Hi guys,

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia this past November, after over a year of trying to recover from a car accident (I was hit while crossing a crosswalk).

Before I was hit, I had been a fairly regular member of this site, which helped me develop my love for strength training. I had gotten as low as 168 lbs and 27% body fat, though at the time of the accident I had gone up to 182 lbs thanks to stress and less time and energy to train (my first year of training was spent living at my parents place, unemployed and with time on my hands. I then moved from my small town to Toronto, on my own).

Unfortunately, I was unable to train after my accident. Between a lack of training and the stress of legal action, poverty, horrible roommate situations, near homelessness, and being too exhausted and/or pained to cook at home, I lost the precious muscle mass I worked so hard for, and gained most of the weight I had lost back.

I'm working now, and have been doing so for about 6 months. Unfortunately, because I have to stay awake at my office job all day, as well as long enough to do my essential single-girl errands and chores, I don't get the extra sleep I need (fibro deprives people of a certain level of sleep in their cycle... I forget which one). My condition causes me to be continually uncomfortable, 24/7: I have two different kinds of chairs (one is a 'kneeling chair') to shift pressure back and forth to different areas of my body, because anything that puts pressure on my sensitive points results in a burning ache that becomes more intolerable over time... especially around the hips, back of my pelvis, and tailbone area.

I'm having a hard time getting back on the wagon. I keep trying to get to the gym during the week, but I'm usually too exhausted after work to contemplate it, even though low impact cardio on the treadmill actually relieves a lot of pain. I do better on the weekends. I usually wind up binging on high carb, high fat fast food and/or sweets in the evening, because I have difficulty motivating myself to get into the kitchen and cook things that won't satisfy my sugar cravings. My medications, so I'm told, may also be causing me to crave more. At the very least, I've been curbing my food intake enough that my weight is fairly stable... fluctuating between about 228 and 232 lbs for the past couple of months.

I know a lot of what I have to do to beat my food addictions (sugar and caffeine, especially), thanks to these forums, and have bought a food/training journal where I can physically write things down. I'm also going to try and stick with Fitday, once more. So the food end of things is something I can definitely find help on, I've mostly recounted that side of things just to give people here a complete story of my struggle with this condition.

What I need help on is this: I know that it's technically possible to get fit again, although most stories I see of people with this condition are of those who aren't concerned with having an above-average level of fitness, or those who have resigned themselves to being overweight or obese. Plugging 'fibromyalgia' into the search in these forums doesn't turn up much, either.

I'm reaching out, here, to see if anyone knows of fitness buffs or pros out there who are keeping fit, in spite of this condition. Photos, true stories, their websites, etc... I'm trying to find some inspiration, some hope that I can still get my body back on track and pursue the PT and Kinesiology education I was once so enthusiastic about. Can anyone please help?

Hi Human Clay-- good to see you back!

Check out the letter from Sharon here. (http://www.strongwomen.com/newsletter/0004.htm) I find that sort of thing pretty inspirational myself.

I have allergies that mean I have to eat *my* way and no one else's, so progress for me has meant something a bit different than it has for a lot of other people. In my opinion, starting off slowly and doing it *your* way is the way to go so that you don't get frustrated. Find the fun and make your own rules, just so long as you keep it safe and injury free.

Some suggestions for starting over, if you don't mind, from someone who's started over a couple times;): at first, don't worry about how much you lift, or how often. Start with bodyweight exercises-- they're cheaper and you can do them anywhere, pretty much! Sometimes getting to a gym is just too much of a pain in the ass for many reasons, and then it's good to just do anything, in my opinion. Have a few dumbbells at home if you have a place to put them. Don't strive for perfection first thing out the door-- just aim for some action.

I believe you can do what you're setting out to do, and I think a PT who has the experience of getting there with fibromyalgia would be an invaluable asset.

Here's another article you might want to read. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KGB/is_6_3/ai_98641163)

Have you ever heard of Celiac? There is a strong connection between people who are diagnosed with Fibro as a last resort diagnosis (You tested negative for everything else, but obviously something is wrong, so we will call it Fibro)

I was dx with IBS in 1997, fibromyalgia in 2001, Hashimoto's in 2007. After talking to my doctor, we figured out that my problem is with Wheat protien. I know longer consider myself as having fibro because I only have symptoms when I eat wheat, barley or rye. My symptoms were typical-IBS, extremely sore muscles, very tender pressure points, bone aches, headaches, brain fog, total lack of coordination (I was always dropping thing), and always tired and slept terrible.

In 2002, I could not walk up a flight of stairs without my dh's help. Most of the time we took the elevator because he was scared I would fall-I was that weak. I went gluten free in 2007. Now I play 2 soccer games a week, just completed a half marathon in under 2 hours and feel refreshed the majority of the time.

Feel free to message me if you want more info sources.

Kat.

Butterflyer: thank you so much for the links! Sharon's letter gives me more hope, especially, given that she made it to the point of trying for her PT certification.

zkat: I've heard of Celiac disease, though I never considered it. I think it's pretty doubtful that that's the case, though, as my pain and other symptoms have been constant since the day of my car accident, and are clearly related to that event.

That said, it may be worth a shot to try an elimination diet of some kind, especially given that certain foods are suspected of at least aggravating fibromyalgia symptoms. Cutting out wheat would certainly force me to avoid most of the foods that have caused me to gain (and keep) the weight!

My suggestion is-If you need a test result, do not start an elimination diet before going to the doctor. A lot of people are satisfied with dietary response. There are people who have false negatives, but show excellent diatary response. The thing about Celiac, it usually needs a trigger and wheat. The trigger can be anything simple like the flu or a cold or major, like a serious car accident. Once it is triggered, there is no cure, other than diet.

www.celiac.com has some really good info.

Kat.

I am currently doing a hypnotherapy course so that I can be a qualified hypnotherapist. I know from my course and from my reading that hypnotherapy can be very effective at treating some physical conditions which may have a mental basis. For example, Migranes, Eczema and IBS have all been treated successfully with hypnotherapy.

According to Wikipedia:
Studies have shown that stress is a significant precipitating factor in the development of fibromyalgia,[32] and that PTSD is linked with fibromyalgia.[33][34] The Amital study found that 49% of PTSD patients fulfilled the criteria for FMS, compared with none of the controls.

Related to this is the idea that fibromyalgia may be a psychosomatic illness. One hypothesis of this nature has been popularized in the books of Dr. John E. Sarno, as a hypothetical condition to which Dr. Sarno has given the name of "tension myositis syndrome". Dr. Sarno's hypothesis claims that in many cases chronic pain is the result of physical changes in the body caused by a person's subconscious as a strategy for distracting from painful or dangerous unconscious emotions, such as repressed anger. Dr. Sarno believes that this can be treated through a program of education and attitude change (and in some cases, psychotherapy) which stops the brain from using that chronic pain strategy.[35][36][37]

In the case you have described I would recommend seeing a good hypnotherapist so see if your experiences of the car accident are to blame. If not, then at the very least hypnotherapy can help with pain control.

I really believe in Holistic medicine. I try to stay away from the Western medicine unless it is absolutely necessary. I saw in your post that you have a sweet tooth. Have you ever considered a Candida infestation? New studies have linked Fibromyalga and CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) to such an infection. Were you put on any antibiotics after you car accident? (Or ever, for that matter) Antibiotics destroy your bodies gut flora (Healthy bacteria) and allow yeast to flourish. When you eat sweets this 'feeds' the yeast allowing them to grow and take over. It does not allow your healthy bacteria to re- colonize on its' own. It needs some help. There is a probiotic called Threelac. (You can go to your local health store and purchase a cleanse and a probiotic as well.) Of course speak with your doctor first, but I think you should consider this as a real possibility.

Good Luck!;)

A condition like yours is really difficult to assess in person and impossible over the internet. I just wanted to post to encourage you. It is great that you are still trying!! As you know you'll probably have to put in more effort and work harder but don't give up. I'd say try to make slow positive changes that you can stick with.

As you can see already there are 101+ theories as to what causes problems like yours. This is probably because FM is one diagnosis for multiple etiologies. TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants) seem to be the most effective drug that I have seen for FM. (Although the drug category is called an antidepressant it seems to help people even if they aren't depressed but there can be significant side effects). Hopefully you can find something that works for you and stick to it. I am generally not a big advocate of holistic medicine but in cases where traditional medicine doesn't offer much if you find something that works for you then go for it (as long as it isn't dangerous of course).

Most of all :gl: