Fibro Fatigue

 Wow. It's June 2022, and so much has happened with my health in the last five months. Here's an update. About three years ago, I switched to a new naturopathic doctor, and she tested me with the Organic Acids Test (OAT). I was dealing with unexplained weight gain and a swelling belly. The test showed two things: 1. candida overgrowth in the gut, and 2. oxalate overload in the gut. A light dawned for me, that even though I had somewhat controlled the candida with Hydrogen Peroxide drinks on an empty stomach, it wouldn't kill it in the gut, and that's where it was hiding!                 The oxalate issue was something brand new to me. My ND had me try to reduce my oxalate intake in my food, but she was searching online as much as I was for what foods to avoid. I did stop eating spinach and a few other foods for awhile, to no effect. However, I did take oregano drops in a capsule for the candida, and after a few weeks my weight and gut-gas issues greatly improved. I went

It is such a challenge to sleep with burning feet. With the need to keep them uncovered comes the problem of keeping the rest of me warm enough to sleep. I have tried many ridiculous-looking arrangements, with limited results. I even had my ankles in cardboard or foam "stocks" to protect my body from the fan blowing on my feet. It worked only a little bit. I finally gave up on that. The best fix is using Lyrica to drug me through the night--which makes me dizzy, and when severe causes nausea, and then I'm really incapacitated. And when I don't sleep, my muscle fatigue and cramping and fibro symptoms escalate. Last night my husband scolded me for soaking my feet in ice water before bedtime. "Are you keeping track of how long you are soaking in water? Are there ice cubes in there? Are you getting addicted to ice again?" I held my tongue; he was just trying to help; I said, "I know." It's so hard to know where to draw the line. I still have the

So last November I had a heavy metals test done and found I was at 12 times normal levels of lead. How and where did i get exposed? Probably from the first house we bought that we repainted inside and out twenty years ago--when I got sick, and have been ever since. I am chelating the lead out with IV and oral chelators. It has been nearly six months, and I'm still waiting for results. My feet are my hardest trial, but I suffer pain all over. My stomach gets crampy, my diaphragmatic muscles aaaache, my left arm and back hurts. Still, I lift it all up to Christ, who suffered along with me. I still get out while it's cool in the mornings and inspect the garden, putzing around and planning for the future. We had several trees cut down by the road crews this week, and I am jazzed about converting that stretch of land in berry bushes and nice fencing. Of course, I can't do it myself, and my husband isn't jazzed about it, so we'll see what I can arrange, or afford. P.S.

I had a phone consultation with Dr. Cohen. He told me if the magnesium hadn't worked by then, it was not going to work at all; nor would most other vasodilators. He encouraged me to keep using the Lyrica up to 450mg a day. I found it discouraging, but he said there are still a lot of other drug possibilities. he suggested a couple of non-prescription natural things to do, but they didn't work. My np is holding off on trying the prescription suggestions, all of which would not get to the root cause, which is my fibromyalgia. I presume that the muscle walls of my blood vessels are in spasm, sending mixed messages to my autonomic nervous system to think I have a blood flow deficiency in my feet, and it is overcompensating by dilating the capillaries there. The resultant blood engorgement creates sensitivity to ambient heat, swelling and heat from inside out. The feet can look alarmingly bad. It feels like they are on fire. In the meantime, I asked my np to test me for heavy me

So far so good! My burning feet have not worsened as I have been titrating up on magnesium. The more I read about magnesium, the more hopeful I am that it is the answer to my problems. How many other fibromyalgics out there are magnesium deficient and don't know it??? I read now that many fmers respond well to magnesium malate, according to a double-blind placebo study. So I have ordered some online. Right now I am using IV-grade MgSO4 and taking it orally. But it is $10 a bottle, and I will soon be using a whole bottle a day. So hopefully I will be able to go to an oral product and do alright. I have learned so much about the intricacies of calcium with magnesium lately. Go here for a very good article on the Role of Magnesium in Fibromyalgia. <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7412919396529588"      crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

Yes, I got addicted to ice on my feet. The more I used ice, the more my body turned on the heat and the more ice I needed. I didn't realize it until my new naturopath told me she suspected it. It was four days of hell getting off the ice, using narcotics, but well worth it. Now I just use a little saline-water spray and fans, and am on Lyrica, which has been a miracle pain-reliever for me. My fibro pain is minimal. Ellen is now trying to treat me with high doses of IV-grade magnesium, on the hunch that I am severely deficient. This may treat BOTH my erythromelalgia and fibromyalgia. I have learned that it is very hard to get up to a therapeutic dose of Magnesium because most otc forms cause diarrhea. I will see how it goes. Once again I'm hopeful, but not holding my breath. <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7412919396529588"      crossorigin="anonymous"></script>

No, the cholestyramine did not do the trick for me. I'm not surprised. Since then I have had all of my mercury fillings removed to be replaced with specially-chosen resins that are biocompatible for me. I had a biocompatibility test done, and the dentist, Dr. Robbins of Ashland, Oregon, used the test results to choose which resin to use. He is specially skilled in amalgam removal and I highly recommend him. I bought a bottle of detox capsules from him to use afterwards. It took four trips to his office to have the work completed. I had seven molars with amalgam fillings, usually multiple fillings in each molar. It was expensive, but I'm glad I did it, just to rule out the possibility that it was affecting my health. Have my fibro symptoms improved after the dental work? No. It has been two months since it was completed. I suppose I could still be detoxing, but it's hard to tell. I will ask my provider to test my blood for heavy metals the next time I visit her. My feet h