It is spring time, and just like I clean up my yard or my home after a long winter, I clean out my body in the spring time. Actually, I usually cleanse twice a year and have, in the past, cleansed up to one day a week, every week! That was at the beginning of my cleansing process and I needed to get a jump on the situation after 40+ years of eating and living crap.

Here’s the very basic scoop on a cleanse that I am starting soon. You are welcome to join me. I do email support for these. I want to start on the May 2nd. I don’t usually start a cleanse on a Monday, because the 3^rd day can be tough for me, so I like to start on Friday, so that the 3^rd day is a Sunday…a day for me that is usually restful and quiet. It allows me to concentrate on doing things for myself in a gentle fashion instead of trying to work. My work is very physical, so I need all of my strength and I don’t like to feel grumpy when working with clients! I won’t share some of my past unpleasant experiences with you (you may have none of them!) but just know that work was not on my list of things that I wanted to do when I have cleansed in the past. I was into resting!

Things to eat:

Free range meats (if you normally eat meat)

Fresh veggies (cooked or raw)

Fresh fruits

Raw nuts

Make these organic as much as possible, but know that a non-organic choice is better than a processed food.

Rejuvelac (Recipe to follow. It takes a few days to make)

Usual supplements

Protein shakes if you are not eating meat

Everything in its most natural state as supplied by Mother Nature. (You can put raw eggs into a fruit shake for additional protein. Use water or juice as the base for your smoothies. All of the “milks” have sugar added.)

Green tea

Stevia if you really HAVE to sweeten anything. (Just eat some fruit if your sweet tooth acts up!)

Things NOT to eat:

Cheese, milk, ice cream, any dairy products. (I don’t drink coffee without cream, so I don’t drink it during a cleanse. If I want to drink something hot, I drink green tea.) I have been decaffeinated for most of the last 2 years, so I don’t need to drink for caffeine! If you are addicted to caffeine (or if you drink it daily and want to quit, you can wean off of it without getting any yucky symptoms, such as a blinding headache! Email me and I’ll tell you my secret recipe for detoxing from caffeine.

Bread, cereal, crackers, of any kind

The best is to use no rice at all, but if you have to, use brown rice only!

Sugar, other than that naturally occurring in food

Anything processed.

No soy is allowed at any time during this cleanse. Soy is known to suppress the thyroid, and we all need our metabolism to work at its best!)

No honey, sucrolose, NutraSweet, Splenda or any other artificial sweeteners.

Alcohol of all kinds

Rejuvelac Recipe:

Rejuvelac: This has wonderfully healthy drink that is chock full of beneficial bacteria and enzymes to help balance your colon and process/digest food. If you don’t want to make this yourself, let me know and I’ll make plenty and share. It’s just as easy to make 2-3 batches as it is to make one!

1 cup hard red winter wheat berries (or spelt berries)

Soak berries overnight, or about 8 hours, in about 3-4 cups of good water in a glass jar (I use a 2 quart mason jar). Cover top with cheesecloth or a similar fabric and you can leave it in place throughout this process.

Pour water off berries and turn jar on its side and slightly upside down for 24 hours. I put mind in the sink drain rack. The berries will sprout.

After 24 hours you will see little tails on the berries. Fill up the 2 quart glass jar with good water and allow it to ferment for 8-12 hours. It should have a slighty yellow color and be just a little cloudy. It may have a small amount of foam on the top. If you ferment too long, you can still drink it, but it will taste like old socks instead of having a pleasant lemony flavor! Pour off the liquid and refrigerate. It’s good to drink as is, but I prefer it chilled.

Again fill up the 2 quart glass jar with good water and allow it to ferment for another 8-12 hours. As before, pour off the liquid and chill.

You can repeat this process up to 4 times, but I usually stop at 3. It just gets too cloudy and strong for my taste on the 4^th try.

Master Cleanse Drink:

Rejuvelac tastes good by itself, but it is absolutely fabulous as a base (instead of water) for the master cleanse drink. I make myself a 12-14 ounce glass of rejuvulac and add 1 tbsp of grade B maple syrup, 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne pepper. I’ve learned from experience that if I am making this in order to drink later in the day, do NOT to add the cayenne pepper until ready to drink it or it gets really, really hot!

Sample menu plan:

I start my day with a rejuvulac either straight up or as a master cleanse. Then, after I get dressed, I fix myself a protein shake. I eat salad with oil and vinegar dressing for lunch, and will usually make myself some soup or steamed veggies for dinner. I snack on fruit in between. I also keep a baggie of raw veggies around all of the time. Planning is everything! If you get hungry and you have nothing wonderful to eat, you will hit the snack machine! If I think I may have a 3pm slump, I take another protein shake to drink around 2pm. They tend to thicken with time and I don’t like that, so I take a shaker with me and fix it up fresh. (Gives me some exercise, too!) I just put the protein powder in a snack baggie and add it to cold water and shake.

So let’s say that you forgot your veggies and fruit. It’s 3pm and you are starving! So you go to the snack machine in lieu of death (or so it seems!). You eat peanut butter and crackers, figuring that was the best choice in there…you skipped over the candy and the honey buns and the chips. Well, OK then. It was not on the cleanse, but neither was it the worst thing you could have done, nor is it the end of the world. So now you just get right back on that horse, eat a good dinner and remember your snacks tomorrow!

Other good things to do are: drinking veggie juice drinks (like that Goddess drink from GreenLife), wheat grass juice and eating raw veggies. Since I want to stay away from milk products I don’t eat ranch dressing with the veggies, but often want something very tasty. In that case, I make some raw hummus to dip the veggies in and life is good!

Raw Hummus Recipe:

Soak garbanzo beans in good water overnight, or about 8 hours. Cover with cheese cloth.

Drain off water and rinse beans. Slant jar upside down and allow beans to sprout for 2 days. Rinse beans twice a day while sprouting. You will see a tail emerge from each bean. When they are about ¼ inch long, the beans are ready to make hummus.

Place beans in blender or food processor with spices of your choice. I use olive oil, sesame tahini, lots of garlic, and some salt. Other ingredients are things like roasted red peppers, olives, small amounts of hot peppers, etc.

You can use canned garbanzo beans, but the raw ones are so incredibly better that I rarely make it that way any more.

That should be a good start. Please let me know if you have any questions!  If your question is something that would benefit everyone, please comment here.  Or, if you wish, you can email me at pam@phoenixmassageofasheville.com and I’ll respond to your question personally and confidentially. 

by Pam Hauser, RN, LMBT

Finally, to complete this series of articles on fibromyalgia, I’d like to leave you with some resources for your quest toward health. Feel free to follow any of these links. What worked for me may not work for you, but I fully believe that there is something out there that will work for each of us. Finding what will work is the fun part! Feel free to email me at pam@phoenixmassageofasheville.com if you have any additional resources that you would like to share. Or you can click on “comment” at the end of the blog and leave your comment with links and resources or opinions.

Live long and prosper!Resources:

Natural Therapy for Fibromyalgia http://www.healthynewage.com/196515.html

Ayurvedic Treatment for Fibromyalgia http://www.boloji.com/ayurveda/av028.htm

http://ayurveda-foryou.com/treat/fibromyalgia.html

General information on Acupuncture http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/

http://www.remedyfind.com/HealthConditions/10/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079

http://www.fmnetnews.com/

National Fibromyalgia Association http://www.fmaware.org/

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/fibromyalgia/fibrofs.htm

MedicineNet.com http://www.medicinenet.com/fibromyalgia/article.htm

Arthritis Foundation http://www.arthritis.org/conditions/DiseaseCenter/Fibromyalgia/fibromyalgia.asp

Fibromyalgia Support http://www.fibromyalgiasupport.com/

by Pam Hauser, RN, LMBT

Here’s what was going on in my body:

In 1995, I started seeing a chiropractor after a fall down the stairs. Prior to the fall, I had daily headaches, neck, shoulder and low back pain. Additionally, I was chronically tired and experiencing brain fog. In fact, I had all of the symptoms of fibromyalgia. The 5 years following my daughter’s death had been difficult for me. 1995 alone had been hell, with my husband and son in a wreck resulting in injuries to them both and my husband quitting his job when I was 6 months pregnant. My baby had seriously long periods of apnea and was on an apnea monitor…and the child before her had died of SIDS. Without that apnea monitor, I would never have slept! My father, aunt and grandmother died within 6 months of each other, and they were my entire extended family support group. (I have other family members, but none who provide any encouragement or emotional support.) During the 4 months while my Dad was dying, there were times when circumstances resulted in no opportunity for me to sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and many times couldn’t sleep even when I had the opportunity. I would frequently need to “rest” before going to bed to try to sleep. I was depressed and would totally freak out at the smallest change in my life. (If my 7 year old son was not home on time, I was sure that he either had been abducted, raped or murdered, and would cry hysterically and call everyone I knew in my attempts to find him.)

Remember that fibromyalgia can be caused by trauma, sleep disturbances, infections (I’d had a few of those, too.) and deconditioning. I was no longer in the army and not exercising at all. It was all I could do to get through the day. Add to that my poor diet, taking on other people’s negative emotions and BINGO!

When I talk to people who have fibromyalgia, they all are people to give of themselves. They are the people who are caretakers and volunteers. They tend to take care of everyone BUT themselves.

Chiropractic

So what did I do differently that resulted in my feeling energetic, rested, strong, flexible and pain free? I started with chiropractic care. I saw a wonderful chiropractor in Atlanta who actually kicked me out of his office with my diet coke! I was told I could return…without it. He gave me much information on the health hazards of consuming NutraSweet (Splenda was not yet on the market). He also referred me to an osteopath who prescribed herbs and homeopathy to help control my symptoms and begin the detoxification process. I was also seeing a counselor. Initially this counselor was a marriage counselor, and when my husband filed for divorce, I changed to a different counselor to help me deal with the grief process of not only divorce, but losing my child and my extended family members…grief and pain that I still had not dealt with.

Nutrition and Cleanses

As a result of seeing the osteopath, I participated in several cleanses. These were one week to one month long periods of time where I ate only fresh fruits and vegetables and cleaned out my colon. (I had been a once a week pooper for as long as I can remember, so there was a backlog of poop to clean out of my colon!) After some encouragement, I worked up to having a colonic. I cleaned out my colon slowly. It took me about a year to get rid of the old dark black stinky pellets and start having normal soft formed bowel movements several times a day.

I continued to change my diet slowly, first by cutting out diet sodas (but I still drank regular ones), then by eating a dairy free and wheat free diet for 2 years, and finally changing to mostly organic foods, then becoming a vegetarian for 5 years. Now, I do eat wild salmon 2-3 times a week due to the health benefits of it and find that it works well for me. I also eat occasional dairy and wheat products, and a recent blood test for food allergies showed that I have no sensitivity to either. I have a soda about once a year or so, when there are no other alternatives or I think I need to have it. I usually don’t finish them because they are so icky sweet. I used to crave them and never drank water. (I would say that water would “rust my pipes” and literally went YEARS without drinking a glass of water!) Now water is what I crave, and drink juice or herbal tea on rare occasions. I’m even decaffeinated! I do still have the occasional cup of coffee (once or twice a month) because it feels like a nurturing thing for me to do sometimes, but I’ve been decaffeinated for over a year now.

Counseling

During counseling, I found the courage to go to massage school. (My ex-husband was not supportive of my changing careers to an alternative medicine track, and I did not have the energy to do it on my own until 1997.) So I changed my career in 1997, and quit my job in nursing for good in 2000, returning to it briefly part time and on the day shift in 2003 when we moved to Asheville. My career change to massage therapy means that I no longer work the night shift and am regularly able to sleep 8 hours each night. Shift work is hard on the body and can add to the stress load and/or depression tremendously.

Massage Therapy

Massage placed a large role in my healing process. I started receiving massage after that fall when my daughter was 6 months old. Since I was the only bread winner, I would only go every month or two for a massage. But what a change it made! When I went for my first massage, I had worked a 12 hour shift in the ICU the night before. I went home, breast fed the baby, and went for my massage. I was so energized that I cleaned my whole house and cooked a wonderful dinner, staying up until midnight without sleeping all day so that I could do some really deep cleaning! I was into closets at this point! I was told by my therapist to drink lots of water, so I think I drank one glass and continued to drink diet soda all day. Well, the next day I felt like I’d been run over by a Mac truck! I know now that her massage stirred up loads of toxins in my body and that I would have been much better off if I had done as she told me and drank a few quarts of water to flush those toxins out.

The changes that I made were made slowly, and they resulted in my feeling better almost immediately, and continuing to feel even better with each passing year. Actually, I didn’t notice that I was feeling better until I’d go back to doing something that I had stopped doing…and THEN I’d feel terrible! Thinking back, I would say that after 3-6 months, I no longer had daily pain. I have talked with many other people who have changed their lifestyles and are now healthy and pain free. You can do it, too.

Fibromyalgia: Resources will complete this series, and will offer resources to aid you in your journey. The changes that I made may not work for you. Our bodies respond differently to treatment modalities. I encourage you to start with a baby step and make one change. Start drinking water, see a chiropractor, get a message, see a counselor, cut out a food that you drink that you know is not healthy for you….it doesn’t really matter WHAT you do, but do SOMETHING. And you get to pick. And if you have done all of this and still don’t feel any better, there are other things that you can do. Email me at pam@phoenixmassageofasheville.com and I’ll give you other suggestions.

I welcome your comments or hearing about your personal journey toward healing fibromyalgia.

by Pam Hauser, RN, LMBT

Now let’s look at what allopathic medicine has to offer for symptom control. Remember, they consider it to be a condition that has no cure.

Medication

First of all, they prescribe analgesics for the pain. They start with Tylenol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, Aleve, Advil, Motrin or their prescription strength cousins. Then they move up to Ultram. (I’ve personally known several people who were on narcotics or even methadone for pain control, but doctors try to avoid those classes of drugs!)

Then, “IF” you are depressed, they will also start you on antidepressants such as amitriptyline, Pamelor, Sinequan, Prozac, Zoloft or Paxil. I don’t know how you could NOT be depressed after receiving this diagnosis!

For the muscle pain and spasms that commonly occur at night time, they often prescribe a muscle relaxant such as Flexaril. They have also found that people who have fibromyalgia have less pain and may sleep better when placed on anticonvulsants, which are drugs for epilepsy. They may also prescribe sleeping pills such as Ambien, but most people develop resistance to these drugs, so they only work for a short time. Benzodiazepines (such as Valium and Ativan) are tranquilizers and may help to relax muscles and promote sleep, but they are also habit-forming, and thus only used for the short term.

Other recommendations

In addition to drugs, they suggest cognitive behavior therapy, which seeks to strengthen your belief in your abilities and teaches methods for dealing with stressful situations. (Finally! One prescription that I like!) Then they suggest “self-care” and these are the things that I would begin with, not what I would put at the end!

Self Care for Fibromyalgia

• Reduce stress
• Get enough sleep
• Exercise regularly
• Pace yourself
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle
• Support groups like the Arthritis Foundation or the American Chronic Pain Association

Alternative Therapies for Fibromyalgia

Finally, they suggest complementary and alternative therapies for pain and stress management. Some, such as meditation and yoga, have been practiced for thousands of years. But their use has become more popular in recent years, especially with people who have chronic illnesses, such as fibromyalgia.
Several of these treatments do serve to safely relieve stress and reduce pain, and some are gaining acceptance in mainstream medicine. Some of the more common complementary and alternative treatments promoted for pain management include:

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a Chinese medical system based on restoring normal balance of life forces by inserting very fine needles through the skin to various depths. This life force is called Chi or Qi in Eastern medical models. According to Western theories of acupuncture, the needles cause changes in blood flow and levels of neurotransmitters in the brain and spinal cord. In a 2006 Mayo Clinic study, acupuncture significantly improved symptoms of fibromyalgia. Personally, I believe that restoring the flow of energy is a great idea. When I was experiencing symptoms of fibromyalgia, I was definitely in a place of being “stuck in a rut”. Moving from a place of inertia to a place of flow was the key for me!

Chiropractic

This treatment is based on the philosophy that restricted movement in the spine may lead to pain and reduced function. Spinal adjustment (manipulation) is one form of therapy chiropractors use to treat restricted spinal mobility. The goal is to restore spinal movement and, as a result, improve function and decrease pain. Chiropractors manipulate the spine from different positions using varying degrees of force. Manipulation doesn’t need to be forceful to be effective. Chiropractors may also use massage and stretching to relax muscles that are shortened or in spasm. Because manipulation has risks, always go to properly trained and licensed practitioners.

Massage

This is one of the oldest methods of health care still in practice (and my personal favorite!). It involves use of different manipulative techniques to move your body’s muscles and soft tissues. The therapy aims to improve blood circulation in the muscle, increasing the flow of nutrients and eliminating waste products. Massage can reduce your heart rate, relax your muscles, improve range of motion in your joints and increase production of your body’s natural painkillers. It often helps relieve stress and anxiety. Although massage is almost always safe, avoid it if you have open sores, acute inflammation or circulatory problems. Most people with fibromyalgia are very sensitive and require gentle touch. We highly recommend CranioSacral Therapy to begin with for those who are very sensitive. It involves touch with no more pressure than the weight of a dime.

Osteopathy

Doctors of osteopathy go through rigorous and lengthy training in academic and clinical settings, equivalent to medical doctors. They’re licensed to perform many of the same therapies and procedures as conventional doctors. One area where osteopathy differs from conventional medicine — but is similar to chiropractic medicine — is in the use of manipulation to address joint and spinal problems. Unlike chiropractors, an osteopath may prescribe medications.

Homeopathy

Arnica is generally prescribed for pain, tenderness, and stiffness. Take one dose of Arnica 30x or 15c, as directed on the product label, three times daily for up to three days. Arnica cream or gel can also be used topically. Follow the directions on the product label.

Bryonia helps ease pain that increases with movement and is better when resting. It also helps with the constipation. Take one dose of Bryonia 30x or 15c three times daily for up to three days.

Hypericum is useful for the unbearable prickly pain that radiates along nerve pathways, is worse with movement, and worse when touched. This remedy is especially effective for pain in the extremities. Take one dose of Hypericum 12x, 6x, 6c, or 3c three times daily for up to three days.

Rhus toxicodendron is for the individual who feels better after moving around. Take one dose of Rhus toxicodendron 30x or 9c three times daily for up to three days.

Herbs:

In many ways, these are no different from taking drugs since they just provide symptom control. However, herbs have been around many thousands of years longer than our modern day drugs and can be much safer.

Arnica can be used to reduce pain.

Capsaicin Cream can be used topically for pain control. It works by distracting the nerves which carry the pain signals back to the brain. The nerves are too busy sending heat signals to send pain signals. The active ingredient is hot chili peppers.

Magnet therapy: Some people report success with magnet therapy. It’s not one that has worked for me, but if it works for you, great!

by Pam Hauser, RN, LMBT

I often massage clients who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Although western medicine can locate no direct cause for fibromyalgia, they have theories as to why it happens, and know that it primarily occurs in women. The purpose of this blog is to discuss briefly the causes and symptoms. Then in future blogs, I will discuss the management/cure for fibromyalgia, and my personal journey to health.

I did much research online, and I’m impressed that the Mayo Clinic’s website has a lot of information on alternative therapies for fibromyalgia. Now, they’ve listed alternative methods last, but they would since the Mayo Clinic does allopathic medicine! When you go a medical doctor in the USA for this dis-ease, it is very likely that you will be placed on drugs to control the symptoms. Allopathic medicine usually offers no cause, no cure, and no hope of recovery… just management of symptoms. I have found that self care is what helps the most, but maybe their clients are just interested in taking a pill to control a symptom and not really healing. What I have to offer you is hope. Although I’ve never had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia by a MD, (I refused to get one!) I personally had every one of the symptoms in the early 90’s. Today I have none of them. (Although I do occasionally have a head ache or a sleepless night, I don’t have them daily like I used to.)

Causes of Fibromyalgia:

I will take a brief look into the theories as to the causes of fibromyalgia. (You can go to the Mayo Clinic website and read more for yourself if you wish to do so: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079.) Or just do a web search and you’ll find many articles out there!

Basically stated, the causes of fibromyalgia are many and work together synergistically to create the syndrome that is called fibromyalgia. These include sleep disturbances, an injury or trauma (physical or emotional), infections and/or changes in muscles metabolism such as those that occur with deconditioning (lack of exercise results in a lower blood flow to the muscles). I’ll describe the usual symptoms and then talk about treatment/cure options from the western and alternative/complementary standpoints.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia:

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, primarily to the back of the head, upper back and neck, upper chest, elbows, hips and knees, especially when pressure is applied. The pain generally persists for months at a time and is often accompanied by stiffness. In addition to the pain, fatigue and sleep disturbances abound, with people usually waking up tired and unrefreshed even when they can sleep. Sleep disturbances can be worsened often times when accompanied by spasms in the legs or restless leg syndrome.

Not limited to the musculoskeletal system, symptoms of fibromyalgia can include irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, gas, diarrhea, bloating and abdominal pain. Sensitivity to odors, noises, bright lights and touch may also occur. Some people are unable to even wear jewelry because the weight of a necklace is painful for them.

Headaches and facial pain are a frequent occurrence which may be related to tenderness or stiffness in the shoulders. Temporomadibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, which affects the jaw joints, causes pain and sometimes clicking and popping with chewing, and is common in people with fibromyalgia.

Other common symptoms include depression, numbness or tingling sensations in the hand or feet, difficulty concentrating, mood changes, chest pain, dry eyes, dry skin and dry mouth, painful menstrual periods, dizziness, and anxiety.

The next post will be about my personal journey through pain and into thriving.