55 Responses to "But You Look So Good"

This is GREAT!! I love it. I do get this a lot, "but you look so good" and I am always stumped at what to say so I just smile and move on, irritated. Even though I don't look sick, I still am sick and suffer! In an effort to try and live a semi-normal life unfortunately I engage in masking my symptoms, pains, illnesses, trying to remain positive and have a good outlook. I hide it from most everyone, no one knows what I go through on a daily basis. Some of these are gentle reminders for when people think I "look good" and might be "cured."

http://invisibleillnessweek.com/2012/08/14/you-look-so-good/

My 3 favorite are:


- Thanks I wish I felt better
- I'm very good at pretending
- Goo becasue if I looked like I feel I'd scare you to death

Top Five Tips When Facing Fibromyalgia

My Top 5 pieces of advice for helping tackle fibro, for the newly diagnosed as well as the chronic sufferers:

(I know, these sound very simplistic, but these are what gets me through and are the BIGGEST factors in helping me!)

1. 2 Books: FibroWhyalgia & How To Be Sick -- they helped me get mental clarity, calmness and strength to tackle the fibro (amazon.com)

2.  www.chronicbabe.com - check out the forums, this is the BEST place for constant doses of positivity and support and advice from others with similar issues!

3. Yoga &/or Massage! The gentle stretching is AMAZING for my body, and helps me sleep. Yoga is a gentle form of exercise that really, really helps with my fibro if I keep up with it (twice a week); I also get a massage 1-2 times a month, it has similar effects as yoga, muscle stretching and relaxing, cleansing and revitalizing.

4. Write a Letter for close Friends & Family - Here is a link to one I wrote when I was diagnosed. I sent it to close F&F, I felt like it helped explain things that are complicated to explain, and I wanted them to know what I was going through and that I really needed their support, and this told them exactly what they could do to help me. Please feel free to copy this and make it your own! http://adayinthelifeoffibro.blogspot.com/p/my-letter.html

5. Supplements & Fresh Foods - look into some that can help - Magnesium, Ginger... many others. They take longer to start to work, but are all natural, and have no side effects, and most are available at your local drugstore inexpensive! Keep to all healthy - eating too! No chemicals or additives - fresh fruits, veggies etc!

BONUS: Aim for a balanced life!

Easy Meal Planning on a Budget - gluten free and vegetarian too!

I stumbled upon this site, its a great idea for easy meal planning and healthy cooking weekly (especially for a family.) $49 for a year of dinner recipes and weekly grocery lists, all featuring fresh foods on a budget for a family of 4! They have classic meals, vegetarian and gluten-free! http://www.thefresh20.com/ or try 3 months for $5/month!

Yoga Inspiration for the New Year

Starting 2012 with Yoga

I like this page, its  very good easing into yoga for 2012! I need a kickstart to get BACK to my yoga, and I have found this link PERFECT for helping me do that!

http://yoga.about.com/od/beginningyoga/a/30dayquickstartdayone.htm

Lecture Review - Virasyl for Fibro & CFS

I attended a lecture today entitled "Fatigue, Pain & Chronic Conditions" at Tunies Natural Grocery in Coral Springs, FL. I will be honest, I went into it not expecting much, as I have already done so much of my own research into fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, and since this was connected to a natural grocery store/nutritionist I figured it would be a pretty generic lecture on how to eat better and a prescription of a list of which supplements to take. My pain and suffering of the past 2 years has spurred my initiatives to look into ANY kind of help, so since I got out of work early I thought I'd stop by this lecture.

In speaking with the presenter, Pam Ross (certified Physician's Assistant), before the lecture, during and after, I was astounded. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING hit home with me. When she was talking about "Mrs. Jones came to our clinic with X, Y and Z symptoms" I wanted to suggest that she was not talking about Mrs. Jones, but was actually talking about me, outlining my life! When another attendee mentioned having such foot pain that she feels like she is walking on glass, I wanted to shout out ME TOO! I have never been in a room of people like this that I could relate to SO much. And all of my research that I have done over the past 2 years came up in the lecture, as a nice assurance that I am on the right track here, and Pam is too.

Pam has done her research on fibro, cfs and how viruses may trigger these, and start much more of a chain reaction (IBS, food allergies, chemical sensitivities, migraines, skin rashes etc.) in our body. I was very glad that the focus of the lecture was NOT on selling the product. It was really a great informational lecture on fibro, cfs, chronic pain, nerve damage and their related research. She did present and discuss the product that she has developed, Virasyl. It is a very simple compound of Humic Acid and Shilajit, with nothing else added, which, if you are familiar with supplements, this is nice! So many have so much extra gunk added unecessarily. I will let you read more the Virasyl at her website, which also has the info covered in her lecture, about the virus connection. PLEASE do so, as she has much more of the medical background and info than I do, and I could never paraphrase her findings and research, and I could never explain it as well as she does. But it all MAKES SENSE to me, so it give me HOPE!

She also handed out some info on a protocol to follow (simple, 1 page), in addition to the daily supplements of Virasyl. I was delighted to discover that I am already following about 85% of the "Fibrobusters" protocol (another affirmation that my research has lead me in the right direction, and Pam too!)

I did purchase a bottle/1 months supply and am going to try it. It is all natural and does not interact with anything, so its all natural and worth a try!I will definitly follow up with my results!

Famous Fibromites

Some famous people in history who might have had fibromylagia!

http://www.fibromyalgia-information-relief.com/fibromyalgia-people.html

Good Fibro Overview Article

This is a pretty good overview article, probably a good link to share with friends and family to help them understand it more a bit:

http://www.lifescript.com/Health/Centers/Fibromyalgia/Articles/10_Questions_About_Fibromyalgia_Answered.aspx?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Fibromyalgia

Low-Carb, GLuten Free One Minute Muffin!

Have you heard of the One Minute Muffin?

1/4 cup ground flaxseed [ or almond flour]
1/2 t baking powder
[optional 1/4 t cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, plus 1 t sugar or substitute OR chocolate OR garlic and italian seasonings; also try splash of vanilla]
1 T butter
1 large egg
pinch of salt



Can add berries and or dollop of Cool Whip on top too!

Melt the butter in a small microwave container (I use a 10 ounce pyrex thing). Mix the dry stuff. Crack the egg into the butter and mix with a fork - stir it up really good. Add the dry stuff, blend until well mixed. Put it in the microwave for ONE MINUTE - hence the name.

Eat steaming hot... or let it cool a bit. Good as a sandwich, good with cheese inside, cut in half and toast! It really hits my bready spot.

Play around with ingredients and flavors!

How to Kindly Acknowlege Unsolicted Treatment Advice

http://arthritis.about.com/od/solvingdifficultissues/a/How-To-Handle-Unsolicited-Advice-About-Arthritis.htm?nl=1

Eve though the article references arthritis, this is also very applicable to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and other chronic illnesses. GOOD advice on how to handle unsolicited advice from others on how to treat your condition! I am always caught off guard, so this article gave me some good phrases to use next time.

Venus Williams & Autoimmune?

Article about Venus Williams possibly having Sjogren's (autoimmune):

http://arthritis.about.com/b/2011/08/31/sjogrens-syndrome-knocks-venus-williams-out-of-the-game.htm?nl=1


Here's is an article that theorizes it may have been more than Sjogren's, maybe fibromyalgia also:

http://blogs.prevention.com/prevention-news/2011/09/02/venus-williams-is-it-sjorgens-syndrome-or-something-else/


I think it will be interesting to see how this develops for Venus, as we all know how both Sjogren's and Fibro are life-altering chronic illnesses. It's hard to find celebrities who are open about facing such challenging autoimmune illnesses, and its because of the same fears that we all face - the stigma of not being well enough, not being perfect, not being able to perform to the best of our abilities, looking well but not actually feeling well. As a celebrity, sports figure or famous person they are constantly in the spotlight and are under an even higher level of scrutiny than most. So being open about a chronic, debilitating illness could often be a career killer for them, thus they often feel a better move is to keep it quiet.

In a way I feel it is a shame, as I feel we need more on our side who can use their powers of influence to communicate the seriousness of the conditions and the challenges we face, and to inspire. I am proud that Phil Mickelson has come out and been so open about his struggles with psoriatic arthritis (also autoimmune.) So again, I am very curious to follow Venus Williams and her health, I hope she can also (unfortunately) highlight the struggles of chronic illness and be an inspiration to understand and manage chronic illnesses.

Yoga Helps Fibromyalgia Studies Show

YAY! My only problem is dealing overcoming the chronic fatigue in order to get to the yoga class :) But I love this article, and that more studies are being done to show how good yoga is for us!

http://www.yogabasics.com/connect/yoga-helps-fibromyalgia-patients.html

AND by the way, September is National Yoga Month! Check out the link below to find free classes in your area to give yoga a try! As a fibromite I tell the instructor before class that I have fibro, and sometimes they don't know what that means, but I just tell them that I go at my own pace and if I break into a child's pose for a few not to be offended.

http://www.yogamonth.org/