Author, Debbie Baumgarten
I am not a doctor. I am simply someone who has suffered from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndromes for over 15 years. I also had all of the symptoms of Lupus and Lyme Disease, including even the tick-bite and large rash when I was younger and the butterfly face rash that often accompanies Lupus. So for all I know, I may have had any one or all of these chronic illnesses. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue and Myofascial Pain Syndromes at the Mayo Clinic in 2000.
I have tried desperately to find solutions and treatments that actually work. I say desperately as it’s 50 times harder when you are suffering from debilitating pain and fatigue as well as a host of other symptoms while trying to find the answers. And I say “that actually work” because there is a lot of false and misleading information and things that are a waste of time, money and resources that could be put to much better use than lining someone else’s pocket.
I have been diligent in my work to recover my former health and vitality. I was determined to get my life back and I have.
I am also quite convinced that there are many other chronic illnesses that can be effectively treated or minimally improved through the application of the information in this book. So if you are suffering from Lyme Disease, Lupus or another similar chronic illness, that you too can find relief and possibly even full recovery.
Fibromyalgia and CFS are fairly new. 15 years ago there were very few doctors who knew anything about these illnesses and even they knew very little. Now, they have become more known but still no one knows what causes them and worse, there are a lot of confusing theories and all kinds of “treatments” including some who are simply trying to profit off of others’ misfortunes.
I have done a tremendous amount of research on these subjects, reading tomes of books, blogs and articles. I have been to numerous clinics from the Mayo Clinic in Florida to the Fibromyalgia Treatment Center in California, The Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Center in Dallas and several others in between. I have followed numerous protocols and treatments, taken varying types of drugs, tried all manner of supplements, followed a huge array of different diets and exercise programs as well as other therapies and treatments.
This website and my book entitled, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, and Chronic Illness: Navigating through the confusion and deception, isolating the truly effective, science-based treatments to get the real solutions to recover your health and take back your life!, are both simply a synopsis of what I found that, through a lot of trial and error, helped or improved my condition.
My intention is to help others who have been experiencing the many horrible symptoms of these syndromes/chronic illnesses and to hopefully make it possible for you to recover your happy, healthy lives too. If I can save you time and money and connect you to resources that will aid in or help speed your recovery, I will have achieved my goal.
I feel for you. I know what you are going through. And I know how disheartening it can be to be given a wrong diagnosis or wrong treatment that, not only doesn’t resolve the problem, often makes matters worse. I know what it’s like to be told there is nothing wrong with you or that it’s all in your head. I also know what it’s like to be betrayed by false and misleading information and “treatments”.
There were times I hit rock bottom and many times I felt the despair of having to endure the pain, fatigue and host of other symptoms that are all part of the Chronic Illness package. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who has cared for me and helped me through so much. And I have been connected to others on Facebook and support groups that have been so understanding and supportive and helped tremendously to get me through the rough times.
I realized I had to find the proper balance of cutting myself some slack and kicking myself in the butt to get up and fight for my health. I think it does help to acknowledge that you are in pain, that you are suffering and that life is so much harder in every respect. I think it helps to have others feel for you and empathize. At the same time, I think there are also times that you have to be just a little bit hard on yourself – hard enough on yourself to do the things that are going to make you feel better in the long run. If you don’t, you can go swirling down a dwindling spiral of doing things that appear to comfort you in your agony that are just making the symptoms worse.
In this website and my book I cover some of the basics about Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but otherwise I largely focus on all of the factors that I found to be most important to recovering good health and then maintaining it.
Recovering from these illnesses is not a simple one-shot-in-the-arm treatment. I think we have grown accustomed to going to a doc with our ailment and expecting him to prescribe a pill that fixes it. Sometimes things are easy like that. You get some bug, like a bronchial infection. Your doctor gives you an antibiotic to take for a week or two, after which you feel better and are able to recover. If only everything were that easy! These syndromes are not. Drug companies have invested millions of dollars into marketing drugs that don’t cure anything but rather mask some of the symptoms and throw in a few side affects of their own.
I have, over the 15 years that I have known I had Fibromyalgia and CFS, covered a lot of ground on the subject. I have found things that helped, that made a difference and actually improved my condition. I can save you a lot of time by imparting the knowledge I have learned.
These resources are here to provide that information that will allow you to make an informed decision as to whether you might have these illnesses, and give you the right direction as to how to proceed in repairing yourself and freeing yourself from the suffering that accompanies these syndromes.
I sincerely hope that my efforts will allow many to simply walk their own path out of the emotional darkness that chronic pain can bring and help them to return to a healthy and happy life.
- Debbie Baumgarten