Kathy Beat Fibromyalgia & Shares Her Story

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Kathy Beat Fibromyalgia & Shares Her Story

I went to a rheumatologist and I remember that day so clearly. My daughter bought me croc shoes because the shoes touching my feet just hurt and everything, hurt all over. I remember asking him “Just tell me what’s wrong with me.” He did different tests, autoimmune tests and it didn’t show up anything. He came back and said “You’ve got fibromyalgia. The good news is you won’t die from it, bad news is you’ll be in pain every day.”

I would get up in the morning and take the hottest shower I could stand. Even shower water hitting the top of my feet would hurt. Just to be able to go in to work, get limbered up and everything … just no energy. When I’d come home, I was just laying on the couch. That was it, I was done for the rest of the day mostly; trying to just keep up from day to day with lesson plans, meetings and trying to remember everything. My memory was getting worse. I couldn’t remember things where I was once a team leader, to depression, irritable bowel and tenderness pretty much all over my body. I wasn’t sleeping well, couldn’t fall asleep. It just hurt everywhere basically.

I think I mentioned to you when I went to my family doctor for just a regular check-up, he was amazed. He said I see so many patients that come in here, and it just made my day to see you come in here, how much more upbeat you are. You look better and your weight has really amazed me … how much weight you’ve lost, how you’ve stuck with everything and the diet. I told him about the supplements. He checked everything and he said “Just keep doing what you’re doing.” Earlier when I had seen him back in November last year, he just looked at my prescriptions and said “My goodness Kathy, if I was on all this I don’t think I could function.” I went out of his office crying. I’ve been following you on the Internet probably for 3 years and I told my husband, “I’m going to call Dr Murphree. This is it, I’m going to call him.” I’m glad I did.

Read or Listen To The Entire Interview Below:

Kathy From Kentucky Beats Fibromyalgia

Dr. M:  I’m joined with Kathy from Kentucky. She’s been working with me, and over the last 6 months we’ve made quite a bit of progress. Kathy, tell me when did you first get diagnosed with fibromyalgia?

Kathy: 

Well, I wasn’t really sure what was going on with me. I was teaching school, teaching kindergarten/first grade and just feeling miserable and achy all over. I guess it had been probably about 11 years ago. I went to a rheumatologist and I remember that day so clearly. My daughter bought me croc shoes because the shoes touching my feet just hurt and everything, hurt all over. I remember asking him “Just tell me what’s wrong with me.” He did different tests, autoimmune tests and it didn’t show up anything. He came back and said “You’ve got fibromyalgia. The good news is you won’t die from it, bad news is you’ll be in pain every day.” I just left so discouraged. It’s really gotten worse gradually I guess, the past probably 5-6 years.

Dr. M:  Tell me a little bit about what were some of the symptoms and some of the health challenges that you had on a daily basis, prior to us working together.

Kathy:    

When I was teaching, you have to have energy with little ones like that. I love teaching, but it got to the point I had no energy. I would get up in the morning and take the hottest shower I could stand. Even shower water hitting the top of my feet would hurt. Just to be able to go in to work, get limbered up and everything … just no energy. When I’d come home, I was just laying on the couch. That was it, I was done for the rest of the day mostly; trying to just keep up from day to day with lesson plans, meetings and trying to remember everything. My memory was getting worse. I couldn’t remember things where I was once a team leader, to depression, irritable bowel and tenderness pretty much all over my body. I wasn’t sleeping well, couldn’t fall asleep. It just hurt everywhere basically.

Dr. M:  Your pain really controlled your life at that point. Tell me about your pain now. What’s your pain like now?

Kathy:  

I still have some pain, but it’s a lot better than what it was. I have good days and bad days but I have more good days, which is a blessing because every day was a bad day. I have more interest in everything and my pain is better. I have some back issues going on anyway. I’ve been working with a doctor with that. Like I said I’m not young as I used to be, but my pain I think compared to what it was is a lot better. I’m not laying on the couch like I did. I have a lot more interest in things.

Dr. M:     

You told me at one time you really were pretty much couch-bound when you were at home. That’s kind of where you were at. You really couldn’t do much of anything. The other thing you shared me with me that is a real exciting thing is you’ve found that you’re able to do more and not crash, whereas in the past if you over did it, you were pretty much done.

Kathy:   

I always liked to garden and do things like that, because I was proud of my yard. Last summer I mostly stayed in the house, took naps and just no interest, stayed in the house and laid on the couch. My husband had to chip in and do a lot more. We bought mulch and different things for the garden and it just laid out there. He said “Come show me where you want it and I’ll help you” but I just had no interest. I was depressed. Our dog, she weighed just 5 pounds, a little Yorkipoo, she wanted to go out and just going down the steps from the porch and walking her … she doesn’t pull that hard, but every step I took I just hurt. I just ached all over. I was worried about taking trips, afraid how would I do with my grandkids and things? I wanted to see them, go to the beach, do different things and just riding in the car. Everyday life, it was really depressing.

Dr. M:   

Tell me about this recent family reunion you had where everyone commented about how good you looked. Tell me a little bit about that.

Kathy:     

Me and my husband, there was a reunion we went to. It got to where I didn’t really go to much anywhere. People would invite me to go places and I just didn’t feel good, church activities and things. He had a family reunion and there were people coming up to me just commenting on of course the weight loss, how you do it and all this. I was telling them about the anti-inflammatory diet I’d been on, watching certain things that I was eating and they just told me how good I looked. I looked like I felt good … it’s amazing the comments that I’ve been getting. We had grandparents’ day at school about a week and a half ago. My coworkers I used to work with came up and said “You’re really looking good. You really look like you’re feeling better” so that made me feel good.

Dr. M:        

Absolutely. When we started working together, you had put down that your energy was a 1 on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best. Your mental clarity was a 2 as you mentioned earlier, a 2 out of 5. That drastically improved, and part of that was just getting you on the right combination of right supplements, the diet and then also getting you sleeping at night. Your sleep was really bad.

Kathy: 

Really bad. I would lay there in bed thinking I’ve got to get up and go to work in the morning. How am I going to manage? Even after, I had to take a leave of absence. The doctor I was seeing recommended that. Finally I just went and retired early, which was disappointing because I just couldn’t function. It was just getting so bad, my memory and things. It was really a sad situation I had gotten into. I was on so many prescriptions. I think I mentioned to you when I went to my family doctor for just a regular check-up, he was amazed. He said I see so many patients that come in here, and it just made my day to see you come in here, how much more upbeat you are. You look better and your weight has really amazed me … how much weight you’ve lost, how you’ve stuck with everything and the diet. I told him about the supplements. He checked everything and he said “Just keep doing what you’re doing.” Earlier when I had seen him back in November last year, he just looked at my prescriptions and said “My goodness Kathy, if I was on all this I don’t think I could function.” I went out of his office crying. I’ve been following you on the Internet probably for 3 years and I told my husband, “I’m going to call Dr Murphree. This is it, I’m going to call him.” I’m glad I did.

Dr. M:   Yeah, you got off all those medications. The only thing you’re on is the Adenocor, blood pressure medication, but your blood pressure is doing fantastic.

Kathy:  My heart rate especially.

Dr. M: Yeah. How much weight did you lose on the anti-inflammatory diet?

Kathy:     

My doctor told me that since November last year, I’ve lost 40 pounds … more than I thought.

Dr. M:   

Fantastic. Of course the weight loss is great but what it accomplishes, it’s a big step in the right direction to getting healthy. That was really what we were trying to do, just get you as healthy as we could. By losing the weight, you had some elevated liver enzymes and those came down. Part of that was the medication that you’d been on, but we got that down to normal. Your blood pressure, your triglycerides went from well over 300 down to 100, your cholesterol went down; so many things improved. It was your hard work. The diet is not an easy thing to do for some people. Some people would rather complain they can’t do something and other people do something, and you did something. I’m really proud of you.

Kathy:    

It was my last hope, I’ll be honest with you. I just felt like I had to try you and see if you could help me. I thought I was trying to be healthy, eat healthy and do things. I was seeing a psychologist for pain management and different things … I had to do something because I thought I want to be able to enjoy the rest of my life. The way it was going, I didn’t see any hope, I really didn’t.

Dr. M:    

I think a lot of times what happens is you just get through the day, you get through the month, you get through the year and before you know it, 3, 4, 5 years go by and then you realize just how run down you are, and how much of a recluse you’ve become. You don’t even realize it. Fortunately for you, you were able to get out. I remember in our first interview, you said you loved to garden. That was one of the things you wanted to do, that was a big thing for you. I’m really glad as you shared with me recently, you’re able to get out now. You have more interest whereas before, I think what happens is you get so run down that you just don’t want to do anything because one, you don’t have any energy, and two, there’s the concern that if you overdo it you’re going to feel bad, so why even try?

Kathy:   

Exactly, that’s the way it was. You want to do things at some point, but you get so that you don’t have any desire to do anything.  I had a kid, I remember telling him “I’ve got my 1-2 back again.” Like I was younger, I’ve got my 1-2. I get out there and I try to do it.

Dr. M:    

I love that. You said you’d followed me, seen my book and it took you about 3 years so it took awhile. I guess that’s kind of common. You have to get to that point where you’re ready to make that big leap. What was it like working with me? Obviously you’re in Kentucky, I’m in Birmingham Alabama … what was it like working with my office and working with me by phone? How did you find that experience?

Kathy: 

Everything went really well. Everyone that I spoke to was polite and wonderful. If I ever had any questions, please call or email. I enjoyed talking with you. Like I said, you did tests that I’ve never had done before on me. I felt like I had something to look forward to. I didn’t have any problems at all. You weren’t pushy about anything. With the way the world is of course you’re nervous about things, but I just knew I had to do something and I’m glad that I took that first step.

Dr. M: 

What would you share with others who are maybe where you were 6 months ago, or even 3 years ago because it took you a while to decide this is what you want to do? What would you share with any of those out there who are “learning to live with it” as they say.

Kathy:   

When you get to the point where I was and I’m sure there are lots of others that feel this way, you go to specialist to specialist and you’re put on more medications that aren’t good for you and have side effects. You get to the point, you know you need to do something. I don’t think they should hesitate because it’s a learning process. You have to work at it, but it’s worth it and you’re there to help. It’s knowledge, and I wouldn’t hesitate a bit. They need to take that leap of faith and just do it.

Dr. M:     

In February, I guess that’s when we started working somewhere around there, could you imagine in February you would be where you’re at now?

Kathy:    

No, not at all. I was hoping but like I said, you’ve tried so much and nothing worked. I thought “Well, I’ll just try this.” I never dreamed I would get to this point.

Dr. M: 

The other question is, could you ever imagine going back now what you know, what we’ve been able to share over the last 6 months and you’ve learned. Could you ever go back to where you were 6 months ago?

Kathy:   No, not at all. I try to be so cautious about everything, wanting to do the right thing, just working at it and sticking to it. It’s a daily thing but it’s not worth going back to-

Dr. M:   True, it’s a lifestyle.

Kathy:  Playing out just disabled and not being able to do hardly anything at all in your life, or enjoy anything.

Dr. M:   

Absolutely. Kathy, thank you so much for joining me. I’m so proud of you. It puts a smile on my face to hear how good you’re doing. You’re such a wonderful person and you deserve all the wonderful things you’ve achieved over the last 6 months, and in months to come. You’ve laid that foundation, you’ve done that work. As you said it’s a lifestyle, but there’s no reason why you cannot continue to feel good. I’m sure you’re going to have some days where you’re going to have some achy pain … I have achy pain, everybody does. The difference now is, it doesn’t control you, you control it. It’s not something that’s going to put you on the couch and make you miserable. Now you know it’s one of those things that you just work right through. It’s no big deal, you can still garden and do the things that you love to do.

Kathy:       

Yeah, I gained a lot of knowledge. I feel like I’m a fairly educated person being a teacher, but I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about nutrition and different things. At least I have that. I can look back and think okay, if I’m feeling bad is there something causing this just from what I’ve learned.

Dr. M:    

Absolutely. I think it’s hard for a lot of people to imagine that they can get the kind of results you did through changing their diet, their lifestyle, and through proper supplementation. Most people think there’s just no way that they can do it without medication. Many people realize that medication is a dead end which I talk about, but most people don’t realize that it’s possible. Obviously it is because that’s all you did, is you used my protocols, worked with me on a weekly basis by phone and you saw the results.

Again, thanks for joining me. I look forward to talking to you soon.

Kathy:     Okay, thank you.

Dr. M:     You’re welcome.

Kathy:    Bye-bye.

These patients and hundreds of others who’ve worked personally with me have in fact beaten their fibromyalgia. You can read or listen to their stories by clicking the link below:

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