Fibromyalgia: Finding Balance

With all of the ups and downs that can come into a person’s life with Fibromyalgia, finding balance may not be easy to accomplish. You may feel overwhelmed with symptoms, changes and all of the emotional upheaval. Such a monstrous, long term, chronic illness can take a lot out of you. Here are things that you can do to help your efforts at finding balance and winning with Fibro.

Point #1: You don’t have to always say, “Yes. I’ll do it.” With an illness like Fibromyalgia, you may find that you have some good times, but many not-so-good times. Somedays more energy, less pain; other days less energy and a lot more pain. Brain fog symptoms coming and going surely complicate getting tasks done. So before the go’s and yes’s come out of your mouth, give yourself a little benefit of the doubt. Leave yourself a little wiggle room in your committments and guarantees. Say something like, “Mary, I’ll surely come if I can.”

Point #2: It’s perfectly okay to tell someone “No.” As a matter of fact, I encourage you to spend some time in front of the mirror practicing and saying the word no out loud. It’s not profane. It doesn’t mean you are a bad person. It’s not even frowned upon in polite society. It simply means you can’t say yes at the moment.

Point #3: Keep a journal just for you. Many people keep journals religiously, but to other people it’s not a daily activity on the top of their list. I encourage you to write down a least a few major things in some kind of journal notebook that is yours and yours alone: a) a good synopsis of how you’re feeling, symptom-wise, and a list of your medicines and supplements; b) if changes occur in your health, list them, too (details are good); and c) write down how to contact the people who you love. E.g. your girlfriend might not have your husband’s work phone number in a crisis, but worse than that, he might not know how to get in touch with her! What you want to list is info about the people who would be most likely to help you out if you needed them.

The value of your journal: The first two sections are useful to you to keep up with because of the ever-changing nature of your illness. The data can even serve as a resource for your doctor. He or she can look at it and see that two weeks ago you felt so and so after doing a particular mental or physical activity. You can provide your doctor with a copy for your medical records; they will become a part of them. (*They may become valuable in helping you prove a disability claim.) As far as the third purpose goes, the value of it virtually speaks for itself. If you get too sick and your brain fog gets too bad, having a pre-done list can help you keep in touch with those you love.

Point #4: Hand off some of the tasks that you normally do to save energy on good days or survive your bad ones! Many people who get Fibromyalgia are well-accomplished, busy and take-charge people before becoming ill. Even if you weren’t, there is a good chance that you simply rather do things yourself. That doesn’t make it easy to give away your perceived responsibilities. If you relinquish them once in awhile, it may help you retain more energy for the the activities you really do want to do and survive the bad days more intact and less wounded. You won’t feel so fragmented. Doing this also may help to keep unpleasant symptoms at bay… like increasing pain. That’s always good.

Point #5: “Give Yourself a Break Today!” Many of us work too hard. Truth is we’re just too hard on ourselves, casting blame too easily and not being kind enough to ourselves. We give allowances for other, but expect too much of ourselves! It’s probably the one attribute that can both augment or hurt Fibro survivors. “Expecting” can help to keep your hope alive and it can foster a good, positive attitude. Even so… the next time you have a big task, schedule some breaks. Make a mental note. Plan. Take water, fruit, maybe a few nuts with you on your task. Find a buddy to walk around the block with you. If your long task is at home, curl up for a few minutes with that good book you checked out from the library or work in a yoga or meditation session. In simple terms, be kind to yourself. Take breaks.

Point #6: Schedule a few meals away from home or order in a vegetable pizza (or some other good, nourishing food). The point is don’t keep working right into the dinner hour, standing over the stove, cooking food, setting the table and waiting on everyone else– all the time. Occasionally, do it if you feel like it, but avoid the meal preparation tasks once in awhile. Let someone else wait on you!

Point #7: Plan your day and your activities at the time of day when you normally feel the best. Now, this strategy works well, if it works at all. We don’t always feel as good as we think we will or our schedules get too crowded. Life happens. Emotions get in the way. New illness symptoms crop up. Do the best you can and, occasionally, you will get back home after your errand or appointment and feel good.

Point #8: Ask for help, if you need it. Surround yourself with people who might take you up on your request. Occasionally we need help; sometimes we need a lot of help. Having people around you who understand your illness and support you can be invaluable. You feel comfortable asking them for help and not worrying that they will look at you like you’re crazy. Granted they may or may not be able to help you at that moment or for that request, but at least you won’t feel put down for having asked them.

Point #9: Do the best that you can to get enough sleep. Keep a regular, sleep time schedule each day and make a really big effort to sleep during normal sleep hours. Your body works best that way. Many people with Fibromyalgia (and lots of other chronic illnesses) get their sleep schedule all mixed up. It can come from varied reasons such as poor sleep habits, being in too much pain, consuming caffeine and/ or sugar, eating a big meal before bedtime, anxiety, emotions, and prescription meds. Surely there are more reasons like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, periodic limb movements, a spouse who snores, little children who need tending to at night, etc. etc. But realize that poor sleep can become a habit and it alone can severely impact your health.

*Science has demonstrated that people with Fibromyalgia do not produce enough human growth hormone. The body only makes your supply of human growth hormone at night while you sleep. If you don’t sleep at the right time during your circadian rhythm cycle, you may get largely deficient in human growth hormone!

Point #10: Take an afternoon nap, but only if you need one. This point is where I disagree with some of the professionals, because many will tell you to go ahead and take a nap. For someone with any kind of sleep dysfunction, taking an afternoon nap essentially can ruin the nighttime rest phase. If you find that an afternoon nap makes you feel worse, it probably is not helping you. However, if it rejuvenates you, go for it.

Point #11: Don’t eat your last meal of the day, dinner or supper, too late. The human body doesn’t rest as well at night if it is busy digesting a big meal. You probably know that from the last time you went out to eat with friends, ate a huge steak at 8 pm and tossed and turned the rest of the night. But know, too, that it truly can be hard on the body to eat full meals in the evening. Some people with more Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms and similarities can’t eat heavy meats at all. It takes too much energy to digest the meat and they are left exhausted and totally crashed out! That’s a good lesson to remember when you’re tempted at 8 pm. Either eat early or eat light.

Finding balance with Fibromyalgia or any illness is not easy. These points today were adapted from Fibromyalgia: Living a Balanced Life at WebMD. I put my own spin on them. Add yours here, too, and leave a comment. What does Fibromyalgia and finding balance mean to you?

Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Host of the Health Matters Show

Tagged as: Fibromyalgia, finding balance, human growth hormone