Fit for Fighting Fibro

We are headed to the beach Update: so last night...well this morning I wrote that my body felt off. Well I was right.  I had 2 panic attacks that ultimately landed me in the hospital. I got out and was able to get about 1 hour of sleep before having to get up and get packed and leave for the beach. I was able to go back to sleep for about 2 hours on the way then I drove. We ate breakfast at Shoney's. I love going to Shoney's. They have the best cinnamon french toast sticks ever!!!! So after breakfast I drove the rest of the way. I was sooo sleepy but I started talking to mom about work and school and that woke me up. Driving in the car and being seated for that long made my back and legs ache. Finally after driving for what seemed like forever we made it to PCB Panama City Beach. My family went shopping and to eat. I took a nap. When I woke up my legs were on fire, the skin on my legs hurt and my feet and back ache. However, I did not come all the way here to stay in the con

Whats up people!! Earlier last week I posted some feelings that were accurate but not exactly upbeat or positive. I had several people reach out to me to check on me and offer encouraging words. I know these are people that genuinely care about me but this is one of the things I was hesitant about. It may be just the way I view things. I may just have to work on that. I am told often that it's ok to let people be there for me, its ok to say I need help, or to tell the truth about my pain, it's ok to not be ok.....I struggle with this thought. If people know that i'm not ok then what? How will they view me? I don't want or need sympathy but will it look like that is what i'm looking for? It's just  a slippery slope that I am just not sure how to navigate. Being vulnerable in the past hasn't ended well so I have to figure this out. Today has been so less than great. I have been stressed and my body feels it. I feel like I am failing at life, school, work at

"I'm coming out, I want the world to know" HAHA! Now that I have your attention I am coming our with my diagnosis. Some of you may have noticed that the name of the blog has changed from "Praising My Way Through" to "Fit for Fighting Fibro". The reason behind it is this blog may possibly be going public. As you know I have the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia and a trace of Lupus. However, with it only being a trace of Lupus I have decided to focus primarily on Fibro. Why Fit? The definition of fit is adjective 1 . (of a thing) of a suitable quality, standard, or type to meet the required purpose. "the meat is  fit for  human consumption" synonyms: suitable , good enough;  More 2 . in good health, especially because of regular physical exercise. "I swim regularly to keep fit"

Warning: Photos may be considered graphic "You don't look sick"  or "but you're smiling" .....yeah I know. Fibromyalgia often shows no visible signs so even though you are going through a flare up you may appear to be fine. So unless you speak it, or someone sees you limp (what my signs are often) or touches you and you react most don't know you are in pain. I have talked before about the support group I joined on facebook. This past week there have been a few post about this invisible excruciating disease. One man showed a picture of his back bruised and broken so people could see how it would look if you could see the pain he was in (see picture A below). Then a woman named Emily Kathleen, who is a makeup artist used her skills to show half of her face as it feels while in a flare up. She painted the bruises and broken bones and soreness while on the other side she showed the face that others see (see picture B below).  To me this was so powerful bec

Today I decided that I cried my last tear yesterday.... (insert song by Mary Mary "Yesterday") I am going to make today ok. I am going to make me have a good day. No matter the struggle I am going to have a good day. Yesterday was a bad day. Looking back I am beginning to wonder if I am depressed.I think that is why I am so determined to have a good day today. If you have good days and aren't sad can you still be depressed? I guess that is what people don't understand about fibro. We are all naive about something.  I played my music and I prayed that today would be better and that my body would opperate the way it was designed to. I just dont believe God wanted me to be in this much pain. NOPE! I hope you all are having a good day as well!!! Whatever you are going through you got this!! 

Silver lining- a term used when you want to emphasize the hopeful side or remain optimistic The past few days have been rough. Yesterday was rough for my body and today along with my body my mind/emotions decided to escape me. I honestly am tired. I am tired of hurting. I am tired of pretending Im ok. I'm tired of smiling on the outside but feeling empty on the inside. I am just tired.  Today like many others I went to work, helped change lives. Then I taught my fitness class to help women reach their goals. One woman reported she had lost 13lbs in the last 3 weeks. I am truly happy for her and this is why I push through it. Today I am having a hard time finding the silver lining of my situation. Today my body is better than it was yesterday so I have just tried to focus on this fact. However the shooting random pains in my feet when I walk, my face when I talk and my back when I breathe have really taken a toll on me. My everything hurts. I punched the air in a routine and I had

Hey guys this is Shana's friend I am typing for her. I feel like I havent talked to you guys in forever. Lately my hands have been acting up. My fingers have hurt incredibly bad. Today it is very cold here and my pain has increased. Currently my body feels like my skin is exposed or open and it burns constantly. My feet are burning and hurt up to my legs from the inside. I am working now but am taking off this afternoon. I will update you guys soon. Thank you for your positive thoughts and  prayers.

Note: Start at "The Why" Hey guys! Its been a while since I've blogged. I apologize.  Monday: Monday was not a good day. My pain level was 7/10. I managed to work and teach my fitness class. I had groceries from Sunday that I was not able to cook so I snacked most of the day. After work I was able to finish the bottom part of my hair as I am doing a natural protective twist style. I did about 10 twist which took about 2 hours. Toward the end of the section I was doing my left hand begin to cramp really bad. My palm was beginning  to swell and hurt (see picture below). I went to my cousins softball game. The weather was cool not cold. I stayed about 40 mins but had to leave early to teach my fitness class. Walking to my car I noticed my toes on both feet were frozen and numb. I cut the heat up high in my car but it didn't help. I taught my class, did jumps and gave high and low impact options. Every time I finish a class I thank God and my body for making it throu

On Friday I set out to stay in the house on Saturday. Have a staycation if you will. I needed sometime to just have no responsibilities, no demands, no people....I needed to disconnect and breathe! Saturday was great. My pain level was down and I slept in and then took plenty of naps. Around 12pm I took my morning meds because I was just getting up.I called my mom to let her know what a great pain free day I was having. Mother nature came for her visit (ugh!! Due to birth control I haven't seen her  in a while so I guess its ok). I read in the support group how often times a woman's monthly can make symptoms of FMS worse. Of course my body would be different and I was loving it!!! I cleaned my house and then stood on my feet for 6 hours braiding my hair. I am not pleased with the results and will be redoing it.....I digress. I finished my hair around 11:30pm and took pm meds. At this point I was in a little pain in my legs and back but who wouldn't be? I dozed off and woke

Happy Friday loves!!!! I am so elated that it is finally Friday!! I woke up early this morning in a little bit of pain but ok. I signed up to give blood before this flare up started.  I am a bit nervous but I think it should be fine. I think I will eat an actual pork sausage to get my iron up.  I typically eat turkey sausage and this week I have been drinking a veggie shake but I want to make sure I can actually give today. I am anemic and sometimes my iron levels aren't high enough to give. I am about to cut my music up and jam  through the house. Talk to you guys later!!     On my playlist:  Rise Up- Andra Day (inspirational) Big Girls- Salt and Pepper (girl power) Flawless- Bey (no explanation needed) Don't Be So hard On Yourself- Jess Glynne (a little reminder) I Understand- Smokie Norful (a little gospel) Fall for you- Lella James (a little love) ⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛⇛ Giving blood went well and didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thou

Note: Start at "The Why" Hello, Happy Thursday!!! I hope your Thursday is going well and it is dry where you live. Here it is rainy and cold still. I am not a fan of the rain or cold or maybe its just when they combine forces. I left off on yesterday saying I would fill you in on something great that happened on Wednesday. Well.....I am alive and that is amazing!!! Wednesday night was long as I am in grad school and we met for what seemed like an eternity 9pm-11pm. Because I wanted to stay awake for class I did not take my meds until 11pm. WHEWWWWW that made for a rough night. However, I manged to get 5hours of sleep. I woke up this morinig with  my back very tight and my neck hurting and I am out of pain meds 🙍 But I decided  that today was going to be a good day. I work til 5:30 then plan on taking a nap before I teach tonight at 8pm. I can not wait for my nap!!! It's  going to be amazing. I can feel it! This morning when I woke up I started singing Rise Up by Andra