Dealing with fibromyalgia is easier with a game plan. Any good game plan for fighting fibromyalgia should include basic fundamentals such as attitude, daily health, medical treatment, and a reliable support system.
Fighting Fibromyalgia Fundamental 1: PMA Baby!
Attitude is everything! You can be healthy with a bad attitude and I'd feel more sorry for you than for anyone living with fibromyalgia. Living with a bad attitude is truly a horrible condition. Fighting fibromyalgia requires that you do all that's in your power to keep your attitude in check. PMA! (positive mental attitude) should be your battle cry!
Keeping a positive attitude is not always so easy when you are living with excruciating pain and fatigue day in and day out. Fighting fibromyalgia begins with your decision to fight and make your life better, and that in itself births a more positive attitude.
In fighting fibromyalgia, a positive attitude is your game face!
I've had days of pain and fatigue, years actually, and nearly lost all hope. It was at my lowest point, when I found myself in a heap of tears on my bedroom floor, that I found hope and a reason to keeping living. I had been wrapped up in thoughts that my family would be much better off with another wife and mother, but it occurred to me that I was the only wife and mother they had been given. At that point I made a decision.
They had been given a wife and mother whose days were wracked with pain and fatigue. They had been given a wife and mother who was very ill. So I decided instead of pleading for something other than what I had, I would make the most of what I was ... I would be the best sick wife and mother there could be. I embraced my condition with the thought that I would do the best I could do each and every day.
Amazingly my whole outlook changed, and it was soon after that moment that I found the medical treatment plan and daily health plan that gave me back my life and health.
So how do you develop a positive attitude when you are in the midst of fibromyalgia symptoms?
It's probably different for each of us, but on my worst days, when I could do nothing more than sit and watch tv, I watched Die Hard movies.
Bruce Willis's character was me, and the bad guys were my fibromyalgia symptoms. No matter what the bad guys threw at Bruce's character, he dealt with it. He fought hard! And won!
My favorite Die Hard movie is Die Hard with a Vengeance. Every scene where Bruce' character fights and wins, I felt was me fighting and winning. It grew my fighting attitude and enabled me to face whatever it took in fighting fibromyalgia. I was bound to win with a positive attitude! Attitude is everything!
Fighting Fibromyalgia Fundamental 2: Common Sense Daily Health
You can search the internet for women's natural health, women's health websites, and women's health forums, but when it's all said and done, you will learn this truth: womens health and nutrition is a vital focus to maintaining a sense of health and well being.
Health is an accumulation of the results of choices we make. It's important to make sure your good choices outweigh your bad choices, especially when
fighting fibromyalgia.
It only makes sense that your daily plan should include exercise, good nutrition, drinking enough water, and getting enough rest. Read our Basic Womens Health article for more detailed information.
Combine a common sense health approach with your chosen treatment plan to strike the knock-out blow to your fibromyalgia symptoms.
Fighting Fibromyalgia Fundamental 3: Medical Treatment
The goal of any good fibromyalgia treatment plan is relief from fibromyalgia pain. There are many medical treatments available, but not all of them may be suitable for you. Each person is an individual and should be treated as such. Try to find a medical doctor who understands the unique nature of your fibromyalgia pain.
There are many more doctors now willing to address fibromyalgia as an actual medical condition than when I was being diagnosed back in 1995.
Some people support the use of pain medications which provide fibromyalgia pain relief. I personally avoided such treatments because I come from a very addictive family history, and I didn't want to have to address addiction. So my best approach to prescription fibromyalgia pain medications was to "just say no." However, these meds have been a big help to other women living with fibromyalgia and are something you should address with your own doctor.
I was fortunate to find a doctor who was willing to listen to me, and to manage my fibromyalgia through the guaifenesin treatment protocol. It not only offered me fibromylagia pain management, but also provided me hope for a complete reversal of the effects of fibromyalgia on my body and mind. I will address this treatment plan in detail on upcoming pages.
For now, it's important that you seek a medical diagnosis and a treatment plan formed for your unique situation, perhaps one skilled in chronic pain management.
Ask someone. Friends and family, neighbors and coworkers. This is a good place to start. They may know a doctor that they trust to help you in fighting fibromyalgia.
Call your health insurance company. They may have a list of doctors who provide fibromyalgia treatment.
Search Online. Here is a list for starters:
WebMD Physician Directory
DoctorDirectory.com
Revolution Health
Fighting Fibromyalgia Fundamental 4: A Reliable Support System
And where would any of us be without our life support systems? Family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors all contribute to the quality of our lives. It's no different when fighting fibromyalgia. We need support and lots of it!
When I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I visited several online fibromyalgia support groups. Back then they ran mostly on List Serv software and operated by email. I quickly found myself bogged down by email in my inbox, which was difficult for me to
address. I had trouble keeping my house clean, and cleaning out the inbox was no different ... it seemed like a huge task. But along the way I met some people who were a great support during those initial phases.
Now the internet enables us to have fibromyalgia forums and chat rooms where you can visit at your leisure. Your inbox will stay clean and tidy because you are visiting an online site where you can browse and read and comment when you wish. Search out some of these places, and you will find people who understand your condition because they too are fighting fibromyalgia.
The fibromyalgia community is growing as more and more of the medical community recognizes fibromyalgia as a definite medical condition. Find your place in the community of friends and women living with fibromyalgia.
I will be listing fibromyalgia forums here as I find ones that I like. Currently I am visiting forums. You can submit your favorites here by adding in a comment field :)
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