Still Battling On: What Is Helping My Fibromyalgia Symptoms This December

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Fibromyalgia is tough

Although this blog is for parents battling a chronic illness, like fibromyalgia, sometimes I find it rather a difficult topic to talk about. Unfortunately, as many of us know with this illness, we just get on with it especially when we are a parent. I often have no head space to think about it and it just doesn’t factor into my daily decisions. Perhaps it should be, but it just doesn’t and it has always been this way. I just push on with it! However, there are certain ways of helping my fibromyalgia and the fatigue that accompanies this that I try to do on a daily basis. Therefore, in today’s blog post, I will be giving you a round up of the top ways on what is helping my fibromyalgia this December.

(please do remember all advice given here is not medical advice and should be taken as suggestions not instructions. Please do run any new regimes or medications past your doctor.)

Helping my fibromyalgia: The things I do

1. Electrolytes:

Electrolytes are something I came across recently when doing some research on how to manage the debilitating fatigue I often feel with fibromyalgia. As my husband works full time and my boy has dropped all naps now, I don’t have the opportunity to nap during the day. So I needed to find other ways of helping my fibromyalgia fatigue. Electrolytes is one suggestion that came up. The theory behind this is that dehydration can actually make our fibromyalgia worse and I for one am constantly dehydrated; especially with breastfeeding my little boy. They are relatively cheap to buy and I have set up a Subscribe and Save order on Amazon so they are delivered straight to me. It is just a tablet I dissolve into a drink. I find taking it first thing seems to help with my fatigue levels and gives me a boost. I have only been taking these for 3 weeks so I do not have enough data to show whether they are really helping my fibromyalgia so far but I am willing to try anything!

2. Breastfeeding multivitamins

Now, unfortunately, these are on the rather pricey side especially the Pregnacare brand I get, but again I set up a Subscribe and Save order on Amazon for them to come regularly. It involves taking 2 multivitamin tablets a day alongside an Omega 3 tablet a day to help my vitamin and mineral levels but also to help baby, too so a win win situation. Hopefully, these will be having an all round benefit on my health as well as directly helping my fibromyalgia but again, I have only been taking these for 3 weeks. In the postpartum period, I took these regularly but in the end I just ended up taking a cheaper, general multivitamin. However, I do believe the benefits of these outweighs the cost.

3. How water bottle

I know I have raved about my hot water bottle in the past, but this is still something I stand by and is the main tool in my arsenal of tools! I use it for bed and for the rare occasions I do get a nap and it helps my lower back pain. I have also invested in a U shaped hot water bottle that fits round my neck and shoulders, too which is also helping my fibromyalgia immensely with the tension I carry here.

4. Magnesium

I have also read about the many benefits of Magnesium for those of us with fibromyalgia. One article I read “suggested that magnesium might have a beneficial effect in patients with fibromyalgia.” Again, very early days on this one for me as I have only been taking it for 1 week but I am hoping to see some results. I have tried topical spray magnesium before but I often forget to apply it and it becomes a waste.

5. Resting at home more

As avid fans of my blog know, Charlie and I are always racing about at 100 miles an hour and I like to be out of the house often. However, in counselling, I have been really working on this as I am starting to notice it be a problem. Sometimes it’s my anxiety that forces me to go out, or my dislike of silences, or my intolerance to uncertainty and sometimes I don’t know what it is. Just lately, though I’ve been getting better at staying in of an afternoon with Charlie; playing, reading, watching TV and generally relaxing with no pressure to go anywhere and you know what I’ve been enjoying it. I am able to focus a little bit more energy on house work as well which is helpful for my husband who has to take on a lot of this responsibility and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. It has been great seeing the effects on Charlie of staying in as well as he is so happy playing with his toys. Pacing has always been the main tool pushed on me for helping my fibromyalgia and maybe I am finally starting to understand it.

Mummy the Fibro Warrior Top Tip:

1. Try and spend a little bit of time at home resting each week. If this is difficult for you, try an hour, half an hour,2 hours or whatever works for you and gradually build it up. If we don’t choose a rest day, our body will choose for us.

If there is one takeaway I’d like you all to remember today is that fibromyalgia is complex, complicated and completely different for everyone but by sharing the ways we try and manage our condition we can hopefully help just one person manage this infuriating illness. I need you to know you are doing the best you can, your child/children love you just as you are and you are Mummy the Fibro Warrior!

(Please visit my Etsy store at www.mummythefibrowarrior.etsy.com )

Until next time,

x

p.s. Please do share the ways in which you manage your fibromyalgia? Are there any other pearls of wisdom you could share especially if you have been dealing with the illness longer than me? Please do comment below!