I’m always thrilled when a company such as Vital Plan is willing to share new ways to manage fibromyalgia, so I was happy to hear about the Chronic Illness Bloggers working with them. Their natural healing program for fibromyalgia peaked my curiosity as I am continually searching different natural healing techniques in hoping to find another way to lessen my body pains and ease my muscle tension.
Disclaimer: This product was given to me in exchange for a review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. As always, the review is in no way influenced by the company, Vital Plan, and all opinions are my own and honest. Please read further details in my full disclosure policy.
Who is Vital Plan?
From the Vital Plan website:
Vital Plan is a wellness company committed to offering quality natural supplements and credible health information to help people improve their lives. Simply put, our mission is to help people get their lives back.
Vital Plan was founded by Dr. Bill Rawls, a physician who got Lyme disease and fibromyalgia, to increase awareness about chronic illness and offer his personal journey as an inspiration and learning experience for others.
Natural Healing Program for Fibromyalgia
The Restore Program is a natural healing program for fibromyalgia, and was created by Dr. Bill Rawls in order to support the immune system battling Lyme disease, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. It’s a six month program and is targeted to support your body’s immune function through the use of natural herbs.
Transition to a clean diet and improve gut function
Better manage stress, pain, and sleep issues
Regain energy and become physically active again
The Restore Program starter kit includes (click here to view it in detail):
- Four supplements (detailed below) taken twice daily
- 6-month email course and video course
- Digital download, Suffered Long Enough, written by Dr. Rawls’ for supporting optimal health
- Progress Surveys that track your progress
- Diet Guide and Recipes on what foods to eat
- Personalized Support includes email and telephone support from Dr. Rawls’ team
The Four Key Elements to the Restore Program
The supplements are 50 ingredients broken down into four formulas. For them to be effective, take three capsules from each formula twice a day. The four formulas are:
- A-Biotic: supports the gut, immune function, and micro-biome balance
- Adaptogen Recovery: supports immune function and the body’s stress response
- Mitochondrial Support: supports cellular energy production and tissue detoxification
- Prevention Plus: powerful detoxification and antioxidant support
Ease pain, improve sleep, and better manage stress with the #RestoreProgram @VitalPlan Click To Tweet
The book, Suffered Long Enough
Dr. Rawls’ book, Suffered Long Enough, is an informative book and an insight to the inner workings of fibromyalgia. Divided into three main parts, the book addresses all the key elements to healing the body from fibromyalgia stress. The book begins with the causes of fibromyalgia and ends with restoring the body from the damage of fibromyalgia.
Buy Suffered Long Enough from Amazon.
In Part One of the book, the author discusses the main six disruptors of the body including energy, poor nutrition, and the four different types of stress. He describes how to find a baseline for your body and the labs done to help diagnose or rule out fibromyalgia.
In Part Two, Dr. Rawls discusses enhance healing, natural therapy options, supplements for healing and conventional medical options. He also discusses symptom control and looks at pain and sleep in detail.
Part Three was the most important for me. It addresses the nourishment of the body and includes the basic food guidelines and how to prepare certain foods to eat. It also gives details of which foods do what to improve fibromyalgia symptoms, the best diet for fibro, how to purify and reduce toxins, and how to restore balance within the body. There are also suggestions on how to defuse stress, get a good night’s sleep, and a quick list for basic recovery protocol.
The appendix sections has supplement recommendations, grocery list of key foods, and a recommended reading list.
Dr. Rawls on YouTube
Dr. Bill Rawls has a great collection of videos on YouTube. Often times it’s easier for me to watch a video because it holds my attention longer than a book or email. There are several short videos that describe Vital Plan, but there are also videos tackling the issues of fibromyalgia such as cooking lessons, joint care, and how to detoxify naturally.
Here is a video about the Restore Program from Dr. Rawls’ YouTube channel.
My Thoughts about Vital Plan
The Restore Program is a great start for those looking for a natural healing program with fibromyalgia. However, here are the pros and cons of the program according to my experience (everyone’s experience is different, but this is mine).
Pros
- Email and telephone support: This is important because many questions arise when starting a new program. Dr. Rawls’ team is there to answer any questions or concerns you have about the the program.
- Natural ingredients: After receiving the supplements, I made an appointment with my physician to discuss the supplements. Although she was not aware of the Restore Program, she did approve the ingredients of each formulated supplement. She discussed the importance of many of the ingredients and how they relate to fibromyalgia and chronic pain.
- Frequent emails: The emails from Vital Plan covered various subjects such as food, natural healing methods, and more. I read each email and learned something with each one. They were interesting and informative.
- YouTube channel: The channel, like the emails, cover different topics and discuss the importance of the Restore Program and certain supplements that Vital Plan formulates.
- Restore Facebook group: With any program, being able to discuss your progress or other concerns with other members is helpful.
Cons
- Too many pills: As recommended, I started with one pill of each formula for one week then increased to two of each for one week and, lastly, three pills of each formula. After the first week, I didn’t notice any side effects of taking four pills twice a day. After taking eight pills twice a day, I noticed slight bloating and stomach discomfort in the first few days. It subsided by the end of the second week. When taking twelve pills twice a day, I developed a headache and stomach pains. This did not subside after a week. I went back down to two pills of each formula and that is what I stuck to.
- Cost: It’s expensive to start the six month program, however, if you are one to spend money on supplements, this is the program for you.
Overall, I give this natural healing program for fibromyalgia two out of five stars, but hear me out on why I did this. Despite having the pros outweigh the cons in number, the lack of effectiveness took the real weight of cons.Even after several months of taking the pills twice daily, I didn’t notice too much of a difference in pain levels. The book was the most beneficial part of the program for me. As stated before, it is full of good information and I’ve got lots of notes of where to focus my nutrition. However, it was too many pills for me and my body. Everyone is different, but for me, it was too many pills.
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I suffer so much from this
I’m so sorry that you do. It is difficult, but maybe this program can help you feel better. Let me know!