What is Fibro Feelings?

First of all, let me apologize for not getting an informative post up on Thursday. Between headaches and fatigue my brain just wasn’t working well enough to write a coherent post. I tried to get one up on Friday or Saturday, but I still had most of the same issues plus an added bad IBS reaction to something that I ate.

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While cleaning out some of my old paperwork in preparations for the baby I stumbled across a folder of fibromyalgia info. It was from almost a decade ago when I’d gone to a “Living Well with Fibromyalgia” conference put on by my then-local Arthritis Foundation branch. Sadly, that branch has since been closed. I remember it was a long day, going from 9am-4pm, but it contained a wealth of information. I knew I was happy it was offered in my area, but looking back I realize how lucky I am that it was. A heard doctors speak about the psychological aspects of fibromyalgia, the basics and current research on fibromyalgia, suggested exercises, medicines and a panel discussion on tools for having a wellness lifestyle. There were lots of vendors there as well.

The biggest excitement for me was getting to meet and hear Dr. Muhammad Yunus speak. He was so instrumental in early fibromyalgia research that I knew I was hearing info hot off the press. It was there that I first learned about alpha-wave intrusion during sleep and saw pictures of the altered brain images of those with fibromyalgia. I also found out about a local 8-week fibromyalgia study using warm water circuit exercise. I later joined the study and it was my first hands-on experience with fibromyalgia research.

When psychology was discussed they had a good tip of only making a list of five things maximum that you wanted or needed to get done in a day. That way finishing your list is more likely and you’ll have less feelings of guilt for not finishing so many tasks. The panel group mentioned the 5 Ps – Play, Push (Pray if you do), Persevere, Plan and Prioritize. It was here that I learned about the fibromyalgia self help class that local Arthritis Foundation branch offered. It was taught by someone with fibromyalgia and worked through many parts of the book The Arthritis Foundation’s Guide to Good Living with Fibromyalgia. I later took the course and The Helpful Hubby (boyfriend at the time) came along with me, to every class! That was just one of the signs that he was a keeper!

Do you remember the first time you got fibromyalgia information that stood out to you?

Persevere is my favorite of the five Ps*

*Image Credit: from www.flickr.com by Earls37a.