Ive been wanting to write about my auto immune disease for a really long time. I wanted to it be this uplifting and positive blog, about how you can make the best of any situation thats thrown at you and maybe later in the blog it will be.
But quite frankly. Having an autoimmune disease is basically your bodies way of saying a BIG. FAT. FUCK. YOU.
I have an auto immune disease called Fibromyalgia, I’ve also had endometriosis for many years – and there are some studies that say they are linked.
Its one of those things, that after your body tells you get to basically go fuck itself. Theres a silence – and it times in can be deafening. There isn’t peace in the quiet that surrounds you, its pain and confusion about how do you move forward with your new normal.
I’ve been diagnosed now for about 6 years with my condition / disease – and the definition of fibro is; (https://www.medicinenet.com)
Fibromyalgia: A disease characterized by chronic pain, stiffness, and tenderness of muscles, tendons, and joints, without detectable inflammation. Fibromyalgia does not cause body damage or deformity. However, undue fatigue plagues 90 percent of patients with fibromyalgia. Sleep disorder is also common in patients with fibromyalgia.
So for me, it affects my, wrists, elbows, knee’s and ankles and most recently my hips. I also am one of the lucky people who also has trouble sleeping and I need to take medication to do so.
Fibro is often brought on by extreme stress or fatigue, and mine started when i found out my aunt was sick and my job at the time was incredibly demanding. I was also young, drank almost every weekend and didn’t take care of my body. I was probably more than burning the candle at both ends, and there were signs that something was wrong long before I took many trips to hospital.
Waiting for a diagnosis was a long and drawn out process and it took me over 3 years to get it under control and to understand my triggers and when my body is telling me i’ve either pushed it too far. Or i’ve not been listening to what its been trying to tell me.
I mention sleep – it is hella important to me. I need to sleep, I can nap with the best of them. But due to my fibro, without the help of western medicine – I don’t ever go into a rem sleep and can wake up, up to 15 times a night. If you’ve slept next to me you’ll know that if I toss and turn. I haven’t taken my tablets. I’m also lucky enough to suffer from night sweats. And watching my body in extreme temperature changes is also interesting. My body doesn’t cope well. So I guess you can say its like neapolitan of auto immune flavours! Oh, and if its really playing up. I have a resting tremor. But I try to not get so run down that its prominent.
I wanted this blog to be an honest and raw an real. Its how my fibro effects me, every day really. Not every day does it feel bad, not everyday do i feel like my body’s saying “fuck you” but, some weeks it is.
So now I’ve sworn heaps and written about night sweats, tremors and sleeping with tablets. lets talk about the shit thats worked for me.
The no brainer is becoming healthy. Its one of the reasons that Themthighs_kowhai exists. I was 99kgs at my heaviest and my disease was in no way under control and I was on about 8 different tablets. – Now I’m on two.
Moving your body, is so important. It hurts regardless most of the time for me. So I have this “get on with it’ attitude. I’ll always try my hardest and my disease is not an excuse or a reason to not at least try. Although honestly in the beginning it was, 100%!
Explore and educate, around food, exercise and alternative medicines that compliment your doctors advice, and if you can’t seem to get your pain levels under control. See your GP. I have a great GP, Personal trainer and myotherapist who help me manage and stay accountable. I also go to an awesome gym.
Fun fact, is that I fucking HATE hospitals, so I will do almost anything to avoid them. So eating 80/20 hauling my ass up and taking things like bone broth, lavender on my pillows, an making sure I try not stress to much are massive for me. Routine is the next most important thing to. It means i get the maximum amount of sleep each night, that my body understands why we are doing what we are doing.
Finally, I am in no way a victim of my disease. I’ve competed in Tri Maori, done three 8 week challenges. Am doing the Bridge to Brisbane in August and next year I plan to take part in Iron Maori ( only the quarter ). I have goals for my body. Its one of the things that helps keep me motivated. I turn up on the gram, because my lifestyle is important to me and i need to stay accountable, and if me sharing helps others with perspective or tips to take away to use. Then thats all that matters.
Them Thighs 