Happy Monday y’all!
 
Two years ago, I was told my gallbladder as well as my liver were in jeopardy. This blog is back from when I was first discovering that my liver was not in good shape. Since I wrote this post, I have continuously watched my weight. Yet the struggle to get my liver healthier continues to go on. To make a long story short, due to the amount of medication my body was digesting, my gallbladder needed to be removed. During the surgery, they would also take a piece of my liver to be tested. Afterwards, the test results came back that I had a fatty liver. Before the surgery I had tried my best to control my fat and sweet intake. Seeing the test results, it was more than obvious I needed to try harder. 
 
Initially we made vegetarian menus for the week. Both Dale and I grew up on meat and potato family meals. You can imagine how strange it was coming up with ideas at first. Before long it became like second nature to pick out healthier options at the store. My biggest weakness are French fries. We finally bought a Ninja Foodi which has an air fryer. We’ve made our own fries and they’re wonderful! I switched to healthier snack and food choices to grab when I was out running errands. I had a regular exercise routine and had lost fifteen pounds. 
 
Then I’m not sure exactly what happened. I cannot blame anything or anyone but myself. It was my personal domino effect. My back pains got much worse, which started the depression, and finally I wanted the “comfort foods.” Do you want to know the wacky thing? I was still active despite my back hurting, the depression, and I was losing weight. So, I didn’t think anything about it. About two weeks ago, I got really sick with what I thought was a stomach virus. There was a moment one night where I almost went to the hospital. I contacted my general physician and thankfully I got better. Naturally my doctor was worried about my pain and thought there may be some blockage in my liver. Shortly after my conversation with her, I went to do a blood test. I have this blood test done every three months to make sure my body is in good shape due to all the medication I take. Sure enough, my blood test results came back showing that my liver is worse than last year. 
 
                     
I’ve looked up foods that can help clean my liver. If I can avoid another surgery, I will try anything within reason! 15 Foods that Cleanse Liver showed me some items that I include in my diet: Almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, and pomegranate (tea). Keep those stories and comments coming!! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!

Till next time! Be well!


~ Rachel
 
#FibromyalgiaAwarenessMonth  #fibroandliverhealth #purplebutterflymonth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dear purple butterflies,
Today is #FibromyalgiaAwarenessDay. I wanted to share with all of you the first #Fibropoem  I posted a year ago. I hope you will enjoy it. 
 
Once upon a time,
there was a girl in pain.
As far as she knew,
It had no name.
Doctors said it’s all in her head,
The girl had enough,
Tired of days spent in her bed.
She searched high and low,
until she got it right.
With support of family and friends,
It gave her courage to fight, fight, fight!
At long last, the right doctors were found,
Fibromyalgia is its name,
No need to worry,
Her days will not be the same,
She can only take one day at a time,
she must take her medicine, right down to the letter,
yes, living with Fibro can be a challenge,
Some days are bad, yet others are better.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please let me know in the comments down below! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!

Till next time! Be well!

~ Rachel
 
#purplebutterflymonth #fibroawareness2021 #may12 
 

Dear purple butterflies, 

​Some of you may remember this entry. I’ve decided to reshare it for my #FibromyalgiaAwarenessMonth contribution. As you know by now my surgery date has been changed to Friday, May 14th. At the end of my blog, I mention that I have redo my psych eval. I’m thrilled to tell you the doctor has cleared me for surgery! 
 
Last year I made this video of my experience with the XR-SCS: https://youtu.be/Vn6e47S6skE. It has taken a year to get everything figured out, but I’m finally having my back surgery! Guess when it’ll be? May 12th which is Fibromyalgia Awareness Day! My surgery could not happen on a more perfect day! I am beyond ecstatically happy! I have been informed since it’s been more than six months, I’ll have to redo my psych evaluation. As it gets closer to the date, I am planning to keep updated blogs. In addition, as time will allow for recovery of course, I’ll share how I’m feeling. Please stay tuned to this blog for future updates! 

Have you ever used this system? If so, what was your opinion about it? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let me know in the comments down below! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to watch my vlog, and blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!
 
Till next time! Be well!

~ Rachel
 
#xr-scs #proclaimxr-scs #purplebutterflymonth #fibroawareness #may12
 

Happy Monday y’all! 
 
The time is drawing closer now. On Wednesday, May 12th, 2021 marks Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. Have you decided what you will be doing to acknowledge that day? As promised, I am continuing my journal entries about my upcoming surgery. For those who haven’t read my previous blogs about my upcoming surgery, I will be undergoing a Neurostimulation back surgery on May 14th. This device will definitely be able to help me control my pain level. It will also assist me in not taking yet another pain pill. The device that will be placed inside of me is called XR SCS .
 
Counting this surgery, it will be my fourth one to have. I’ve read some of the comments in the groups on Facebook. Many of you have questions and are nervous about surgery. Let me tell you, I don’t blame you at all! I was very nervous with my first one. All of these reasons above are why I thought it might be a good idea to share my surgery prepping tips.

1. Rest: The night before the actual surgery, I go out of my way to pamper myself. Taking a nice, long hot shower is my “go to” because I realize it may be a while before I will be able to get my incision areas wet. A home mani-pedi followed by a nice meal could be just the thing to get your mind off any worries. 
2. Laundry: Everybody loves to do this one, right? Try your best to keep up with it before the surgery date. The last thing you’ll want to do once you’re recovered is extra laundry. Don’t hesitate to ask for help from others while you’re healing with this chore. 
3. Be prepared and organized: I am the type of person that loves to be prepared. Undoubtedly, they are making you go home with a friend or family member, and this person will probably stay with you for the rest of that day. Depending on who this person is, it is up to you to be organized and prepared in your room so they can find what they need to give you. Make sure you have a bag with all of your medications in it (even the over the counter ones). This is so your caregiver doesn’t have to search all over the house for the medication. If they are not already familiar, make a list of your doctors and all your medications. I can’t stress how helpful it will be to your caregiver. If you have animals, write down how you would like for them to be taken care of. 
4. Essentials: Go ahead and stock up on products you think you may need for the next few weeks. It’s true that you can always have someone run out and get more as needed. Yet if last year has taught us anything, it is to be prepared.  
5. Think easy meals: It may seem tempting to want to cook a lot of homemade meals while you are recovering. That is a fantastic idea, but it is not realistic. My suggestion if you are wanting to try that is to do it beforehand and freeze it. Then all you will have to do is heat it up in the microwave. I have been searching Pinterest and I’ve found some great low carb meal idea for the ninja foodi. Or you could go an easier route and grab some frozen meals. Don’t forget the popsicles! 
6. Entertainment: Treat yourself to the books or those movies on TV that you’ve been wanting. Chances are you’ll be bed bound for a month or more. You definitely deserve it! 

 
If I forget anything, I have included Having Surgery With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which provides things I would’ve never thought of. Do you know of any tips that I might’ve missed? If so, which ones? Keep those stories and comments coming!! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!

Till next time! 
Be well!

~ Rachel
 
#purplebutterflymonth #fibromyalgiaawarenessday #fibroawareness #may12 #fibroawarenessmonth2021
 

Happy Monday y'all! 

​I wrote this blog well over a year ago. I am reposting it as a part of my Fibromyalgia Awareness Month contribution. This blog is where I first begin to mention the trial (a non-surgical procedure) that led me to my decision to do my Neurostimulation surgery. A few months ago, I was sitting in my pain management doctor's office discussing that my pain levels were through the roof. My physician did not necessarily agree that increasing my medication would help at this point. He certainly did not advise having surgery on my back. He told me that once you have surgery, it's a done deal. I know from first-hand experience that this statement is very true.  
 
What my doctor suggested for me to do instead of surgery, is a reversible procedure. A device called the Proclaim XR System will be implanted into my back. This device will take the place of my pain medication. Naturally, anyone who is on a lot of medication would jump at this opportunity. Even though it wouldn't be surgery, I didn't want to rush my decision making. My pain physician recommended that I spoke with my Neurologist regardless. When I called my Neurologist to ask her opinion, she was very optimistic about going forward with my plans! I was hoping she would clear me for this procedure, and she did! 
 
Ultimately all of my doctors and I have the same goal. We'd love to take me off the medication; or the other possibility is to decrease the number of drugs I am on. Most of these medications; I repeatedly take throughout the day. While I had my Neurologist on the phone; I spoke with her about my spasms. She thought the procedure might not be able to control my spasms. However, I will still have my anticonvulsant medications to help control that. Before anyone can have the procedure, they have you speak with a clinical psychologist. I filled out the paperwork, sent it out in the mail, and I spoke with him over the phone yesterday. I had an idea of what we were going to discuss, but my curiosity was killing me all weekend! Our conversation was enjoyable. He was very personable and eased my mind for any questions I had. From this point, I am waiting to hear back from my pain management doctor's nurse to get me on the books! 
 
I will keep everyone posted on when my procedure date is. I will be in bed for a week, and then a follow up in a week. If it is working for me, then my doctor leaves the device in me. If it is not working for me, then he will remove the device. That is the beauty of all of this! I am praying that it will help me!! That is all for this week, my purple butterflies! Say some prayers for me please! I’d love to hear your thoughts! Please let me know in the comments down below! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!

Till next time! Be well!

~ Rachel
 
#XR-SCS #ProclaimXR-SCS #Neurostimulationsurgery #purplebutterflymonth #fibroawarenessmonth #may12 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Happy Monday y’all! 
 
Every May 12th, I look forward to showing my support for Fibromyalgia. Participants world-wide on this day will be raising awareness for this chronic and disguised condition by hosting multiple events. Fibromyalgia Awareness Day has been around since 1998. It all came to be when Lynne Matallana and Karen Lee Richards (the founders of the National Fibromyalgia Association), sent packets of information to national support groups inquiring help to approach U.S political leaders for this invisible illness. Lynne was finally able to get The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to recognize May 12th as Fibromyalgia Awareness Day! Not long after, roughly twenty-five other jurisdictions across the country followed suit. What’s so cool about this story is that this year, Fibromyalgia Awareness Day just celebrated it’s twenty-third anniversary! 
 
What will you be doing to help raise Fibromyalgia Awareness this year? May 12th is just right around the corner. Here are some other suggestions that I found from World Fibromyalgia Awareness Day May12: Spread the word. Not too long ago I purchased a Fibromyalgia Awareness bracelet. Not only did I fall in love with it, but I have been wanting to donate to the cause. 
 
There are so many intriguing websites based on Fibromyalgia Awareness. Hopefully my blog has given you some inspiration for May 12th. Remember this butterflies, you don’t have to scream to be heard, and even the smallest star can be seen from across the universe. I’ll leave you this week with this awesome quote: “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” ~ Maya Angelou.
Fibromyalgiapatienteducation.info
 
Please feel free to share your feelings or stories in the comments down below if you’d like too! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends!

Till next time! Be well!

~ Rachel
 
 
Other Reference:
https://fmaware.net/awareness-day-history/
 
#fibromyalgiaawarenessday #may12th2021