Fibromyalgia Diagnosis

Just this past March I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.  At the time, it was somewhat of a relief to have a name to go along with the symptoms I had been complaining about for years.  Especially, with the fact that the symptoms had become so severe the past year or so.  Specifically, the things that bothered me the most were of course the daily headaches and migraines, muscle pain, and fatigue.

According to the Mayo Clinic, fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeleton pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and and mood issues.  Researchers believe that many fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way our brain processes pain signals.

After talking to several individuals, I learned that many suffer differently and have various symptoms.  The fatigue and pain is what caused me the most 'pain'.  I hated the fact that I would sleep 12-14 hours a night, drag myself out of bed to go to work, and then most nights take a nap.  I felt like I was trying everything from going to the chiropractor, at one time getting massages every 2 weeks, resting, trying to work out, and taking the 'drugs' to try and keep the pain from bringing on a major migraine.

So, yes, the diagnosis was a huge relief, until it set in that this would be something that I would battle the rest of my life along with a long list of prescriptions.  With that realization, came the disappointment that there wasn't something that I could do to stop this from controlling my life.  Further, I began having sever nausea throughout the day, as well, which caused me to loose quite a lot of weight quickly that I did not need to loose.  So, the next round of tests included an endoscopy that wasn't the greatest experience, but it did show some abnormalities in the pathology results for signs of Celiac's Disease.  Celiac's is an immune reaction to eating gluten.  This new information is what stemmed the new gluten free diet that I have been on since mid-July.

Thankfully, with this change in diet, I did see a decrease in the muscle pain and fatigue.  I was able to start working out on regular basis and wasn't sleeping as much.  However, I was still having the headaches that were not relenting.  As I continued to talk to individuals about my symptoms and struggles, I made a connection with a friend that is a dietician that specializes in fibromyalgia and migraine management.  This new discovery lead me down a whole different path in regards to diet.

As I continue down my journey, I encourage anyone that has ever experienced any type of chronic pain or symptom of some kind to keep talking to anyone that will listen to find an answer.  I, thankfully, have individuals behind me that remind me that my 'normal' is not normal and is no way for an individual to live.

For now,

Kasey