I just triple checked my calendar, nine weeks! How did this happen? In the beginning I was counting days and time seemed to slow down. Now I passed the 2 month mark without even knowing it.
I've been feeling great lately! As long as I rest (a seated activity) for a little bit in the afternoon, I've been able to keep up with life and even add in a few things I haven't been able to do. It really feels like life is starting to get back to normal, I'm so excited to see if I will be back to 100% in another few months.
A few updates:
1. I stumbled across a second book about using guai to treat fibromyalgia as well as several other problems, it's called "The Guaifenesin Guide: For Treating Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome" by Greggory K. Penniston. I haven't read it and don't know anything about it, but thought I'd pass it along.
2. I just visited my rheumatologist who was thrilled to see me looking like a new person and quite proud of herself-until she found out that I'm not taking any of the pills she prescribed for me. She was still very nice and professional, but I could clearly see she was doubting the treatment. She also said she had never heard of it which was very surprising, as when I researched the topic it was the only method that seemed to work for most people.
3. I've been doing a LOT of gardening and yard work the past few weeks and have a suspicion that I might be blocking the guai sometimes from the salicylates in the plants. I'm planning on doubling my dose to hopefully account for any blocking times I might have, but when I tried this two weeks ago it was still too painful to do so. Not as painful as it was the first few weeks on the guaifenisen, but more pain than I wanted to tolerate at this point.
4. All of my food intolerances are gone. My illness had progressed to the point that refined sugar and dairy both made me extremely sick. I eliminated both from my diet for several months and tried to rework them back in slowly without any luck, I couldn't even tolerate a few grams of sugar without intense pain. Now I've been able to reintroduce everything successfully, although I still choose to put honey in my coffee and cook with it when I can in place of sugar since it is much healthier. But even when I've indulged my sweet tooth with a rich dessert or eaten a substantial amount of dairy, I've experienced no pain from it.
5. Sometimes my husband or I will wonder if the guai is still working for me since we saw such drastic changes early on and there are no visible changes now day-to-day. But then I remember where I was just two months ago and I remind myself that there is no way that it couldn't be working, progress is just slower now.
I am so thankful that I finally found a doctor who diagnosed me correctly so that I could begin this treatment, without that I would never have started the gaui. God is good! I'm also grateful there even was a solution, since I know for many chronic illnesses there isn't. I know guai doesn't work for everyone and not everyone will have the motivation to stick with it, but for anyone battling fibro it really is worth a shot (what do you have to lose?) and I hope by sharing my experience someone will consider giving it a try.
No comments:
Post a Comment