Fibromyalgia

Patient’s Report 2/17-23/06:
After two years of battling weakness/coldness in my legs, groin/hip/heel pain on the right side, as well as general looseness of muscle and stiffness of joints, all of which have made me hard to balance and walk, I sought help from Owen Liao. We decided on doing distance healing. This week’s focus was on getting rid of the cold, because for a few months now, I’ve been having recurring colds. When I called him on the 17th, my whole body was weak to the point of not being able to sleep at all and having bouts of intense stomach pains as well as dry coughs. He helped me calm down, and even though my cold is not completely over yet, I do feel some improvement. I’m sleeping a little more than when I started — 7 or 8 hours with some waking up in the middle. My cough is also better although room temperature air still feels cold in the nose/throat. Stomach pain is getting better too. Even though my appetite is not fully back and I’m eating very gentle things like rice chowder and clam soup, at least when I’m resting in bed, my stomach won’t hurt. Most significantly, however, my mind is calmer and less panicked. I really appreciate the sense of routine created by this distance healing and am growing to trust that, with patience, my body will heal. Thank you, Owen!

Patient’s Report 2/24-3/2/06:
This week started off well — cold air in the nose and throat were improving and stomach felt better, thanks to last week’s sessions with Owen. This made me quite happy and very bold, and I proceeded to make some very rash decisions, like going out to eat and even climbing a few steps on extremely stiff joints. This improved my mood at first but proved definitely too much for me, as I could hardly sleep for the next two nights. So cold symptoms in the throat and dry cough quickly returned and just when I felt better enough to eat some chinese noodles, I again came down with major fatigue and nausea which made me vomit a lot. So all in all, a good week gone bad — I’m feeling pretty miserable and bedresting, with dry cough and chest/stomach pains and cold feet again. But throughout the whole week, Owen was very patient with my fatigue ridden mood swings and everyday changes in symptoms and mostly tried to calm me down. Now some positive things from Owen’s healings this week: during two of my sessions earlier in the week, I felt warmth in both my feet. Also, my period has returned after almost three months, and even though it’s not great in quantity or quality and it’s making me feel so nauseous and weak, it’s still good news.

Patient’s Report 3/3-9/06:
This week Owen again focused on getting rid of the cold and calming down palpitations, ear ringing, heaviness of limbs. I think I’m finally coming out of the flu, but I will have to be extra careful not to catch cold again.

Patient’s Report 3/10-19/06:
This week my mobility improved from mostly chair-bound to taking some short walks within the house, and once or twice outside the house. Also my cold seems to be doing better. I still have yellow mucus in the mornings, my throat still feels raw, and nose is congested, but they are all better than last week. I’m sleeping more than before with 4-5 hours continuous sleep before I wake up each night. Also taking some short naps. Joints are bothering me at both hips/knees, but a pretty good week in sum.

Patient’s Report 3/17-23/06:
This week started off pretty well, cold symptoms were under control and sleep was improving. On one night, I was able to have unbroken sleep 7-8 hours! But then, chest/stomach burning and feverishness came back, perhaps due to weather change or exerting too much, and Owen’s been helping me with that.

Patient’s Report 3/23-29/06:
Return of stomach pains/chest burning. Weakness in legs.

Patient’s Report 3/30-4/5/06:
The most significant improvement this week was the return of my period. Not only was it on time, but much better in quantity. Stomach pains from the previous week calmed down, and even though my legs still feel heavy and weak, mobility improved. I was able to take a few minutes of walk outdoors. Some improvement in sleeping.

Patient’s Report 4/6-4/12/06:
Beginning of the week: got some air in the park and got better sleep in the beginning of the week. Right foot instability. Cold and stiff arthritic legs to feverish feet. Anxiety and panic attacks towards the end of the week.

Patient’s Report 4/13-4/19/06:
Weather changed from hot to cold, then from cold to hot suddenly. Dad leaves; uncertain about the future. Mood is down. Fatigue and panic attacks. Sleep is worse — sometimes no sleep, sometimes 4-6 hours. Ear ringing and weakness in legs. Towards the end of the week, stabilizing a little. Better mood. Though there are still the right foot instability and arthritic legs, able to get some air and walk a little with crutches.

Patient’s Report 4/20-4/26/06:
This week was pretty good. I was able to get better sleep — about 5-6 hours each night — more consistently. Also, I was able to go outside the house and walk for a few minutes with crutches each day besides continuing with recumbent bike at the hospital. Owen also gave me some sitting hip exercises to do.

Patient’s Report 4/27-5/3/06:
Enduring some drastic weather changes this week. Some stomach pain and general fatigue and heavy legs. But going out and walking a little outside each day, with or without crutches. Sleep continues to be around 6 hours.

Patient’s Report 5/3-6/9/06:
It has been almost 1 month since coming to Korea. From the travel and the adjustment phase to a whole new climate, I experienced renewed stomach pain and lower back/tailbone pain… Owen helped me to calm those down. My mobility has somewhat improved, with more walking around indoors than before. Even though my right ankle gives me the most trouble, right leg seems to be getting stronger. Joint pain/swelling/stiffness has moved mostly to the front part of both knees and the back part of both hips.

Patient’s Report 6/10-6/21/06:
Thanks to Owen’s patience and help, I feel like I’m beginning to make noticeable progress. Whereas, up till now, my legs would turn from extreme cold to extreme hot or from stiffness to swelling in a matter of seconds, I feel that I am now able to control my temperature in my legs better by knowing when to rest. Also, I think my left/right balance is improving and I am now able to walk a little more smoothly indoors on flat surface. I now spend a few minutes before and after meals pacing around the living room without crutches. Also, whereas before a stomach pain or a tailbone pain would last for days or even weeks, a flare up is taking less time to control. One of the things we are working on now, besides strengthening the right ankle/hip and gaining better balance, is reducing the extreme fatigue in the afternoon. Listening to Owen’s advice, I am disciplining myself to do many in-bed exercises in those moments.

Patient’s Report 6/22-7/1/06:
Mobility is improving. The level of my joint pains has reduced, especially my right ankle. The coldest areas of my body have moved from my hips to my knees. Whereas when I arrived here, I couldn’t sit on hard surfaces because of tailbone/lower back pains, I can now sit on hard surfaces during meals. When conditions are good, I can even lie on a thin mattress on a hard surface which I was previously unable to do. Even though I am still battling fatigue and stomach discomfort, this is a definite improvement from when I started with Owen four months ago. Thank you.