Donna's Story

I was encased in a cocoon of intense fibromyalgia pain and was stuck in a pattern of sofa-work-sofa-work repeat again, unable to exercise.  Although I was in pain, I was determined to make the drive to New Jersey to meet with Dr. Benson and attend a Weekend Immersion. Having read and re-read Eat To Live, and attempting to implement it three times, I thought perhaps I must be missing and/or misinterpreting something. I also desperately wanted to avoid a return to a recent type 2 diabetes diagnosis and the accompanying testing/medication.

I met both Dr. Benson and Dr. Fuhrman on my 58th birthday.  It was the best birthday ever for they not only shared with me the keys to the kingdom of optimal health, they gave me the gift of life. Until reading Eat To Live, I felt like such a failure when it came to weight loss.  Dr. Fuhrman explained that the willpower portion control regimen touted by most medical professionals is a recipe for failure due to the toxic addictive nature of the foods consumed on the standard American diet (SAD). However, I am a SAD food addict. 

Dr. Fuhrman’s parting words to us at the Immersion became my mantra.  “Don’t try to keep one foot in both worlds (SAD and Nutritarian) just do it.”  So I did just that. I committed to eating the Nutritarian diet style 100 percent of the time, and to follow the autoimmune protocol they delineated for me.

The other attention grabbing bit of information for me was that these doctors actually helped people reverse fibromyalgia.  This is the first time since my diagnosis that I had been given any hope for healing.  When the rheumatologist first pronounced the fibromyalgia diagnosis he also told me there was no cure.  I was placed on medications, and for a couple of years each month those doctors kept adjusting various combinations of drugs and doses.  Not only did I feel like a giant lab rat, I was left in a brain fog and could still feel the pain underneath that fog, barely able to think or function.  I found another doctor who helped me off the meds, but over supplemented me.  I was beginning to think that no medical professional could help, until Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. Benson.

The results speak for themselves. I lost 42 pounds, blood pressure dropped from 135/86 to 115/73; C reactive protein is reduced to its lowest level in years and is almost normal and the fasting glucose is back to normal.  The high blood pressure and diabetes are history. The fibromyalgia symptoms are subsiding.  I take zero medication.

The support structure provided by and through Dr. Fuhrman and his associates is phenomenal.  Since I had experienced difficulty with trying to stay on the program on my own, I decided that I needed to begin with a month of support through their Motivational Outreach Program (MOP).  It was my MOP counselor that urged me to reach out and post a discussion thread about my experiences in Dr. Fuhrman's Member Center.  I was apprehensive about posting my experiences and feelings in public, but tenuously began the member-to-member discussion thread “My Journey:  From Fibromyalgia to Fit and Fabulous Health.” I was stunned by the feedback, the views of the thread, and the community of support provided by other members.  I did not have to go through all of this alone after all.

The other differences I see include improved sleep, increased mobility, and better immunity.  Not one visit to the doctor’s office this winter, other than to get the latest lab work drawn. From someone almost immobilized by fibromyalgia, now I am beginning to incorporate walking the dog, yoga, learning Pilates, and swinging kettlebells. Not one bite of food from the standard American diet will ever taste as good as being healthy feels.