FibroDiva

Well, I must have been a Fibro Fog because I forgot about the Fibromyalgia/Chronic Pain Sleevers Forum. I've been posting on my blog. Now that the blogs are down, I realize I should have been posting here also. Anyway, I've been busy catching up on Fibro and I recently attended the Fibromyalgia Health and Healing retreat hosted by the Fibromyalgia Coalition International in Excelsior Springs, MO. This was a three day event. Day One of the Fibromyalgia Health and Healing Retreat was interesting. There were motivational speakers who talked about their personal journey to health. There was a music therapist who conducted an active presentation and demonstrated how we can use music as a form of biofeedback. Day Two of the Retreat was just as informative and fun as day one. There was a nutrition workshop that reopened my eyes about the fact that we are truly what we eat. It made me realize that I have been having rebounding affects brought on by my diet. You see, I'm one of those people who will follow a healing diet, eliminate those things that I have sensitivities or allergies to, get to feeling better and then go back to eating what was making me sick and wonder why I'm having flares. This was an ah-ah moment for me. As a Fibromyalgia/Chronic Pain Sleever, I've finally moved into the soft food phase and I've been eating a lot of mashed potatoes. Potatoes belong to a group of food called nightshades. Speakers at the retreat pointed out that nightshades induce pain in people with Fibromyalgia and various forms of arthritis. My group then went off for relaxing massages and dips in the hot tub and dry sauna. Day two ended with a gala dinner and a bidding war over a hot/cold therapy basket during the auction between my sister and me. We got all the way up to $95 dollars and someone else placed the winning bid at $105. It was fun and now I'm just going to have to make myself [and my sister] baskets for Christmas. Day Three of the Retreat was a gourment cooking demonstration. Dr. Gloria Gilbere [Dr. G.] made a nightshade free Gnocchi. This Gnocchi was made of squash and cornmeal. It tasted like a tamale and was a little heavy for me but my sister and and friend Rosemary liked it.

Thanks for the info and recipes. I've had such a hard time with the Protein shakes. Now that I am on soft foods, I've been sprinkling Protein powder on things like scrambled eggs, oatmeal and mash potatoes after they're done cooking and just before I begin to eat. I will try these recipes.

I've decided to reward myself for weight loss by putting a little money away each month. Once I hit goal then I will go all out on clothes shopping

So now that I'm down a size or two, now I can't find Tall Women/Girls clothing.

Thanks Carlotta and Marha761. I'm still beaming. Grandchildren are the best.

So true and insightful.

I understand how you feel. My stress has been my grown children and god-children. I understand that the economy is really bad, even for those with college degrees like my children, but I am so stressed with them constantly asking me for help. I feel guilty if I don't help them because I was once in their shoes but I also worry what helping them will do to my retirement life. Worrying about them causes stomach distress for me.

I have several grandchildren and have not seen most of them since pre-op. Yesterday I saw my 4 year old grandson MJ. Because of my weight loss and physical therapy, my Fibromyalgia pain has decreased so I was able to bend down to his level. MJ screamed, "YaYa you're my height, I can see your eyes". He then hugged me and said, "YaYa I can hug all of you!" :wub:

Thanks ladies. Now I'm not so frustrated. I think I'm going to weight until I hit 199 pounds and then go shopping again. I'm at 214 and I'm looking kinda frail so when I hit 199 I can reassess how much more I might want to lose. Miss Mac, that is so funny. I agree Wendy Williams in not a 6/8. My daughter is a 6/8 and a good wind storm would blow her over. :-)

I'm kind of frustrated. I've lost nearly 50 pounds since starting the pre-op program. Pre-op clothes that fit perfectly are falling off me. Pre-op clothing that was too tight are fitting just right. So yesterday I want shopping for some fall and winter clothing and the only thing that fit was in my pre-op clothing size. :-( What gives. I never really liked shopping at LB but now I'm wondering is there something fishy with their sizing policy.

Hey fellow Chicagoans, does anyone have a suggestion to handle thirst? Pre-op I could drink over 120 ounces of water and other fluids a day. Post-op I'm only get about 16 ounces. I've already been to the ER once for IV fluids. I don't want to have to go back. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2563-fibro-divas-bariatric-blog/ https://www.facebook.com/FibroDiva

All of my docs [cardiologist, pcp, and Fibro/pain] were able to prescribe liquid versions of all my pre-op meds. Ask your doctor if your meds come in liquid form. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2563-fibro-divas-bariatric-blog/ https://www.facebook.com/FibroDiva

this is good to know Sassygirl06. Like you I didn't feel thirsty pre-op. I could drink over 120 ounces of water and other Fluid all day long. Now that I am post-op if I can get in 16 ounces of liquid a day I'm pushing it. It is driving me crazy. I am soooo thirsty all the time and it is hard to talk because my mouth is so dry. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/blog/2563-fibro-divas-bariatric-blog/ https://www.facebook.com/FibroDiva

For more info on Fibromyalgia and chronic pain, and support and encouragement, join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FibroDiva.

Good luck. The dogs should be ok but your 16 month old may be a handful. The first time I watched my 16 month old granddaughter by myself I had a problem and had to call upon her other grandmother to help.

Congratulations. I was sleeved August 1st. I'm down 42 lbs. Still having trouble with nausea and vomiting, but I did get to go to a conference the first week of September and enjoyed myself.

Dr. Jay concluded the workshop with a mention about treatment that I found particularly interesting. Dr. Jay said . . . "Fibromyalgia is more difficult to treat because people with FM commonly have significant hypersensitivity to the prescribed medications. FDA-approved agents to treat fibromyalgia are pregabalin, a gabapentinoid, and two serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, duloxetine and milnacipran. These drugs should be started low and slowly titrated [increased] in patients."

Dr. Jay informed the Master Class students that, Fibromyalgia is currently a clinical entity within the spectrum of central sensitivity syndromes, which includes chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, temporomandibular disorder, restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movements in sleep, idiopathic low back pain, multiple chemical hypersensitivity, headache (tension-type, migraine, mixed), interstitial cystitis, chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis, and myofascial pain syndrome.

In addressing the issue of disability and Fibro, Dr. Jay stated . . . Fibromyalgia has a negative effect on careers, mental health, and personal relationships, with increased work absences, decreased productivity, and higher direct/indirect medical and other costs.

Dr. Jay informed attendees that, the pain of FM can wax and wane, and, intensity may vary, as may physical location of pain. He listed the usual symptoms of Fibromyalgia: fatigue and sleep disorder, tenderness, stiffness, mood disturbances, cognitive difficulties, and admitted that FM can be the cause of multiple areas of functional impairment. Dr. Jay emphasized that physicians and other healthcare providers realize that people with Fibromyalgia often have difficulty climbing stairs, walking two blocks, and with activities of daily living.

Dr. Jay made sure to emphasize several times that people with fibromyalgia must be treated within a medical model. He provided "students" with the new 2010 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) diagnostic criteria for Fibro stating the new ACR diagnostic criteria requires three conditions be met: 1) a widespread pain index (WPI) ≥7 and symptom severity (SS) scale score ≥5 or WPI 3 to 6 and SS scale score ≥9; 2) symptoms have been present at a similar level for at least 3 months; and 3) the patient doe not have a disorder that would otherwise explain the pain. Note: I was just a wee bit disappointed that as a patient, I knew something doctors didn't know. The Fibro Diva Report discussed the new 2010 ACR diagnostic criteria for FM this past summer.

This class was taught by Gary W. Jay, MD, FAAPM, a pain medicine and management consultant from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Jay began the class stating, diagnosis of fibromyalgia is not one of exclusion but based on clinical characteristics, the primary hallmark of which is chronic, widespread pain of 3 months or more in duration.

Fibromyalgia: A Diagnosis of Exclusion No Longer There were several master classes offered for physicians and other attendees at PainWeek 2013 in Las Vegas, NV the first week of September. Fibromyalgia was the first and most anticipated. Obviously PainWeek organizers underestimated the interest in Fibro. At first there was standing room only, eager "students" stood 3 deep along the walls and 6 deep out the door. Finally, workers from the Cosmopolitan Hotel found a new room with enough seating for everyone. Thank God I had my scooter with me, I would never have been able to get from class to class so soon after being sleeved. The next few posts will be about the Fibromyalgia Master Class.

I start physical therapy for my Fibro on Monday September 09. Basically it will be the type of exercises needed to combat the sag. While here at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas for PainWeek 2013 I started exercising in the fitness center. My first day here I did 5 minutes of cycling on the recumbent bike. Now I'lm up to 18 minutes.

Strange thing, I'm zipping down the Vegas strip on my scooter taking in all the sites and guys are yelling, "slow down sweetie". Isn't it too early for the stumbling drunks to be tripping in front of my way?