Natural Fibromyalgia Treatment- How I Healed from Fibro

When I was 17, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia after almost a year of severe head-to-toe pain, digestive issues, depression, sleep issues, massive weight gain, and so much more. I went to so many doctors and specialists and got nowhere fast. Sleep studies, countless prescriptions, countless other tests- all just to be told it’s fibromyalgia, there wasn’t anything they could do other than try new prescription drugs until I found one that worked. Looking back, I now know what the big triggers were: I had moved out of my house and was very stressed about it (I was still in high school!) and I had also started using the birth control pill. These were the cherries on top of my personal perfect storm that was brewing internally for years. If only I had known about a natural fibromyalgia treatment back then!

I rode the merry-go-round of doctors for a few years until one major setback happened and these doctors and their drugs and tests just kept making me worse and worse. I started healing naturally, and it changed my life forever! My first things to heal were gut related because those were the most severe at the time. But after a few months, I started trying more and more things for health and wellness, and I got very lucky to find my personal reason for my years of chronic pain- a magnesium deficiency! I had started one of those cheap powder forms of mag, and after a few days I noticed less pain AND I started sleeping normally for the first time in years. I was thrilled! This experience start to open my eyes even more. (although now I know so much more- too much magnesium led to my downfall- BALANCING these minerals is key for true health!)

This experience with healing my fibro has been what led me to get into natural health. At that time, I didn’t really have a solid path but I eventually got into mineral balancing, and that form of natural healing really resonated with me. Mineral balancing and using HTMA is all about looking at your base of health. It shows some of the ROOT causes of why you are dealing with certain issues.

The crazy thing is, after several years of doing HTMA I rarely see people with the same diagnosis have the same HTMA pattern. Biochemical individuality is REAL.

There is no ONE root cause for fibro, or any other illness out there. These diagnoses tend to be a manifestation of our unique situations: our deficiencies, our imbalances, our toxicities, our experiences. There is not one nutrient, one herb, or one supplement that is going to heal you from an illness. Healing is so much more complex than that.

So how can we heal from Fibromyagia?

Nearly every day I get asked, “How do I reverse this illness?” or “what nutrient deficiency is related to this illness?” There is no ONE answer for these questions! There are many steps involved in healing from any illness, but they all follow the same basic steps of foundational care. For me, fibro was a culmination of a lot of different things- a terrible diet my whole life that led to many deficiencies and imbalances, physical and emotional traumas, and lots of underlying infections. For someone else, it could be just one huge trigger, or it could be a story like mine with many different things leading up to a diagnosis.

Foundational care is the base for healing from ANYTHING. This list is our comprehensive list of what we have found to be most important when healing from anything.

• Clean up your diet– Get rid of the junk! Processed foods, soda, coffee (at least switch over to organic, low-mold brands if you don’t want to give it up completely), and refined carbs.  Not everything has to be organic, but I really encourage everyone to just do their best.  Meats, dairy, and any grains that are consumed are best organic.  This post outlines a bit of what I think is most important to get organic and why.
• Assess your Minerals– Minerals are at the absolute base of our foundation- without them, we cannot function. As you get your minerals balanced, it will be easier for your body to handle pathogens, heavy metals, or other underlying issues as well.  A copper imbalance is one of the MOST important aspects to address when there is any kind of infection. Bioavailable copper helps with keeping viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites under control.
• Heal your gut– Without sufficient stomach acid and bile flow, we cannot utilize our nutrients.  Our gut is so important! If our gut isn’t functioning, then our whole body can pay the price. This is just another huge reason why we need to respect our bodies as wholes- everything is connected.
• Work on your detox pathways– Liver, Lymph, Colon, Kidneys, Skin- we try to assess the most important things to start with once we see a person’s HTMA. Sometimes we need more adrenal healing before even thinking about detox support.
• Start supporting your adrenals– Again, I love HTMA as it can tell us the exact state of your adrenals.  This is one of the most important parts of foundational care.  If your adrenals are stressed out or completely exhausted then there should be more of a focus on healing them first before even thinking about detoxing anything.
• Clean up your environment– This can be a rough one because there is only so much that we can control.  Just do your best in your home!  Deodorant, makeup, shampoo, toothpaste, dish soap, etc are just some examples of things that tend to be big offenders for toxins that can mess with our liver function, and they can have very negative impacts on our endocrine function. Learn more here!
• Work on emotional trauma- This is something I have had to learn the hard way myself.  Emotional trauma from past abuse is something that can stick with us until we’re ready to deal with it.  This can become a constant stress on the body which can suppress the immune system.  If the immune system is suppressed, it will be impossible to heal from any chronic infection, period.  Things like homeopathy, acupuncture, EMDR, Reiki, and EFT are among the most popular methods to use to start healing from emotional trauma. My big list of ideas is here.

It’s been 12 years since I was initially diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I have not considered myself to have this issue for the last 6 years now. While a diagnosis can help to pinpoint causes or treatment to an extent, it is time we started to look outside the box when we want to find real healing. They use a diagnosis to prescribe you a drug- it’s just easier that way. In natural healing, we are not matching a pill to the ill. We are healing the body as a whole, and thus we need a different approach.

Managing Fibro Pain

While we are working on the root, there is no reason why we can’t try to find some symptom relief. Typically as we are introducing some of the basic care, symptoms start to slowly get better. The pain side of things tend to be the worse- here are some of the biggest helpers for natural pain management:

Love your lymph!

When the lymph gets sluggish, it is common to deal with all over body pain. My favorite lymph movers include: rebounding, dry skin brushing, nettle infusions, castor oil packs, and yoga (especially legs on the wall. That inversion is priceless for aiding the lymph!). You can read my whole post on how chronic pain is related to a sluggish lymph here.

• Rebounding
• Dry Skin Brushing
• Castor oil Packs
• Massage- find a great local massage therapist! There are many that specialize in chronic pain, and there are also lymph drainage massages. Or you can have a tool like this Pado massager for home use.
• Another great lymph lover and overall pain reducer is a far infared heating pad like this one.
• Foam rollers- These are AMAZING for relieving tension, especially in the back and shoulders. 
• Lymph Support Cream

Topical pain relievers for Fibromyalgia Relief

• Pain relief rub– awesome for targeted support
• Magnesium lotion– great if you need some extra magnesium in your life!
• Mineral baths– there are several main mineral baths that can help with chronic pain
• Arnica Salve– I LOVE this stuff for sore and stiff muscles!

Food and Herbal Pain Relievers for Fibromyalgia

• Golden Paste is one of the BEST remedies for chronic pain and inflammation. This is the best recipe for it here. Consuming turmeric as golden paste or even golden milk is better than any pills too as the food itself will be more bioavailable.
• Aloe Vera is one of the most soothing and versatile plants out there. Aloe can help with inflammation, oxidative stress, leaky gut, and overall detox support which can all be underling issues causing chronic pain. My top pick for aloe vera is George’s brand because it is distilled, preservative free, and tastes like water!
• Tart Cherry Juice is another great food that helps with inflammation and chronic pain. It also is a great insomnia buster, which most chronic pain sufferers deal with as well.
• Ginger is an amazing herb for inflammation support, pain healing, and circulation boosting.
• Earthley’s Pain Potion tincture

Kristin

Welcome to Sassy Holistics! My name is Kristin, and I'm a Holistic Health Coach. I've been on the path to help people achieve better health using whole food nutrition, mineral balancing, and holistic healing principles for almost 7 years now.

The body is a whole and we must treat it as such! I have my Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences, certificates in Herbal Studies from Herbal Academy, and I am constantly learning more about health to help my clients and followers.

My goal is to help you unleash your own inner healer! You already hold the power to heal inside you. My role is as a guide to help you realize this potential.