Can I expect to be more productive as I get better at managing my symptoms?
Everyone's "mileage" will vary, but I know that I and many other people have found that things change a great deal for the better when the whole body is addressed and managed correctly.
I wrote that post on how to manage fibromyalgia because I did it, and I wanted to let everyone else know that it was possible.
I spent a few years trying to ignore pain, then about three years taking tramadol, unable to get out of bed in the morning until it had taken effect, and not having a life outside of going to work which I had to do to survive. My work was very physically AND mentally challenging, and I had to be "on", and not show how I was feeling, no matter how bad it was.
Finally I saw someone who suggested to me that it was within my power to change things....not to cure but to improve. I decided to try, and embarked on a long period of experimentation and exploration and research during which time I did many things differently and tried many non- medication substances and many different activities and ways of doing them. And I went off most pain medication and then all pain medication except for the occasional use, maybe once a month.
Things started getting better around the six month mark but were not really improved significantly until over a year, and then were more or less at the point they are now after about a year and a half, because I had hit my stride in terms of knowing for sure what helps and how much I could do and, most important, how to listen and "converse" with my body. It is definitely a process you have to recognize will not have instant gratification, but I sincerely doubt that anyone would not receive some significant benefits if they put their mind to really doing what needs to be done.
I think people only fail to succeed because they expect instant or rapid gratification and they give up too soon. Another way to fail is if they won't try things fully....like cutting down on sugar or some other food rather than fully eliminating it from the diet, which is the only way to test it. Or, cutting it out completely but only for a week which doesn't give enough time for benefits to start to show. This is like taking piano lessons for three weeks and they quitting, saying you can't play piano because you aren't able to play a Mozart concerto.
I was truly desperate. I didn't think my life was worth much if things didn't improve, because I had always had a very active lifestyle. So I went at it with full intention of feeling better. I stuck with it and gave everything I tried a long test period, one thing at a time with regards to food, and slowly building with regards to exercise. I wanted to know, for myself, that I had REALLY tried
everything I could do, so I didn't skimp or "cheat" and I didn't give up. Sometimes I got discouraged, especially with exercise, but I refused to give up. Ever.
The long term result for me is that a few years later my days are not back to the way they used to be but the difference doesn't ruin my life. I have to do things more slowly. It may take two or three days to get the house really clean but I say "so what?" A big project that took me a week before Fibro now will take three weeks, or might take more. Occasionally, but not often anymore, I have to cancel plans if when the day comes I can't do it. My pain is less frequent and less all-powerful, although I still have really bad days sometimes.
My whole attitude has changed as well. I am not mad about it, I don't resent it, I don't feel sorry for myself, it doesn't make me depressed or discouraged. KI am able to be upfront with people when needed. I feel the loss of how I was before, of course, but I accept that loss as being what it is, and I know that nothing stays the same forever and it doesn't hurt to hope, as long as that's not all you do. If I can't do something I accept it. If I wake up with deep pain, I say "Hello pain. You're back." and I do what might help, accept that this is one of those days, and live with it until it eases, which it always does rather than staying for weeks. I am fully accepting of what I have to deal with, and also accepting of my occasional feelings of sadness or loss, and I just live my life the way it is now, day by day.
While some activities have had to be given up for others that work better for my body, I can do some things now I absolutely couldn't have done before I learned how to manage the fibro, and things I never believed I would be able to do again. I am convinced that most other people will have the same results, or close to it, but only if they go at it in a very determined way and don't give up.
