Replay: Start Before You're Ready: Creating A Fibro Life You Love

"Accepting a diagnosis is not the same as accepting a lifetime of suffering." - Tami Stackelhouse Hearing the words "you have fibromyalgia" can bring up so many emotions. Maybe you're relieved to finally have an answer, but also scared about what that answer means for your future. Will you always feel the way you feel right now? Will you be able to work, spend time with the people you love, and enjoy the things that make you happy? When you're struggling with pain, fatigue, and all the uncertainty that comes with fibro, it's easy to imagine that the way you feel today is how you're going to feel for the rest of your life. But having a chronic illness doesn't mean you're destined to spend your life suffering. It's okay to grieve the future you thought you would have, to be angry, or to feel overwhelmed by everything that's changing. You don't have to pretend that any of this is easy. At the same time, you don't have to give up on the possibility of feeling better. A diagnosis gives you information about what's happening in your body, not a prediction of what the rest of your life will look like. Your future might be different from what you originally imagined, but different doesn't automatically mean worse. There's still room for hope, improvement, and a life you love. In this Ask the Coach episode, Tami answers a question from Sophie, a listener in the UK who's struggling with the possibility of being diagnosed with a chronic illness. Tami shares her journey from filing for disability to being told her fibromyalgia was in remission, the emotional impact of a chronic illness diagnosis, why accepting a fibromyalgia diagnosis does not mean accepting a lifetime of suffering, separating what you actually know from assumptions about what the future might hold, why current symptoms do not necessarily predict your long-term quality of life, viewing your diagnosis as providing direction for treatment, understanding liminality, the uncomfortable space between the life you knew and a future you cannot yet see, how unexpected changes can open the door to new possibilities, why reclaiming your life is about more than managing symptoms, why a fibromyalgia diagnosis does not define your future, the importance of remaining open to what is possible, and more.

"Instead of asking what else you can try, try asking where else you should look." - Tami Stackelhouse It's incredibly frustrating to feel like you're doing all the things and still not getting your life back. You found a good doctor. You're taking the medications and supplements. You're working on your sleep, watching what you eat, trying not to overdo it, and somehow you're still stuck. Maybe you're not getting worse, but you're not really getting better either. If you've been there, you know how discouraging that treading-water feeling can be. For many of us, the solution is probably not adding another item to your already-too-long list. Fibromyalgia needs to be supported from several directions at once: what's physically happening in your body, how you're living in that body every day, and the relationship you have with it. Sometimes the next step isn't doing more at all. It's stepping back, looking at the whole picture, and noticing where you might need a different kind of support. In this episode, Tami explains her "three-legged stool" approach to fibromyalgia and getting your life back. She discusses her experience spending two years in treatment without improving, why she eventually looked for a different approach, how addressing physical health, lifestyle, and mindset together became a turning point in her journey, why it's important to address other health conditions that may exist alongside fibromyalgia, the importance of sleep, nutrition, movement, and adapting life to your current capacity, improving your relationship with your body, how weakness in any one of the three areas can make it harder to move forward, why different professionals may be needed to support different pieces of your wellness, how to assess your own three-legged stool and identify where additional support could make the biggest difference, and more. If you feel like you've tried everything and you're still stuck, Tami offers a different question to help you figure out where to look next.

"You're always ignoring something. Are you going to ignore yourself or the dust bunny in the corner?" - Tami Stackelhouse When you're used to getting things done no matter what, slowing down can feel almost impossible. There's always another task that needs your attention, someone who needs something from you, or that little voice reminding you what you "should" be doing. Add perfectionism into the mix, and taking care of yourself can easily end up at the bottom of the list. You keep pushing because that's what you've always done, even when your fibro body is asking you to stop. The good part is that feeling better doesn't mean you have to become a completely different person. You can still be ambitious, successful, and someone who likes things done well. It's about learning that not everything needs 150% of you, and that sometimes reading a book, taking a break, saying no, or leaving the windows for another day is exactly what your body needs. When you start working with your body instead of constantly pushing past your limits, life can feel a whole lot better. Today, Tami is joined by Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® Jeannette Rechsteiner, who knows this struggle firsthand. A high achiever and Fibromyalgia Wellness Style℠ Perfectionist, Jeannette went from a severe flare that left her unable to walk and living with pain at an eight or nine out of ten to saying, "I love my life." She and Tami talk about her life before fibromyalgia, her lowest point that ultimately led to her fibromyalgia diagnosis, how Jeannette finally found hope, why she decided to become a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® and fill a gap in specialized support in Switzerland, how coaching unexpectedly changed her own health and helped her recognize the connection between self care, perfectionism, and her flares, the three major turning points in Jeannette's journey, why having a coach and community makes such a difference in managing your fibromyalgia, building her business and becoming the kind of role model she wants to be for her children, why Jeannette focuses on helping perfectionists and high achievers, the practical ways she supports clients, why perfectionism became such an important piece of understanding her own fibromyalgia, Jeannette's advice for getting the right support, and more.

We often underestimate what we can accomplish in a year. The goal can seem so massive that we think we'll never get there and don't even bother to try. That's why it's so important to hear stories of hope from people who have been where you are. There is so much you can do in a year; whether or not you go for it, the year will go by. It's up to you to decide what you want to do between now and then. Today, we're having a special bonus episode where Kim Osborne, a current student in our Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® training program, joins Tami. In September 2022, when Kim came to Tami, she was struggling. She was at the end of her rope and didn't know what else to try. Many of the things that used to help her cope weren't working for her anymore, and even with her training as a health coach and yoga instructor, she was still feeling miserable. In this episode, Kim shares what worked for her and how her life transformed over the past year. In this conversation, Tami and Kim discuss Kim's fibromyalgia diagnosis and the start of her journey, her experience with prescribed medications and struggle with the recommendations from her rheumatologist, the downward slide many of us experience where our lives get smaller and smaller, why Kim decided to explore alternative solutions including seeking a fibromyalgia coach, the decisive moment when you realize life can get better, the feeling of finding hope and support in a community who truly understands you, the powerful impact of being coached by the right person, surprising lessons that came from working with Kim's fibromyalgia coach, Robin, the drastic difference between a trip Robin took a year ago and again this year, being open to changing goals and expectations when we recognize what our bodies need, Kim's progress in the past year, the importance of taking action between now and the future, recognizing the real role of a coach, why seeing a functional medicine doctor was game changing for Kim, the subtle difference between wanting to fix fibro and wanting to help yourself feel as good as possible, why Kim decided to take the Certified Fibromyalgia Advisor® course instead of only working with a coach, Kim's plans for the upcoming year, her experience working with clients during her Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® internship, remembering that each person's fibromyalgia journey is unique, Kim's message of hope and encouragement if you're struggling with your fibromyalgia journey, and more. If you don't have your own hope, borrow Kim's. You can find ways to feel better, and we would love to help.

"You need to make room for yourself." - Lauren Vazzano If you're struggling with fibromyalgia and juggling the responsibilities of motherhood, you're not alone. The good news is that you can feel better with the right strategies and support. Making yourself a priority and improving your health is the best way to support your family and help them to be in good health and good spirits. Focusing on yourself can feel much easier said than done when you're in the thick of things, and that's where a coach can make a huge difference. You don't need to go on this journey alone. Today's guest, Lauren Vazzano, joins Tami to talk about how she was able to drastically improve her fibromyalgia symptoms as a stay-at-home mom with two young children. Diagnosed in the fall of 2020, Lauren's story is a testament to resilience and the power of being proactive about your health. In this conversation, Lauren and Tami discuss Lauren's fibromyalgia diagnosis timeline, how she was affected by the pandemic, the difficulties of homeschooling her young children while managing her health, Lauren's journey through different doctors and treatments in search of relief, the value of lifestyle changes alongside medication for managing fibromyalgia, balancing dietary changes for fibromyalgia with managing family meals and preferences, strategies for accommodating kids' picky eating, how dietary changes affected her fibromyalgia symptoms, working with a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach® for support and guidance, modifying daily activities to reduce pain and improve quality of life, building a supportive team of specialists for managing fibromyalgia symptoms, overcoming overwhelm on the healing journey, focusing on healing rather than illness, Lauren's decision to become a Certified Fibromyalgia Coach®, Lauren's fibromyalgia impact questionnaire scores and their significance, the rewarding experience of helping others with fibromyalgia, how coaching addresses the various life aspects affected by fibromyalgia, Lauren's message for other mothers with fibromyalgia and family responsibilities, and more.