Could it be Fibromyalgia?

For years now I have had various "health anomalies" I guess you could say? But the biggest issue by far was my extreme fatigue and constant body aches. It grew worse and worse over time; I chalked it up to being a tired mom. But it got to the point of being just unreal. Add to that all the "little things" that just seemed "off" made me convinced it had to be more. It had to be more because it all started before I became a mom. Years before.

I went to the Dr. over and over. I am certain they thought I was crazy. I knew I wasn't a hypochondriac: I wasn't certain I had every new thing that halfway fit the symptoms! I was certain they couldn't be because they didn't fit them all. I was certain, however, that something was wrong. People told me, "Welcome to getting old!" My immediate thought following was always, I'm only 25 (that's when it started getting drastic)! If it keeps getting worse, I honestly don't know how 50 year-olds are even alive and walking!

A large snail we found on one of our walks.

Something finally came into my search that fit. I am certain it has something to do with the situation but it is also a question of the "chicken or egg coming first". Candida. The first and only thing that utterly fit! I began "treating" it on my own with home remedies and dietary interventions. Big difference. Although, not perfect, life was manageable again.

I had also been seeing an internist at the time who ran the whole shebang of tests, including X-rays. Based upon all the history and the types of symptoms she concluded I had fibromyalgia. Um no? I thought. I asked, "doesn't that basically disable you? I am not disabled. I think it's just candida." She told me that the whole complete disablement "thing" is a common misconception, and actually only accounts for about 15% of cases. What!? Hmm... Had to sit and ponder that little nugget of info.
I went home and read everything I could about fibromyalgia- holy cow! It fit everything- even down to having candida as a symptom... As time went on, I found more and more that made the fit even better.
Well, the Doc told me that unfortunately the only thing that really helps is exercise; but for people with fibro, it feels impossible to start. That was exactly where I was at. Doing the math, it all added up for me- although the problems started while I was still active, it was far easiest at the most active times in life. Conversely, it only got worse as I got more tired and fatigued. It had spiraled into a vicious cycle.

Eventually we made it as far as 8 miles!

So I started walking slowly but surely to stop the spin cycle. I kept increasing the effort as time went on. It's been 6 months now. I am pleased to say that between exercising and anti-fungal dietary supplements, life is a lot different. Yeah, I am still tired as a mom waking up all the time with kids; but the aches and pains are so much better (unless I take a few days off from exercising).

Being out walking and people watching so much has gotten me to thinking. I hear so many other women talking about how unbelievably tired and sore they are and that they don't know why. So... I wonder how many other women are in the same place I was. I wanted to put my story up here to hopefully reach some women searching for answers. Women who, like me, and many others (according to the Dr.), have fibro misconceptions.

If I had only known that exercising would help me feel less sore and tired in the long run, I would have pushed through the initial investment of it and started to enjoy life much sooner! Instead I mistakenly thought it would only make things worse.