Best Things I Did for My FM...

Greetings,

So, I have been adding to my blog with reasonable regularity of late. I have decided that this is just not good because I keep losing subjects in the meantime. I have thus decided that I am going to treat this blog the same way that my Fibromyalgia treats me, with complete random. No more regular blogs I am just going to write when I feel the urge or find a subject. To this, my first one is actually a little back "on track" with the original idea of the blog.

So the post is called, Best Things I Did for My FM. Most importantly these are things that I did rather than things that other people did for me. If you have this condition you need to help yourself. No one is going to do it all for you. Sure, people can help you along the way, but the real stuff you have to do yourself. This requires motivation, and it requires courage.

Ironically this is actually a list of things but I will be focusing on a couple in this one. Most obviously, I found a doctor who actually believed me that there was actually something wrong. He actually looked at my medical history and what I actually did and devised a medical plan of how to deal with things from his end. What is even better this changes depending on my needs at the time, thus the program is flexible. So find a doctor you can talk to, explain what is going on, explain what you need, and work it from there. If the doctor is good he will take in what you say and things will improve.

For some people their little eyes and ears are going to burn when I explain what another thing that I did was as it is something I have been harping on for ages. I took up fencing. This happened because I was interested in it, not because I was told to exercise. In fact I actually took up fencing before any of my symptoms actually arrived. The point here is that fencing is something which keeps you active. The simple work of fencing is even movement based. What you need to do is something aerobic.

Now, I am not saying that you should take up running marathons or something equally silly. I am saying that you should find some sort of exercise which is easy to start with. A regular walk around the block or similar is a good start. If you can find a sport which will keep you interested and motivated that is your second step. The third step is sticking with it, even when things get hard.

I will admit there are sometimes when it is easy to pike going to training or even doing stuff at training. It is at these times that you need the most motivation and courage. You need a reason to be there a goal to set yourself. Make them small to start with and allow them to get bigger as you go along. Find some good reason to go along and make an effort, even when things seem hard. This is the reason why you need something that you are interested in and not something that you are taking up because you "have to" or "need to". This is one of those times where a "want" to is more important than a "need". Needs are things that are important to us for survival, you need to eat, you need to sleep and so forth. Wants are things that make things better for you, you want a new game, you want chocolate. In this particular case you have to "want" to do the activity, not because you have to but because you want to. This want has to overpower things that may stop you from doing this thing. It needs to get past your depression, it needs to get past your pain, it needs to be more important and a reason to go and do it.

There are times when we all need down-time, this is something that I will admit. But when your down-time seems to be more important than actually doing something, this is the beginning of a slippery slope downward. There are levels of pain you should not fight past. My biggest problem is confusing it with the ones which I can, and doing stuff when I really probably shouldn't. There is a great feeling of accomplishment at the end, but boy do I pay for it. Recognise the signs and don't let your body fool you.

A lot of people think that when they are diagnosed with FM things are really in the hands of other people, doctors and the like. Well it is NOT. It is still in your hands and you can make the difference. It is your life after all it is up to you to do something with it.

Cheers,

...Henry.