For the estimated 10 million Americans living with fibromyalgia, there is nothing “simple” about it. The daily battle with widespread pain, fatigue, and mental fog can be debilitating. Trying to be a productive person under these conditions is a challenge.
Fibromyalgia sufferers struggle every day coping with this “new” version of their lives. Gone is the independent, productive person you once were. In place is someone left wondering, “How am I going to contribute today?” And it is not simply how am I going to contribute to my job, to my home, and to my family, but how am I going to contribute to my physical and emotional wellbeing?
One of the best ways to begin managing the daily stress and rigors of living with Fibromyalgia is to start simple. Below are 4 simple yet highly effective daily habits to adopt.
1. Drink Plenty of Water
Common Sense? Yes. But this is one of the most important things you can do to help manage your fibromyalgia.
Begin each day with a glass of water. You are naturally dehydrated in the morning. A glass of water will help quench that thirst and also help eliminate the toxins your body has been processing throughout the night.
Continue drinking water throughout the day. A basic guideline for daily water intake is eight 8-ounce glasses, but try to drink more. Water detoxifies your body, which can help your muscle to recover from flare-ups. Water will also:
- Reduce Headaches and Dizziness
- Increase Mental Clarity
- Improve Your Energy
Helpful Hint: Try squeezing fresh lemon in your water for added health benefits. Lemon water has been shown to help with digestive problems, alleviate cold and flu symptoms and can even aide in weight loss.
2. Avoid Toxic Foods and Beverages
Toxic foods are acid forming foods. Studies have shown an acidic diet will interfere with your body’s ability to absorb minerals and nutrients. It will also make a body more susceptible to fatigue and illness. Some of the most common items to avoid are:
- Coffee
- Soda
- Alcohol
- White Sugar
- Salt
- Artificial Sweeteners
- Processed Foods
- Junk/Fast Food
Eating right is one of the best ways to manage fibromyalgia. If you do partake in anything from the list, increase your water intake even more to help flush the toxins from your system more quickly.
Note: There is more and more evidence that gluten-intolerance may be a major contributing factor in many chronic illnesses, including fibromyalgia. I will examine the possibilities more closely in an upcoming post.
3. Move Your Body
Researchers have proven that gentle exercise, such as walking, yoga, or aquatic therapy, may be the most beneficial way to improve Fibromyalgia symptoms. This may seem counterintuitive given the amount of pain everyday movements can cause, but experts believe exercise can actually help break the pain cycle. Here are some of the listed benefits of exercise with fibromyalgia:
- Increased oxygen flow to the muscles, which helps diminish pain and spasms
- Improved quality of sleep, which helps battle daily fatigue and mental fog
- Decreased anxiety and depression, conditions common in people with FM
Start slow. It may not be possible to exercise during a flare-up and that is okay. The key is to gradually and consistently start moving. Start with simple stretches so you can begin to feel the benefits of movement, and from there work up to a more physical workout. You will begin to see improvement in your symptoms and your overall outlook on life.
4. Avoid Self-imposed Guilt
Yes you have fibromyalgia. Yes you have pain and discomfort and a whole host of other issues. You cannot and should not deny this. But do not fall victim to the diagnosis. Get the most you can out of each day and leave the rest for another day.
If your major accomplishment for the day is that you took a shower, cooked dinner, and had a semi-intelligent conversation with your husband – embrace it! Celebrate it! Don’t think about what you did not accomplish. Don’t get bogged down in the endless muck of what you can no longer do. Guilt is self-punishment, and do you not suffer enough without adding to it?
Do not compare your reality now to your pre-fibromyalgia reality. You did not have the pain then that you do now. This is your new reality with all of the very realistic challenges you face daily. It is not your fault, but you are the only one who can make the best of it. Start one day at a time. Start with acceptance, and the need to change, to adapt. Leave the blame and the anger behind and start living your new life. Start simply. Take baby steps to avoid the painful leaps.
nicely put. helpful. living with fibro for over 25 years and only in the last two and a half been getting treatments that really work. i recommend a sleep study for all fibro sufferers because regaining deep and restorative sleep has helped me more than anything else. it’s hard to accept the illness and most of us struggle with this for a long time. it can usually alter one’s self image and value. i find psychotherapy a big help in coping with the disappointments i have all the time of not being the person and having the life i had hoped to have. thanks for the tips. i exercise five days a week with a senior group and enjoy the company and the results. we could use more help in identifying scams. be on the alert for us. thank you.
I am a former bricklayer who used my muscles rather strenuously during my early years
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia a few years ago
Even up to age 60 I was functioning rather normally
These past few years have become sore and painful after rounds of golf, my favorite hobby
I am 73 now and am considering giving up the game, which will be life changing, since most of my friends are golf buddies
Muscle soreness and fatigue follow, even as little as after nine holes, which lasts for up to 5 days afterward
Your web site is helpful, knowing that many other people are in the same situation, and we can all share some of our experiences
Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to put together everything you have on your website. I full-heartedly believe that your four tips are great tips. I actually understand and agree with everything I have read on your website. I wish I could go the prescription free route but I am one of the people that gains great benefits from my medications and unfortunately do not have the ability to take care of myself the way I wish I could. I desperately want to be able to change my diet but it is so hard to find healthy food I can just grab when I’m in a flare-up. I also know I drink too much coffee but it helps me make it through the five hours of a work I must do a day. Any diet suggestions would be extremely helpful. And any suggestions on writing blogs, I just started my own and it is how I found yours and this whole community I didn’t know was out there. Yours has been my favorite and the most informative one I have read so far. Thanks again, MZ
Thanks Morgan. I really appreciate your feedback on my blog. I try very hard to write about relatable topics. I am with you on drinking too much coffee. I have cut back considerably from what I once drank, but I enjoy it so much I just can not give it up completely. So I make an effort to drink more water before and after and it usually helps reduce the side affects I feel from the coffee. It is my little indulgence.
It is really hard to find healthy on-the-go meals, or meals that are easily ready for you when a flare-up occurs. I struggle with this as well, but you have given me an idea for something to research and write about.
I completely respect your decision to take prescription medication. Anything that brings you great benefits should be a part of your maintenance program. I worry when I write about my decision that people will think I am judging them, but I am not. Thanks for coming here and sharing. I look forward to reading your blog. FH
My wife has Fibro and she goes to slimming world and the food they recommend on the diet is all good food and it helps the Fibro.Trev