Healing from Fibromyalgia Step 2: Finding the Right Pain Medication

The often long and arduous journey towards receiving a fibromyalgia diagnosis is, unfortunately, just one step in the direction towards restored health. After I received my diagnosis of fibromyalgia, I was elated and felt a great sense of relief. Finally! Now the doctors would be able to give me some sort of prescription or treatment plan than would catapult me back to health. Oh how I wish I could go back in time and warn my young, naive self - the self who still believed in the omniscience of doctors - that there was still a long way to go. Upon receiving a diagnosis with fibromyalgia, I soon found out that there is no treatment plan, and that the main way most physicians treat the syndrome is through prescription pain medication. Althought, as with all fibromyalgia treatments, finding the right pain medication was trial and error. And boy, did I have to try A LOT of prescriptions before I found the one that worked for me.

From the onset of my illness in 2009, I immediately began receiving prescriptions for pain relief, and it took me two years until I found THE medication for me. Luckily, all of that painful trial and error was worth it; however, I do not wish that long of a wait on anyone. Finding the right medication to relieve pain is a crucial step in recovery. Until I received the proper pain medication, I felt as though I were waiting to die. I had no hope, no specific treatment plan to follow, and lived in continuous, excruciating pain. When I finally found that one, specific prescription to help ease my pain, I felt as though my life were back on track. Within a few weeks I was able to get up and move around. And as the pain faded, hope returned. Pain medication can be the key is restoring a sense of control and mobility in life. With the decrease in pain, I was then able to start forming a plan to treat the overall health of my body. I was able to get up, move around, and begin working towards regaining strength and stamina.

So, how do you find the right medication for you? 

Currently, there are three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of fibromyalgia pain.; Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Savella. Lyrica (Pfizer Inc) was the first medication to recive FDA-approval in June of 2007. Originally, "approved to treat seizures, as well as pain from damaged nerves that can happen in people with diabetes (diabetic peripheral neuropathy) and in those who develop pain following the rash of shingles," Lyrica was found to also be effective in decreasing the level of wide-spread pain in fibromyalgia patients. Now a popular drug, often seen in television commercials, Lyrica was the beginning of FDA-approved drugs which had positive responses in some fibromyalgia patients.

The next drug to be approved by the FDA was Cymbalta, which received it's approval one year later in June of 2008.  Like Lyrica, Cymbalta was not originally created to treat fibromyaliga patients. The original use of Cymbalta was to aide those who suffered from depression, anxiety, or diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Cymalta works to boost the brain chemicals serotonin and norepenepherine. "Serotonin and norepinephrine work together in the brain and spinal cord to tone down pain-related messages" *  Increasing serotonin and norepenephrine aide the body's ability to fight pain.

Similar to Cymbalta, Savella also works as a serotonin and norephenephrine booster. Savella was the first drug whose original purpose was created to help fight the pain of fibromyalgia patients. Recieving FDA-approval in 2009, Savella acts similar to those drugs used to treat depression and anxiety, but is not prescribed as such.

Each one of these FDA-approved drugs has the possibility of helping fibromyalgia patients, but they also have negative side effects. Typical side effects include:

1. Lyrica: "sleepiness, dizziness, blurry vision, weight gain, trouble concentrating, swelling of the hands and feet, and dry mouth. Allergic reactions, although rare, can occur."*
2. Cymbalta: "side effects include nausea, dry mouth, sleepiness, constipation, decreased appetite, and increased sweating ... Like some other antidepressants, Cymbalta may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in people who take the drug for depression" *
3. Savella: " Side effects include nausea, constipation, dizziness, insomnia, excessive sweating, vomiting, palpitations or increased heart rate, dry mouth and high blood pressure" *

Although Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Savella are the only three prescriptions that have received FDA-approval for the treatment of fibromyalgia, there are many other prescriptions which have also been helpful in fibromyalgia patients. Muscle relaxants such as Xanaflex or Flexeri may be prescribed, as well as other serotonin boosters like Prozac, Lexapro, and Zoloft. In my experience with prescritption medications, serotonin boosters were unhelpful and created the most uncomfortable side effects of all those I had tried. Unlike Cymbalta or Savella (which boost BOTH serotonin and norepenepherine) prescriptions like Prozac only boost serotonin levels, which may increase energy - but does not decrease pain.

Overall,finding the correct pain medication is as hard of a journey as was getting a diagnosis. Often the medications will give you adverse reactions and side effects, and you will have to go through many until you find that one pill which gives you none. For me, it took two years, but I am hoping that for others their wait will be much less. Finding the tools to decrease wide spread pain is a fundamental building block towards rebuilding your body to total health.

This blog was sourced from the FDA website and the Fibromyaliga Network. If you would like to read their articles or look for further information, please follow the links below

1. FDA
2. Fibromyalgia Network

 Until Next Time,
Feast From Within

Healing from Fibromyalgia: Step 1 - Getting a Diagnosis

What is Fibromyalgia? To those who do not suffer from this curious illness, understanding its symptoms, treatments, and effects on a person's life can be very difficult. Debate within the medical community still persists as to the existence of fibromyalgia as an actual disease or condition. Characterized by widespread pain, unbearable fatigue, cognitive impairment (brain fog), and poor sleep, fibromyalgia is often considered the 'wastebasket' disease of the medical community. Considering that fibromyalgia can not be diagnosed using any form of medical testing (blood test, X Ray, etc) many doctors use the diagnosis of fibromyalgia as a catch-all for an explanation of their patient's symptoms. But to those of us who truly suffer from the debilitating syndrome, actually getting a proper diagnosis is incredibly difficult.

As previously stated, fibromyalgia can not be diagnosed through any sort of medical testing. In fact, the current way to diagnose fibromyalgia is through an arbitrary 'tender point test' along side a patient survey. In order to receive the diagnosis of 'fibromyalgia', a patient must respond to 11 of the 18 tender points in all four quadrants of the body (left/right, top/bottom). These 18 tender points are depicted in the graph below:

 

The tender point test and criteria for diagnosis was created in  1990 by the American College of Rheumatology, and, sadly, is still in use today. * There are many problems in the use of this test as the primary means of diagnosis. First of all, in order to meet the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, a patient must have had persistent wide spread pain symptoms for a minimum of three months. * Meaning, one must suffer and live in agonizing, full - body pain for MONTHS before a doctor will even consider to give a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Not only must one suffer through months of pain, they must also suffer through months of randomized testing in order to rule out any other possible illness or disease which shares similar symptoms. If anyone has lived with fibromyalgia or chronic widespread pain, they may understand the extent of suffering and hopelessness that one faces while being shuffled from doctor to doctor, going through a wide array of tests, only to continue waiting for any information that may provide an explanation as to why they are in so much pain.

Not only is the tender point test subjective, but is it highly unpredictable depending on the severity of the symptoms and the competence of the doctor. Symptoms of fibromyalgia vary from day to day; therefore, multiple tender points may not register on one day, but be very evident on the next. When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2010, I was experiencing so much widespread pain that I could not differentiate between the pain I felt in the 'tender points' vs the pain I was feeling through out the rest of my body. To me, everything was painful, and the act of applying pressure to one specific area made no difference to the pain I was already experiencing. 

Since the tender point test is unpredictable and subjective, in 2010 "a group of rheumatologists acting on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) published new preliminary criteria on how doctors should diagnose fibromyalgia." * This preliminary criteria includes a patient survey, or 'symptom checklist', that acts as a backup to the tender point test. The symptom checklist is just as subjective as the tender point test. The idea behind the symptom survey, I'm assuming, is to provide further validation to the diagnosis of a patient with fibromyalia. As a person who has completed both tests and lives with fibromyalgia, I (obviously) find both to be extremely faulty and possibly ineffective in providing suffering people with proper medical care. However, until fibromyalgia can be diagnosed through a more effective test, like a blood test, patients suffering from chronic pain are forced to live with a flawed system. 

Unfortunately, in order to begin healing from symptoms of fibromyalgia, one needs a diagnosis. Receiving a diagnosis provides patients with some sense of understanding and allows each person to begin taking steps toward finding treatments. Armed with a diagnosis, any patient with fibromyalgia can now venture to arm themselves with knowledge of their condition and begin to regain a sense of hope for improved health. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of fibromyalgia, consider consulting a rheumatologist. Most cases of fibromyalgia are diagnosed under the umbrella of being a rheumatic syndrome, therefore many of the most knowledgeable doctors of fibromyalgia are found in the rheumatology department.

An example of the symptom survey can be found at the link below:
 http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HXZYTBM

Until Next Time,
Feast From Within



Further information regarding diagnosing fibromyalgia:

1. http://www.fmnetnews.com/fibro-basics/diagnosis
2. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/in-depth/fibromyalgia-symptoms/art-20045401?pg=1

Re-defining Success with a Chronic Illness

Many days I spend time wondering if I'm working hard enough, if there is more I can be doing, if I need to be more proactive about my health, or if my health will prohibit me from achieving my goals. Before I got sick, I spent my teenage years being active in athletics, community service, and after school group activities. I was the stereotypical overachiever who wanted to be involved in any and every group possible. Back then, success meant being the 'best' and winning awards. My entire self-worth was derived from the success I felt from the outward accomplishments I could achieve. To me, the more recognition I got, the more successful and worthy I felt. But my idea of success was radically changed once I became ill.

It has been five years since I first fell ill in 2009, and I still struggle with my definition of success daily. My old paradigms of material gain and outward recognition still color my perception of how successful I feel. My emotions usually fluctuate between feeling like I'm not working hard enough, to worrying that  I will never amount to anything in my life. Recently I have realized that my current definition of success is detrimental to my personal outlook, and quite frankly it is a result of poor self-worth and self-image. In my definition of success, I'm using all of the outward accomplishments I can achieve as a filler for a lack of inner self-worth and self-love.

Self-worth/self-love is an inherently hard concept to cultivate in any individual, regardless of chronic illness; however, I have found that living with a chronic illness makes self-love even harder. It shines a harsh light on our vulnerabilities, insecurities, and true feelings about ourselves. For example, I have spent my whole life defining my success and self-worth through the eyes of others, and I only felt that I was worthy of love if I could accomplish something and get attention. And, now, living with a chronic illness I am FORCED to redefine success and how I view myself.

Living with fibromyalgia, I can not accomplish as many outward goals as others. I can't compete in physical activities, run a marathon, go back packing through Europe, etc. I have to make sure I get enough sleep, eat the correct diet, take my medication, have time to rest through out the day, and most often I have to depend on others for support. It kills me to think that there are things in this world that I may not ever be able to achieve or places I may never be able to visit, but I am slowly learning that not achieving those things is o.k. In my mind, I'm only worthy if I have traveled the world, been on adventures, made a lot of money, and achieved acclaim in my career. It drives me crazy that I still live near my hometown, that I haven't seen as much of the world as I want to, and that I haven't made an extreme headway in my career. There is something in me that believes if I do not accomplish these Type- A goals, my life will be worth nothing, or that no one will value me, or that I am wasting my life due to my chronic illness. And yes, there are things in life that my chronic illness will not allow me to do - but I'm starting to realize that all of those limiting beliefs t are bullshit.

Think about it, why are we all striving for success and acclaim? In one way or another, most of us are trying to fill a void that wasn't tended to as children. We are trying to fill that hole with material things, cars, jobs, money, etc. just because we don't believe we are incapable of seeing our inherent worthiness. We are trying to cover up our insecurities, because somewhere, deep down, most of us don't believe we are worthy of love unless we are able to accomplish something. Each day is a struggle for me to understand that I am worthy, not because I accomplish something, but I am worthy merely for just being me.

Sometimes I get lost in this world. It is hard living with a chronic illness. Each day is frustrating and painful and the fear that I am missing out on life can be incredibly heartbreaking. I believe that each person deserves to experience the full potential of their lives, and quite often, living with a chronic illness can make someone feel like their life has been taken away from them. But, on those days when my self-doubt is at its worst, I just have to stop and remember what I have and what I am capable of doing. I may not be able to do everything that everyone else can do, but I can still do a lot. I have come a long way from being bedridden. I'm fortunate enough that I have gotten a hold on my chronic illness, to the extent that I can work, I have traveled abroad once, and I am able to walk and enjoy life again.

Each day it is important to remember that we define our own success. Success is different for everyone, and it is never a replacement for self-worth. Being mindful of how we view ourselves, how we view success, and what we say to ourselves in our own heads can be incredibly enlightening if we just take the time to slow down and be mindful of our thoughts. Don't even compare your life journey to that of another. Each of us is inherently worthy to be alive and to be loved just by being us. We all have our own paths and our own parts to play in life, and the journey can take some amazing turns. Five years ago I thought I was going to die and that I was never going to be healthy again, but now I am grateful to say that I live a very blessed life with many opportunities to accomplish some of my goals - and so can you.

While this blog post might seem like I have rambled on about success, self-love, and self-worth, all I want you to take away from this is that our idea of material gain as success is usually bullshit. That we ARE worthy of being loved even though we are sick, and that there is always the possibility of things getting better. Never give up, and never let anyone define your success but you.

Until Next Time,
Feast From Within
xoxo

Simple Ways to Stock Your Gluten Free Pantry

Going Gluten Free can be very daunting! Where to start? What to buy? How much does it cost? 

When I went gluten free three years ago I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn't understand how to shop gluten free, which gains contained gluten, and which stores sold the most gluten free products. Buy gluten free cookbooks didn't make it much easier. Ingredients such as 'xantham gum' and 'sorgum flour' sent my head spinning! What were these ingredients? Did I get myself in over my head? 

Luckily, major chains of grocery stores are beginning to carry a wide variety of gluten free alternatives, which makes stocking your gluten free pantry much easier!!! Now, do not be dismayed by long and complicated gluten free ingredients. Through trial and error, I have found cheap and easy alternatives for gluten free baking that do NOT call for all of those previously unheard of ingredients. However, if you are a skilled baker or cook, go right ahead and begin experimenting with interesting gluten free recipes! 

Unfortunately, incorporating and cooking with new ingredients can be difficult and expensive, especially at first. So I have comprised a list of products that make living gluten free MUCH easier than diet and cook books may allow us to believe. Most of the products featured below can be found a major food stores such as Meijer, Kroger, and Walmart. 

Here are some of my favorite brands to buy:

1)  King Arthur Flours and Baking Mixes

Pricing ranges between 5-9 dollars and can be bought in stores or online

Their website also offers gluten free recipes for baking

2). Udi's

Udi's has a wide variety of great products. Not only do they offer baked goods like breads, cookies, and cakes, but they also have selections of frozen foods that you can stock up on in your freezer. 

Check out the Udi's website for further information, pricing, and coupons. 

3) Rudis

Similar to, but not the same company as, Udi's - Rudis gluten free bakery sells organic and gluten free products. Their website offers a store locator to make it easier to find their products. My favorite Rudis baked good is their gluten free cinnamon-raisin bread. Great for snacks or breakfast!

4) Food For Life - Brown Rice Tortillas

I'm a big fan of making wraps, so naturally I just HAD to find a quality gluten free wrap to use for my lunches, and the Food For Life Brown Rice tortillas have been my favorite so far. Hard to find in stores, at least stores near me, the gluten free wraps can be bought online and shipped right to your door. I usually stock up on two at a time and keep them in my freezer. Not only do I use them for making wraps, but I also use the tortillas as an easy alternative to pizza crust when I make my home-made pizzas. 

For a full list of gluten free gains, see below or check out this article about a gluten free chef based in Chicago 

I hope these products are helpful in aiding you towards stocking a gluten free pantry that is easy on the budget and simple to follow.

Until Next Time,
Feast From Within
xoxo

Getting What You Want Won't Make You Happy

Don't be shocked by the title of this post, I am a full blown optimist! But it wasn't until after I had experienced a life threatening illness, years of clinical depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts for me to realize what the heck happiness actually is.

As a child, growing up in America I idolized material culture without even realizing it. Spending time watching TV and movies informed me that success and happiness only comes from external sources like material wealth and  'things' that we can buy. We have all heard the saying, "Money doesn't buy happiness," but I'm not sure any of us reaaaaaly believe/d it. Of course money would make me happy, it sure as hell would make life a lot easier! But living in a culture that promotes the idea of external happiness through material wealth has seriously perverted our understanding of what happiness actually is and how to attain it.

First of all, let me just say, happiness isn't attained. It just IS. Happiness is the balanced and original state of humanity and life. Think of yourself as baby, rather - think of any baby you have ever come in contact with. Babies are the purest form of life. They exist in the state that we are forced to forget. Babies don't worry about bills, about success, about society, about family, friends, work, etc. They just exist as they are. Of course, existing in your purest state of happiness is easier said than done after spending years in a perspective of the world as a harsh, unruly place that only values people who have money or objects. But happiness truly is all around us, all we have to do is SHIFT our perspective in order to see us. We have to choose to see happiness.

Growing up I experienced certain kinds of childhood traumas that left me clinically depress and suicidal for years. I had developed and anxiety disorder and symptoms of PTSD without even realizing it. Through out my teenage years I was in and out of therapists and on any kind of medication that would leave me comatose to the world around me. Of course, no one saw what was really going on. I was skilled at diverting my depression through humor and jokes - always the 'class clown'. But once I got to college, and moved out of my parents house, these symptoms of depression and anxiety magically disappear (imagine that). But at the beginning of my sophomore year of college I was whisked back home by a life threatening, and mysterious, viral infection that would leave me bedridden for a year and fighting for my life. Needless to say, THIS was the darkest period of my life. With no hope from doctors, I often contemplated suicide just to end the amount of physical body pain I was experiencing through my un-treatable illness. I won't go too in depth with what I experienced during those years of my life. Mostly because it is still fresh, and too painful to relive publicly. But it taught me the most important lessons about my life, and motivated me to inspire and empower others to take control of their personal health and happiness.

After 3 years in therapy to treat my depression, anxiety, and PTSD (the mental health toll of a life threatening illness) and years of multiple doctors visits, alternative treatments, spiritual literature, diet changes, and natural supplements - I was able to heal myself from the inside out, and this journey taught me that happiness is not something that is attained by getting that job you want, or buying that car, or taking a trip to that place - it is attained by realizing it was there all along.

Think about it, how many times have you envisioned some object that you want - maybe a car - but once you attain that object, you go right back to however you felt before. This is because you have not realized the happiness within you. Objects will never be able to sustain a state of happiness, they may make us feel great for awhile, but eventually you always go right back to the way you were feeling before.

So, how do we realize that we create our own happiness? Basically, we have to stop trying to get happiness. Give up on being happy. Giving up allows you to truly let happiness into your life. If you are striving for happiness, you are ignoring the happiness that is already there - your focus is still external to yourself. Happiness isn't always easy, and we may not live in an eternal state of bliss. But accepting the happiness within you, and making an effort to change your perspective, truly allows you to be happy NOW, rather than in some imaginary future when you have everything you want.

Now is all we have, and happiness is there for the taking!
I hope this post will inspire you to make small changes through out your day that will aide you in shifting your perspective as to allow more happiness to naturally occur in your life, everyday.

Until next time,
Feast From Within
xoxo