Chronic Fatigue - Why? How? What?

Trying to understand Chronic Fatigue? So are the doctors and medical community, here is where the research and theories stand today:

http://www.prohealth.com/ME-CFS/library/showArticle.cfm?libid=18755&B1=EM022614C

A Good Resource

If you haven't already, check out http://www.patientslikeme.com/. It's is an EXCELLENT place to track your symptoms and treatments, and then be able to print it all out to share with your doctors! (Yay fibrofog won't thwart us there!) AND there are some good fibro forums too! There is a good ongoing post detailing the Foods FIbros should avoid. Super interesting. I would link to it, but you have to login to access it.

Supplements and Fibro - I'm Trying

So I invested in a pill box. Not just any pill box, but a 7 day with AM and PM. Its scary. But I manage to fill it quite well. Over the past 6 months I had read and read and researched and read and tested and tried many many vitamins and supplements. There are several drugs out on the market know to treat or help with fibromyalgia. I can address those later, when I have that energy. But I don't want to go the drugged up route if I can avoid it. So what I have found is my own personal "cocktail" listed below. And I have noticed that it does help, as one week I was too lazy to "organize" my pill box and thus skipped my supplements for 3 days, and boy did I feel the difference! I know that my body is healthier after being on these vitamins/supplements because I had a huge bruise that showed up 10 days ago, and already it is all gone! Usually a bruise like that would stick around so long that I'd have no choice but to be friends with it. And my hair and fingernails are super healthy too from all this, as they are growing at a phenomenal rate! And I have avoided recent rounds of the cold and some terrible flu that went around the office. Must be the Zinc! :)

*I am not a doctor nor am I claiming to be. Please check with your own doctor before taking any vitamin, supplement or prescription medicine to verify what is best for you. Many supplements, though they are natural products, can have harmful side effects when mixed, mixed with certain prescription drugs and/or your body's particular conditions. Please work with your doctor on what will work best for you.



A.M.

Ginko Biloba -- to help with fatigue and memory

Ginseng -- for energy

Malic Acid -- for FM specifically it has been shown to help with improving overall muscle performance, reverse muscle fatigue following exercise, increase energy level and improve mental clarity; it also helps boosts immunity, maintain good oral health, boosts metabolism and promotes smoother and firmer skin

Rhodiola Root - is supposed to help with energy, but after taking for 1 month I have not noticed a difference, so I have stopped taking

Milk Thistle -- good for liver cleansing

CoQ10 -- I took 200mg/day for 3 months, and have recently stopped taking (is a bit pricey!) and have not noticed any difference. So unless I start feeling more crappy will probably stop the CoQ10

Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc -- Was taking this combo until I read a great article on calcium and magnesium on how they can work together AND against each other -- http://www.absolutelythepurest.com/other%20parts/mysteryandmagicmagnes.html

Magnesium -- So now I am taking 1600mg/day of magnesium (UltragMag from Vitacoast)

Vitamin D3 -- I had a deficiency, as do most FM sufferers apparently, after 2000IU for 3 moths I am back within good range and will start taking 1000IU to maintain.

Vitamin B-12 -- for energy, not sure I have noticed a difference though

Prilosec -- OTC -- helps with acid reflux

Limbrel - script -- started taking at the same time as Mobic, and within 48 hours my pain went from a 10 to a 3!! Was not sure which or if both were helping the pain. And since this Limbrel is $50/month and the Mobic is $4/month I have stopped taking this Limbrel, and still have little pain....

Mobic - script (and on the $4 prescription list at WalMart!) -- seems to work well for the pain control.



P.M.

Magnesium -- 800 mg/nite

Fish Oil -- is just good for me all around

Flax Seed Oil -- is just good for me all around

Ginger -- I read somewhere this is good for joints, and I know it is good for nausea (sometimes the magnesium makes my stomach queasy)

Melatonin -- 5 or 10mg/nite to help me fall asleep (I tried Ambien, but while it did help me fall asleep, I just could NOT wake up the next morning when I took it! Kept oversleeping for work!!)

Nortriptyline - script -- for daily pain & migraine prevention, 25mg ($4 at WalMart!)

LoSeasonique - script -- birth control, continuous, so I only get 4 periods a year (helps tremendously with my migraine prevention)


Anyhoo, these above are what I've read about/researched and am trying, pinning down what does work and what does nto seem to for me. Again PLEASE consult YOUR DOCTOR before you try and of these. I am not a doctor, I am just writing about what I personally am trying an my results.

Please remember to consult your physician before trying anything new. I am not a doctor and no information should be considered medical advice. Any information provided should not be used to take the place of advice from your personal physician or other professional. Links to other sites are provided for ease of research. Information on those sites is the opinion of those who publish the sites and is NOT necessarily that of FibroChick. I offer what I can as help. I believe in educating myself on all my medical issues and being my own advocate, for no one else will do that on my behalf. I recommend we all do the same!

Take a Breather

The nose has a left and a right side; we use both to inhale and exhale. Actually they are different; you would be able to feel the difference. The right side represents the sun, left side represents the moon. During a headache, try to close your right nose and use your left nose to breathe. In about 5 Mins, your headache will go?

If you feel tired, just reverse, close your left nose and breathe through your right nose. After a while, you will feel your mind is refreshed. Right side belongs to 'hot', so it gets heated up easily, left side belongs to 'cold'.

Most females breathe with their left noses, so they get "cooled off" faster. Most of the guys breathe with their right noses, they get worked up. 

Do you notice the moment we wake up, which side breathes faster? Left or right? ? If left is faster, you will feel tired.
So, close your left nose and use your right nose for breathing, you will get refreshed quickly.

This can be taught to kids, but it is more effective when practiced by adults.
This alternative natural therapy without medication is something that many have experienced.
I'm gonna give it a try.

Magnesium Deficiency?

Interesting article on how much magnesium affects our bodies:


http://www.absolutelythepurest.com/other%20parts/mysteryandmagicmagnes.html


I am really tempted to try the "Natural Calm"

Please remember to consult your physician before trying anything new. I am not a doctor and no information should be considered medical advice. Any information provided should not be used to take the place of advice from your personal physician or other professional. Links to other sites are provided for ease of research. Information on those sites is the opinion of those who publish the sites and is NOT necessarily that of FibroChick. I offer what I can as help. I believe in educating myself on all my medical issues and being my own advocate, for no one else will do that on my behalf. I recommend we all do the same!

Fibromyalgia - Its Complex and NOT an Easy Fix

I think the new commercials on TV showcasing the new prescription drugs for Fibromyalgia - Lyrica, Cymbalta, Savella - are a good way to get fibromyalgia exposure to the mainstreet public and make them more aware if the realness and seriousness of the condition. However, it does not help explain the complexity of the condition, and that these drugs don't always work for everyone, and they aren't a "cure" to take away ALL the multiple symptoms of FM. It really, really irritates me when friends ask how I am doing, and why am I not one one of those drugs in the commercials? Thank you for the concern, but I have done 8 months of my own reading and research, seen now 11 doctors and spent well over $5,000 and *wow* if only my doctors and I watched TV, it would be that easy to fix all my problems! Why didn't *I* think of that??!! Unfortunately, it is so much more complex than popping a pill and feeling better. In fact, from the research I have read, these new drugs (Cymbalta, Savella, Lyrica) only work well in 20% of FM patients!! They have actually found the old school, classic anti-depressant triycyclic class of drugs (that came out in the 1950s - Amitriptyline, Nortriptyline) have a much better success rate with fibromyalgia patients. However, all theses drugs, new and old, can have some heavy side effects, and for most sufferers, what drug and how much they take can be a decision between how much/if any relief versus the side effects and if they are worth it. Cymbalta has been out for a while, I tried it a while back from migraines to no avail. In fact it took my body on such a rollercoaster ride for over a month with side effects. I was so miserable, it wasn't a cure, it was like I was trading one ailment for a bunch of horrible side effects! NO thanks! I know that it is very, very hard for people who do not suffer from FM to understand it and how it can effect someone. They see you smiling and they think oh, you re feeling better, are you all better now? No! Its chronic! Behind every smile is pain and exhaustion, but I have to come to terms with this and that it is here FOREVER - so yes, at times I try to push aside everything and enjoy life. Yes, one day I can do something and the next day maybe I cannot. I don't understand it, doctors don't understand it. And what makes it worse, is that each FM sufferer seems to have their unique combination, degree and cycle of symptoms and triggers. This is why it is so hard to treat! And while it also seems nice that you know someone else with fibromyalgia, you think "oh I understand what you are going through because Sally Jo has it too and I know what she goes through" -- please do NOT assume that I am like Sally Jo! We can be similar, yes, but as I have said, each sufferer is different in how severe and what symptoms, and even what secondary conditions they suffer. So yes, some things Sally Jo can do and I cannot, and vice versa. Again, I don't understand it and doctors don't understand it, but all I ask is that you understand that I am dealing with it and always will, and just be there for me when I need a friend. A friend to go to lunch with, go to the movies, talk with and laugh with. I'm sorry if this has come off in angry mode a touch, but it really hurts me when someone thinks that the solution is simple, when I have read and researched, and resourced many, many medical professionals, over 8 months. Trust me, this is something I have had a hard time accepting that I have, and thus I have done LOTS of research on it to 1. verify I have it and 2. find every single option I have, big or small, to help relieve my symptoms! Again thank you for being there for me, as a friend :)