One of the worst parts of fibromyalgia is how it robbed me of energy. I was used to being an on-the-go woman, always doing something. Then I wasn’t sleeping (at least, not at night), WAS sleeping during the day, and didn’t have energy to get out of bed, much less clean my house, write, or take care of my husband and daughter.

Chronic illness can rob you of the most important to the mundane. But you can fight back.

I still don’t have full energy. I don’t know if I ever will. I’ve made huge strides, though, and I’d love to share my experience with you.

First, I got off every medication I could – prescription medicines, anyway. I still take a bunch of supplements every day. This method won’t work for everyone. It worked for me, though.

Second, I try my best to eat right. I learned a lot about nutrition, and especially about “leaky gut” and alkaline diets. Inflammation is one of the worst parts of chronic illness, leading to a lot of pain, and it’s made worse by eating certain foods. Here’s a chart of foods that cause or decrease inflammation and one of alkaline vs acidic foods. You want to keep your body on the alkaline side.

Third, I forced myself to get up. Even for fifteen minutes a day, even to do one thing. You may have to fight through pain – a lot of pain. But it will be worth it, especially if it means you don’t miss an important event in your family or friends’ lives.

There are no doubt many more things someone with a chronic illness can do to increase their energy. We’ll leave this post with these three points. At some later date I’ll deal with more. In my experience, though, little steps are what’s needed to fight back. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions or need more information. I’d love to hear what works for you, too. Tell me in the comments!