Dear Fibromyalgia

Tag: fibromyalgia warriors

Celebrate the resilience of Fibromyalgia warriors, sharing stories of strength, tips for managing symptoms, and resources for support and empowerment.

  • Tips for when you are in the Fibro Flare

    I am in a Fibro Flare.

    The pain arching through me right now is difficult to describe, to be honest. It is a deep, bone-deep, throbbing ache that is at around an 8 on the pain scale. It is extremely distracting. It is gnawing. Grating. And that is when I am not moving. Moving is another story altogether. 

    In this particular case, it is from weather changes. We have been having hot weather and flash thunderstorms so the pain, as a result, has been pretty intense. Migraines, as you might expect, following suit.

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    It isn’t only the specific keyed-up areas of pain though. It is the body aches as well. Feeling just run down. And the extra bonus of fatigue. Not your normal fatigue… more bonus fatigue. Like the extra bonus pain. A flare-up is just FM Plus.

    I am currently on tramadol slow release for my actual treatment, so I have nothing for a flare-up per se. I have to work tomorrow so rest is out of the question. As is stress avoidance. So I’ll be waiting it out. The approach I most often take, unfortunately. 

    For me, most flares come with overdoing it. I have limits, I just sometimes am not positive where they are or ignore them. Or, worse, the limit changes. One day I can walk for an hour with no consequences. The next day 15 minutes causes extreme pain and that pain increases exponentially the more I walk. So I engage in an activity, in moderation, expecting it to be fine and it is So not fine. FM can be unpredictable like that. 

    Poor sleep is another common one for me. But it is unpredictable. Often it is more than one day of poor sleep that flares me. One day? That is par the course. And yes, it causes aches. But not flare-up pains and aches. Not FM Plus. But a few days of severely deprived sleep and I will flare big time. Even laying in bed to continue trying to sleep is too painful then.

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    When having a flare-up here are the tips:

    • Taking breaks– since they tend to occur during high stress we tend to not engage in self-care. If we just push through, we pay for it. We should try to help others, at work for extended deadlines and reschedule the things we can. Try to reduce the stress factors we Can. Take breaks during the day. Take short naps.
    • They say ‘no’ tip– In times of Flares, it is really important to conserve your time and energy reserves. No, you can’t take on extra work. No, you can’t do that favor for a friend or the school. No, you can’t babysit at this time. You don’t need to use an excuse, because you don’t need to validate your illness, just a polite not at this time. You just cannot take on any more at this specific time.
    • Sleep– Sleep is always a factor for us. And adequate sleep is more important during a flare. Keep to a regular sleep cycle. Get 8 or 9 hours. Only take short naps during the day, so as to not disrupt nighttime sleep.
    • Relaxation– Take time for mindful meditation, relaxation breathing, or biofeedback… whatever works for you. As well as any pain distraction methods you use; like soothing music, reading, or binging on Netflix.
    • Pacing– We can keep doing activities, at a slower pace, which has been found to be better than no activities at all. But we need to know our limits. Slow and steady. We can incorporate some very gentle stretching, walking, or light yoga. If you have an exercise routine already, consider decreasing intensity during a flare.
    • Pain management– Use your medications following the schedule you use to manage pain. If they are not sufficient ask your doctor about breakthrough medications. Use alternative treatments you might find effective; acupuncture, massage therapy, biofeedback, and other therapies to help with pain management.
    • Support– Flares are an emotionally heightened time and can be difficult to deal with and sometimes talking about it helps. To utilize any support groups you belong to. Either online, in real life, or with the people in your support system like friends and family.
    • Baths– I always recommend a nice soothing Epsom salt bath to ease some muscle pain.


    Generally, you want to engage in your Self-care. You don’t want to stop your routines, but be gentle and careful. Self-Care is vital at this time. Take things more slowly and methodically. Be gentle with yourself. Pace yourself. 

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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • 10 things I would tell the newly diagnosed with Chronic Illness

    I wish I had been prepared for the impact of what was going to happen in my life from chronic illness being newly diagnosed. Realistically. I had a firm belief back then that I could limit the impact by choosing a specific job and as long as I was engaged mentally, it didn’t matter if I was hindered physically. I didn’t think of the radius pain has. It never occurred it would get worse, complex and the impact would affect all of me and all of my life. If I wish for one thing I could have known that the first day of diagnosis… is the impact it was going to have.

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    Here are things I would have wanted to know about newly diagnosed

    1. Your social life will change:

    You will go out less often. You will lose friends. Have fewer friends and likely gain a lot of online friends. There are vibrant online communities for the chronically ill. We reach out to them to feel less isolated and to calm any fears we have about our illness. To share our concerns, fears, and coping. However, in the real world, we may not have much energy reserves to go out and do activities often. We may cancel plans when we feel worse than we expected to. Some people will drift away because of this. Those that remain tend to be the best influences on us for support.

    2. The ‘cure talk:

    People will suggest remedies, cures, treatments, diets, and medications they heard on the news, online, on Facebook, or from their Uncle Frank who swears by it. You will tire of it. Maybe you will even try some of the recommendations like that chiropractor of your work associate or the acupuncturist your hairdresser mentioned. You are new to this chronic illness game and there are so many things to try. But when you have, the recommendations? Will get tiresome. Even though you also know they all come from a good place. When it comes from a good place it is hard to say anything about it, even when it is the 10th meme you have seen on the same thing, that year anyway. People just want to help. They see something that maybe you have not and they send it to you, well intentions. Nevertheless, you will see a lot.

    3. Lifestyle:

    People will comment on your lifestyle and the changes you should make to it because it might help with your health. Exercise is mentioned often by people and doctors. As is losing weight. And dieting, often contrary diets as well. While You, on the other hand, will actually be trying a whole lot of changes from exercise to mediation, to chiropractors and physio. One thing I learned early on was there was little help with a treatment plan. I had to go out there and try to find things that might help me myself. All of these are essentially out of pocket, with a minor amount sometimes covered.

    4. Treatment:

    In the beginning, you will likely believe medications will do something profound and help a great deal. When this belief is broken you will learn medications are a long process of trial and error. Of weighing the side effects with the benefits. Finding the right medications is the first aspect of treatment, however, but they do not help to the degree you once believed they would.

    5. Research:

    Right from the get-go, you will believe your doctor. His recommendations and medications. Soon though you will begin to pick things up, do some research and join some support groups. You’ll begin to gain some knowledge about your disease and options. A couple of years into the chronic illness lifestyle and you will know more than your doctor about your specific disease. It just happens. As an informed patient you will be able to know if the treatment you are getting is sufficient or if there are better options.

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    6. Work will suffer

    : It becomes more difficult to find a job. And a struggle to figure out what and when to disclose your illness. It can be difficult to maintain full-time work. We often struggle with it and have to seek some sort of accommodation; flex work, working from home, fewer hours, part-time. Work accommodations for our workspace. Trust me this is a challenging one to figure out and adjust to.

    7. Stigma:

    With invisible disabilities, you will encounter people who will doubt you. They won’t believe you are as sick as you claim. Or that you even are. They will claim you are fine one day, sick another and it makes no sense. Or that you are complaining, lazy, or just depressed (making you less likely to discuss comorbid depression). You can have a stigma in the workplace. In the medical field, where they minimize your pain due to gender or age. In your family. In a society as a whole.

    8. Relationships: 

    relationships will be strained and stressed with this extra stressor. Not all partners can handle the extra stresses of a partner who is chronically ill. Some survive but they have to communicate about the stresses to deal with them. The partner feels more stress as well. Our illness affects those around us. And we have to acknowledge the impact and support we get. While other people, who are single, sometimes fear getting into a relationship as they feel they would ‘ruin’ someone’s life and they fear disclosing their health. Never giving the person their choice of who to care for.

    9. Pacing:

    the faster you learn you need to pace your activities during the day and week the happier you will be. We learn we do too much and we feel much worse, then have to recover. So we learn we have to pace.

    10. Limitations:

    Likewise, we have to learn our limitations. Jobs we cannot work (Shift work or repetitive lifting, heavy lifting). Things we cannot do (cleaning the house in one day). And recognize in a day when we hit a limit, knowing when to stop. Knowing on some days due to pain or fatigue our limit is less than on other days.

    Yet that is all part of the process. The friends we have are the ones a person wants on their side. A spouse that stays is one that understands illness comes to us all. We figure out a work one way or the other, something that works for us in our situations. We adapt and we change. Life changes but we cope to adjust to those changes. But it can take the newly diagnosed a bit to adapt.

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Pain brain signals disrupted in fibromyalgia patients

    New research indicates that a disruption of brain signals for reward and punishment contributes to increased pain sensitivity, known as hyperalgesia, in fibromyalgia patients. Results published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology, suggest that this altered brain processing might contribute to widespread pain and lack of response to opioid therapy in patients with fibromyalgia.

    Fibromyalgia is a chronic, musculoskeletal syndrome characterized by widespread joint and muscle pain along with other symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulty. Previous research estimates that fibromyalgia affects 3.4% of women and 0.5% of men in the U.S. Prevalence of this pain disorder increases with age, affecting more than 7% of women between 60 and 79 years of age.

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    “In patients with fibromyalgia there is an alteration in the central nervous system pain processing and a poor response to topical pain treatments, trigger point injections, and opioids,” said lead author Dr. Marco Loggia from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. “Our study examines the disruption of brain function involved in the individual experience of pain anticipation and pain relief.”

    For the present study, the research team enrolled 31 patients with fibromyalgia and 14 healthy controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cuff pressure pain stimuli on the leg were performed on all subjects. During the MRI, participants received visual cues alerting them of impending pain onset (pain anticipation) and pain offset (relief anticipation).

    Results show that during pain anticipation and relief, fibromyalgia patients displayed less robust responses within brain regions involved in sensory, affective, cognitive, and pain regulating processes. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) — a group of neurons in the center of the brain involved in the processing of reward and punishment — displayed activation during pain anticipation and stimulation, but deactivation during anticipation of relief in healthy controls. In contrast, VTA responses during periods of pain, and anticipation of pain and relief, in fibromyalgia patients were significantly reduced or inhibited.

    Dr. Loggia concludes, “Our findings suggest that fibromyalgia patients exhibit altered brain responses to punishing and rewarding events, such as expectancy of pain and relief of pain. These observations may contribute to explaining the heightened sensitivity to pain, as well as the lack of effectiveness of pain medications such as opioids, observed in these patients. Future studies should further investigate the neurochemical basis underlying these dysfunctions.”

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Fibromyalgia Cognitive Symptoms study

    We are all familiar with fibrofog when it comes to fibromyalgia but fibrofog is really just part of the symptoms associated with the cognitive dysfunction of FM.

    An article published online on July 21 in Arthritis Care and Research has recently looked more in-depth into the symptoms of cognitive dysfunction and where it affects FM. What they looked at were four components of Executive Function:

    • Shifting; the ability to shift our attention between tasks.
    • Inhibition; the ability to suppress routine responses.
    • Updating; replacing outdated information with current relevant information.
    • Access; the ability to access long-term memories which are needed for verbal fluency.

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    The study had 30 participants between the ages of 18 and 70 with a control group of 30 women matching in age group. All participants were involved in 90 minutes of testing that measured pain, anxiety, depression, executive function, memory, and working memory. Self-evaluation of cognitive impairment was also measured using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognition Scale (FACT-Cog 2), which can be used with people that do not have cancer because it does not contain any specific references to cancer.

    The patients with FM reported a mean pain intensity level of 6.68 (SD, 2.59) on a visual analog scale, suggestive of moderate pain. On the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, patients with FM had a mean total score of 18.2 (SD, 5.8), indicating severe anxiety and depression, compared with a mean of 11.2 (SD, 5.7), or moderate anxiety and depression, among the control participants (P < .0001). Scores of 8 or more suggest clinically relevant levels of anxiety or depression.

    On the Digit Scan-Backward test, a measure of updating and working memory, the patients with FM had a mean score of 3.8 (SD, 1.1) compared with a mean of 4.4 (SD, 0.9) for the control group (P = .031). Patients with FM also scored lower on the delayed recall portion of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, with a mean score of 9.9 (SD, 3.6) compared with a mean of 11.7 (SD, 2.4; P = .033), suggesting impairments in episodic memory.

    Attentional shifting was measured using the A and B portions of the Trail Making Test (TMT). There was no significant difference between groups on scores for the TMT-A, in which participants connect numbers ascending from 1 to 25. However, on the TMT-B, which requires the test takers to alternate between numbers and letters, FM patients recorded a mean score of 97.3 (SD, 39.9) compared with a mean of 75.7 for the HC group (SD, 28.6; P = .020).

    Working memory was measured with the 1-Back test, in which subjects look at colored blocks on a screen for a given period of time and must then press a keyboard to indicate what they have seen. Reaction time is measured in milliseconds, along with accuracy. There was no difference in accuracy between the groups, but the patients with FM had significantly longer reaction times (mean, 891.2 msec; SD, 185.0) compared with the HC group (mean, 722.4 msec; SD, 131.9; P < .0001).

    I can see the delayed reaction time in working memory. I have felt it. It is like a glitch and then your brain kicks in. But I would have to say there is some issue with working memory overall… in the sense our concentration and focus issues impair it. Try holding a thought in your head… like doing simple math… carry the one… and then poof you forget the one exists and then lose where you were and have to start all over again. So math-wise, by hand is better or obviously by the calculator. I’m just saying that I feel other than a delay in working memory… it is actually faulty as well.

    Patients with FM also showed significantly poorer judgment on all measures of self-perception of cognitive dysfunction, including mental acuity (P = .002 compared with HC participants), deficits noticed by other people (P = .001), verbal and nonverbal memory, verbal fluency, functional interference, and effect on the quality of life (P < .0001 for each). (Medscape)

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    Yes, obviously verbal and nonverbal memory and verbal fluency are influenced a great deal. We talk about our language dysfunction all the time. Talking wise, and in writing, things do not come out… right. I have noticed doing a crossword game that I am just as good as I have always been but again there is a notable delay in finding the word in my brain. So I know it, pause, think, pause, think, pause, then it kicks in and it comes out. So obviously speaking where you just use words automatically without constantly thinking… they come out ass-backward or with similar-sounding words or the wrong tense.

    Overall, the more serve the patient’s FM (measured by the Fibromyalgia Impact Scale) the greater the self-perception of cognitive impairments (such as attention and concentration or fibrofog). The sample size though was a limitation of this study. “In addition, the authors did not control for pharmacological treatment when enrolling the participants, and they point out that certain medications can have a significant effect on cognitive function. However, they write, “this limitation does not invalidate the main result of the study, which concerns the degree of accordance between subjective and objective reports.”

    And that is a severe limitation of this study. We can be on no meds or multiple medications. And those medications can affect concentration, memory, and fatigue levels. I think that could rather skew the results a substantial amount given I have felt what certain meds have done cognitively to me.

    “[O]ur data indicate that the long-term and working memory, shifting of attention and updating executive functions of FM patients are impaired compared to [HC]s,” the authors conclude. “These impairments are reflected in subjective complaints independently of depressive symptoms.” They recommend the inclusion of a self-report questionnaire to assess cognitive impairment in the initial clinical evaluation of patients with fibromyalgia.

    These studies are interesting but I would be interested in a meta-analysis because it seems there is Some consistency in them but also a lot of difference and I would be interested in where there is a consensus.

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Fibromyalgia Flare Researches

    Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome defined by widespread muscle pain, fatigue, sleep dysfunction, and cognitive dysfunction. Fibromyalgia pain dysfunction involves increased sensitivity to pain known as hyperalgesia. People with Fibromyalgia can experience what is referred to as ‘flares’ where their symptoms get more severe.

    The flare study

    A survey in Pain Medicine recently looked into the nature of flares to ask people with Fibromyalgia the nature of these flares. They asked open-ended questions to determine how they perceived the fibromyalgia flares, their triggers of them, and possible alleviating factors for them. They were asked how these flare-ups are different from their baseline symptoms and how they cope with them. There were 44 participants in the survey.

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    Primary causes of flares:

    • stress
    • overdoing it
    • poor sleep
    • weather changes

    Primary symptoms of a flare included:

    • flu-like body aches with exhaustion
    • pain
    • fatigue

    Primary treatments were:

    • medical treatments (medications)
    • rest
    • activity and stress avoidance
    • waiting it out

    The study concluded that the periods of “symptom exacerbation (i.e., flares) are commonly experienced by patients with fibromyalgia, and symptoms of flares can be differentiated from everyday or typical symptoms of fibromyalgia. Our study is the first of its kind to qualitatively explore the characteristics, causes, and management strategies of fibromyalgia flares. Future studies are needed to quantitatively characterize fibromyalgia flares and evaluate the mechanisms of flares.

    It would indeed be interesting to see further analysis of the flare phenomena in the future. Particularly the mechanism of it. What is going on such that these flares are so suddenly and abruptly different from the baseline experience? Clearly, it is an event that is triggered. However, discovering what is going on and what a flare could perhaps further what is going on with the entire fibromyalgia syndrome itself.

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    When flare-ups occur consider these:

    • Taking a break– flares tend to occur at times of high stress when it is not exactly good timing for a break. However, no matter what is going on if we push through the pain like we are inclined to do often, we will pay for it. Instead, we should try to ask for help from others, ask for extended deadlines, reschedule things if possible and take care of the flare first. Try and reduce what is causing you stress and get that as low as possible. Also, take breaks during the day to help.
    • The say ‘No’ tip- is very valid again. At this time of a flare, it is even more important to protect your time and reserves. No, you can’t take on extra work. No, you can’t do that favor for a friend or your kid’s school. No, you can’t babysit for a friend. You don’t have to have an excuse, just a polite refusal. You just cannot take on extra things at this time.
    • Sleep– Sleep is always a factor in Fibromyalgia symptoms. This means that adequate quality sleep is even more important during a flare-up. Getting eight or more hours of sleep is important. Keep to a regular sleep schedule. Don’t nap too much during the day such that it disrupts your sleep at night, but you can have a short nap during the day.
    • Relaxation- Doing biofeedback, deep breathing, meditation and self-hypnosis can help take your mind off the pain. As well as distraction methods you may already use, like soothing music or a good book.
    • Pacing– We can keep doing activities, at a slower pace, which has been found to be better than not doing activities at all. However, we need to know our limits. Slow and steady. We can incorporate some gentle exercises such as gentle stretching, walking, and some light yoga. However, if you have an exercise routine consider decreasing the intensity.
    • Pain management– Use your medications following the schedule you use to manage the pain. If they are not sufficient ask your doctor about them. Use any alternative treatments you might find effective. Acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage therapy, biofeedback, and other therapies may be beneficial for your pain management
    • Support– It can be difficult to deal with so sometimes talking about it can help. To utilize the support group you have. Either an online support group, a real-life one, or the people in your support system like family and friend
    • Baths– some people find it relaxing to take baths in Epsom salts.

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Brain fog tips and tricks

    Brain fog is a symptom of many chronic illnesses and chronic pain. Just seems that when we get ill and our bodies get fatigued or are fighting pain, or both, add in some lack of sleep… you get brain fog.

    Symptoms include:

    I listed some of them there but really there can be more. For example, transposing numbers is also transposing letters so we can spell words wrong frequently. As well as of course forgetting words and then using the wrong word. And massive concentration issues. I used to be a disorganized person. One might say I am by nature and inclination.

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    However, brain fog has made me become, to the best of my ability, an organized one. I have to be because I at times forget things I Know, so I need to have little notes of things I need to access on a daily basis for those blank-out times. It is a constant frustration to think through this fuzzy, muddled head. Not to mention the damn typo brain causing tiny errors you have to hunt down.

    There are a few tips we can keep in mind that can help out with brain fog during the day:

    Exercise

    You knew I was going to say that right? It is always on the list. But indeed it helps boost our mental clarity. Even just a 20 min walk. In fact, if you are working and you find your concentration is shot try getting up and taking a short walk around, sometimes the act of changing activities to motion and then getting back at it can stimulate the brain.

    Eat regularly and snack

    Do not skip meals. In fact, have regular snacks between meals. Snacks really help maintain your energy and you will find it helps with mental fatigue.

    Change activities or tasks

    Sometimes the act of changing what you are doing, shifting the brain from one activity to another can help clear your mind. Then go back to your task and you may find your mind more focused.

    Get sleep

    This may be difficult if you have insomnia or pain or both, but good quality sleep also helps with combating mental fatigue.

    Supplements

    I personally use B12 and Rhodiola for mental clarity and fatigue.

    Reduce stress

    Stress also can be a cause of increasing our brain fog so reducing it is beneficial. One way to help reduce it is with such things as deep breathing exercises and meditation. Even if it is just some short deep breathing exercises during the day to calm yourself down.

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    Routine is our friend

    Established routines help reduce our stress by taking away any stress associated with being flustered or in a rush. It helps maintain balance in the body. It is also beneficial to make lists and reminders to help us remember things, as again this takes stress off of us when we might have issues remembering non-routine events and appointments.

    Avoid multitasking

    It has been established in studies that the brain actually works better when we focus on one thing… I suspect a lot better for those of us with chronic illness and issues with brain fog. To avoid this inclination to multitask.

    Remember pacing

    Take breaks as needed as we can overextend ourselves and small breaks can be greatly beneficial

    Do a medication check

    There are medications that can cause mental fatigue and if it is an issue that is of concern see if it is a side effect you are dealing with and ask your doctor about it.

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • Paresthesia and Fibromyalgia

    Paresthesia is one of the nerve symptoms of Fibromyalgia that causes the ‘pins and needles sensations, an itch, tingling, prickling, and numbness. In general, Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition, as once it starts it isn’t going away but this isn’t always the case. There can be ways to manage and reduce it at times. At least I had some luck with this but that isn’t saying much, I know, FM being the fickle beast that it is. I will explain what I went through though.

    Sensations:

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    Treatments:
    • NSAIDs or aspirin are recommended if symptoms are mild.
    • If it is more complex antidepressants have been used at low doses because they affect the perception of pain.
    • If the pain is more severe things such as codeine have been used to manage it.
    • B complex, in particular, B12. But be careful because too much B6 can actually be a Cause.
    • Acupuncture and massage have been used to reduce symptoms.
    • Ointments with capsaicin can provide relief. This actually, has been studied for FM pain beneficially.
    • Wearing loose-fitting clothing.

    I have had a bad experience with this symptom. First, I developed peripheral neuropathy in my hand. Rather spontaneously one day, I woke up with half my hand with a thick numbness which over the course of a week spread over the entire hand. It caused damage to two of the fingers mobility-wise as well. Initially, it was thought to be due to a status migraine I was in the middle of but there was a substantial debate about that so I consider it to be idiopathic since they didn’t, in fact, do any actual evidence-based tests to determine that. So I endure the glove-like numbness. The sharp prickling pain. The sharper, deeper never pain. I began to take B12 because I heard it was good for nerve pain and it reduced the prickly pain sensations that were rather problematic for me.

    Second, because I had this ‘incident’ where I developed severe Paresthesia below the waist which spread slowly and gained in intensity and eventually with a significant area of numbness. It greatly disturbed my doctor who thought it might be spinal stenosis or other related back diseases. It led to three back MRIs. And it wasn’t. it wasn’t anything definable with evidence to be seen with an MRI. It was Fibromyalgia related. Just severe. Progressively so it seemed. Until it was running down my legs. Entirely waist down. And the method of treatment for it, which no doctor recommended or thought of, but coincidentally worked for me was a lot of B12. I had been taking it with some benefit for my peripheral neuropathy and by coincidence, it helped, slowly, with this bizarre intense Paresthesia. Now granted, it very well might have been the cause of my idiopathic peripheral neuropathy and the Paresthesia for all I know and that is why the B12 worked for me. All I know is that it was freaky and I am glad it was greatly reduced. I barely have the symptom there now and the severity of it is greatly reduced, so makes me wonder if for me it was a deficiency issue. Nevertheless, not a pleasant fibromyalgia symptom to endure.

    However, I still do have symptoms of this and expect I always will. Mostly now it is the crawling itchy sensation. Generally, at night I get the same sensation I had before from the waist down but less intense. I just reduced that specific area dramatically.

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

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  • 6 things I would like you to know about Fibromyalgia

    6 things I would like you to know about Fibromyalgia

    There are a lot of things I wish people understood about Fibromyalgia I would like to share for fibromyalgia awareness.

    Here are a few…

    We have ambition.

    Just like all the ‘normals’ out there we have ambition. Career goals. Things we desired to do with our lives. It is just the syndrome with the pain, fatigue, and comorbid conditions interfering with that reality. We ended up making compromises and getting other jobs. Or we were forced to work part-time. Do flexible hours. Work from home. Or go on disability. You have to understand this was a hard sacrifice for us to make. It was one of those compromises that we feel stole something from us but we needed to make for our health. Not that we are lazy and living it up. No, we wanted to have it all. A career and a way to manage our illness with it. It hurt to know we couldn’t.

    We look fine, but that is our Baseline pain.

    What you see when we look fine and are doing well enough to function is our Baseline Pain. It is the pain we deal with no matter what. Always there. We are not ‘better’. We were not ‘cured’. There is not fine one day, sick another. It is our baseline craptastic feeling of existence. So we feel we can deal with this and do slightly more moderated activities. Don’t see this and assume why can’t you do That all the time. It is a mistake. You are looking at a damn fine day.

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    We have flare-ups.

    Flare–ups of pain often come from pushing ourselves beyond our limits. Which we do because often we feel we have no choice. That we must. And sometimes we do it because there is something special we want to do and are willing to pay the inevitable pain price. A flare-up is a large jump in symptoms and pain. We are low functionality these days. We need downtime. We need rest. And we need to not feel guilty about this because we need to focus on self–care. I’ve had flare-ups that are just random. Hit me hard and I just had to recover like usual. Minimal activities, rest, and self-care. This isn’t an ‘exaggeration’ this is a painful event that can last for days.

    We guilt a lot.

    We compare ourselves to our past healthy selves. To other people. To a fictional self that never got ill and did great things we never did. And we feel guilty for clearly failing to be those things. We feel guilty about taking care of ourselves when we should be trying to catch up on housework or anything… to feel productive. Because are we not supposed to be productive to be useful? We never give ourselves a break. People criticize us with their stigma and lack of knowledge but we are far worse on ourselves than they ever will be. Getting used to an ill existence is a difficult task. And making us feel guilty isn’t helping the matter, it is reinforcing the belief we should feel guilty, like a failure, and shame at being ill.

    We are tired.

    We have all-consuming fatigue. Like walking around with a lead blanket all-day wearing you down, making it hard to engage in activities and when we do… it exhausts us. We are running on empty from the sleep deprivation and fatigue combined. So we need to rest often. We need to take short naps to boost what little energy we have. This is not lazy. It is the management of energy conservation.

    Moderation.

    We have to think about moderation in all things. We have limits and we know what happens if we exceed them. We have to pace our activities all the time. We cannot rush through the day with several things on the menu planned. It simply doesn’t work that way. We have limited energy and pain resources to use. We have to carefully decide what we have the energy to use on that day. People often do not understand this limitation, which for us is a lifestyle. Maybe they don’t understand because they are in such a rush all the time and we cannot be. To do so leads to pain, flares, and boom and bust pain cycles. All of which we try to avoid.

    The thing with Fibromyalgia is that it is always there. It seems like every system in your body is against you. If it is not one thing, it is another. All over pain all the time, but also specific pain in some areas that quite a bit hurts more than the rest. And flares that hurt significantly more than normal. We are constantly adjusting to this on a daily basis and managing as best we can in a body that fluxes with symptoms and pain constantly. For example over and above my baseline pain my knees and feet are killing me, I have extreme nausea and fought all day with IBS-D. Who knows what tomorrow will be like.

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    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

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    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • How much fibromyalgia awareness is out there?

    There is this impression that a lot of people do not know about Fibromyalgia or understand it in the general public. I wrote an article in 2020 about How Much Awareness is Out There that suggested there was more than we think. I am going to post the reprint on that. I assume there is even more awareness now via all the 800 drug company commercials.

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    May 12, 2020: How much awareness is out there?

    Fibromyalgia is a syndrome primarily characterized by widespread chronic muscular pain, fatigue, and insomnia. It is difficult to diagnose syndrome and equally difficult to understand.  People who suffer from the condition often fear they are being treated as hypochondriacs or are perceived as chronic complainers and lazy.  They often fear to disclose they have the condition to their employer and co-workers because they might face discrimination or a hostile work environment. A decade ago many people would be hard-pressed to say they had even heard of the condition.  How far has FM awareness come today?

     American Chronic Pain Association survey

    According to a survey done by the American Chronic Pain Association in March 2012 92% of the general population in America has heard of Fibromyalgia.  This is a substantial increase in FM awareness in the general population, however, the survey also suggests people do not understand the difficulties involved with everyday tasks.  For example, people were asked to indicate activities they believed people with FM would have difficulties with and people with FM answered the same survey.  There was a little discrepancy in the category of ‘do yard work or clean the house’ but there was a significant discrepancy in categories like ‘watch a movie or ‘drive a car’.  The reasoning for this is no doubt that pain must be caused by doing activities but in cases like FM, it can be just as painful to be still or in one position for too long.

    Do people know who FM afflicts?

    When it comes to who can get FM the same survey suggests people are not too clear on the idea.  44% said they were not sure who was impacted by FM and one-third said older women.  When looking at FM prevalence the majority of FM sufferers are indeed women, however, men suffer from the syndrome as well.  Diagnosis can come at a young age but there is an increase in the prevalence of the condition in aging populations.

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    How is the FM disabled perceived?

    What is most interesting about the ACPA survey is how the general population perceives those who suffer from FM versus how they perceive themselves.

    The study states that people with FM believe society sees them as ‘complainers’, ‘weak’, and ‘lazy’.

    Whereas the results indicate the general population sees them as ‘courageous’ and ‘strong’.

    There are plenty of reasons for FM sufferers to have this impression.  People who have had FM for over a decade have been exposed to doctors who have denied the existence of the condition or refused to treat them.  They have been told they were ‘stressed’ or it was ‘all in their heads.  This leads, unfortunately, to an unwillingness to disclose details to health professionals for fear they will be labeled as hypochondriacs.  Others fear they appear as chronic complainers because their health concerns come up in everyday life so often.  They fear co-workers might believe they are using their health as a reason to ‘get out of work’ or as ‘an excuse’.  They may have dealt with hostile work environments or family members who have had difficulties coping with having a loved one with the illness.  They also tend to believe society, employers, and family all have expectations of them, of anyone, that they are not fully capable of living up to anymore and the guilt of that is a heavy emotional burden.  All of this leads to the general impression that the average person would have a negative view of their condition.  Whereas the general population sees people coping with a chronic pain condition, perhaps suffering financial and emotional burdens because of it, and yet still able to get through daily life and function.

    Pain may be a private experience and while it can be doubted by the outside observer we, as human beings, have the capacity to empathize and as such, we can grasp the struggle someone is going through without having to feel the pain ourselves.  It takes a great deal of strength and courage to cope with a complex, chronic pain syndrome like FM, and clearly, people are able to empathize with that struggle.  It is profoundly encouraging to see that result in FM awareness even if only to bring to light to FM sufferers that all people do not perceive them in a negative fashion.  Clearly, there is more awareness of fibromyalgia as a chronic pain condition even if the specifics of how that pain affects daily living are not too clear.  However, FM awareness as a chronic pain condition is different than FM awareness as a syndrome.  Very few people understand the complexity of the syndrome as a whole or the fact that there is a great deal more involved than just pain.  Awareness campaigns that bring to light all aspects of the incurable syndrome not only help with public perception, which decreases decimation and bias, but can help push for research and eventually a cure to this debilitating condition.

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

  • A Flare is one of the worst fibromyalgia experiences.

    The Flare-up (see here for my article on it) is one of the worst fibromyalgia experiences. I fell into it sometime last night and woke up with the most unpleasant pains. In the hips, shoulders, and back, not to mention all over aches. I was very fatigued yesterday and perhaps that was some prediction of impending doom.

    Here is the thing we can pace and moderate but we cannot avoid all flares. Sometimes they just occur. Sometimes they are just radically unpredictable. And we just do not know where the hell they came from. This one I have no clue what triggered it. It certainly was not something obvious like overdoing it. Things like poor sleep are a constant factor but that could certainly have done it. It wasn’t the weather.

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    And, well, I can blame stress. Because I can always blame stress. But specifically, I do not know. There is nothing that stands out. I know, usually, when it is stress-induced because it is a significant stressor. But I can say I don’t always know when it is a lack of sleep because that does fluctuate from bad to horrific.

    Nevertheless, we simply can’t avoid it. And it is Painful. I was walking around like Frankenstein’s monster. And slow, so slow.

    Medications can only do so much I suppose. Mine doesn’t do that much. They take the edge off regular FM pain which is true, but not the hyped-up Flare pain. I can’t rest when I have to work. Can’t avoid stress… when I have to work. So… I am waiting it out. And moving slowly. Tomorrow I am off and I will have a day of rest. And it will be a mellow day of relaxation and a lot of menthol creams I suspect.

    It never ceases to amaze me how FM can flare up so spontaneously from like a 4-5 level pain to a 7-8 level pain. Fast, little cause, just BAM. Overdoing it is the most prevalent cause we experience. We just cross that limit a little too far… just a smidgen. And maybe we don’t even realize it right away. Or maybe we do a little bit. With muscle fatigue and aches. Then suddenly the pain just smacks into us out of nowhere. It is sometimes hard to Know where that Line is. So it is pretty easy to cross. Especially on good pain days. Not to mention we are literally told all the freaking time to not let our pain stop us from doing things. So of course, if we do things we are going to accidentally cross those invisible lines. Hell, I cross them just doing the exercise I am supposed to do. Because exercise is painful all the time, it is hard to know when I have pushed that pain limit too far. And then when I do it is extremely painful and I can’t exercise for days after.

    So to recap… pace, moderate… but don’t stop doing activities… but don’t exceed your limits and overdo it or you will cause a flare-up. So simple, right?

    https://fibromyalgia-6.creator-spring.com/
    https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

    Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

    For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

    References:

    Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

    Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

    Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

    Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

    Fibromyalgia Stores

    Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store