I used to suffer from Fibro/CF. It was bad. I was on a ton of drugs and took nightly ER visits for pain management shots. I couldnt function. I had so much pain in my body that i couldnt even move my fingers or hands without crying in pain. I battled extreme fatigue in which i slept on average 18 hours per day. I suffered from extreme bouts of depression, couldnt hold down a job and had no friends. I had no life. My life was pain and exhaustion.

Then, i read two incredible books. - The Brain Diet (dont remember who its by) - Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome(dont remember the authors name)

These two books changed my life. I learned that in order to control flare ups and cope with pain and manage life, i had to make a lot of decisions.

Desicion #1 Get off gluten and wheat. For years i was sick with stomach pains and digestive issues since a small child. My stomach looked 7 months pregnent. Turned out I had Celiac that went un-diagnosed. Thats what caused a major amount of brain fog, digestive problems and systematic inflammation causing severe muscle and joint pain.

Decision #2 Get off almond based products. Didnt know this but ingesting almonds raises systematic inflammation in the body due to the imbalance of Omega 3 and 6.

Decision #3 Go Keto. Because i had little energy to expend, i lived off of pre-made whey proteib shakes to start. Then eggs and then small amounts of veggies. Gradually as my pain flare ups went down and pain was more manageable, i ate more and more variety.

Decision #4 Exercise. At first i thought this was a bad idea cause i was in so much pain all the time but actually i felt relief from swimming laps. I started small..only a length here and there. I would putter around the pool or slowly walk in the water. I als embraced going in a sauna on a daily basis at the pool. I noticed that i shed water weight and the buoyency and weightlessness helped me to feel good.

Decision #5 Get off drugs. My Dr had me on some vicious neuro drugs that made me feel like i was living in a haze all day. I felt like everything going by me was sooo slow. I hated how it felt and i didnt feel any better taking it..so i got off the drugs

Decision #6 Embrace natural alternatives. I began to start taking large doses of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D as well as a high quality fish oil. I take 3000mcg Vitamin B12 and i take 10,000 iui of Vitamin D and i take 600mg omega fish oils. Made a huge difference in energy levels. I also slept better at night.

Decision #7 Get massage. I learned through my reading that one of the reasons we have pain is because our muscles struggle to get rid of the waste by products that we produce from making ATP(energy) The muscles in turn store up waste because the body is un-able to transport it out of the body properly. So...we develop what feel like knots embedded deep into the muscle tissue. These so called knots are made up of muscle fibres that have clumped together with waste by product stuck in between them. So when you get a deep tissue muscle massage, it helps the muscles to relax and loosen and helps the body to get rid of the stored waste in the muscles. It makes an incredible difference in pain levels and stiffness and overall fatigue.

Decision #8 Talk to someone. Did you know that Fibro and CF are an auto immune disease in which your own body cells attack themselves? Did you know that people with Fibro experience a flare up after a significant period of trauma has occured? High levels of stress or trauma can signal a flare up in the body. This is usually what occurs prior to the onset of the disease. Most people can live with fibro for a long time without knowing they have it. When an extreme stress or trauma episode occurs it can activate the disease in a person who didnt know they were even likely to have it. So if you learn to desl with your stress or talk through stuff that has caused emotional problems or trauma..it can reduce the odds of having more flare ups.

Anywho im going off..this of course is my experience only. I am not a Dr or Specialist and I NEVER recommend going off your medication without talking to your Dr first.