RESULTS!!

Wow am I ever feeling good these days! I have energy to burn, my pain is down to a minimum and my mood is up!!

I went shopping for 2 1/2 hours yesterday for groceries which I haven't been able to do in years!! And yes, I was pretty sore last night but this morning I feel great. The bottom of my feet are pretty sore but I blame the unsupportive little flip flops I was wearing and not the fibro. Ya, good idea when you are ready to get out and explore the world again to be smart and wear the proper clothing and footwear!!

The night sweats have become a distant memory (okay they've been gone for 4 nights but still!!) which only proves to me that it was those darn birth control pills! So the plan is to wait for my next period, see how I feel the week before and during to see if I am getting better enough that my hormones don't make me relapse. So please keep your fingers crossed cause if I can stay off them I would really like to. If not, we are going to try a different brand that is lower in estrogen.

Speaking of estrogen, I did want to touch base quickly on soy products. Soy is very high in estrogen, that is why it is recommended that perimenopausal and menopausal women eat more soy-based products to minimize the effects of menopause. But for pubescent boys, the estrogen in soy can cause them to grow breasts... not a word of a lie and can make young girls develop faster as well. It is also not great for nonmenopausal women and even for men. High estrogen counts can cause all sorts of problems, not just reproductive related. As with fake sugars... soy is rearing its ugly head in a lot of packaged foods so keep an eye on it. Even those foods that are not vegan/vegetarian related. Processed meats, such as hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwich meats contain high soy contents as fillers. So just be aware... forewarned is forearmed!!

So now that I am starting to notice some serious results from my rehab plan I have to be extra cautious. Now is the time when us crazy chronic pain people (and A-type personalities) start to push ourselves again and relapse. So it is so important for me to be careful. I am obviously sitting here right now with my feet up, resting, talking to you all! But I did mention on facebook I wanted to go find some mischief to get into and my wonderful friend Angela reminded me that maybe today is the best time to find a tree to lean against and catch up on some reading! I can still be outside enjoying this great weather (cause who knows how long it will last?) but I can do it resting. Thank you Angela, always my little devil's advocate but you do help me keep it real.

I would love to go to a park and walk, play frisbee or bike ride but reality check... I'm not cured yet!! And pushing myself can make me relapse. This is where Dr. Tompkins' 100 day plan becomes so important. 100 days of feeling like this pretty much means I'm well on the mend. I will have periods, we will see crazy weather fluctuations and I will have high and low energy days at work within those days. If I continue to feel really great through all this for 100 days then there is a real good chance I will be "cured", for lack of a better word. Then I can hop on that bike and go for kilometres!!

One of my goals for my better days is a bike trip to Canmore. And I am extremely confident I can do that!! But for today my goal is to stay pain free, walk down the stairs with no aches and pains and to finish book 7 of the Legend of Drizzt. Happy Canada Day weekend my Canadian friends! I love you all.