Fibro and Free

[becky16]

Hi,

Like all of you I have Fibro too. I've had it since 1993. Smoking helped me to get my mind off the Fibro pain. It helped me to concentrate. Then, I got news that I had developed R.A. and Osteoarthritis. So, my chronic pain got worse. I hadn't slept a whole night for 14 years. I never went into the ream sleep. I finally decided to quit 1 year, 3 months, two weeks, and 7 days ago. I went through nights of less than two hours of sleep for months. Now, finally, I am able to sleep most of the night. I have more energy and even though I'm limited in doing exercises, I walk a mile with my pooch every day. It may not seem like much, but for me it is an accomplishment....a great success as is my quit. Life isn't easy with Fibro ((( pain and fog))) but I count my blessings that I'm still vertical every day. I hope you all are still free and are coping well with your Fibro.

[becky16]

You have to tell yourself that YOU WILL GET THIS MONKEY OFF YOUR BACK!! A Positive attitude and thinking are most imperative for you to succeed. Remember in spite of inhaling all those poisonous toxins over the years you are still alive....there but for the Grace of God Go I.... I'm glad that some of that will help you and I think it's great that you are joining a quit clinic. It's a good idea to have the medical profession involved with your quit. Please keep me updated with you. I may not get back to you right away, since now starts my busy season with my artwork. I have shows and a lot of orders. I'll try and get on here once a day, at least. What kind of work do you do? I'm not trying to be nosy, I was just wondering how much physical work you do at your job. You can overdue it with Fibro.

[lynn-g]

I work in a garden center in the green house area. My Dr. loves the physical for me, not so happy with the heat and cold issues. However it is working out pretty good as my employer is great and very understanding, and I am blessed to do something I love. The fibro I watch closley and they know when I back off the physical it is for a reason. I have found that for some reason Gator Aid every day keeps the worst of the fibro at bay.

[lynn-g]

Becky, how did you handle the pain and fog when you quit? I am just beginning and am trying to prepare for the road ahead. I too run to cigs when the pain, fog, or fatigue hit. They do help in [in my mind at least]. They are my life crutch and have been for to many years to count. The issues of pain and fatigue will be my biggest challenges. There is nowhere to go to get away from that.

[becky16]

Hi Lynn,
It wasn't easy I can tell you that. First of all, I went on the patch. While it is true that you have to eventually get off the nicotine anyway, the patch helped me because it didn't leave me feeling quite so spacey and foggy as other people. It gave may body a time to adjust slowly to the quitting. My Dr. even had me be on the patch longer than most because of this. Then my Dr. gave me Trazadone to help me sleep. It's not a Narcotic, so it's not like you can get addicted to it and it helped me sleep through the night. I seldom use it anymore. The pain is a whole different thing. No matter what I do, I will always have pain. During the day, I can control it better than at night. My chiropractor explained it to me this way. He said during the day you have enough stimulation from your eyes to keep your mind off the pain. But, at night when it is dark, your eyes have no stimulation, so the pain appears to be worse. It really isn't though. I have found that the more exercise I do, the less pain I have. I started out walking short distances 10-15 minutes, three to four times a day. Then I expanded the length of time gradually and lessened the number of times. I didn't walk fast at first....only that I walked. Now, I walk between a mile and 2 miles a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. Take up Tai Chi....it is very beneficial to the body. I also took up painting (self-taught), to get my mind off the pain.....now it is my mental therapy too...LOL! Finding something to change your focus from your pain will help with your quitting too. As far as the fatigue goes, I've learned that will always be a challenge so I've adjusted to allow myself to sleep when I need to, even if it's a few hours here and a few hours there. Part of what will help the pain is having a good bed, BTW. I got a waterbed with heat which really helped me. But, now with the Osteoarthritis I have to find something else. I'd love to get an air bed, I think that would be the best, but can't afford it. So, I have another bed with a feather mattress and a foam mattress on it. It works fairly well, if I put a heating pad in it before I get in it!! The heat seems to be the answer in helping the Fibro pain. I did find too, that if you go to www.meditainment.com you can learn meditation which is not only great to help you with pain, but quitting smoking as well. Since you have gone through a divorce recently you probably have a lot of stress. You need to get rid of that since stress makes the pain worse. The meditation will help that. I don't know if I have helped you or not since everyone's body does not work the same. I can only hope that it does. You need to be committed to this and not allow anyone or anything take your power away. You won't feel well in the beginning....drink plenty of OJ to keep your blood sugar level up. It goes down when you quit. This is not easy to do for us....but it can be done if you want it badly enough. Post a note on your mirror where you can read it often....SMOKING IS NOT AN OPTION!! If you do this before you quit, it may become automatic in your mind when you quit. If you have any other questions I'll try and help as much as I can, but I'm not an expert. Have you talked to your Dr. about quitting? It would be a good idea because your Dr. can help you too. Sorry, I went on so long....let me know how you are doing. I'm here for you. HUGGGS!!!

[lynn-g]

Becky thanks so much for the reply. I too have osteo and am saving up for an air bed. Your suggestions for keeping my mind off pain are great. My job is very physical and I generally do well during the work day, but when I get home it really hits and that is my worst time for cig craving. I am going to start the quit clinic at our local hospital. For $50 they monitor your health while quiting and supply any meds that are right for you. I will by the grace of GOD get this monkey off my back!

[becky16]

That is interesting......I never heard of Gator Aid helping. Maybe we are missing some electrolytes too that the Gator Aid replaces.....ummmmmm. I'll have to try it. I think it's great that you have an employer that understands! You are very fortunate. My experience has been the opposite. I'm glad you have something that you really enjoy. Hey thanks for the info!!