Last Updated on December 19, 2023 by melissanreynolds
First I want to say thank you so much for being here and part of the journey. 2023 has been a huge year for me personally, and a big year for the blog.
Through the blog I have
- Published 50 posts!
- Shared 60 videos
- Run two Facebook groups
- Created a lot of awareness raising posts on social media
- Put together the Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia email series – the easiest way for you to find my top pregnancy and fibromyalgia posts
- Released The 10 Minute Toolkit – a very special toolkit with 10, 10 minute self-care practices to fit into your life easily
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and my first ever children’s book is published!
Being an author is a dream I’ve had since I was a child. It looks differently than I could have imagined, but I’m making dreams come true over here in a paced manner!
Personally I have
- Learnt that the severe periods I had was actually endometriosis
- Had a hysterectomy and endometriosis surgery (a major surgery)
- Continued to raise four small children!
I’m also questioning if what we call “fibromyalgia” is actually something or some things else. I encourage you to keep searching. Don’t do it to the exclusion of living life, but keep looking. If I had just accepted my diagnosis and done nothing, I wouldn’t be where I am. And I am so thankful where I am. Even with daily pain and fatigue, even with all sorts of odd symptoms, it’s so much better than ever before.
I have trigger points, spinal issues that the chiropractor feels they can support, hypermobility (we are not yet sure how to categorize it, but I’m on waitlists) a couple of spinal abnormalities, a ramped up nervous system, trouble sleeping and profound fatigue.
But removing the endometriosis and constant trauma of the severe periods has improved pain and fatigue. Reducing or removing the trigger points will certainly improve both. Improving spinal health will help pain and fatigue too. All of this will calm the nervous system and help me sleep well. So I have hope that once we tend to the issues that are here, I’ll have a normal human body underneath.
Even if I thought it was fibromyalgia, I’d still tackle the pain, fatigue and insomnia (and other symptoms) separately. There is no one treatment for all, though soothing one soothes all. What do you think?
What were the top posts here in 2023?
2. Long Covid and Fibromyalgia: What You Need to Know
3. Ultimate Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
5. The Best Supplement for Fibromyalgia
6. 19 Ways to Make Working With Fibromyalgia Easier Part One
And what’s in store for 2024?
For 2024, I am really honing in on the next level of my wellness journey. I am on the precipice of the next step of recovery. Now that I have got rid of the endometriosis and traumatic periods, and recovered from surgery.
Thanks to quetiapine and several other things I do, I tend to get good quality sleep which helps so much.
With the new chiropractor and plan, I expect that my neck and back will be much less tricky.
I’ll be really honing in on healthy habits – regular human wellness practices that also support my health journey. This free worksheet and guide, Daily Health Habits for Chronic Pain and Fatigue explains some of it. I’m looking at simple changes that can boost wellness, such as getting outside first thing in the morning. Delaying caffeine and other things neuroscientist Doctor Huberman discusses. You can get his daily blueprint here.
Alongside this I’ll be leaning further into my meditation and mindfulness practices and constructing my own version of brain retraining. I have many strong opinions about this and hope to share more soon.
I am increasing my work hours in January (I’m on a phased return post-op) and my third son is starting school, so I need to be even more targeted with outside projects. My aim is to continue sharing videos and blog posts, but my schedule may slow down.
My vision for Melissa vs Fibromyalgia
Is that it will continue to be a “one stop shop” for resources for living well with chronic pain and fatigue. The posts I do publish will be multi media, making them as accessible as possible. I hope to include videos for those who prefer to watch/listen than read. Or who find both together helpful.
The good news is that I have A LOT of previous posts and videos that I stand by to help you. I could stop creating today and you’d have everything I’d want you to know. However, I am an avid learner and I won’t stop learning and then sharing that with you.
My goal is to update older posts, use some of them as the basis for more free guides for my Patrons in the support team and carry on with the below.
What do we have?
- This blog
- YouTube channel
- Two Facebook groups
- Twitter page
- Yoga and meditation courses
- Books and eBooks
- Journals
- Patreon support team
Thank you
Thank you for being part of this journey. Thank you to those who participate in the Facebook groups, comment on YouTube videos and Instagram posts. Thank you to those who DM me to tell me how my work has helped you. It makes my day!
My dream is that this work is no longer necessary. That we get to the root of these conditions that cause chronic pain and fatigue and that there are answers for the roots. Until then, I’ll do my best to keep helping you.
