I can't believe how much has changed since the beginning - stick with me here on this recap of my journey so far.......

Hello everyone!  I hope this update finds you well!!

So, the summer break is coming to a screeching halt as school in my area starts back up on Monday.  That means I go back to work too.  BOO on that but hey, it's my job to be there for the kids and that's what I'll be doing!  Seems like the summer break just went way too fast this year!  We were busy with my surgery, volleyball, and trips so that's most likely why it seems to have gone so fast - tooo fast!  I guess though when you are living life instead of watching it pass you by it does go quickly!

This update is going to be chalk full of a lot of great things so I hope you will continue to read. For starters, I saw my Endocrinologist last week for blood work - I am axiously awaiting those results.  My thryoid levels, Vitamin D and calcium levels.  I'm expecting that they will be great based on how I'm feeling.

As I sit here today, I realized that about 5 years ago exactly is when I first became the sickest I've ever been.  As you know, I've been pretty sick at times in my life but this time, my life was changed in so many ways.  Initially the changes were not good and the things that were to come over the course of the following year were the worst of the worst for me and my family.  Some of the things that happened, I've never talked about because it was/is too personal and painful.......we were at our worst financially, emotionally, and for me, physically with illness that seemed like it would never get better.  Early on, before being diagnosed with FMS, I honestly in my heart thought I was going to die.  That alone is the scariest feeling to have.  Initially, all I could do was lay in bed, sleep and go to Dr's to try to figure out what in the world was going on.

My first diagnosis was bronchitis, then pnemonia......then everything else started happening....migraines, vertigo, terrible pain in my legs and hips that was 100% unexplainable.  I saw neurologists, had cat scans, MRI, blood draws, chiropractic care - you name it and NOTHING seemed to help and there were no results from the tests.  I began to feel like I was crazy and I think the Dr's thought so too!  None of them could make sense of what I was going through.  I finally recovered from the bronchial issues but had a migraine and vertigo for 3 months straight - the meds the neurologist put me on helped some but the migraine would come back.  The vertigo was just there constantly and the pain in my legs and hips never let up.  I could barely walk by myself let alone get out of bed and function.  It was the literal rock bottom, the worst.  That December of 2010 I finally ended up seeing a Rheumatologist who was the one to diagnose me with FMS.  I was SO relieved to have an answer even though I had no clue what it would mean for me.  Initially he put me on a medication, I can't recall what but it didn't help so I stopped taking it.  We decided at my next visit to just increase the antidepressant that I was on - Effexor - as that was also known to help with FMS pain at higher doses.  So he doubled it and within a day the pain in my legs vanished!!  PROGRESS!  Slowly over the course of another few months I was feeling well enough to be out of bed and sit in "my chair"......that is when I started doing mad research on Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue (which I had been diagnosed with many years prior) Lupus (which I suspected I had due to the tell-tell rash I always got on my face), Lyme disease which was suspect due to all my symptoms and life history of illness........and I started my blog to document all the stuff I was finding.  I began to think that if I could help even just one other person that it would all be worth it because NOBODY deserves to live like I was......and I now know that way too many people do!

So that is, in a nutshell, the beginning of my story and journey.  I started looking for natural ways to heal myself - I knew that I couldn't live like that forever and I had a family to take care of.  I was in search of natural ways to heal myself because I knew I couldn't be on pain killers and medications for the rest of my life.  I started juicing, was contemplating going to the Mayo Clinic for help but ended up finding a Dr about an hour away that dealt primarily in FMS.  I began seeing him 1x a week for a year. My treatment included acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care.  One of the first things he did was a blood panel that looked at all my micronutrients - come to find out I was depleted of all my antioxidants so I immediately started on them all - I must of been taking 10-15 different supplements - it's all in previous blog posts with pictures....seriously crazy stuff.  After going 1x a week for 6 months I started to feel somewhat normal again - seriously relieved that I could drive and function on a somewhat normal level but I still didn't feel "normal" whatever that was.

After a year of driving an hour each way to see this Dr I found a local chiropractor who specialized in chronic illness, specifically FMS so I started to see him.  Now that I was feeling so much better I felt that change could happen.  He did a follow up on the blood work and this time all my levels were good.  So I was able to stop taking the multiple pills and go down to about 5 different vitamins.  I saw him weekly as well to keep my spinal health in good condition and had him do acupuncture on me as needed.

Slowly I was feeling better......my business that I had for 12 years leading up to this was gone...since I couldn't work to save my life......other things we had were gone......but my life was moving on.  Don't get me wrong, I was still having pain, fatigued beyond belief but I was out of bed and functioning to the best of my ability.  The pain wasn't constant but would pop up randomly and was definitely there.

Now let's fast forward a bit.  My thyroid started to become a huge issue - as you know that's dealt with now.  I'm finally feeling like things are looking up all around.  When I exercise I get pain in my hips, my hips are always the problem for me.  But with regular chiropractic care that seems to help a lot.

People who are like me and have multiple issues with health have to deal with things one at a time.....there is so much going on that we just have to pick one thing to handle......it's taken me 5 yrs to get a handle on everything and the last thing to deal with is my weight......since getting sick 5 yrs ago I've gained 65 lbs - SIXTY FIVE POUNDS! That's 13# a year, which doesn't seem like a lot but year after year it added up to where I am now.  I think my thyroid, laying in bed, having no energy, eating on the go and fast food is definitely to blame......my lack of motivation to do anything about it and lack of knowing what to do about it too.  It seemed like such a huge feat to try to lose it all,,,,,,,,and I didn't know where to even begin.  Getting to the gym was not an option because I had no energy....none.  Cooking healthy didn't happen, no energy.  Ordering pizza, getting subway or other fast food was easy, so that's pretty much what we did.

Everything started to change when a friend of mine introduced me to a company that is focused on lifestyle, weight loss and fitness.  I researched this until I was blue in the face as I didn't want another scam or gimmick to deal with.  I didn't want to waste money or time that I didn't have.  I've tried it all, believe me.  There are so many out there, so many that don't work that I wasn't about to take a chance on another failure.  Honestly, it's taken me a couple years to really get on board with this and already in just a couple months I'm down 14 lbs, feeling the best I've felt in as long as I can remember, my skin issues are clearing up and I have energy - yes energy!  I want to scream from the mountain tops.  Here is a little video that tells you about it.

If this video doesn't play you can also view it here - just click on the first video

I'll be 100% honest - I've done the challenge before and lost some weight then as well (2013) but I was still dealing with stress and my illnesses and didn't really give my lifestyle, ways of looking at food and eating the attention I should have.  I wasn't eating right and wasn't sticking to a better eating plan.  Because of that, I gained back what I lost initially.  As would anyone who goes back to eating out, fast food, sugars and all the processed crap that is in our face everyday.  It takes some effort to eat better than that.  It's a lifestyle change and that takes time and energy I just didn't have to give.  Be honest, it's easier to stay the same and not work on betting ourselves UNTIL we hit that point that we know something has to be done.  I'm on TWO medications for the rest of my life - Synthroid for my thryoid and Effexor because #1 the withdrawls to come off it will send me in a downward spiral I'm not willing to endure and #2 it was the only thing that helped my hip pain.  Not bad for someone who has all the chronic illnesses I have.

I've been on this challenge now for 2 months and I'm down 14 lbs and 10 inches overall.  I'm feeling the best I've felt in as long as I can remember.  I have energy to do things with my kids and husband.....I'm starting to work out at the gym - WHAT?  Yes, working out at the gym! This is a new me that I'm loving!  At the rate I'm going, I expect I'll be down to the size I was 5 yrs ago PRE-ILLNESS by mid 2016, maybe even sooner.  And it doesn't end there!  Once I'm down to where I began I plan on maintaining that with my new lifestyle and living the life I only dreamed I could!  Do I avoid going out to eat, NO....Do I get to enjoy treats time to time - absolutely!  Is it hard?  Sometimes but those are the times that I have to be strong and remember WHY I'm doing what I am.

Remember, I have always said that I started this blog and share information in hopes that I can help someone which is ultimately exactly what I want to do.  If I can help someone change their life and circumstances then I have succeeded in my mission.  This is no different.  I know there are people out there who have struggled with weight gain and an inability to lose it for whatever reason.  Just like me, it seems that no matter what you do, aside from starving yourself, you can't lose the weight.  I've always said if I even look at a piece of cake I gain 10lbs - because that is how I really felt. I struggled to control my cravings and didn't even try to have will power when faced with an opportunity to have cookies, cake, ice cream, pizza, burgers - all the good stuff that isn't so good in the long run.  Right now, I can walk away from it all - because I'm seeing how much better I feel without it.  Even without going to the gym I'm losing the weight just from changing the way I'm eating.

If you are reading this now - congratulations for sticking it out!  I know this is long but I have so much to say - I could continue but this is enough for now.  I'm just so excited about where this long journey has taken me and where it will continue to take me.  I'm sure I will have set backs, we all do...I'm not perfect and the healing process is long - we all have to remember how long it took us to get where we are and allow the time to change ourselves inside and out.

I encourage anyone out there to reach out to me to talk if you want some guidance - that's why I'm here - my mission is to help anyone and everyone who is ready for change in their life, suffering from illness and ready to do something and make changes.  I've taken the journey and am still on it....

Until next time - to your health - xoxoxoxo

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

Still here......still in the thick of things

Hello friends and followers! I'm still here, I haven't been much into posting an update since my last one, although there is plenty to update....... Health status is pretty much status quo although I can say the withdrawl from the Effexor is gone and I'm settling in with the new medication, Savella - although now that I look back I think the Effexor was the best medication to be on for both depression, mood and pain - as I was getting off the Effexor I noticed a considerable increase in leg pain especially at my hips after getting up from sitting down....my ankles and my knees as well - this pain wasn't really noticable while I was on the Effexor, it was only after I stopped that medication that I really noticed it and had trouble with walking most of the time.

SO what to do what to do - one reason I went off the effexor was due to it's high cost - and my son going on medications I just couldn't afford both - so I did what any parent would do and sacraficed my own health needs for that of my son's well being.

It's been about 2 months now since the medication switch and I'm just not sure what to do. The Savella has started to work as the pain in my hips, knees and ankles isn't as prominent as it was while the going through the switch over, however I definitely notice a difference in my general mood. I have an appointment today with my Dr so we'll see what he thinks. I would really hate to go through yet another change in the meds, it's so hard to go through that and I really just want to be at the point of being able to resume my regular activities with little to no pain and discomfort. Wishful thinking? Maybe.......probably.....

Research, Research and more research!

I've been looking into different options and places both nationally and locally to go to in order to get some good treatment and on the right path - locally there are a few places that treat Fibromyalgia, one of them being The Fibromyalgia and Pain Centers - however upon looking at them I was told they are not taking on new patients - so moving on from there I found the Colorado Fibromyalgia Center in Lafayette, CO - I have an appointment with them for the end of the month.

I'm also looking into getting in at the Rochester, MN Mayo Clinic for an exam and treatment. I think if anyone is going to get me on the right path to wellness they can. They have a specialized Fibromyalgia Clinic there that only takes patients on referral, so that's one thing I'll be asking for today at my appointment. I'm really hoping they can not only get me in ASAP but also give me a great head to toe exam and either confirm the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia/CFS or find anything else that could be going on and causing me all the symptoms I've been dealing with and continue to have. So keeping fingers crossed. If I can get into the Mayo Clinic then I'll be canceling my appointment at the Lafayette clinic for now. I'm sure at some point I'll have to take up care here locally as I don't foresee me being able to travel to MN every few weeks for follow up appointments. It's a starting point anyway.

If you have ever done any kind of research into this disease you will know that there is all kinds of information to be found, most of which will say that the cause is unknown and that there are many potential types of ways to treat it, some conventional, some not so conventional. Because of this, it can be tricky to find providers who treat the disease. Research has come a long way on it and is continuing to carve a trail for the treatment of Fibromyalgia. In fact, I spoke to the medical director at the University of Colorado Executive Health Program yesterday as I was looking at going to see them - he pretty much reminded me that this disease is SO hard to treat and said that his particular program was not for me. This sent me for a full day of tears..........only because it was just another brick wall put up in front of me, and I'm so tired....so stressed.....so sick of being sick! I couldn't help it and I just broke down. My poor kids and husband are enduring a lot with all of this as well. My son sat with me at one point last night and said to me "Mom, you are so strong, and you can beat this thing........I know it's hard but you just have to believe! Believe that you will get through this and get better and you will! Remember, there are people out there who beat cancer, because they believe they will" - what an amazing child - he's only 9 and has such a grasp on life.

One thing that is of a concern too is that there are other diseases that cam mimick Fibromyalgia and CFS - such as Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Lyme Disease, Candida infections...and the list goes on - I'm at the point that I just don't know if I truly have fibromyalgia/CFS or if something else is lurking in my body that just hasn't been discovered as of yet. Being that I am in a constant stage of feeling sick...not so much pain at this point, just like I'm coming down with the flu all the time........feeling crappy day in and day out definitely takes a toll on you....if you have this terrible disease then you know exactly what I'm referring to...if not...you just have to take my word for it and know that when I say I don't feel good....I REALLY DON'T...........

Even though you might see me out at the pool with the kids, out at the grocery store......out at a fabulous fun Slumber Party for a client.....you might see me at the Park or walking my dogs with my husband.........you might see me and think to yourself "well she doesn't look like she is suffering".....but inside and all the time I am just not what I use to be. I honestly feel, deep down, that what I have could very well be Fibromyalgia - but I also feel there is more to it than JUST that......and that's what I'm on the search for. I am on a mission and will go to the end of the world to find out what is going on and how to fix it. This is a fight that I'm not giving up on...although there are many times I just want to say "I GIVE UP" and go crawl under a rock.....it's easy for people to forget...I see it happen all the time....I've lost some friends because I can't be out and about with them....I decline going out with them because I just don't have the energy to do it. I hate it...I hate this disease....I HATE THAT I'VE BEEN PUT TO THIS CHALLENGE! But regardless of how I feel about it, it is what it is and I have to find a way to get through it, learn to live with it and find a way to be here for my family for many more years.

One more thing - I had a few people ask me if I've been juicing and sadly the answer is no - if you recall, my juicer broke, I ordered a replacement part which I still don't have as the company said it's on backorder - so I stopped juicing for that reason and the fact that I didn't notice it making much of a real difference overall.......I may take it back up if I ever get this replacement part to my juicer.....the replacement juicer I purchased wasn't cutting it so between all that, I just kind of fell off the juicing wagon.....I might just have to get back on it though - it takes a lot of will power to keep at it that I'm just not sure I have in me right now with everything else going on......plus, if I'll be traveling then that will cut right back into my efforts - so I might hold off until I get a handle on what the immediate future holds for me......

I'll post an update later after my appointment - hopefully it'll be a great update with a referral to the Mayo Clinic!