All in 5 days - what a crazy week to say the least!

Well last week was quite eventful in my world!  Settle in and let me tell you all about the craziness!

First, in case you missed my update earlier in the week, I was introduced to an absolutely fabulous product that helps people manage pain - of course I had to try it and I'm amazed at the results, no.....I'm in love, absolutely in love, with this product.  It's a product you can get from a company called FGXpress - the product is "Powerstrips".  These thin adhesive strips are nothing less than a gift sent from above.  You can check it out here, or send me a message with any questions you might have.  I've been using these on my chronic pain and have been enjoying NO PAIN since!  Check it out!  Seriously, do yourself a favor and check it out!

So as I'm enjoying my new pain free living I went along with my week and on Thursday my world was turned upside down.  It was a snowy morning - typically in March and April we get lots of heavy wet snow between our bouts of warm spring weather.  Thursday was no different than years past, heavy wet snow falling.  I took my kids to school and noticed as we were driving that the snow was really heavy and wet - really slick in places on the roads.  I dropped my kids off at school and headed home.  On my way down the road to my house I had the foresight to put the van into a lower gear as the road was slick and I was getting ready to go down a pretty precarious hill that turns to the right towards the end.  Before I knew it....whoosh.....I caught some slush and my van took off sliding sideways......I couldn't get it back in line or pull out of the slide and ended up plowing down a pole with a reflector on it and barreling into a large boulder right off the road - it was loud, it was scary......my van bounced from one large boulder to another with a thud and boom......when everything stopped I was fine for the most part, my coffee had flown down to the floor, many things that were in the center console were now at my feet.........I was shocked I'm sure........my airbags did not deploy so I got out the car to survey the damage - not looking good at all.......I got back in and called my husband and lost it - I started crying uncontrollably.  I've never been in an accident and I was scared and didn't know what to do!

My husband assured me he would be on his way.  Meanwhile, a neighbor in the area came running down to me to check to see if anyone was hurt and to inform me she had called the fire department - she said that I hit a boulder and moved it several feet from where it originally was so she was sure someone was hurt - thankfully that wasn't the case.  I've included some pictures of the damage.  It was about an hour of action from the time of the crash, fire truck, police, neighbors - and me......in tears and hysterical.

By the time my husband arrived it was just me and the van.  He got me home and we called the insurance and set up a tow truck to come haul the van away. We also made an appointment to see the chiropractor that afternoon as I was already starting to feel the pain in my neck and back from the accident.  I was concerned how my body would react to being jolted around....with fibro you just never know.  We still don't know what the story is for the van - we kind of think it could be totaled as it's only worth about $5000 at this point (before the wreck)

As of now I'm seeing my chiropractor every other day to work on my body and healing.  I'm pretty sore in my lower back, ribs and shoulders/neck.  I keep getting more sore so it's a good thing I was able to get into see him.  As soon as my inflammation goes down I will begin putting the pain strips on my pain to help with that.  Until then I need to just use ice and biofreeze to help.  It's really more stiff and sore than it is painful.

Saturday was my birthday.  Considering everything it was a good day.  I got my hair cut and the family took me out to a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. That is my favorite place - mostly because they have the best cheesecake ever!  I had my favorite dish, Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and sun dried tomatoes and for dessert I took home a red velvet cheesecake slice - it was DELICIOUS!

Today I went back to work after having a 2wk Spring break.   It was tough to get up and going this morning as I woke up sick.  Of course I didn't get sick all the time I was off work, had to get sick the day we go back.  I managed to get my butt out of the house and stay at work all day even though all I wanted to do was come home and crawl in bed.  Now I'm just on the couch, my entire body aches and it's all I can do to not go crawl into bed now - I think I will be doing that soon though.

So that's about it for this update - quite a bit to digest.  The past 5 days have been a little on the crazy side - probably why I'm getting sick now.  It always seems that if it's not one thing it's definitely always another!

Until next time, to your health!  And NO PAIN!

Gerri

Unbelievable!!! You have GOT TO READ this!

I'm going to get right to the point - I've stumbled on a product that is nothing short of amazing!  If you are like me, you have heard this before, been approached by people who claim to have what you need to make you feel better - only to be disappointed when it didn't work - well, from one chronic pain sufferer to another - I am not pulling your chain and I would NEVER vouch for something that didn't work on me!

If you are like me and live with pain all the time day in and day out then you have got to continue reading this and be prepared to share with everyone you love and know that lives with pain.

I for one don't take medication to relieve my pain.  I try all natural ways to control it and most of the time am just dealing with the pain as I go through my daily life.  I visit my chiropractor about every 2 wks to keep my body in line and working good.  I have found that these regular visits help more than anything else.

Long story short, a friend of mine told me about this product that relieves pain. She explained that it's all natural and there is nothing like it anywhere.  Like everything else my initial thought is "yeah right" - so she sent me a sample of this product to try.  It's basically a patch you put on where you experience pain.  You can check it out here!

For me, at the moment, my daily pain is located in my shoulder joint.  It's a deep aching pain that just won't give.  So I slapped this patch on my shoulder as instructed.  She said to let her know how it feels in the morning.  So I went about my business for the rest of the night and went to bed wearing this patch.  I didn't notice anything spectacular that night after applying the patch.  She had told me that some people may experience warmth where it's placed  but I did not have this sensation.

When I woke in the morning I moved my shoulder expecting to have my normal aches and pain - much to my surprise there was NO PAIN.....I moved my arm in all directions to try to find the pain and at the very most I could feel where the pain should be but it was so minor I wasn't sure if it was really even pain.

The patch is worn for 24-48 hrs with most of the relief happening around the 24 hr point.   This was just about 12 hrs of wearing the patch overnight and I was pain free for the first time in a good year!  You read this right - PAIN FREE!  In my world, that isn't something that you hear or get to experience!

AHHHHH, PAIN FREE....yes it's true!  A real product, an ALL NATURAL product that REALLY takes away pain where ever you have it!  This patch is brand new and only available through individuals who sell it.  I can tell you right now, I jumped at the opportunity to get my hands on more of these patches!  I have friends all over who will appreciate the pain free living that is awaiting them in this patch!  I want to make this a readily available product to anyone and everyone I know who suffers from chronic pain!  I know first hand how getting even a little relief from chronic pain is - to have something that is able to keep the pain away - PRICELESS!

For about $80/mo you get 15 patches - those patches can be cut to any size so you can actually make them last a full month or two if you cut them in half and wear one for 48 hrs at a time.

$80 might seem like a high price but whats worse?  Paying that much or more for a chemical RX to treat your pain or paying that much for an all natural pain remedy?  I would say the later of the two.  I look at it this way, I pay my chiropractor $45 a visit, per week, to relieve my pain.  I can take my $80 and purchase a package of patches and see my chiropractor every other week to keep everything in alignment.....no more money than I already spend and getting full time pain relief - WINNING!

If you are interested in more information about this amazing discovery please don't hesitate to contact me - I'm telling you it's going to be a game changer for people who live with Chronic Pain - it's new and powerful!

With excitement I look forward to hearing from those of you who are serious about living pain free!

For the first 6 people who contact me, I will send you a free sample of this amazing product - I believe in it 100%!

To your health (and living pain free!)

Gerri

I'm still here!! So much going on, so much happening and the best part of it all..........

I'm feeling GREAT!!

I have a new position at the school I work at that has me very busy - I'm in the literacy department and just love it!

Outside of that, I'm still maintaining my weekly chiropractic appointments to maintain myself and to keep my body in optimal health.  I firmly believe that with the weekly adjustments my body has put my FMS down and has helped me stay feeling good.  I still get minor aches and pains in the same areas (hips and shoulders) but nothing even close to what I use to experience.  When I feel overly tired, I go to bed.  I've learned through all of this that listening to my body is the most important thing I can do.  And when I feel tired, I make sure to handle it instead of ignoring it.

Over the past 3 months I did a weight loss challenge with 3 of my friends using a program called Body By Vi (Vi is short for Visalus).  It's a 90 day challenge and it's simply, amazing.  Since getting sick back in 2010 I have gained 55+lbs - I finally got sick of the weight, sick of putting on my clothes that were too tight and finally just had it when I had to purchase a size that I swore I would never be in again (after losing weight in the past)  Depression was setting in again and I knew I had to take a stand before things got worse.

The 90 day challenge consists of replacing 2 meals a day with a healthy protein shake meal replacement.  It's packed with vitamins, has less than a gram sugar and tastes like cake mix - NO JOKE!  A lot of people say "once you start eating again you are going to gain the weight back" to which I have to laugh.  Don't think I'm not eating - in fact, I'm eating quite well.  I have a shake for breakfast, and every two hours another small meal consisting of a protein and vegetable - I eat all day to the point that I'm stuffed when it's time to eat again!  It's not a "fad diet" - it's a way of life - re-training yourself to keep your body fueled so it burns fat while maintaining lean muscle mass.  It takes a little getting use to but now, it's just the way I do things - I eat small meals every 2 hours.  Think portions too - portion control is where it's at.   Once you get use to measuring out your portions you get pretty good at knowing how much you can have at any given time.  I think a huge part of America's problem with Obesity is the fact that our portions are double and triple what they should be all the time - that means we are taking in double and triple the calories we should be on a daily basis - which in turn is going to be weight gain.  It's pretty simple really.

Exercise is suggested but not something you have to do too strenuously or even at all if you don't want to.  As we all know, exercise is another thing that those of us with FMS need to do so it should be incorporated anyway.

So after 3 months I am down 26 lbs and over 27 inches!!  I feel great, am wearing my clothes much better and am actually going to be entering to win the team challenge on a national level!!  Between myself and my team mates we have lost over 200lbs combined!  It's inspiring really.

Currently I'm doing another challenge to drop the rest of the weight I gained.  It's really just a way of life, eating clean and making smart choices.  Through all the struggles over the past few years, my weight shouldn't be a reason I'm feeling sick. I've slowly come around full circle and can honestly say that I'm feeling like myself again - feeling healthy, happy and full of life again!  I never thought I would be able to say that!  I really thought my life would be full of pain and suffering and never again be the same.  It's been 3 yrs and while the road has been a tough one, it's taught me so much about myself and others.

I hope my journey so far has made an impact on others and I hope my continued journey will as well - I am living proof that you can go from literally wanting to die to enjoying life again!  Please, if you have anyone in your life who is like me, share my blog with them, encourage them to follow me,  encourage them to NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER GIVE IN and do what it takes to find the right mixture that will help them get back into the game of life!  Remember back when I first started this journey to find my health?  I was a research freak - researching and researching until I was blue in the face - but it was all worth it - I have found what works for me, what makes me feel good and what keeps me going - you too can find it if you haven't yet - just keep on looking!  I promise it's out there!

To your health and until next time!

It's a New Year with tons of hope for the future

Well here we are! 2011!! WOW - I'm sure we have all made some "resolutions" - I try not to make "resolutions" as that tends to only lead me to fail - however I do try to make new promises to myself - it's just how I like to look at it and I do feel that with a promise to myself I am more apt to keep it and not let myself down. I know, it's the same thing just worded differently :)

In my last update I had mentioned the pending sleep study - well after I posted that things changed. We had a snow storm come through the area and due to the amount of snow I wasn't able to go. Being that my insurance deductible has now started over I am going to try to work towards finding a way to combat my chronic fatigue using exercise, weight loss and healthy eating choices. We'll see how far I get with that but for now I am confident there are other ways to deal with it other than using that apnea machine and/or medications.

I am currently dealing with some excruciating pain in my right shoulder/arm/hand every morning that is really very frustrating. I have been waking up for several months now with my fingers (index, middle and ring finger mainly) tingling and numb. Some days my pinky is included, some days the thumb but always those three fingers. More recently over the past few weeks a new pain has joined the party. I think it's a nerve issue as I can feel the pain go all the way up my arm into my shoulder where I do have quite a large knot (or two or three or four) but one in particular that when you rub it you can feel it roll - it's quite the party conversation piece. I do everything from get up against the wall with a tennis ball and roll it over the spot on my shoulder (around the curve in the scapula) to massage it, rotate my arm, scream, cry, roll around the floor, stretch...you name it - anything I can try to do to ease the pain. It use to go away relatively quickly after I would get up and rub that spot but now it is taking a good hour up to 2 hrs for it to stop being tingly, numb and painful. I think a few chiropractor trips are in order to get things straightened out and possibly release whatever is causing this - of course it won't completely "fix" it but will at least give me some relief for the time being. Continual work on it is what is going to be needed and I guess as I can afford to pay those professionals who can help me I will (Chiropractor and massage)

I continue to juice with my new machine and have come up with some really good mixtures that even my kids are enjoying. I'm thrilled about this as they rarely eat vegetables or fruit for that matter so getting these things into their bodies makes me one happy mom. Glenn is also enjoying the fruit/vegetable combinations so it's a great thing that we have brought into our home. The cost of purchasing so many fruits/vegetables will be worth the benefits it gives us all over time.

Here is a really good juice recipe that even the pickiest of children will drink down willingly - I only know because my son is one of them and LOVED this one! We'll name it "Child's Choice"

1 orange
1 beet slice (about a quarter chunk of a med size beet, peeled)
2 red pears
2 large golden delicious green apples
50 red grapes
1/2 med size lemon
4 small/medium carrots

Push all through the juicer and enjoy! You can't taste the beet in this recipe as the sweet fruits will cover it up - beets should be used sparingly in any recipe as they tend to not be liked by many people but are very good for you.

Today is a great day - kids are back in school and it's time to get life back on track after the 2 wk holiday break. It's been a bit slow going this morning with the 20 degree weather, pain and all but it's time to pick up and get the day under way - lots to do including taking down the Christmas tree, putting away the ornaments, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry - the list is so big, hopefully it'll all get done today......wish me luck!