Fibromyalgia or Chronic Mild Acidosis?

This list of symptoms of Fibromyalgia have been taken from Web MD.

• Chronic muscle pain, muscle spasms or tightness, weakness in the limbs, and leg cramps


• Moderate or severe fatigue and decreased energy


• Insomnia or waking up feeling just as tired as when you went to sleep


• Stiffness upon waking or after staying in one position for too long


• Difficulty remembering, concentrating, and performing simple mental tasks ("fibro fog")


• Abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and constipation alternating with diarrhea (irritable bowel syndrome)


• Tension or migraine headaches


• Jaw and facial tenderness


• Sensitivity to one or more of the following: odors, noise, bright lights, medications, certain foods, and cold


• Feeling anxious or depressed


• Numbness or tingling in the face, arms, hands, legs, or feet


• Increase in urinary urgency or frequency (irritable bladder)


• Reduced tolerance for exercise and muscle pain after exercise


• A feeling of swelling (without actual swelling) in the hands and feet


• Painful menstrual periods


• Dizziness

Again, according to WebMD:

Fibromyalgia symptoms may intensify depending on the time of day -- morning, late afternoon, and evening tend to be the worst times, while 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tends to be the best time. Symptoms may also get worse with fatigue, tension, inactivity, changes in the weather, cold or drafty conditions, overexertion, hormonal fluctuations (such as just before your period or during menopause), stress, depression, or other emotional factors.

They also suggest:

If the condition is not diagnosed and treated early, symptoms can go on indefinitely, or they may disappear for months and then recur.

They also recommend:

Call Your Doctor About Fibromyalgia If: You have chronic muscle pain and overwhelming fatigue.

Click Here To See Original Article

Read the next text module to find out what I did!

When I discovered how aligned my symptoms were with the list of Fibromyalgia symptoms, I got a little nervous. I figured that I was blessed, however, to recognize the symptoms early.

The article suggested that I should immediately call the doctor so they could get a jump start on treatment. Otherwise, according to the article I would go on suffering indefinitely. So that is what I did!

I am not telling you what you should do, but personally, I don't trust the medical establishment's health practices. I like to treat myself by going to the Great Physician! Some of you may use the same doctor as me, others may prefer to go to a regular medical doctor. That is great! But, either way, you could still read my story to find out how it all turned out!

If you would like to find out more about the health practices of the Great Physician, you can visit my blog Reformed-Health! But it is certainly not necessary if you just want to learn about this issue with my symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

Prior to coming down with the symptoms of Fibromyalgia my health practices already included eating an organic, whole-food diet! I was already limiting my refined sugar, I drank no soda or canned drinks. I only prepared grass fed beef and prefered pastured chicken and eggs when they were available. I was eating plenty of raw fruits and vegetables and limited myself to eating mostly fresh ground grains - preferably soaked or sprouted and preferable ancient styles like spelt, quinoa, and sorghum. Our family was only drinking real milk - not the stuff found in the supermarkets - and I could go on.

My purpose for sharing this is not to impress you, but to impress upon you that I am probably in the top 10% of healthy eaters in America. Why is this important? Because I suddenly came under attack of symptoms of Fibromyalgia. Me, who prided herself in healthy eating - even sharing the information with others trying to help improve their health.

I was scared! But I trusted that I could find out the answer!

Why was I so confident I could find the answer? Read the next text module!

Because I am health conscious and keep a close watch on my body, I can usually ascertain what I have done or not done that has affected my health adversely or positively.

Perhaps a real world example will help you understand this better. Financiers keep a close watch on the stock market and have made connections to how the conditions in the country cause the stock market to fluctuate up or down. Certain people are so "in-tune" with the conditions of the country, that they are making money by "betting" on the market based on the conditions.

It is the same with me and my body. I am so in-tune with how it responds to certain foods and events that I can have almost 100% success in determining why it is feeling either "good" or "bad."

However, something was a little different this time. The night that the symptoms first occurred, I laid in bed almost in tears because my legs and hips were aching so bad.

The next morning when I got up, I was still aching - not just my legs and hips, but nearly every part of my body - particularly my joints ached. I felt like I had a fever, but the thermometer actually read below normal. I was also so tired and had so little energy that I only wanted to mope around the house.

Immediately I began to look back over the last couple of days to ascertain what I had done different that would cause such an onset of pain and fatigue. Yes, I had had a bag of Lays potato chips (sometimes we cheat with these because the plain chips have no additives or preservatives), but I had never experienced an adverse reaction like this from one bag of potato chips - so I ruled that out.

Other than that, my diet had not changed - nor had any other activity. I was perplexed. That is when I actually decided to check out the symptoms of Fibromyalgia online. Boy was I scared when they lined up so closely.

I knew that if I couldn't find the solution, I would have to get stricter in my diet. No more cheating! I was willing to make those changes because I needed to have good health. I could not bear living a life of pain - unless I knew that I was doing everything in my power to correct the problem.

Why settle for less than optimum health - when I know the healing power of proper nutrition.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I discovered that I would have to stop cheating once in awhile if I wanted to keep my optimum health. I enjoy chocolate and other occasional treats. I always try to "cheat" as healthily as possible, but I know that cheating still potentially compromises my health.

Although I was willing to make the changes, providence provided another solution. Through ordinarily circumstances of life, I discovered the true culprit of my newfound Fibromyalgia symptoms.

What I discovered shocked me! I couldn't believe that I had overlooked this one thing in my health. In fact, I actually thought I had this one problem solved - I was wrong.

There had been a change in my diet over the few days before I started feeling ill - I just didn't recognize it because I never imagined in all my life that it could be a problem.

It was a foundational part of life - and I didn't even know that I had been literally poisoning myself for years, but more specifically over the last couple of weeks.

Read the next text module to discover the shocking news - which turned out to be a bigger blessing than I ever expected!

Two related events occurred at the same time that I came down with Fibromyalgia symptoms. I really believe it was God's providence guiding me the whole way! Not only did I discover why I wasn't feeling well, but I also discovered that my diet was not as healthy as I thought!

The First Event!

There are two primary foundations to living. Things that we must have in addition to healthy organic food and regular exercise. Any guesses?

You probably guessed correctly: Air and Water!

Though I had not yet found a solution to the indoor air pollution problem - other than frequently breathing fresh outdoor air - I thought I had the water issue all figured out!

We had just moved into a new apartment and had not hooked up our sink mount water filter, so we were using a back up filter called a Big Berkey. Our sink mount unit was a Multi-Pure. In addition, we had a Brita filter for traveling. WIth three water filters, we thought we had our water solution solved. And I would have never changed my mind if these events had not occurred.

My husband did not want to hook up our Multi-Pure in our new apartment because we had had some plumbing issues below the sink, and he was afraid hooking up the filter would potential cause more problems. In addition, our financial situation was not ready to cover any potential repairs.

Our Brita filter was on its last leg - and needed to be replaced. We really didn't want to put out the money for the filter anyway because my husband didn't think it worked well - and we were kind of in a tight financial position (that ties into the second providential part of this story).

Our Big Berkey filter had become damaged in the move from California to Virginia, and I had tried to MacGyver it back together. I had some success, but if one of the carbon filter elements moved just slightly, it would not filter the water - and we would get the lovely chlorine taste - yuk! This began to happen more frequently. We either needed to buy some new elements - which were costly - or we needed to find another solution.

One thing we knew, was that we needed healthy water, and we needed it fast. I MacGyvered my Brita filter base with one of the Berkey carbon rod filters - and surprisingly it fit.

This gave us about a half gallon of fresh water every three hours. It was not going to work! It was way too slow. We needed an immediate solution until we could decide what further action to take on a more permanent basis.

We decided upon bottled water. This was not our favorite choice because of the leaching of chemicals such as BPA, which, according to Science Daily, "is one of many man-made chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors, which alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the body's natural hormones."

Despite the dangers, we felt it was the only temporary solution we could afford. Based on previous research of the other dangers of bottled water, my husband felt that spring water was the most natural and safest bottled water to consume. So we purchase several gallons at a very minimal cost and began using it for drinking and cooking.

We continued using this water until the second providential event collided with the first. I didn't realize it at the time, but the bottled water was the one ingredient that had changed in my diet prior to becoming sick with the symptoms of Fibromyalgia. I never thought it could be a contributing factor - so I didn't even consider it as a potential trigger.

And...I probably never would have considered it if the second providential event had not been occurring simultaneously.

Read the next text module to learn about the event that was occurring simultaneously with my Fibromyalgia symptoms and our temporary switch to bottled water!

If you have not read all the modules on this lens, this will probably not make much sense to you. I recommend that you read everything first to gain a full context!

As I shared in a previous module, we had been struggling a little with our financial situation.

As a writer, I had been fooling around with blog writing, publishing, and even Squidoo - Click Here to check out my other lenses! I was having fun, but it wasn't helping out with our finances as much as I would have liked. We were putting our daughter Emily Rose Carde through college - and that was putting a toll on our budget. Thankfully, she had written an inspirational romance novella called ICU as a means to help curb some of the expenses, but it was not covering everything. We had enough to survive, but our desire was to be able to have extra to share with others and to pursue some of our dreams.

I also knew that I didn't want to work outside the home. In fact, every time my mind headed in that direction, I would start to have panic attacks. Thankfully, as I mentioned before, I was in tune with my body and therefore able to recognize why I was having the panic attacks. I realized it wasn't that I was afraid to work outside of the home - I was just afraid that I would not be able to be a good wife. Providing fresh organic, whole food meals takes a lot of preparation! I didn't know how I could work a job outside of the home and prepare the nutritious meals that my husband needed to survive.

I never shared with you about my husband's previous illness. He had been diagnosed with Epstein Barr (sometimes called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) in the 1990's. That is when he began to understand the health philosophy of the Great Physician - also known as the God of the Bible. By applying some of the health principles I mentioned in a previous module (like eating organic, whole foods) - My husband was able to cure himself of Epstein Barr and live an optimally healthy life. It was his research that laid the foundation for one of my web logs (blogs) called Reformed-Health!

So anyway, back to the story! I wanted to help provide extra income for the family, but I didn't want to work out of the home. I have tried so many different "Work at Home" schemes that I had literally given up on any legitimate opportunities. I am not saying that all the opportunities I came across were bad - some actually seemed pretty good. I wasn't even afraid of what some people call MLM - because I think those opportunities can really help people who are willing to put out the effort. But I hadn't found a company with a product that I could give myself over to 100%.

Because of my health principles, I couldn't sell or promote products that had bad ingredients (this eliminated the majority of the best companies I came across). I also had to believe that the products were fairly priced. Also, I did not want to spend very much time outside of my home doing parties and stuff like that - I needed to be able to truly work from home and create a substantial income.

I had been praying for an opportunity for many years. Even though I had virtually given up belief that such a company existed which could meet all my criterion, I still occasionally looked for opportunities. And I was always willing to check them out! Because I knew what I was looking for, no one could "get" me to do anything I didn't want to do. I would just examine the opportunities against my criteria - and make a decision - which unfortunately was usually NO!!!! I was even willing to invest money in the right opportunity (provided we could afford it without going into debt).

Remember, what happens next in the story was occurring around the same time I developed the symptoms of Fibromyalgia and had switched to bottled spring water!

Experiencing the need to improve our financial health, I went to Christian Jobs looking once again for a work from home opportunity. As often happens, I found an opportunity and filled out an initial online application! They immediately sent me a free eBook and said someone would contact me within 72 hours. That was a little frustrating because I wanted to find out information right away. But I read the eBook. The in print version is called "In God We Trust," and I was very impressed with the book. It dealt with the philosophy of true wealth which has to do with serving others.

In a couple of days I got a call from Mary, who quickly became a friend. She introduced me to the business and the products! I kept thinking - finally a business with products I can believe in. Mary knew that we were having a hard time financially - so she showed me how I could learn about the business without spending a penny! I kept thinking that it was too good to be true and was waiting for the shoe to drop.

If you want to see what I found so great about this business, you can fill out a similar online application. You will also get a free copy of the eBook version of "In God We Trust!" I can't make any promises that you'll love the company as much as me, but I can guarantee that someone will get back to you in 72 hrs. Click Here To Fill Out The Form! If you want, you could mention that you found this on Squidoo.

Remember I said that I was waiting for the shoe to drop? It never happened...

However, something else happened...yes...back to my story...I started getting sick with all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia!

On one hand I didn't mind, because it gave me an excuse to learn as much about the business as I could without feeling like I had to get up and do any work in the house. I was too tired to work, but I could easily sit back and watch the many training videos.

It was during the training videos that I discovered the connection between the water I was drinking and the symptoms of Fibromyalgia I was experiencing.

It was like a light bulb went off! I couldn't wait to share what I had discovered with Mary. But first I had to test my theory!

If my theory was correct, I was not suffering from Fibromyalgia - but from acidosis! Granted many of the symptoms were almost identical... and...I am willing to bet that everyone who suffers from Fibromyalgia also suffers from acidosis - at least to some degree!

Could the solution really be so simple? I was determined to find out!

Read the next text module to discover how I tested my theory!

Okay, now I had a theory. Although I had all the symptoms of Fibromyalgia - and would probably be diagnosed with the illness if the symptoms had persisted for more than a month, I now thought the real culprit was acidosis caused by the bottled spring water I had been drinking for the last week and a half!

Test #1

I needed to check the ph level of my urine (blood tests are more reliable, but I used my available resources).

My husband and I already knew about the importance of a ph balanced body and were accustomed to check our urine on a regular basis, but we had gotten out of the habit. Thankfully we still had some ph strips around.

Sure enough we registered super acid. Our strips only went as low as 5.0 (seven being neutral) - we both tested to the lowest limit of our strips - which was represented by a bright yellow color.

Next to test our water:

Thankfully, I had small samples of water left from our Berkey water filter so I could compare the results.

Test #2 - Berkey Water

I tested the water in the Berkey - it measured acid - around 6.0. That was a bad sign. Water is at minimal supposed to be neutral 7.0 ph. In nature it is usually around 7.4 - which is slightly alkaline. Good Spring water that is rich in minerals can be as high as 8.7 ph.

The higher the ph level, the more alkaline the water, the healthier it is - water is naturally occurring at 7.4 or above.

This lines up so closely with our philosophy of health which seeks to get all food, water, and air as close as possible to the way it was designed to work synergistically with our bodies.

I discovered a problem - I had been drinking water that was sub par to what God intended for me to drink!

Test #3 - Tap Water

Next I tested our tap water straight out of the faucet! I didn't expect this to be much better - but in fact it was worse. It tested in about 5.5 ph. This means it was more acidic than the Berkey filtered water. This made sense because the chlorine that was filtered out with the Berkey would still be present in the tap water. Therefore it would be more acidic.

This wasn't really a concern because I would never drink straight tap water unless my life depended on it.

But I was getting more and more curious about the spring water. Surely it would not test lower than the tap, would it?

Test #4 - Bottled Spring

As the tension was building, I dipped the ph strip into the bottled spring water - and the color of the ph strip did not change - it remained as yellow as possible.

This was the worse case scenario. It measured in at 5.0 or below. The water was super acid - just like our urine had been.

Still feeling tired, fatigued, achy, blurry headed, weak, sensitive to light, swollen, feverish without a temperature, I realized that I have been poisoning myself with acidic water.

Yes, I had been drinking acidic water before - but the ph scale is not linear, it is logarithmic like the Richter scale used to measure earthquakes. The intervals between numbers on the ph scale represent increases of 10.

That means, if my body was accustomed to drinking water at a ph level of 6, and I introduce a ph of 5 or below - the water is at least 10 times more acidic that it was before.

This was a significant difference, it was affecting my health, and I would have never known if I had not begun training with my new home business.

Immediately after discovering that my theory was correct I took action. I did not have the tools that I have now to create alkaline water at home, so I MacGyvered my water to complete my test!

Test #5

Knowing that baking soda is highly alkaline, I added some to a glass of acidic spring water and drank it down as fast as possible. It tasted terrible, but the results were immediate and amazing.

I almost couldn't believe it myself. Immediately after chugging down the baking soda water, my aches, sore eyes, and fatigue improved by 50% on the spot. It was not a complete improvement, but it was lasting. As I continued to drink the alkaline water, my symptoms continued to improve, completely disappearing within a day or two.

This little experiment sold me on two things:

1. I knew that my problem had been caused by the acidic water!


2. And I knew I was going to invest everything I could into my new business!

My new concern is how many people suffer from chronic mild acidosis and don't even know it?

Three suggestions:

1. Test Your pH Levels ASAP


2. Test Your Water ASAP


3. Find A Source For Alkalized Water ASAP

Find Out More About My Water Alkalizing System Here!

View Some Additional Tests Here!