Yoga Or Narcotics

I was talking to my father on the phone last week, having just finished my morning walk with the pups and about to settle down to watch General Hospital while doing my daily yoga routine. I mused to him that regular yoga practice was the difference between taking narcotics or not for my Fibromyalgia pain. He was more than a little shocked and surprised, for to him narcotics are a BIG DEAL. For most that have never lived with chronic pain, narcotics are a big deal. For those that have or do live with it, well, we do what we need to in order to survive. He was happy to hear I have a way to manage my pain without the addictive misery of pain pills, but the thought that yoga could have that much of an impact on my pain was a new phenomena for him. Then the new year came and it got really cold and I slacked off, eating lots of good (not for you) food and drinking alcohol and not walking the pups or even thinking about doing yoga all weekend. Each day my pain would increase just ever so much more. I started creaking around, stiff as a board and constricted, popping Flexeril and Tramadol as a way to combat the pain. By the time Monday morning rolled around I could barely get out of bed, and by Tuesday afternoon I was just plain pissed off! I could barely move and was sick of pill popping and the blaring reality of the truth that proclamation I made to my father the week before manifested itself in living form.

Now don't get me wrong...there were many years when I had to use both to get through the day. When I was working retail the pain was so unreal, Percocet was how I merged my illness with my job. Yoga and walking were helpful, but not the saving grace they are today. My Fibromyalgia was not nearly as well managed and San Francisco is not a one income city, so I did what I had to do to pay my bills and survive. It sucked but sometimes being an adult does, and we do what is necessary to get through. Then we moved to sunny and warm (or hot as hell) Arizona and that in your bones pain that cold induces went away. I was still hurting but not to the point that I wanted to kill everyone and then myself. It became a bit more bearable. But I still relied on pain meds to get through my retail job. Then my doctor upped my Lyrica to 450mg and the pain went away! I turned into the Michelin Man and eventually had to stop Lyrica but have never had to go back on narcotics. Neurontin, strict lifestyle management and Flexeril keep my life livable. Oh yeah, and I quit that darn retail job!

But if I have ever doubted the necessity of yoga for the management of my Fibromyalgia pain, these last few days have driven the point home. Last night I forced my stiff and aching, throbbing and burning body to stretch. I pushed through my yoga routine that I usually do with something close to ease huffing and puffing and barely able to hold myself up. I was constricted and inflamed and confused as to why it was so hard for me to do... Then I woke up this morning and felt much better! Something close to normal. I walked my pups and did the whole yoga sequence again and I am feeling good today. After I had the two strokes in July and was put on high doses of Prednisone I felt NO PAIN. I was a psychotic raving lunatic, but in pain I was not! I exercised every day with enthusiasm and passion. It was a non-negotiable in my life and I enjoyed that particular side-effect from the steroid. But as my dosage is now down to single digits and I am in at least just a little pain at all times, it is hard to commit the dedication to exercising I had before. When I hurt I want to curl up in a ball and just be. The problem is, just being does not make living life with Fibro any easier for me. In fact, it makes it harder. I come from the use it or lose it school of thought. So if it does not conflict with any of your other medical conditions and you are interested in at least learning about yoga, there is a terrific book out called Yoga For Fibromyalgia that starts you out very slow and gentle and you can gradually increase intensity as your body adapts. No, it is not for everyone. But for this girl right here, I would be a quivering jello-mould mess of a Fibrate without it.

Thanks for joining,

Leah

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