Working full time and raising three teenagers is not conducive to blogging. I wanted a log of how I improved my life after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia...but instead I only have a few entries. I've improved greatly and I've been doing a lot better for over a year now. I started going to an acupuncturist and that really started me on the road to healing.
I was taking Vicodin around the clock before I started going to her. Then one day there was a mix-up between my pharmacy and my doctor's office and suddenly I had a weekend with no Vicodin. I didn't realize that I was physically addicted to that drug. That weekend I went through so much pain. Before that weekend I was taking 1/2 of a pill every 6 hours. I kept trying to stretch it out to every 8 hours, but I was finding that almost too hard. Not realizing I was physically addicted meant that I didn't understand what the drug was doing to my body. It was actually CAUSING me pain. I'd take a pill and within 30-40 minutes my pain levels would drop. I'd have about four good hours but then the drug would start to leave my body and my pain would start returning. By the time I reached hour six I'd be in so much pain that I'd be counting the minutes until I could take another. This continued around the clock. After my weekend of forced withdrawal I realized that my pain levels were far lower. The pain medication that was supposed to help me was actually making me worse. I've since read multiple articles stating this same reaction.
Starting with an acupuncturist sent me down a road that I'd thought of before but had been afraid (or admittedly unwilling) to try. I realized that western medicine did not have my best interests at heart. I don't blame my medical practitioner. He was doing the best he knew how with the training he was given. In the next several posts I'll share the steps I took in order to feel better...very nearly my old self.
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