The Fibromyalgia Cookbook was put together by Shelly Ann Smith. On December 5,
1995 Shelly was in a head-on car collision. This altered her live in ways that she would never
have imagined. She ended up with the painful condition called fibromyalgia. She writes in her
Book, “fibro inflicts terrible wounds that leave no scars, and so it is very difficult to explain and
much more difficult to treat.

    Before the car accident Shelly worked as a pharmacy technician. She knew about all
the drugs available; the antidepressants and pain medications. Yet, she chose to go a different
route in treating her aliments. Her curiosity lead her to explore into the more healthy foods, like herbs
and natural foods. Shelly writes in her book that “ she became more aware of the benefits of
God’s own medicine.

    Shelly discovered many foods that would help ease fibromyalgia patient symptoms. She found
the foods that are good and the ones that are harmful. Pure foods is the way to go. Watch out for
the toxins and the foods that contain them.  For instance while green peppers contain an enzyme that
helps to cause pain, red peppers do not.

    The Fibromyalgia Cookbook is a whole new way of living, drink lots of water, no caffeine or
Sugar, and limit red meats. Actually it is preferred, no red meat. This new way of eating also requires low
sodium and low fats, with no processed sugars. There are a lot of no’s but some of them are the same
ones we have been hearing about for years.

    You change to soy butter, virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, honey, splet flour and rice pasta.
It sounds difficult to me. Some of the options I do already, but some I do not quite understand.
But for those of us who really want relief, it is worth a try.

   Depression is one of the main symptoms that you have to
constantly fight when you have fibromyalgia. For me it seems to be above all other symptoms.  It is hard to deal with fibromyalgia alone, but the depression that comes from having it almost can destroy you as a person and your well being.

    Having fibromyalgia not only makes my muscles ache, but my bones
hurt. My bones hurt worse in the winter time because of the cold. This limits
the tasks that I can do. I do things slower and take longer than before I had
Fibromyalgia. This contributes to the depression that I have.

    Depression seems to control me, it makes everything look worse
than it is in most cases. I know that it makes me feel like everything is
out of my control. I can not seem to get anything to work right. So I allow
things to happen the way they should not and than I just clean up whatever
mess is left behind. It seems to be easier this way because everyone else gets
what they want, but me. Yet it keeps me from having to deal with other problems which would just depress me more. It is a vicious circle, one that
you can control some days and not others.

Adults living and dealing with the symptoms of having fibromyalgia is very sad. The pain is one of the most debilitating pains there is. It takes over your body and affects you mentally and physically. Life is changed forever. I know because I have fibromyalgia. Some days you would cryall day but you know that will not help. You learn to do the best you can.
 
The knowledge of knowing that teenagers are having fibromyalgia is devastating to me. Teens are supposed to be at a time in life where it is to be enjoyed. I realize that there is more and more stress placed on teens. If it is not from school, extra activities (sports, etc) or parents; it is what teens demand of each other, it could also be from gang members. This all makes for stress and stress is one of the main factors that contribute to fibromyalgia.

Teens as well as all children are our most precious resource. They are the leaders of tomorrow. One day they will be the doctors, nurses, scientists, teachers, policemen and policewomen, computer net workers, professors, and professionals. They are the future. Yet that future can be impacted with loss by many diseases including fibromyalgia. If the fibromyalgia is caught in time some of the new medicines can help with the affects of the syndrome.

If you have a teenager that tells you that their body hurts just from being touched lightly take it seriously. Make an appointment with either your family doctor or one that deals with fibromyalgia. Please take the time. It is important to catch this syndrome before it gets out of hand. If you catch it early enoughyou may be able to solve it just by changing your habits and learning how to deal with stress. If not, a life of pain is what may be facing them. I know personally that is not the option you want.

Please help to protect our teens from this debilitating syndrome.