Free from Fibromyalgia

(c) Misty Wright Gregg

Who do you know with fibromyalgia?

What is it?

Mayo Clinic defines it this way, “Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.  Symptoms sometimes begin after a physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event.”

Women are much more likely to develop fibromyalgia than are men. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have tension headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety and depression.  While there is no cure for fibromyalgia, a variety of medications can help control symptoms.   Exercise, relaxation and stress-reduction measures also may help.”

I had fibromyalgia.  From 1997 to 2001, I was in persistent pain and the doctors could not give me a diagnosis.  My arms, wrists, hips and legs were constantly aching.  I wore braces on both my wrists for four years and slept with a pillow between my legs because the pain was unbearable if the weight of one leg rested on the other.  I kept the braces on all day and night, but I could never wrap them tight enough to make the pain go away.

The doctor ran many tests, trying to find the source of the pain in my right hip.  After months of physical therapy with no changes, he thought it could be bone cancer.  It was a great day when my doctor said, “It isn’t cancer.”  Only one problem … he did not have the answer to why I was in so much pain, every day on an ongoing basis.

I had seen numerous doctors (General Practitioner, Physical Therapist, Neurologist, ENT, Chiropractor, Ob-Gyn and Surgeon) and each offered an additional medication to help with the pain, though no one offered a solution to my problem.   I felt like they did not really believe me when I described all the   symptoms and how they would not go away.

In 2001, we were living in Pennsylvania and my new neighbor told me that she had gotten great results for her fibromyalgia symptoms by using nutritional supplements.  I was intrigued by this and researched everything I could about vitamins, minerals, natural whole foods, and purified water.  I learned that my diet was a huge part of my problem.  Here is a sample of my diet at the time:  No breakfast, diet drinks, few vegetables, few fruits and very little protein.

With the data I collected, I decided to make some changes in my diet and I kept a record of any changes I noticed.  At the beginning, I made two changes (1) I began each day with a protein shake and (2) I took high quality nutritional supplements.  Within two weeks I was able to take the wrist brace off my left arm and within a month I no longer needed the braces at all!

Then I decided to eliminate all medication.  With my doctor’s supervision, I was off all meds within four months.  It has been over eight years and I remain pain free!   Here is a sample of my diet now:  Protein shake for breakfast (puts the body in an alkaline base) high quality nutritional supplements, purified water and protein with each meal.

Many people I work with struggle with fibromyalgia and the biggest impact to improving one’s health is to clean up the diet.  When I began eating a diet more alkaline than acidic, my health dramatically improved.  Leafy green vegetables are a wonderful source of alkaline foods.  Many diseases love sugar  among other acidic foods and they thrive in that environment.  If you have fibromyalgia, I encourage you to reduce your sugar intake and see how your health improves.

Our body is perfectly designed to heal itself and we can find the things we need in nature.  By eating natural whole foods grown (not made of chemicals) we feed our body with the nutrients needed for optimal health.

To Your Good Health!

Misty

Misty Wright Gregg is a preventative healthcare consultant and lives with her family in Virginia.  As the owner of the “The Sage Soapbox,” she enjoys traveling for speaking engagements and individual consultations.  www.TheSageSoapbox.com Misty hosts a Free Fibromyalgia Conference Call on Wednesday evenings at 5:55pm ET.  To sign up, please contact her at [email protected]

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Takara Shelor
Follow Me