The Fibro Guy

I could come up with a million and one excuses as to why it has taken me so long to publish another blog, but ultimately, I hadn’t been prioritising writing. Life has indeed been busy, but I simply hadn’t been making time for it. That changes now.

In my most recent post (a long bloody time ago now), I covered the highs and lows of my experience of the residential pain management programme I attended in Bath. My quality of life had definitely improved following this. However, unfortunately, it was relatively short-lasting. To clarify, this was absolutely not a reflection of the programme itself, but rather of myself and my mindset at the time. Sometimes I look back and become frustrated that I didn’t hold myself accountable for my recovery and take it more seriously. Then I remind myself that I was only 21 years old and had a lot to learn (*just a baby*).

For the couple of years that followed, I was living moderately well in comparison to previous years. My body was still in a considerable amount of pain, but I was managing to do more of the things I enjoyed. This mainly included spending time with family and friends, going on holidays, and attending live music concerts (albeit in the accessibility area, a safe enough distance away from the mosh pits, but I was delighted to be there and soak in the atmosphere).

I began my university course in the September after completing the programme in Bath, and had to quickly adjust to the intense schedule that my course demanded. Most weeks, I would miss at least one day of classes as my pain would be too severe to leave home. However, there was an 80% minimum attendance requirement for the course which I believe I just managed to achieve.

It was in my final year of university that I came across Adam, also known as “The Fibro Guy”. Adam ultimately used hisknowledge and experience of curing his own chronic pain to help others in a similar situation to his. He offered an in-person pain management programme based in Newcastle, or an online course. Out of convenience, I opted for the latter. The online programme curated by Adam was primarily exercise-based, but also included a huge educational element.

The first two weeks was coined as the foundation level – some may say misleadingly so, as even this was pretty intense. The first thing that springs to mind from this time is the cold showers. Oh boy, the pain! Not even so much physically, but more psychologically. In the beginning, every morning, I would turn the shower temperature to cold and pray that the two minutes would pass quickly. I even had my ‘cold shower song’ to get me through what could only be perceived as torturous. For anyone interested, it was Kanye West – Black Skinhead (IYKYK). But, like a lot of things in life, you learn to love them.

OK, maybe ‘love’ is a strong word, but I certainly stopped hating them. As much as I was cursing Adam in the beginning for subjecting me to this (as a resident cosy gal), I was shocked to quickly start to feel the benefits of cold showers. The cold temperature stimulates the body, leaving you feeling more alert and energised. This was so effective that I voluntarily continued the cold showers on the mornings of my remaining university exams. Research shows that cold showers also improve circulation, boost your immune system, and aid muscle recovery, along with having many other health benefits. As I'm writing this, it has actually reminded me of how good cold showers are for you, so I think I might just add them back into my routine!

Each week throughout the programme, I was given ‘homework’ in the form of providing examples of certain scenarios to check my understanding of the learning material. I thought this was actually really important. It could have been very easy to provide all of this information and then not follow up on anything, but Adam genuinely cared. He wanted to make sure that the information wasn’t simply being memorised, but actually understood and put into practice. The material being taught mainly consisted of information about the pain system and neuroplasticity, which, as I'm sure you will have realised by now, I find extremely interesting.

The rest of the foundation section of the programme consisted of very basic stretches and down-regulating the heightened sensitivity of my nervous system. I am also referring to the exercises as ‘very basic' with some perspective now on my side. I certainly didn’t find them basic at the time, but everything is relative.

For the next eight weeks of the programme, the foundation stretches would be completed every single day, and each week would also consist of two to three strength and conditioning video sessions, as well as two ‘pin and press’ sessions. As much as this sounds like some form of martial arts move, it was far less exciting, and arguably more painful.

To this day, I still find the pin and press exercise extremely fascinating. It consisted of using rubber spikey massage balls on certain areas of the body and shifting your bodyweight onto the ball. The three areas included the arch of each foot, the IT band (outer side of each thigh) and the QL (a back muscle between the ribs and pelvis, at each side of the spine). I’m struggling to articulate a description of the process very well, so you will maybe just need to trust me on this one.

The aim of the pin and press technique is to down-regulate the neural pathways which have become hypersensitive in sending out pain responses. The first 30-60 seconds could be so excruciating that a few tears, and certainly a lot of yelps, would escape. However, I trusted the process and continued to breathe deeply through the pain, until it began to subside. Adam had assured me that the pin and press would become easier, but I wasn’t convinced after my first attempt. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it did. It took almost a minute, but the pain signals became less severe and far more tolerable.

I recently got back in touch with Adam for a number of reasons. Firstly, to thank him, but also to make him aware of my progress and ask for his permission to write about his programme in this post. He was delighted for me, and explained that a lot can change in five years, as there is constantly new research emerging. As a result, his programme now includes a lot of additional information and exercises, which he kindly added to my account - free of charge. From a quick glance at the material, it seems like there is a lot to unpack, but I am really looking forward to diving in and getting started.

As difficult as I found the exercise sessions, I persevered and started noticing a positive difference around the 6 to 8-week mark. My pain had become so much more manageable that I was able to reduce my tramadol dosage after months of feeling unable to. I was taking four capsules each day at the point of starting this course, and by the time I had completed it (ten weeks later), I was no longer taking any. If you are interested in reading more about this and haven’t already, I suggest reading my blog post titled ‘The Withdrawal’, which is packed with lots of juicy details.

My journey with The Fibro Guy was an extremely positive one, and I could not recommend their services highly enough to anybody struggling with chronic pain. The knowledge and experience they bring to the table are invaluable, and they provide such an incredible insight to what your body is truly capable of achieving.

For the first time in a long time, I trusted my body. I felt more aware of its’ abilities and limitations, and was excited over my newly found strength. I knew that with time, hard work and perseverance, my future wasn’t looking as bleak as I was previously led to believe.

Thank you for reading :)

Much love,

Kirsten xox