Tag: #fibrofriday

goals · health

Fibro Friday – The Berg Protocol

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Happy Fibro Friday! I always love sharing information and updates regarding the world of fibromyalgia, but I realized as I started typing this post that I haven’t provided an update on my personal health. I think I am overdue for a discussion about my fibro journey and experience. So I’ll give you a brief update on my health, then I’ll dive into the Berg ProtocoI haven’t been in much pain recently, and my energy levels, while lower than I’d like, are stable. I’m still using gabapentin and I haven’t felt a need to increase my dosage. I’m thankful that I am still in the low dosage range and haven’t needed to implement any additional pain relievers. Overall, so far, so good.

Now, back to today’s topic. Today we’re exploring the recommendations for treating fibromyalgia that are promoted by Dr. Eric Berg. Dr. Berg is a chiropractor that offer his health perspective and recommendations on YouTube. I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss the fact that Dr. Berg is at the center of a controversy involving his son, Ian. Ian revealed that Dr. Berg is a Scientologist and a narcissist that mistreats individuals that decide to leave the Church of Scientology. These facts have given me pause when it comes to purchasing Dr. Berg’s products, and even promoting his videos can be an indirect way of supporting him. Further, I don’t want to victimize Ian further by indirectly supporting his father.

That being said, I want to add that disclaimer so you can decide whether you want to continue reading this post or whether you want to skip this week’s Fibro Friday. I don’t want to skip over the statements against Dr. Berg just because he offers solutions that may work for one of us fibro warriors. Dr. Berg offers some treatment options for fibromyalgia that may be worth considering, especially for those of us who prefer natural and alternative treatments. While Dr. Berg doesn’t have a large collection of videos dedicated to fibromyalgia, he does have a few videos discussing conditions that may be misdiagnosed as fibro. Also, he provides tips on reducing chronic fatigue and pain that comes along with fibromyalgia. Here is one of Dr. Berg’s videos that you may find informative:

The Berg Protocol can be summarized as follows:

  • Consider whether your fibromyalgia may be related to a congested gallbladder; if so, start supporting healthy gallbladder function to get relief
  • Increase vitamin D3 intake in order to reduce or eliminate pain
  • Try acupressure for relief
  • Ketogenic dieting and intermittent fasting are recommended

I think that Dr. Berg’s recommendations are very similar to Dr. Berry’s statements (which I reviewed last week). However, Dr. Berg’s experience as a chiropractor means that his perspective originates from a different point that Dr. Berry (who is a MD). While I haven’t explored all of Dr. Berg’s recommendations, I have been increasing my vitamin D3 intake and it does seem to give me a bit of an energy boost (though my chronic fatigue is still in full effect).

That’s all for my brief overview of Dr. Berg’s protocol. If you’ve implemented any of his tips, I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below.

Have a great weekend! I’ll talk to you all soon.

food · health

Fibro Friday – The Berry Protocol

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Happy Friday! We made it through another week, and boy, what a week it’s been! I entertained a few of my younger relatives for four days, and those little ones WORE ME OUT! I loved having them around, so, despite being exhausted, I will certainly have them visit again very soon!

Anyhoo, today is Fibro Friday, so we’ll be discussing another protocol that may offer some fibromyalgia relief. Today’s post looks at the protocol promoted by Dr. Ken Berry. I first mentioned Dr. Berry a few weeks ago, in the Fibro Friday post discussing some of the latest fibromyalgia research. I’ve been following Dr. Berry for a few years now, and I enjoy his practical wisdom about healthcare and living optimal lifestyles. Dr. Berry has been practicing medicine for over 20 years, and he encourages his audience to adjust their diets and daily habits in order to reduce or eliminate symptoms from chronic illnesses.

Dr. Berry has multiple videos addressing his approach when it comes to fibromyalgia treatment. He recommends a ketogenic diet, as well as going through the steps of determining whether you actually have fibromyalgia (requesting specific lab work to ensure that you haven’t been misdiagnosed). Here is Dr. Berry’s protocol, explained by the doctor himself:

Some of the key takeaways for me were:

  • Focus on rebuilding health cells and healthy myelin sheaths
  • Remove as much processed carbohydrates from the diet as possible
  • Pay attention to “sneaky” carbohydrates that spike blood sugar, such as honey, agave nectar, tubers and other starchy vegetables
  • Eat lots of healthy fatty options, like high-quality meats and seafood
  • Determine if you have other underlying issues, such as hypothyroidism or depression, that may have symptoms that can be confused with fibromyalgia
  • Check both your A1c and C-Peptide levels, to determine if you are experiencing symptoms related to elevated levels

Dr. Berry’s recommendations are worth a try, especially if you are curious about reducing your fibromyalgia pain without relying upon prescription medication. I appreciate the fact that Dr. Berry doesn’t promise a “cure”, but he advises his viewers that starting with his recommendations may provide significant relief for fibro symptoms.

Have you heard of Dr. Berry before? Have tried any of the tips that he outlines in his video? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

Have a fantastic weekend, friends! I’ll talk to you all soon.

business · career · fitness · goals · health · international · life curation · luxury · reading list · travel · writing

July Goal Updates

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It’s that time of the month again: time to review my annual goals and give you all some updates on what’s been happening on my end!

As a quick refresher, here is the 2021 goal list that I set out at the beginning of the year:

  • Publish 5 books
  • Lose 15 lbs
  • Manifest 3 international trips
  • Earn 6 figures in my businesses
  • Read 100+ books
  • Luxury purchases – Hermes, Christian Louboutin, Sophia Webster, Ralph & Russo
  • Cure my fibromyalgia

Next week, on Writer’s Wednesdays, I’ll be providing a publishing update, so I won’t be discussing that in depth today. However, I can say comfortably that I’ll have reached my publishing goal by August 1st, though, at this point, I plan to go far beyond my initial goal and aim for 10 books published by the end of the year.

As far as my weight loss goal, I’ve never progressed nor regressed. However, August 15th will be kicking off a dietary overall for me, which is connected to my last goal (curing my fibro). My next few Fibro Friday posts will cover this in more detail, as well as provide some background for context.

My international travel goal is not inspiring me nearly as much as it did when I first envisioned it. Make no mistake: I will be doing some travel this year. But with the Delta variant of COVID-19 on the rise, even my best plans may be thwarted by a new set of travel restrictions. For this reason, I’m focusing more on local travel this year. If an international trip is still possible in December, then yes, I will do that. But I’m not putting a ton of pressure on myself to “manifest” 3 international trips in 2021. Domestic travel can be just as satisfying, and it will allow me to reconnect with loved ones stateside.

My reading goals are coming along nicely. I’ll have my latest Books Read post coming out next week. At the rate that I’m going, I should be at 100 books by late October (fingers crossed). Audiobooks have really been saving me so much time! However, I’ll also be getting back to my ebooks and paperbacks soon: I miss looking at words in print.

My business goals are … meh. Monday’s post covered this topic already, but I’ll be doing some more strategizing in the upcoming weeks to see how close I can get to reaching the $100K+ mark in my businesses. It’s quite a stretch, but I can see where, with some adjustments, it’s doable.

And finally, about those luxury purchases . . . I’m adjusting this as well, and for good reason. I had a revelation that is far more aligned with the kind of consumer I intend to be (going forward). When you have those sorts of “aha!” moments, doing some course correction is the natural next step. The post all about this revelation will be coming out within a week or two, so look out for it soon.

That’s it for my goal updates! Progress in some areas, stagnation in others, and completely rewriting one or two. I’m pleased overall, and I’m looking forward to seeing how things come together over the next few months.

I hope you all are having a great day, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

health

Fibro Fridays: The Singh Khalsa Protocol

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It’s another fabulous Fibro Friday, and I’m excited to bring you another protocol that may offer you (and me too, hopefully) some additional insight into how to best treat and minimize your fibromyalgia symptoms. Last week, I shared the Liptan Protocol, as promoted by Dr. Ginevra Liptan. This week, we’ll examine the protocol of another health expert.

The Singh Khalsa Protocol is the recommended routine as taught by Karta Purkh Singh (KP) Khalsa, former president of the American Herbalist Guild. He is a dietitian-nutritionist and herbalist, with over 45 years of experience as an herbalist. Within herbalism, his specialty is ayurveda, and many of his teachings reflect ayurvedic principles, especially when it comes to personal constitution (whether someone is vata, pitta or kapha) and conditions within the body (dampness, dryness, etc.). Singh Khalsa is also a published author, focusing on healing the body and improving overall quality of life.

I first learned about Singh Khalsa through a free webinar as published by the American Herbalist Guild. Since it was designed as instructional material, it is quite a bit longer than the video posted about the Liptan Protocol. Due to the length of the video, I will highlight some key takeaways from the video, as well as share a briefer interview with Singh Khalsa, where he discusses the treatment of neurological disorders (which most experts agree covers fibromyalgia).

As noted by Singh Khalsa, some aspects of his approach to treating fibromyalgia are as follows:

  • Understand that fibromyalgia IS NOT an inflammatory condition in and of itself (though there may be some concurrent inflammation that makes pain symptoms worse).
  • An elimination diet can help reduce food allergies and food sensitivities, which can exacerbate symptoms. He recommends an oligoantigenic diet to start the food elimination journey.
  • Fibromyalgia is considered a “cold” disease per ayurveda.
  • Symptoms can be improved through a variety of herbal preparations, including extracts from meadowsweet, hops, notopterygium root, kava root and others.
  • Effectively managing fibromyalgia requires a total lifestyle change.
  • His approach addresses treating the nervous and endocrine systems, where the actual dysfunction (disorder) is rooted. He remains adamant that treating the syndrome like a musculoskeletal issues ensures a far less effective treatment results.
  • His treatment approach is THRIVE: Touch (massage and bodywork), Herbs and hormones, Rest, rebalance and sleep, Immunity, Vitamins and nutrition, and Exercise. He prioritizes sleep over all other treatments, and recommends that people with fibromyalgia “bank” sleep (sleep more than the amount that the patient feels is needed), because more sleep helps to heal the body.

As you can see, many of the aspects of the Singh Khalsa Protocol are similar to the Liptan Protocol (especially as regards the emphasis on sleep and overhauling the patient’s lifestyle). I love that both protocols complement one another, and there are no points that are in conflict. I’ve taken some notes from Singh Khalsa (as well as Dr. Liptan) and I’m encouraged by the fact that he and Dr. Liptan both seem fairly confident that, by adhering to their protocols, it is possible to restore the body to it’s pre-fibro level of functioning, though, as Singh Khalsa mentions, the person may be a bit more “fragile” after recovery. The overall end goal is to live a full and happy life without pain, and it is possible according to Singh Khalsa.

Here’s the lecture taught by Singh Khalsa at Loyola Marymount University:

Reviewing this protocol has given me much food for thought: it’s a good thing that this is a holiday weekend! I hope you all have a safe and fun Fourth of July (for my USA friends) and a great weekend, no matter where you are. Take care, and I’ll talk to you all on Monday!