Carpet

Did you know that carpet can aggravate or trigger Fibro flares?

It is True!

If somebody would of talked to me about this many years ago I would of disagreed!
But it is True!  I grew up with carpeting in every room in my parents house and when I got married and moved out it was in every room but the bathroom and kitchen. I guess when I think about it nearly everybody's house I go to has the same layout.

A little personal information about me!

I found out I had Asthma when I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
I was quite surprised because I had no signs of Asthma problems growing up!

I would say from 1989 to 2007 I had Bronchitis over 100 times and Pneumonia over 50 times.  I was very ill all the time... I would be either at the Hospital or Doctor's office every other week.  Between having Fibromyalgia and all the symptomatic problems associated with that as well as Asthma problems my family was very UN-supportive....It seemed I was always ill and everybody was tired of seeing it or hearing about it.

To be honest I was sick of dealing with it, talking about it, or acknowledging it!

I had no idea as to why I was always so ill.  

I was on more antibiotics than nearly anybody I had ever heard of.  I seemed to never get better no matter what I did with vitamins or diet.   It seemed nothing would work for me and all I seemed to hear was "how can she always be so ill?"

I wanted an answer to that question so badly!
I would say Fibromyalgia had a good old time reeking havoc on my body during these years. 

In 2007 we had our hot water tank burst and a lot of damage was done to the house.  When the room that held the water tank was being gutted out the construction workers did not put plastic barriers up and all the sawdust went everywhere.   This is normally not an issue with a lot of people but I have an older home built in 1940 and when the floor was torn up asbestos went throughout the house.  Because of the inability to really get the asbestos and sawdust out of the (Berber) carpet as well as nearly everything I owned, everything had to be thrown away and replaced. 

I had all the carpeting removed from the house. 

To my surprise this was one of the BEST things to happen to me!

I was in no hurry to replace the carpeting due to being discouraged.  

To my surprise as the months went on I was not ill with Asthma issues anymore.

I went from seeing my Doctor nearly biweekly to not at all.  I found I was curious to see when I would get Bronchitis again... I couldn't believe it!  My family didn't understand it.  I was happy :)

To sum this long story up.
I had the Berber carpeting installed a year before the hot water tank exploded.
I had breathing issues for months until the smell of the new carpeting died down.

I thought all was good with the carpeting and didn't give it much thought.  What I didn't think about was that the chemicals in the carpet were still being breathed through my lungs.  I guess I was thinking the smell was gone and everything was fine.  I had always known about the glues they use in the carpet and the padding chemicals used to bind the fibers.  I never really thought about the chemicals!

I am very hyper sensitive to nearly everything! 
I did a lot of research over the years since the carpet was taken out. 
If anybody was to read up on carpet they wouldn't have it in their house.

I found a book called The Fibromyalgia Advocate by Devin J. Starlanyl...
This book is a very good resource to have...  There is a section on multiple chemical sensitivities being more prevalent in people with Fibromyalgia...

I will tell you I miss the comfort and warmth the carpet gave.  But I do not miss being ill all the time! I haven't had Bronchitis or Pneumonia since 2007....
I will say when I do go to other peoples homes and if they have carpeting I can notice the change in my breathing.  I sometimes will even get a headache!

I do get a sore throat when visiting my family for stay overs!  I find if I drink a lot of water during this time frame it helps with the Asthma symptoms that arise.

Oh on Asthma.... Doctor says it is gone!  Hmmm I will go with what I believe! 

I have Fibromyalgia and a weakened immune system... This would of course bring Asthma in as another problem I have.  Because I found a way to make a health problem better for me I wanted to share this with you... 

Please give this some thought!

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