Lifestyle Considerations in Stage 2 Fibromyalgia
In most cases, heavy, achy pain is associated with digestive troubles and chronic fatigue. That means focusing on your microbiome — the collection of microorganisms that call your gut home. Maintaining a healthy microbiome not allows you to fend off the heavy, achy pains of Fibromyalgia Stage 2, but it also offers relief from a host of gastrointestinal disorders, including IBS!
To achieve the optimal microbial environment, you first need to consider what lifestyle factors are discouraging the growth of good bacteria and promoting the proliferation of fungus and other bad pathogens. You’ll need to reduce your consumption of sweet, rich, or sticky foods. Most dairy products and alcohol are going to work against you too.
You should approach probiotics with a good dose of skepticism – we do! And please, no kombucha! On the other hand, you won’t usually go wrong with sauerkraut and kimchi if you tolerate fermented vegetables well. Both are great for encouraging the growth of healthy gut flora that’s needed for good digestion.
How can I free myself from fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia Stage 1: Freedom from Wandering Pain
Try Abdominal Self-Massage
You should also be performing abdominal self-massage after EVERY meal.
Next to eating right, taking the right medicines, and being in nature, abdominal self-massage is one of the best things you can do to promote digestive and microbial health. That’s because every time you do it, you’re:
- Encouraging peristalsis
- Helping your body create more enzymes and stomach acid
- Secreting bile
- Promoting the smooth distribution of gases that significantly impact overall wellness
It’s also extremely relaxing and feels really good!
Performing abdominal self-massage is incredibly simple and takes only minutes. But it’s enormously beneficial, especially if you struggle with fibromyalgia pain, IBS, constipation, or bloating.
Sip on Some Gut Tea: Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Tang
The Huo Xiang Zheng Qi formula is widely used in Chinese medicine to promote digestive health. It contains a ton of good stuff for eliminating the damp-type heavy, whole-body pain associated with Fibromyalgia Stage 2, including:
- Magnolol: One of our favorite anti-fungal compounds
- Curcumin: A potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
- Baicalin: Another powerful anti-inflammatory
- Quercetin: For regulating histamines
This potent gut tea is sold over-the-counter in China to treat damp-type diseases like food poisoning, traveler’s diarrhea, and summer flu. Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Tang can also be used as a summer and autumn drink to increase sweating and thirst and promote healthy fluid metabolism, or in high-exposure environments to prevent the onset of viral “damp plague” type diseases. It’s also excellent for treating the damp-type Fibromyalgia flares associated with new viral infection or other activation of the immune system.
For Fibromyalgia Stage 2, we recommend brewing one or two bags of Huo Xiang Zheng Qi Tang and sipping on it all day long.
A Dose of Aquada and Microgard Plus with Every Meal
Finally, take a small dose of Aquada and Microgard Plus with every meal.
Aquada is a super-premium version of the classical Chinese formula Er Miao Wan or “Double Awesome Pills” that combines Cang Zhu (Red atractylodes) and Huang Bai (Phellodendron) — two of the most potent substances on earth for regulating microbial health.
The berberine in Huang Bai gives Aquada strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, while Cang Zhu provides lots of volatile anti-fungal compounds that restore healthy water metabolism, starve fungus of sugars, and eliminate damp-type heavy pain.
Microgard Plus is an Imperial grade herbal formula containing botanical extracts to promote a healthy and diverse microbiome. It’s traditionally used to relieve bloating, cramps, and fatigue after eating, irritable bowel, food sensitivities, nausea and poor appetite related to excess dampness and what Chinese Medicine calls “food stagnation” — over-consumption of rich, fatty, sweet foods aka the Standard American Diet.
About the Author
For more insights, collaborations, or to reach out to Brehan, you can connect with him through his online platforms:
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Brehan Crawford, based in McMinnville, Oregon, is a distinguished clinician specializing in the treatment of chronic conditions, particularly Lyme Disease and its coinfections. After earning his Master’s degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine in 2009, he deepened his expertise with a 5-year residency under the mentorship of the renowned Dr. Heiner Fruehauf at the Hai Shan Clinic. A Diplomate of Oriental Medicine from the NCCAOM, Brehan has pioneered innovative methods using Traditional Chinese Medicine for chronic infections. Known for mentoring other professionals, he regularly imparts knowledge on advanced Chinese herbal medicine applications. Beyond his clinical pursuits, Brehan enjoys singing, cooking, and hiking.
