Living with chronic pain is exhausting. I’ve lived with fibromyalgia for at least 18 years. Most of us with fibro have the pain long before we’re diagnosed, so I don’t know how long I’ve actually had it. And here’s a miracle—I no longer have the pain. How did this happen?

Last spring I was visiting my daughter out-of-state. She and her husband were on a supervised restricted-carbohydrate food plan.They not only lost lots of weight, they felt more energetic. So I ate what she ate, and on the flight home, I decided I would try their plan. I’d been wanting to lose 10 pounds forever, and I might even feel better if I did.

I Googled her program and found two places near me that offered it. The next morning I showed up and got started. In six weeks, I lost 17 pounds and soon felt like a new person. No more burning muscles–no more feeling like my body was being ironed, no more ever-lurking fatigue.

I still think this is too good to be true, therefore I have not blogged about it. But after reading recent blog posts by folks who live with the painful consequences of fibromyalgia, I thought I have to tell my story. Again. I knew simple sugars were bad in arthritis, that they produce inflammation, and also don’t help fibro, but didn’t want to accept, forever, that my sugar crave made me worse. And that I must severely limit simple sugars once and for all.

I’ve been back on regular food now for 4 months and have maintained my weight loss and have no pain. I’ve greatly reduced my intake of simple sugars (think white sugar/white flour products) and made sure I get adequate protein.

I’m thankful each day for how much better I feel. I’ve learned, however, I can’t take it for granted; after the last month of too much going on, I went through a week of fatigue, like old times. I was worried, but also relieved that I hadn’t gotten myself involved in things while I was feeling so energetic; I’d nearly signed up for several things at church, my joy at feeling better had put me back into a totally can do mode. I am thankful the little voice in my head told me to hesitate, be patient, and work on simply being happy with taking life day-by-day.

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Do not start any program without consulting your doctor. If you are curious about what program worked for me, you may read about it here. This is not an endorsement, as there are many variables in our health status that need to be considered before going on any plan.