FibroDiva

My name is Sabrina. I am a 50 something divorced mom. I have 2 children I gave birth to and another 7 or 8 who picked me to be their extra mom. I have 1 birth grandchild, 12 “god”-grandchildren, a host of nieces and nephews and even more “play” nieces and nephews. I have 3 siblings; a twin brother, a younger brother and a sister.

My weight struggles began back in 1982 with the birth of my son, I gained 50 pounds and only had a 4 pound baby. I told the doctor that since multiple births ran in my family, there must be some more babies somewhere. I lost a lot of weight while in the police academy but gained it all back after a serious of injuries sustained on duty as a police officer. I developed Fibromyalgia [FM], a chronic often disabling condition, after these injuries and was forced to leave my career due to disability. Once disabled, I became the victim [and ultimately the survivor] of Disability and Weight-Related Domestic Violence.

I found myself being interrogated by a variety of sources about Fibromyalgia, most of the questions revolved around weight and Fibro. I have an extensive family history of morbid obesity and obesity related death. I've tried to lose via various methods since 1997. Each time I would lose 20 pounds [yeepie] and eventually regain 30. :(

As a result of the questioning of others and my frustration with my weight loss track record, I decided to advocate for myself and thus began researching the issues of genetics and obesity, and, obesity and Fibromyalgia/chronic pain. I learned there were no support groups/organizations concerned about these issues and those of police officers w/FM, so I founded an award winning, all volunteer organization, FACES [the Fibromyalgia Association Created for Education and Self-help]. After successfully hosting an International patient education conference, FACES was dissolved by its board of directors because my health began to deteriorate. Besides Fibromyalgia, I have bilateral carpal tunnel and plantar fasciitis, degenerative disk disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, food allergies, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea.

I've allowed weight to interfere with my life and pursuits I enjoy. Unfortunately the weight kept building along with exploding weight related health concerns. I experienced 3 TIAs between November 2006 and October 2012 [two of them occured August and October 2012]. My children and god-children held an intervention pointing out the fact there there are far to many grandchildren who deserve their grandmother's love. After my last TIA I decided it was time to get serious about my weight and health.