Hi Folks,
I trust that you’ve survived Christmas, possibly coming down off of those “sugar highs” that are so common this time of year! Not writing an “info article” today. As I’m coming down from my sugar high and the excitement of visiting with my family,
I just wanted to wish everyone HAPPY, HEALTHY, & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!!
Here’s to Feeling Better!
Karla Setchel
(540) 366-6134
www.KarlaSetchel.com
Hi Folks,
I hope that your day is going well. I just listened to an interview by fibromyalgia specialist Dr. Richard DiCenso about the problems of insomnia with fibrmyalgia patients. He said that as we try to relax, the Beta phase actually INCREASES our pain sensitivity! He said while we’re being active, watching TV or what ever activity you do while your awake, you’re distracting your mind from your pain. When you try to relax without taking the proper steps to quickly get to an Alpha state, your mind has nothing to concentrate on but the pain it’s feeling. Obviously the pain makes it harder to go to sleep and with most FMS sufferers, the lack of sleep makes our pain and other symptoms worse immediately as well as the next day.
Here’s some tips that Dr. DiCenso recommends to promote a healthier sleep pattern. Before bed, take a hot epsom salt bath. 1/4 a cup in as hot of water as you can stand will help your muscles release lactic acid and increase the oxygen levels. Do not drink ANY alcohol at least 3 hours before bed. While alcohol is initially a sedative, as it’s sedative affects wear off it becomes a stimulant which interrupts sleep. Turn off the TV and computer or other forms of mental stimulation at least 30 minutes before you want to go to sleep. Put lavender oil on your pillow or diffuse it in your bedroom, it calms the nervous system. About 15 minutes before bed, start deep abdominal breathing combined with positive affirmations or meditation. He also recommends using a meditation and sleep rhythm CD, he has some available but there are plenty on the market. I’ve been using a sleep CD for years but currently am still having to use sleep medication also. My goal is to gradually ween myself off the sleep medication and hopefully some of Dr. DiCenso’s suggestions will help me do this.
I hope you have found this information helpful. Please share my blog with anyone that you feel it may benefit. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at (540) 366-6134.
Here’s To Feeling Better!
Karla Setchel
(540) 366-6134
www.KarlaSetchel.com
Hi Folks,
I hope you’re having a good week. I’m continuing to push myself a little physically which results in some extra pain; however I’m recovering faster than I used to. My doctor put me on hydrocortisone a few months ago. He said that sometimes low cortisol levels can mimic or worsen fibromyalgia symptoms and he wanted to find out if raising my cortisol level would help. He said it would take a few months to notice any difference. He also said that the “normal medical standard” for cortisol level starts at ZERO which both he and I thought was rather unusual since we need a certain amount of cortisol for our bodies to function properly. As usual, I never try just one new thing at a time to make it easy to figure out what’s helping — I’m in too much of a hurry to feel better and try everything I can as soon as I hear about. So after watching a dating site commercial and realizing how lonely I was, I started dating again for the first time in a VERY long time which was about the same time I started the hydrocortisone. While the actual dating has had quite a few emotional ups and downs — my body is responding beautifully to SOMETHING! I don’t know if it’s the hyrodrocortisone or the excitement of getting to know a “possible significant other” but I’m recovering from the pain of extra activity faster than I have since 1999. The dating involves a short dance class, which originally I had to sit down 3 or 4 times during the class to prevent my back from hurting for the next 24 hours, but now I only need to sit down 1 or 2 times — quick, someone who does math figure out what percentage of improvement that is! 
Since I’ve been recovering from the pain of additional activity much faster, I thought I would try exercising again. I found a very effective exercise routine that strengthens and tones muscles very quickly with minimal effort and additional pain. It was something I had been doing about a year prior to having to quit my job and go on disability but could not continue until now because my FMS pain was too severe. If you want to know more about this exercise routine, feel free to contact me.
So what has caused this improvement? The hydrocortisone, the excitement of dating, all the other stuff I’ve been doing finally starting to work or was this going to happen anyway? I have no clue, I’m just glad to be recovering faster from activity and socializing more!
Please feel free to share my blog on facebook or twitter (or wherever you share stuff) with anyone it may benefit. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 540 366-6134.
Here’s to Feeling Better!
Karla Setchel
(540) 366-6134
www.KarlaSetchel.com
Hi Folks,
I hope this week finds you feeling better every day! Most of my articles are specifically about how to effectively deal with the symptoms of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue or other chronic illnesses. Today I want to stray a little and ask you “how do you deal with a problem”? I’ve found that when a situation arises that needs to be resolved, I focus the majority of my energy on that situation until I find a solution or answer that I’m happy with. Especially when it has to do with a relationship that is important to me. Some people call that tenacity or focus — some might call it obsessive! How do you deal with a “situation” that needs to be fixed? Do you let everything else go until you figure out a solution or are you able to compartmentalize your life so you can continue to keep up with everything else going on? Do you think one way of dealing with a problem or situation is better than the other? I would love to hear your input so feel free to leave a comment and let me know how you handle life and what you think .
Here’s to Feeling Better!
Karla Setchel
(540) 366-6134
www.KarlaSetchel.com
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