalgia, the ground rules!
Fibromyalgia (Also known as FM, FMS & Fibrositis) is a disorder that affects the musculoskeletal system by causing pain, fatigue, sleep disorders, memory loss and mood issues. Women are more susceptible to this disorder than compared to men and the fact remains is that it is very tricky to diagnose Fibromyalgia as the symptoms mimic many other disorders.
So, it’s imperative that you identify a good Rheumatologist and get a thorough check-up done to certify that it is indeed Fibromyalgia that you suffer with. Once you get past the first stage of diagnosis, here is when your life changes dramatically! It’s been established that there currently is no cure for this disorder and yes! There are medications that help control the somewhat perpetual symptoms, which is why we are often told to make many adjustments to our lives and of course learn proper pain management.
So, this is why you need a very healthy Doctor/patient relationship with your Rheumatologist, cause you’re going to need them for a very long time periodically. But what is the accurate and factual way to master the art of pain management when dealing with a lifelong ailment? Well, here is all you need to know in order to find that perfect balance in your life while dealing with Fibromyalgia. I will also list some fibromyalgia supplements which you can take.
Mastering the art of pain management
The first thing you will need to learn when dealing with Fibromyalgia is understanding the reason behind your Fibro Flare-ups! A Fibro Flare-up is when all symptoms get amplified, which could last weeks or even up till a month if you’re not following a proper healthy routine physically and most importantly mentally. Knowing what triggered your flare-up and making a record of it helps prevents them in future.
From my own experience, I have realised a perfect hack by mastering the art of pain management, which of course only happened after regularly consulting my Rheumatologist and discussing what were my triggers and also food allergies, then with his help, I created a plan that followed a strict regime and that worked wonders for me!
As all Rheumatologist would prescribe a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet and the right medications, they would still always recommend opting for more natural supplements that boost your immunity levels, strengths your nerves and calms your mind. They also urge you not to solely rely on pain killers and never relaxants which in the long run will indefinitely play havoc on your body-mind.
The 3 effectual steps to proper pain management!
Strongly suggested by the National Health Portal of India in regards to the proper management of fibromyalgia, they stress on the imperativeness to learn proper pain management, Wherein one must properly educate themselves about the disorder and learn about of multiple types of treatment, such as Non-drug therapies, self-care, regular exercise, positive mind, healthy diet and very importantly they also express most strictly upon the risk factors of depending on drugs like pregabalin and gabapentin, which work by blocking the overactivity of never cells that are transmitting pain.
Although they might help, that is never recommended to be used for long periods of time as they have very sinister side effects and can harm you in the long run. Anti-depressants like duloxetine and milnacipran are used to relieve pain, fatigues and sleep issues, however, they still will harm you. Medicines like Opioids, hypnotics, anxiolytics, and certain skeletal-muscle relaxants are used with caution because of the potential for abuse and the risk of worsening fatigue and cognitive dysfunction and hence suggested to be avoided at all cost.
So here is all you need to know about finding that perfect balanced routine you need to incorporate into the new lifestyle that will give you absolute power and control over your pain. It sounds far fetched, right? But trust me it took me a while to get used to the routine but once I raked the benefits of it, there was no stopping me! Never take the easy way out of anything, the results will never last! A little perseverance. effort and determination are all you need to tackle this tricky illness and trust me it works!
The 3 essential steps!
Step 1: The right nutritious diet: According to Heathline.Com, in a study done in 2014 which was reported by a trusted source, it was reported that non-celiac gluten sensitivity might be the underlying cause of Fibromyalgia. It also was proving that patients who were negative for the celiac disease had a very significant improvement in pain and quality of their life, while they were dealing with Fibromyalgia as soon as they followed a strict gluten-free diet. For me, I started showing signs of gluten allergy for a while and never thought it would be related and after consulting my doctor and getting few tests done, I gave up gluten completely and I haven’t felt pain at all since then.
So, I would definitely recommend to consult a doctor and get the right investigations done and try a gluten-free diet for a week regardless (as it won’t harm you) and notice the difference. A properly balanced diet should always include fresh fruits, low fat- dairy or non if your lactose intolerant whole grains, high fibre, healthy fats, lean protein and loads of water. As usual, avoid foods that are processed, fried, high in saturated fats and your sugar and salt intake to be always kept at the minimum.
Step 2: The right lifestyle: No matter how you look at the obvious reason to what restricts to you from leading a healthy lifestyle, it remains extremely important that you learn to live a balanced life. Might sound impossible to achieve this while dealing with Fibromyalgia, but actually, once you start making little changes in your daily routine, you soon begin to benefit from this new revised routine and schedule. And soon enough you begin to revitalise your sense and your physical self to a point that your start living pain-free! Studies have suggested the to help cope with Fibro pain you need to control your mind and your physical stress by actually working them both out.
Simply meaning, as the pain is both psychological and physical experience, it is important to get your mind and body extremely active, initially in a slow-paced but regular routine then gradually to a normal pace which is more practical for you once you gauge the limits of your body.
The way you perceive your pain makes a great deal of a difference! Once you understand that your physical stress is related to the way we deal with our psychological stress, you learn to realise and attempt to break out of this repetitive cycle of, ‘Stress- fibro pain- more stress – more pain!’ This is basically what happens, the pain depresses us more, we feel crippled and then depressed, that elevates the pain more than the cycle repeats. So, it’s absolutely imperative you find a new routine and a new outlook towards your life ASAP!
Cognitive behavioural therapy and related treatments such as mindfulness help patients learn symptoms reductions skills which helps them to understand their individual pain management routines better. I personally practice a lot of Mindfulness mediation which has proven to work extremely well with pain management for Fibromyalgia as also mentioned in the National Health Portal of India.
While I also spend time having good conversations with friends and loved ones on a daily bases, I strictly try to keep myself physically very active by doing many things I love! During the lockdown its tough to be social which of course restricts me to continue with my football coaching classes, however, I found balance by doing craft, painting, singing and also baking. One must learn to create a happy environment and be the Boss of your body and mind, the minute we lose that control we succumb to the pain. Maintaining this healthy lifestyle will indefinitely help you tackle with sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, and mood problems such as stress, anxiety, panic disorder, and depression
Step 3: The relevant medications and perfectly blended fibromyalgia supplements: As we now well know that the FDA approved drugs to help treat Fibromyalgia are the antidepressants Duloxetine and milnacipran and the anti-seizure medicines Pregabalin. Doctors would also prescribe Amitriptyline or the muscle relaxant Cyclobenzaprine to help promote sleep, however, these, in the long run, would, in fact, have severe side effects. Personally, taking these medicines played havoc on my mind.
I remained lethargic for days, never felt truly well and of course, inadvertently they started to affect my kidneys as revealed to me by my Nephrologist after conducting many investigations. So as of now I am officially off all fibromyalgia medications and use only alternatives healing therapies, natural supplements and of course positive socialising as I would like to call it.
I was worried to my wits initially when I realised that I had no other choice but to give up all these “SOS” labelled drugs which the doctor himself would only recommend a certain dosage per month. I found ways to ease my pain, focus on my hobbies, found ways to kill my depression by talking to positive people even doing arts and crafts with my bestie’s daughter via a video call and of course most importantly including very beneficial supplements to my daily medications list.
So, what are these new combinations of vitamins and minerals that are naturally working wonders with Fibromyalgia patients around that world? Well here is all you need to know on why you must essentially be making these supplements an integral part of your medicine cabinet.
How to recognise good Fibromyalgia supplements
As you browse the internet in search for the best blend of fibromyalgia supplements, you are going to come across such many various blends of supplements by many companies, however, what you will notice once you read the list of ingredients that may differ from one another. The common factor will remain that the base of all these supplements is a good multivitamin which will have all the required vitamins and minerals that are needed in the right dosage. During my research on these supplements I noticed few very essential a key ingredients that help with relieving pain for Fibromyalgia that were very similar and were present in all these different and various blends.
These were, Malic Acid and magnesium, Alpha -Lipoic Acid, Turmeric, Olive leaf extract and MSM (Methyl sulfonyl methane) and here are the extremely powerful properties that qualify them to become an integral component in your Fibromyalgia supplements.
Essential ingredients in Fibromyalgia supplements!
1. Malic Acid and Magnesium: The Journal of Korean Medicine reported a study that showed, who suffered from Fibromyalgia, had low levels of magnesium. Magnesium is important for energy production as it aids in the structural development of our bones while it supports a healthy immune system and boosts heart health.
Malic Acid helps with the treatment for fibromyalgia when taken in high doses. According to Webmd.com, Malic Acid is known to help with treating Fibromyalgia fatigue as it involved in the process of Krebs Cycle, which is what the body does to make energy, the important pairing of these two compounds are proved to be quite effective in relieving pain caused by Fibromyalgia. Malic Acid is found in many fruits as well a Wine.
2. Alpha-Lipoic Acid: Is known to protect the brain and nerve tissue and as its famously known to have a positive effect on diabetic nerve pain, trail studies are slowly proving quite positively that it does help with reducing fibromyalgia pain. Being an organic compound and they are found in small amounts in many foods like yams, potatoes, yeast, tomatoes, brussels sprouts, carrots beets spinach, rice bran and red meat especially organ meat is also a good source. Alpha-lipoic acid is a strong antioxidant and it’s known to aid in weight loss, diabetes and many health conditions including fibromyalgia.
3. Turmeric: The active compound Curcumin found in Turmeric is known to be extremely beneficial for many health issues including arthritis and fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, due to its anti-inflammatory properties it works like a pain reliever for the body.
4. Olive (leaf extract): Fibromyalgia quite similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Olive Leaf Extract stimulates the production of phagocytes which are the immune system cells. Phagocytes seek and destroy toxins, which has proved essential that Fibromyalgia patients definitely benefit from Olive Leaf Extract.
5. MSM (Methyl sulfonyl methane): is used in the treatment of fibromyalgia as a natural form of organic sulphur, Sulphur is naturally occurring in skin, bones and muscles it plays a key role, in the production of collagen. Doctors believe the MSM is combating symptoms of fibromyalgia cause when MSM is taken in large doses helps to enhance the transportation of oxygen from the lungs to various parts of the body and when oxygen increases the muscles cells are able to reverse back from an unhealthy anaerobic metabolism to and healthy aerobic metabolism-enhancing cellular and body energy.
Very importantly it stops the productions of the waste products called Lactic Acid meaning with lesser toxins in the body chronic fatigue and Fibromyalgia can be controlled beautifully.
Once you understand the important role of these ingredients play in balancing out the perfect Fibromyalgia supplement you will soon find yourself in a very healthy state both mentally and physically bearing in mind that no matter what supplements and food you’re relying on, it’s absolutely critical that you never give up and focus on all positive activities in your life that truly keep you happy, focused, mindful, energised and loved!
Happy healing Ya’ll!!!
