Fibro And Fabulous ™

When I was young, I remember wanting to have a houseplant in my bedroom. My Mother and Grandmother were happy to oblige my request as long as I was the one watering it. I remember feeling so excited and proud that I was old enough to be able to tend to this little ivy I picked out for my room. As the weeks went by, I tried to give it everything it needed, but it wasn't fairing very well in my room because of the lack of sun. I had a north facing window and that can be a death sentence to plants that require moderate to full sun. So, my Mother placed the little plant near a better window in the family room and it lasted for a bit of time there until some white flies got a hold of it. I was devastated and swore off gardening for years after that incident. Many years went by and a friend of mine tried to persuade me into taking up indoor gardening again once I was settled in an apartment with full sun. I told her of my sad ordeal and how I never wanted to go back to gardeni

Today's topic is about having a support system in family, friends, and even co-workers. This subject is very near and dear to me because it was the hardest thing for me to do. I'm very independent to a fault because I was used to being the one to help everyone else out. I was not used to being the one who asked for help. There were days when I became very discouraged at what I couldn't do anymore. I tried very hard not to express any feelings of discouragement, but at those times, my close friends, co-workers, and family would somehow find a way to pry them out of me. They were all very patient with me and frankly, I'm not sure I'd be the person I am today if they were not so persistent with me. See, the hard part for me was asking someone, like my husband for instance, to do something like open up a jar of pickles if I had no strength in my hands. I felt that if I was the one who wanted the pickles, I should be the one opening up the jar in the first place.

There are two studies out there stating that Fibro sufferers could gain relief from their symptoms by changing their diet to mostly raw vegetables, or in other words, going vegan. One study is from Finland and the other is from North Carolina and both had their subjects eat a diet rich in raw vegetables and low on salt for about three months. These two studies are wonderful news because it shows that Fibromyalgia can be relieved naturally. I've always believed this, but I'm not a vegan. Don't get me wrong-- fruits and veggies are very important in the diet, but I also believe that the other food groups are just as important for optimal health. I try to incorporate a balance of every food group in all of my meals and I eat healthy snacks in between. But even though I eat meat, you may wonder if I've added or cut anything out of my diet to help to ease the pain. And I have, I've cut out what my oldest daughter and I call fake food . Fake food is food that ha