Understand Fibromyalgia flares, their symptoms, common triggers, and effective strategies to manage and reduce flare-ups for a better quality of life.
What are fibromyalgia flare-ups? Is it non-stop pain that lasts a lifetime?Or is it pain that comes and goes? Do they include more than one pain/symptom? The answer to all of these questions is YES and NO. Fibromyalgia flare-ups are difficult to fully define because there are so many varying factors. Although I began experiencing fibromyalgia symptoms as early as age 10, they didn’t start interrupting my life until my late 20’s. Because the symptoms…
Anyone who has suffered from an extended flare or has been hit with back to back flares knows how bad fibromyalgia flare stank can be! Hygiene is rarely discussed in the fibromyalgia community. It’s personal and embarrassing. I mean seriously, how many people, besides myself, wake up and think that today is a good day to announce my stench on social media? Personal hygiene is a major issue for the chronically ill and is something…
IMHO, I blame two things. Misogyny, and a lack of high-tech diagnostic tools. Misogyny: 95% of sufferers are women over “a certain age”! A lot of the medical cohort, particularly the senior ones were and still are male. Recent studies have shown that even today, a woman with chest pains, is more likely to be discharged than a man, and as a result, more are dying from heart attacks! Men don’t take women’s reports of…
How do I be confident using the cane in public when I look like an otherwise healthy, able-bodied person? I can’t give you a direct definite answer to your question. But I will share a couple of things with you. When my oldest daughter was 13 she had surgery for scoliosis. She walked back to the surgery suite turning back, smiling and waving. Totally secure in what she was doing. 13 1/2 hours later they…
Like you have the flu constantly. Affecting your concentration and memory. And the pain itself is very distracting and tiring. Generally just feeling physically tired all the time. Sometimes worse than others. Numerous fibromyalgia symptoms come and go. From hour to hour your symptoms change. Often ith little reason. Other symptoms can last for years. Allergies can be very problematic. Sometimes with chronic inflammation. And chronic pain can lead to clinical depression. The symptom of…
I have lived with Fibromyalgia for 30 years. The answers to this question are true and help to explain some of the new symptoms I’m experiencing. For example, when I stand up, I’m dizzy and have to be very careful or I walk into walls or furniture or trip and fall down. Everyone has been blaming this on the medication I take for depression and pain but when I look them up, dizziness is not…
Keeping a journal is the single best way to identify your triggers. So, what kinds of things should you write down? Here are some of the most common flares: Click here to Get this or Visit Fibromyalgia Store Over my 16 years with fibromyalgia, I’ve found a few non-invasive things that have helped me immensely. Some of them are a bit pricy, others are homemade, and still, others are absolutely free. For More Information Related…
In addition to chronic pain throughout my body, I am always tired. Sometimes I am so tired that my husband has to help me up the stairs and into bed. Then, every day around 3:00 – give or take a half an hour – I have to try to live with fibro fog. It’s actually what it sounds like. In the late afternoons, it feels like someone has pulled a gauze bag over my head.…
Fibromyalgia did NOT ruin my life, but when I tell you what it has cost me thus far, you will think I’m mistaken. And the worst thing of all, after being able to proudly say that I am a nurse, I can no longer legally say it. I went on full disability in 2015 because just remembering a doctor’s order was impossible, or a diagnosis, or a name! Maybe it’s an inner me, I really…
I always find it helpful to soak in a hot Epsom salt bath (the calm scent one or relax one), it helps the aching body as the water cools stay as long as you can handle it and then pat dry do not rinse. There are periods when I’m cold and can’t warm up a hot bath or shower…. Then there are periods I’m hot and can’t cool down- yep as cold of a shower…