Fibromyalgia: Feeling the Funk

lifewithfibro.blogspot.com

When the funk hits..
And you feel like nothing is worth it..
Remember..its just a funk..
The beat will stop at some point..
And life will go back to normal..

Through out my journey with fibromyalgia, I have learned to deal with the "hills and valleys". There are times I could go for months leading a very normal pain-free life then the funk hits...and you feel like you are now in a valley. The funk can be triggered by an illness flare or extreme mental stress. 

Feeling the funk..
It starts with a serious fatigue episode.
Sometimes it starts with serious migraines or deep muscle pain.
Then the brain fog and memory burden (when its an uphill task to remember simple things).
Then the episodes of pain.. On and off and all over.
It can last anything from a week to a month straight on. 

Sometimes it's confusing, with bouts of flu-like symptoms, fevers, chills, high white blood cell count as if i have an infection... 

Gastric issues, nausea, lack of appetite... Just being weird and sickly at the same time yet there is nothing visibly wrong.

The funk is usually unpredictable but it can be anticipated. After a highly stressful episode like an illness or an inter-relational conflict, you can anticipate some funk. The sooner you start dealing with it, the sooner it will lift. Do not rush the process though. Let it run its course as you employ the coping mechanisms listed below.

Coping in the funk.. 

°Eat well..
Most times during a fibro funk, I experience severe appetite loss.
This can cause you to be extremely fatigued and experience weakness.
This makes everything worse.. The pain and brain fog seem to tripple when my appetite is down.
I have a food journal and set reminders on my phone to alert me every couple of hours to have a meal/snack. (supplements come in handy... A meal replacement shake helps keep the nutrition balanced).

°Nutritional supplements
I have learned to stay on top of my nutritional supplements game especially during a flare "funk".
~B vitamins help in stabilizing the neuro pathways and this has a co-relation with sensitivity to pain.
- Magnesium is very handy in helping cope with sensitivity to pain.
- Zinc helps boost immunity so you are less susceptible to opportunistic infections, especially if eating is a problem.
- Protein shakes/mass gain/meal replacement shakes help in maintaining your nutritional levels even if for some reason you cannot eat. A tasty milkshake or smoothie or even ice popsicle will help provide nutritional comfort food when you need it.

°Take time off and relax..
Despite the tight schedules we all have, take some time off and relax.
A fibro flare "funk" can cause you to feel more burdened in life, especially if you have a lot going on.
- Relax even if for just 15 minutes a day. Listen to uplifting material and avoid depressive music or literature. Fill your mind with positivity and light.

-. Relaxation techniques help with coping with the funk mentally.
- If you exercise you can reduce the intensity or give it a break. This reduces the physical burden your body has to carry.
-Take advantage of your free time and relax. Switch off your phone and just zone off. 

°Manage the pain..
- You can see your GP for short term pain therapies that you can use to manage the pain.
- If possible get a deep tissue massage to help relax the muscles.
- Whenever you can, get a good sleep.
Its normal to experience insomnia during a funk. Before bed, a good self massage or stretch can help induce sleep. Avoid sleeping pills - unless you haven't slept for 2 days or more. 

°You are not depressed..
A fibro funk can leave someone feeling emotionally tired or feeling the weight of the world.
Remember, you are not depressed. This is a physical issue that will go away with proper management.
Your physician may prescribe medicine to help combat depression but remember..fibromyalgia and the ailments that affect your neuro-pathways are closely related.
You are not dealing with depression.
You are dealing with a flare up. It will definately cause more stress. Remember the relaxation techniques and rest as much as possible.

°You are not lazy..

Also, you are not lazy. A week off from normal routine should not make you feel bad or guilty about not being your best..you are already doing the best you can.

Most of all, stick to routine as much as possible. Go to work even if its half day. Go to class. Perform your chores even if you are much slower than usual. 

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°You need to keep on moving..

A sedentary lifestyle makes everything.worse. Keep moving. You are much closer to recovery when you stick to your plan..even if you took a day off. Make up for it the next day.
The moment you toss your plans out of the window you will have a harder time picking up the pieces once the funk lifts.You will end up with a form of atrophy.. And that, will make your days worse..

(Atrophy; (of body tissue or an organ) waste away, typically due to the degeneration of cells, or become vestigial during evolution. Or, the gradual decline in effectiveness or vigor due to underuse or neglect)

More reads:

※  Chronic fatigue syndrome
※  INFLAMMATION: A SMALL PEEK AT WHAT MAKES US FEEL PAIN
※  About Fibromyalgia: What on earth is FIBROMYALGIA?
※  Mental illness: what is it?
※  Depression: Is it really genetic?
※   Sleep deprivation

Goals and Passions...

PASSION - strong and barely controllable emotion.

From Sir Richard Branson to our own Suzie Wokabi.. the message is clear; if we work with passion we will excel and go far. 

But this being reality; rarely do we end up in careers or situations where our passions are, so we just apply diligence to get through...

In life, nothing is set in stone though. I have seen people literally turn their lives around by "taking risks" and "taking leaps of faith"...

What we do not realise is that these people have had a passion for whatever it was they jumped into; and set a goal on getting there...

SETTING GOALS...

Setting goals can literally turn your life around!!!
This is because; when you set a goal, you literally program your psyche into achieving it.
♦Whether you achieve it or not is usually not a factor; How to get there is the main focus and in the effort to "get there" they discover endless opportunities they would have otherwise missed..

I read Suzie's story; she loved make-up but had a degree in a totally unrelated field. She however got a chance to join her sister in New York and intentionally ended up working in various fashion businesses out of curiosity. It is there that she found her footing and settled on make-up, worked on finding the right products for her skin; then the African woman's skin and now... she runs a beauty empire with her husband..

This story is very similar to other "we-made-it" stories; set a goal according to your passion and the journey will start from there. Suzie's journey has led her to management, marketing, networking, events... name it.
She has been thrust into different pools where her strengths have come in handy yet it all started in one spot; Her passion.

I do not encourage wanton behaviour though; just don't wake up, quit your job and "follow your dream,,,,,"

....USE YOUR HEAD....

Look at where you are now; what resources you have and how they can help you achieve your goals. Like I said, its a JOURNEY!!

Look at how your current job has equipped you; financially or otherwise.

How many people have you met that can help you in your journey? For example, have you spoken to your boss and asked how s/he manages to balance work and family? (Do you even have a relationship with your boss??)

How many new skills have you developed, and which bad habits have you had to drop?

※In my quest to achieve my goals; I had lots of bad habits to drop.
On one occasion I painfully regretted NOT USING MY HEAD.... learned my lesson. big time!!!

I also learned to drop my pride and raise my standards; sometimes criticism was the best counsel I got; and what I thought was good advice landed me in pools of hot water!!!

The biggest lesson of all was to realize who was useful in my life and who was important.

♠Whoever made you feel used is quite useful in your life.. you learned a skill, and if they made good use of you, you can also make good use of them too...

♥Whoever made time to appreciate you and hold you is important in your life... That is a person you can genuinely reconnect with and share your joys and triumphs and celebrate with. These are the people you can call your family even though they may not be related to you..

♣Never let important people go..

♣Never erase the useful people from your phone book either...

♣Never let anyone but you take initiative for your goals; but all help is welcome. Just don't wait for someone to get things going.

♣Never look down on anyone through out your journey; those you think incapable of anything may be the ones to get you out of a hole...

※Each day is a gift and tomorrow is never assured. Use today wisely. ※

This is Serenity!!

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※ Of Actions and Reactions.
※ "If Today Was Your Last Day" - Nickelback
※ Learn to let go..
※ Of relationship articles: Sow to reap...
※ Self appreciation; The journey towards self reconstruction
※ Love and faith...
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MEDICINES - Brand leaders and Generics, what is the difference?

Originator, Generics and brand names:



Quite often we come across so many different brands of medicine, some we call 'Original brand' which is actually the Originator brand or the brand leader, and the generic, which people often confuse for counterfeit/fake brands (often because they are much cheaper).

These drugs usually differ in so many ways, including shape, colour, fillers (and taste components) as well as branding and packaging.

So what is the 'Originator brand' or a 'Brand Leader' in the pharmaceutical sense? When a pharmaceutical company discovers a certain chemical, it will seek to protect it as intellectual property through patenting. The patent usually lasts an average of 20 years, the 20 years inclusive of when the chemical was discovered all through its launch as medication for human use. Roughly, 15 out of the 20 years will be used for development and research, while the remainder of the time will be used to launch and push the drug in the market where it dominates until the patent expires. this is where the "Original" concept comes from. Thus, it is recognized as a 'Brand leader '.

Generics are therefore the chemically identical copies of the brand leader. They are NOT fake medicine. They are cheaper though, since the manufacturing company did not have to incur the development and research costs as well as marketing costs when introducing the drug to the market.

There are 3 general types of generic medicine:

Pseudo-generics (a.k.a clone medication): These are identical to the originator brand leader in all aspects, except branding and identifying components e.g colour of tablets, taste etc. Most often, they are manufactured in the same factory
as the brand leader.

Licensed generic: These share the same formula as the originator brand leader, but are manufactured by another manufacturer who has bought the formula from the brand leader, and are licensed to manufacture the drug.

True Generic: This type is manufactured by a company that has formulated its own recipe, but contains the same active ingredient as the brand leader. To qualify for government subsidy, the generic must show that it is therapeutically equivalent to the brand leader (i.e do what the originator brand leader
does to bring about relief). This means that the drug must contain between 80% to 120% of the active ingredient as contained in the brand leader, so as to provide assurance of effectiveness of the generic drug.

There are cases where a small change in the composition of the active ingredient may be harmful to the user, especially when the active ingredient is a strong/potent chemical. This is defined as ' Medically narrow therapeutic window'. It is in such a case where you find that a patient is advised not to
substitute the originator brand leader with a generic drug.

Therefore, don't be afraid of generic medicine, as long as they are licensed and approved, as your pharmacist will assure you.

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