Category: Lifestyle

Living with fibromyalgia, symptoms, how to cope, diet and exercise.

5 Tips for Gastro Pain Relief

Bloating, gas pain, and cramps are just a few of the symptoms that lead you to seek fast relief.

One of the common complaints that goes along with fibromyalgia is gastrointestinal problems. Bloating, gas pain, diarrhea, and cramps are just a few of the symptoms. IBS and food intolerances are some of the causes. But even if you don’t have fibromyalgia, a little holiday over-indulgence can leave you feeling this way. And when those symptoms start in, you are looking for fast relief! Continue reading “5 Tips for Gastro Pain Relief”

Jolly

Another holiday season finds me with little energy. This year it is because of an extended trip out of town to visit my ailing parents. But I could just as easily feel this way if I were at home trying to shop and bake and attend holiday parties.

So please enjoy this post from last year about how I stay jolly and avoid flares during the holidays. And perhaps check out my other past posts on Traveling with a Chronic Illness and Tech Tools for Chronic Illness.

Cheers!

Cynthia

Cynthia, My Inspired Fibro Life's avatarMy Inspired Fibro Life

Sometimes it is hard to feel Jolly at this time of year, with so many things cluttering your to-do list and social calendar! The holiday baking, shopping, gift-giving, and socializing can be overwhelming at times for anyone. That sense can be compounded for someone dealing with chronic pain or conditions like fibromyalgia (read 4 Tips for Avoiding a Holiday Flare).

So I have to admit I am struggling this year. Work and volunteer commitments are monopolizing my time to the point I can’t find time or energy to shop for presents or wrap the ones I do have. Each year seems harder – I struggle each year with what to buy, who to buy for because the burden to shop for everyone (except me) falls on me. Oh, and Christmas cards? Last year was the first year I have never sent them. This year isn’t looking so good either.

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Diagnosing Chronic Pain

“Doctors don’t know what causes fibromyalgia, but it most likely involves a variety of factors working together.”

Here are some ugly truths: Women and men experience pain differently. Doctors are less likely to treat women’s pain. Health issues that disproportionately affect women are not studied as much as those affecting men. It can take women multiple visits and sometimes years to diagnose their medical issues and chronic illnesses. And when painful conditions like Endometriosis and Fibromyalgia don’t have a simple test for diagnosing, those visits and months and years can prove both emotionally and physically draining when you’re already in pain and still having to fight for a diagnosis.

Continue reading “Diagnosing Chronic Pain”

Diagnosing Chronic Shoulder Pain

Practicing medicine is just that, practicing. Sometimes you have to fight for a diagnosis.

This post is long overdue, but I just couldn’t write it until I felt I had a positive update. As someone who lives with chronic pain from neck and back issues, alongside my fatigue and pain from fibromyalgia, it’s sometimes hard to differentiate a new pain from the same old aches and pains.

“Sometimes the curiosity can kill the soul but leave the pain.” ~Alice in Wonderland

Continue reading “Diagnosing Chronic Shoulder Pain”