I admit I have a stubborn side and this side of me doesn’t like to be told what to do. This is a personality trait handed down by mother and it allows me to strive for independence. However, after living with fibromyalgia for a few years now, I have come to understand even more of the importance of this stubborn side. Fibromyalgia takes away my freedom on many levels and it is a fight for me to keep as many as possible. Although there are more freedoms lost than mentioned in this article, here are my 4 freedoms lost to fibromyalgia:
Freedom to Speak
The freedom to be able to speak is an important one. The symptom called “fibro fog” is where a person cannot think of the word they want to use. You know the word, but it just will not come when you need it. This loss is also something you can put in the most embarrassing symptom of fibromyalgia. Since I am now a college graduate and soon to be a graduate student, I pride myself on being intelligent, but when I stumble on a word in a conversation it is devastating.
I remember one of the first times this happened when I was at work and talking to a couple of coworkers. I was about to use one of their names and I could not for the life of me recall her name. They had no idea what was going on in my head, but I cannot lie, it rattled me. Sadly, this kind of thing has become a normal occurrence for me. I have learned to substitute other words and cover for myself with people I don’t know as well and laugh it off with the people closest to me.
Freedom to Plan
I am a planner! This is one of my strengths and what I have used to juggle work, school, kids, and my illness. I can plan all I want, but if I plan too many activities then my Calendar will suddenly become very bare. If I over exert myself, I will put myself into a “fibro flare,” which is an increase in fibromyalgia symptoms like widespread pain and exhaustion, decrease in cognitive abilities and more. For those fibromyalgia warriors with more than one condition, this flare could be even worse.
One could look at this as fibromyalgia giving the skill of planning, instead of taking it away. I have spoken to many fibromyalgia warriors that say they have to use strategies like giving a couple of days of buffer between commitments to allow for rest. This also forces someone to prioritize which activities they really want or need to do. My biggest advice here is to not beat yourself up when it turns out your body will not allow you to do an activity you wanted to do. Furthermore, allowing yourself to put yourself first (which if you are a mother, can be hard to choose).
Freedom to Drive
This one does not always apply to everyone. Personally, there have been many times I felt too exhausted to be able to safely drive. Other times I didn’t think I had the cognitive ability to safely drive. This is the most obvious loss of freedom. Not being able to drive yourself limits where and when you can go, and it is disheartening.
I can relate to older folks who should no longer drive but don’t want to admit it because it means losing a freedom. There are many people with fibromyalgia that function just fine. Fibromyalgia effects people in different ways and especially when they have other illnesses at the same time. This can make symptoms more intense and last longer. Basically, it is important not to compare your fibromyalgia symptoms to someone else’s.
Freedom to Eat Anything
I have found relief with my fibromyalgia symptoms by avoiding certain foods. It isn’t easy for me to admit that when I follow a healthy diet, I feel better. Mainly, because it is hard for me to actually follow the diet consistently. I don’t feel like it should be touted as a cure for fibromyalgia. It really is just common sense: put healthy, natural foods into your body and feel better. This goes for anyone and everyone. When I cut added sugar out of my diet completely my pain levels dropped, and most surprisingly I stopped craving it.
Find tools to improve symptoms in this article.
Alas, it is hard to avoid added sugars when manufactures literally put in everything. So, cutting foods out of your life is a personal choice and I’m not judging you if you choose not to go down this path. Many people find relief with medicine. I felt like the medicine benefits didn’t outweigh the negatives. It wasn’t until I tried quite a few different kinds of medicine that I finally turned to changing my diet.
Bright Side
I try not to focus on the negative side. This is a challenge as there are so many negatives you could call upon, like losing friends, family, careers and the ability to do daily tasks.
There is one thing that I have refused to let fibromyalgia take from me: my education dreams. It took me longer than I would have like but I have graduated from college and am that much closer to realizing my dream of providing marriage and family therapy. What I have learned most about fibromyalgia is that it requires you to balance your life and pace yourself.
What freedoms have you personally lost due to your fibromyalgia diagnosis?
very well done for talking about fibro ..I HAVE BOTH M.E. AND FIBROMAGYIA ..people never see the every day effects .my blog.httyp;//mark-kent.webs.com twitter.supersnopper MARK