A Treatment for Fibromyalgia:
the Next Best Thing to a Cure

Diet

Supplements

Environmental Toxins

Mind Body

Exercise

I’m very glad to have you with me.

And, I probably know much about you because I know a lot about the fibromyalgia you suffer with.  I know the feeling of isolation when friends and family say “you don’t look sick” and the frustration that comes when you try to explain how fibro feels
but they don’t “get it" 

What about the feeling of “being defective” or different from everyone else; and if you have a severe case of fibro, the despair and eventually the thought that if the rest of my life is going to be like this, I don’t want to live it!

By the way, getting on our Email is the best way to stay connected. We make emails easy to read. 
Email List Fibro Repair 

"Fibromyalgia is more complex than many of our modern day conditions due to the many variables"

We didn't just wake up one day and have fibromyalgia.

We had a propensity for developing fibromyalgia, and when enough of the right factors coincide, we have this complex condition that is still widely misunderstood, poorly depicted and often mistreated.

Fibro is more unique and complex than most of our modern day illnesses, and that is why doctors have a difficult time understanding and treating fibromyalgia. Without a "silver bullet" cure, we have to take a different approach. 

Living smarter with fibromyalgia is about not only creating a stronger "foundation", but also treating the more specific symptoms that are unique to fibromyalgia.

This is not just a treatment for fibro, but a "smarter" approach. 

Instead of continuing to de-condition, you will re-condition your body and mind, and that is empowering. No time for status quo with fibro here. 

With some consistency, we can achieve greater levels of mastery over our fibro symptoms and strengthen our core health against related illness, including the auto immune illnesses that many of us also live with.

And only then can we also prevent the progression of symptoms and other illness that may be "lurking around" that corner.

Our "Living Smarter" approach is based on my experience of living with chronic migraine and MCS over four decades, severe fibromyalgia for over 40 years; my training and certification as an instructor in Body Ecology Diet, an advanced level Colon Hydrotherapy practitioner, and a Certified Personal Trainer; and the toolbox I’ve developed to deal with the symptoms of this complex disease.  

 I also consider that we are all in a different place; maybe you are new to fibro, maybe you are just sick and tired.

I hope you will approach this website as a "study".  If you do, you will understand your disease much better, and it will help you to choose the appropriate path in my protocol.

Maybe you are ready to take it a step further and join our membership, reach out to me through the facebook page. 

Also, make sure you add any supplements to the list of "medications" in your doctor's records where needed. 

You will be well ahead in your recovery if your physician is familiar with the symptoms of fibro and the "trial and error" process that is often required for any success with a minimum of side-effects.

Why don't I use the word "cure" ?
Well, first of all, fibro just doesn't work like that. It is a little different than many conditions out here. 

I have worked with fibromyalgia from various angles as both practitioner and patient and have moved from the depths of despair and acute fibro flares to a more balanced life despite all of the complexities of fibromyalgia.

I like to say MORE good days, a more productive and purpose filled life, where you wake up excited and looking forward to the day, 

What would that feel like? 
It is possible. 

Much trial and error in ALL activities of daily living including my love of working out, a passion of mine since a young age even when chronic migraine and fibro were becoming increasingly apparent.

Yet, don't be misled, you surely do not have to be in the gym. That just happens to be one of my own passions since a young age. The point here is to ask yourself, "What is possible for me?".  

And, it helps to remember that "faith in one's own healing trumps skepticism of other's healing every time".
Never let skepticism keep you down. I know, I have done that myself when I assumed that nobody had it as bad as I did.
 
My success has fueled my passion to share accurate awareness about fibromyalgia and the “tools" for living a better quality of life with all those who suffer from this debilitating, often invisible disease.

Join me here on Living-Smarter-with-Fibromyalgia.com AND get on our easy to read email list (top of this page) 

Eating The Fibromyalgia "Elephant" One Symptom At A Time

I applied my education and experience with clients to my own struggle with fibro.

Also, I had tried many supplements and prioritized the ones that seemed to help.

WE DO NOT need a boatload of supplements with fibro. In fact, less is more in the area of supplements. 

I have tested it all. 

But, I redoubled my efforts to self-test various therapies and every remedy for fibro that was available. Testing and evaluating.

Everything except for medications prescribed for fibro.

Attending various inpatient and outpatient treatments, including extensive IV therapies, every type of massage and physical therapy that was used for either fibromyalgia or Chronic Myofascial Pain. 

Remember, I'm not talking about a false cure; we've put together a lifestyle protocol that consists of many elements....actually a lifestyle change. 

By the way, I don’t care if you spell fibromyalgia as fibromialgia or fibromyalgie or just call it fibro as most of us do..

Like A Canary In A Coal Mine

Many years ago, before the proliferation of digital technology, the only way coal miners had to detect the buildup of dangerous toxic gases was to take a canary down into the mine.

If the canary got sick or died, the miners would clear out because they knew there
was toxic gas present.

After suffering since I was 9-years old with hyper-sensitivity to environmental toxins, I've come to the belief that I and others with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)
are like those canaries.

The only effective recourse is to create "safe havens" in our homes by removing all sources of toxins. And, that is only effective in that location, and then, only if your family and friends are willing to be free of fragrances, and finally, only if a neighbor is not burning yard debris or drying clothes with "dryer sheets".

The important point I want everyone to really understand is that MCS people react to many different toxins in the environment, and the toxins to which we do react are also unhealthy for non mcs people; and, I believe, especially for those suffering from fibro.  Consider two known facts:

•  Fibromyalgia onset is fairly often preceded by a physical or emotional trauma to the body
•  Fibro flares can be and often are triggered by "soft" traumas such as bright lights, loud  noise, crowds, weather change, etc.

Doesn't it then follow that we shouldn't be surprised that environmental toxins can, and I believe do, constantly trigger our fibro symptoms. So, the third component of my protocol is Environmental Toxins. 

The Mind Body Connection

How one person operates their mind and body can be vastly different from how another person operates their mind and body.

This became more clear to me when I flew across the country several years ago to attend three weeks of inpatient treatment for chronic fibro pain.  During my 3-weeks as an inpatient, I was shown a video, "The MINDBODY Prescription" about Dr. John Sarno’s work in this area.

This ultimately led me to a book, "Freedom from Fibromyalgia" by Dr. Nancy Selfridge and Franklynn Peterson. Her book really hit home with me since she had severe fibro and had a lifelong love of running like myself.

It was thru her that I finally came to understand the key role that mind body conditioning played in a workable fibromyalgia recovery protocol.  You can learn more by clicking on Mind Body Connection. Again, when finished, close the page to return here.

My understanding of the Mind Body Connection was further enhanced when I studied the science that explains it. 

I read the book, "Molecules of Emotion", by Candace Pert, PhD, who was an internationally known laboratory (bench) scientist.  She was the first to find a key molecule, called a receptor, that is attached to every cell in our bodies and together with neurochemicals generated by our bodies, control 80% of our life processes.

These discoveries at the cellular level of our bodies in the last twenty years or so have been truly remarkable and opened our eyes to a new model of how our body and mind operate.

The old model of our brain sitting atop the rest of our body and controlling it thru a system of nerve impulses has gone by the wayside. 

There's more of equality between mind and body through this neurochemical communication network.

The mind deals mainly with the conscious thought process although influenced by the body, and it generates many of the neurochemicals associated with our emotions; the body, we now know, is the unconscious mind, storing past powerful trauma and emotions in its memory, although it can be accessed consciously by intention. 

This turns out to be a key in fibromyalgia recovery and therefore the Mind Body Connection becomes the fourth element of my fibro recovery protocol. 

You can learn much more about the science underlying the Mind-Body Connection by clicking on Mind Body Science.  I'd suggest you do that later, however, if you are one who loves the details of how our bodies work and the basis of the mind body connection to fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia Exercise

About 20 years back when my fibro was especially severe, I felt I was “stuck”.

The pain I experienced from what we call “the activities of daily living” (ADLs) had caused me to question my exercise routine for fear of a fibro flare; that is intuitive to all of us who suffer with fibro. 

I decided that I would have to act more non intuitively.

What would happen if I re-evaluated my fear of fibro flares, found ways to work with it, pushed on through, and made my workouts more of a priority within my wellness plan ?

After all, what I became more acutely aware of was the fact that it wasn't the structured exercise that caused flares; it was the environment, ADL's and other things that are so often out of our control. I had to take back as much control as possible. 

However, it wasn't merely about "pushing through". No, stay with me here. 

I had to figure out the right exercises not only for my body, but for other fibro bodies as well. Range of motion, cardio, muscle activation, and light stretching are all individually important as is consistency, the key element to fibro fitness.  

I eventually learned that by starting slowly, with patience, and a laser focus, my flares due to exercise could be minimized.

More importantly, in a short while as I remained positive and focused on any small success, I began to experience endorphins, the body’s natural pain reliever and one of the neurochemicals I mentioned previously!
(Did you know there is a 'myth' out there that people with fibromyalgia cannot produce endorphins?  Surely do not buy into that one my friends!)

My fibro symptoms would lessen and I experienced more “good” days than bad ones.  And, a very important point is that I learned that the pain from ADLs did not predict the pain of exercise. 

Follow on my fitness page, here on facebook , Fibro Fit People. 

I studied hard for another two years, and became a Nationally Certified Personal Trainer and set about to develop my own fibro-tolerant, range of motion routines which I now include as the fifth and last major component of my recovery protocol that I’m sharing with you on this website.  You can read more by clicking on Fibromyalgia Exercise.  Close the page when finished to return here.

I’m certain of the importance of all of the steps in my protocol in the process of creating a better quality of life with fibromyalgia. I've developed them thru much trial and error (and pain) and years of study/implementation.

Thank you for being here and believing in your greater magnificence. We CAN do this, even without a silver bullet.
Lisa. CT. PT. 

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