Fibromyalgia Community

Fran, I so agree the north has it a bit tough to maneuver around the weather and the dreariness, which makes this tougher then elsewhere.

I would say a couple of things.....in a flare i give it a couple of days of increased meds...warm pads to the muscles and watching really good TV or read a book that you are loving. Then I really get out and get up. I push to be in the public a craft store to get my mind distracted or sit at our store just for coffee and see the "action" going on. It is harmful to just sit at home in the dreary moment.

Well for me. I am sharing my tools here. Distraction is the cheapest med I take and it works so well. A dollar store find is exciting...and I don't do too much (learned that when I got stuck in the natural food store at the door and couldn't walk anymore..the counter guy had to get me my supplements). Embarrassing.......

So a little can give alot though. No shoveling of snow...big line there...I too got a good 4 inches here and a truck that came and magically moved it all!

Sleeping during a flare for me is a hot pad to the back in a recliner where gravity keeps a bit of tension on the muscles so they dont spasm...and I am not directly laying on the painful spots (for me trigger points). Works well. benadryl can be used too to help with sleep...OTC aids can be of benefit (talk to t he pharmacisit who knows you). Hydrate real well in a flare and try to find GOOD THINGS to focus on.

So my toolbox is a round of meds and repeated earlier if needed and then heat, a shower with massage while in there. I do go for a massage as well (sometimes painful but i know it will make a difference in the end). And lots of distraction once I have rested for 2 days or so....

I hope my tricks helped a bit, or mabe not. As we are all different and at different levels of dysfunction. I just wanted to share the important survival tools I have.

Good luck, hoping today is a lower pain day.

Nancy B

Hello Fran....MiMi in NC...I wanted to say just how important enough sleep is for all of us FMers....in the beginning when I first got sick I was not sleeping hardly any....many nights I watched every hour on the hour....this is NOT a good thing for neither the mind nor the body....you must find something that will work for you to get the needed sleep....have you tried muscle relaxers...or perhaps taking a hot shower at night using lavender bath salts to help your body to relax, right before bedtime? Have you tried Stopain Spray on places which will NOT stop hurting regardless of what you do? A heating pad? This is a wonderful *tool* for me and seems to be the only thing that will reduce my lower back pain.

You have to figure out what works for you. I know that in the beginning I tried all sorts of medicines....as my doctor thought that I was *just depressed*....but none of them actually worked without causing even more side effects....just another *thing* for me to deal with...it is really hard in the beginning and you might just want to give up....thinking nothing is going to help you....but there is something out there that will help you cope better....you just have to figure out what it might be...and for the most part, it is probably going to be a combination of *tools and tips* that will make your life less painful.

Doing gentle stretches and/or gentle exercises each and every day is good....(GENTLE, being the key word here)....drinking lots of water....taking vitamins and supplements....if you have not tried them...perhaps you should.

Have you had your Vitamin D level checked? Low Vitamin D can cause some people to have additional pain....so I would encourage you to ask your doctor about testing your Vitamin D level.

Eating right is also so important....and learning how to pace, pace and pace even more in anything and everything that you do....*no pushing yourself to the limit*....learning to say NO.

Actually everything takes a trial and error process....and you should allow at least 6-8 weeks of whatever you decide to try before making the decision as to whether or not what you are doing is truly helping you. (unless of course it is making things worse for you)...anything and everything you try does take time and effort.

We, FMers, must keep on keeping on until we figure out just what we need to make life better for us.

Take care and good luck.


MiMi