Fibrolife

Fibromyalgia is a condition that affects the muscles of the body. It causes wide spread pain, insomnia, fatigue, and other symptoms. I personally have 60 symptoms and conditions associated with fibromyalgia that I live with daily.

There is currently no cure for fibromyalgia, but there are treatment options. The best things you can do to make living with fibromyalgia easier are get enough sleep, eat healthy, reduce stress, and take medications as prescribed.

I have fibromyalgia flares, or periods when symptoms are worse. When in a fibro flare you feel like the whole world is literally on your shoulders and don't know where to turn or what to do. Some days it's all I can do to get out of bed in the morning. Learning how to cope during flares, and hopefully keep them from happening, has been an experience. I still haven't mastered it completely because sometimes life gets in the way.

I live a productive life. I'm a Mother and wife, freelance writer, daughter, sister, and friend. I try to be there for others when they need me, raise my son with love and understanding, be the best wife I can be, and contribute to the household income with my writing. Some days all this is easier than others, and I couldn't do any of it without help, but I am making it. This lens will show you that you can make it too!

Do you ever talk with people and after explaining about your condition, get the, "How do you stand it every day," or some such comment? I get them all the time.

If you don't live with a chronic pain condition, or have a close family member that does, you may not understand everything that is involved. When the pain is chronic (everyday), you get used to it. That doesn't mean it no longer hurts just that your body is conditioned to it and you don't let it ruin the whole day.

The body can get used to serious pain. You learn to work around the pain and other problems associated with fibromyalgia. I look at it as not letting the fibro monster win! I refuse to give in to the pain every day and never do the things I want. Now, I do have to make concessions occasionally, and change my schedule, but I don't do it all the time.

Learning to live with a chronic pain condition such as fibromyalgia isn't easy. Your everyday life is totally different from other people's Things you take for granted as just being part of life, make other's wonder how you function at all.

We all have to do the best we can with the circumstances we are given. Don't let pain ruin your whole life. Take action! Make plans! Do the things you can do, and on days it's not possible, just relax.

I made a New Year's Resolution to get healthy. That includes diet and exercise. Unfortunately, when I start a new exercise routine it causes a fibro flare.

We went hiking on the first day of January. I loved the hike and had lots of fun. I did have one slip, which wrenched my knee, but otherwise it was a good hike.

That night the symptoms began. Aches everywhere, then a severe headache, the chills and a fever. I had to lie down and bundle up. The next day stomach problems cropped up also. Today I am finally feeling a little better.

I did stick to my plan throughout. I did more walking on the other days, and kept my eating under control. The only way to help is to keep going and get in a regular routine. I know this because I did it before. The problem is sticking to it.

Fibromyalgia and exercise can go hand in hand. You just have to be consistent and work up in increments. Start slowly with easy exercises and then progress to harder, longer workouts. Listen to your body and do what's necessary, but never give up. You can be healthy and fit with fibromyalgia!

Fibromyalgia sufferers often have reactions to medications. There are very few medications that I've tried which haven't caused some kind of reaction in my system. Anyone with fibromyalgia should keep this fact in mind when trying new medications, and take precautions in case something happens.

Some of the adverse effects I have suffered from medications are as follows:

Tylenol made my blood pressure go up.

Advil makes me sleepy.

Benadryl makes me so loopy I can't walk.

Claritin D makes me sleepy.

Pain pills completely knock me out. Even half the normal dose.

Trazadone, which is an antidepressant, made me so dizzy during the day that I couldn't function. I was taking half the lowest dose of this medication also.

Ambien, a sleeping pill, worked too well. I slept for 18 hours until my husband woke me. This was on the lowest dose. I cut it in half and slept for 14 days, so was not allowed to continue the medication.

Effexor made my blood pressure go up and I gained weight.

Paxil made me dizzy and sleepy.

These are the worst reactions I've had personally to medications. I am always leery of trying something new because I don't know what will happen. I do know to start out with the lowest dose and see what happens.

I would urge any fibromyalgia sufferers to start new medications when another adult is around in case a bad side effect should occur.

I am going to list the conditions I have that are associated with fibromyalgia. There are more. Each person is different, and fibromyalgia will affect them differently.

1. Hypothyroidism
2. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
3. Irritable Bladder
4. Medication Sensitivities
5. Heightened sense of smell and hearing
6. Chronic sinus problems
7. Arthritis
8. Tension and weather related headaches
9. Insulin resistance
10. Insomnia
11. Dizziness and motion sickness
12. Balance problems
13. Fluctuating blood pressure
14. Allergies
15. Tingling in last two fingers on hands
16. Nausea
17. Heavy, long periods(before my hysterectomy)

That is not even the whole list of things I have associated with fibromyalgia, it's just the worst ones.

If you have new symptoms show up talk with your doctor about them. Don't assume everything is related to your fibromyalgia until other causes are ruled out.

Do you ever have one of those days when it's all you can do to get out of bed in the morning? If you suffer from fibromyalgia, chances are you have plenty of those days.

Lack of sleep and pain are two of the main reasons fibromyalgia sufferers don't want to get up in the mornings. When you do force yourself out of bed, the fatigue is awful. Brushing your teeth can seem like a chore on these days.

Fatigue is one of the main symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. I believe living in constant pain, not getting enough sleep, and having to concentrate so hard to remember little things, all lead to fatigue.

When you do have one of these days, take it easy on yourself. Have a "me" day and just relax. If you need an extra nap, take it. There is no harm in being selfish on days that the fatigue is overwhelming. Taking care of yourself on these days will make the good days even better!

One of the main symptoms I suffer from with fibromyalgia is headaches caused by changes in the barometric pressure. When rain is coming, I can tell, often before the weatherman!

It isn't easy dealing with this symptom, because I have no say so over the weather. It recently rained every day for almost a week here and my head hurt so bad I could hardly function. I was able to accomplish a little work, but could not try anything that required great concentration.

Learning to deal with weather headaches associated with fibromyalgia has been a challenge. I've found I can do a little work during the morning, but then the pain keeps getting worse and I have to rest the remainder of the day.

If you suffer from headaches with your fibromyalgia, be good to yourself. Don't push too hard, because it will only make things worse. Love yourself, take care of yourself, and your body will repay you.

One of the most significant symptoms that I have with fibromyalgia is insomnia. I have slept five hours out of the last three days. That is definitely not enough sleep! During that time I've taken ibuprofen for pain and melatonin for sleep. Neither one has been working well. It will get better though.

Tonight or tomorrow I will sleep. It goes in cycles. It's not a good thing, and it certainly takes a toll on my body and mind, but I've learned to deal with it. Fortunately I can work at my own pace since I do freelance writing, otherwise it would be a bigger problem. As it is, I just take it easy on these days and rest as much as possible.

The fibro/insomnia cycle is vicious. People with fibromyalgia hurt which causes them not to sleep well. After a while of not sleeping the body stays in the fight or flight mode and causes more pain, which makes it impossible to sleep. And around and around it goes.

I have tried different sleep aids to no avail. Everyone of them have caused side effects that make it impossible for me to continue use.

Even though this is a big problem I just keep working through it. Doing what I can when I can and resting often. I still get the most important things done. Living a productive life with fibromyalgia entails compromise with oneself!

Stress has a profound effect on fibromyalgia patients. Personally, my pain level sky rockets when I'm under stress. I try to relax and practice stress relief techniques, but sometimes stressful situations can't be avoided.

Today we had very bad weather. I live in a mobile home and we had tornado warnings all around. By the time they said the tornado was headed my way it was raining too hard to drive, so I couldn't go anywhere safer which is what we usually do. I just hunkered down in the bathtub with my blanket and pillow.

I was also worried about my son at school. I know he's safer at the school in their basement than at home, but I still worried. After everything was all clear I called and the school was fine.

Nothing happened here in my neighborhood but right down the road there was some damage. Twenty-five trees are down and damage to a few houses. A little farther down the road there are more homes damaged. Turns out I did have reason to worry.

Having reason for stress doesn't make it take any less of a toll on my body. Right now I am in tremendous pain. My shoulders are killing me! I've taken some ibuprofen and hope it kicks in soon. I have no other medication to take. Medication sensitivities are another one of my symptoms, but we'll get into that in another post.

I will cope with the pain for the rest of the day now. Hopefully it won't last in to tomorrow.

Whether warranted or not, stress is bad business for fibro patients!

My fibromyalgia pain increases quite a bit on rainy, dreary days. The barometric pressure has an effect on my pain level. If it gets rainy and stays that way for a while I eventually get used to it, but if it's just for a few days I hurt the whole time. When the sun finally shines again I'll hurt because the pressure is once again different.

I take ibuprofen and rest more during these times. I really can't do much else because the pain is too bad. Today I had to go to the UPS store and it was all I could do to make it there and back. The rest of the time I've been catching up on stuff online.

Learning to cope with the pain and do only what is necessary is not easy. I want to do more, need to do more, but just can't. It's very frustrating at times. I have learned to listen to my body when I can though because the alternative is a flare and pain for weeks. That is to be avoided at all cost!

People with fibromyalgia find that they can't do things they used to do easily. Sometimes just taking a shower hurts and wears you out. Trying to keep the house clean, fix meals, and work are more than some can handle. Learning to be dependent on others and ask for help isn't always easy, but is sometimes necessary for fibromyalgia sufferers.

Personally, it's been very challenging learning to let you of responsibilities that I thought of as mine. I used to clean the house from top to bottom every two or three days. Now, I do good to clean it thoroughly once a week. There have been times when some things are put off for two weeks. I can't let it go any longer than that or my OCD kicks in and I get stressed.

Thankfully my husband and son are not very messy. The worst things that happen are the floor needs vacuuming and the bathrooms cleaned. My son does the dishes and keeps his room fairly clean, my husband picks up after himself, and everything runs pretty smoothly. My husband even cooks supper on nights that I just can't. He always cleans the shower because getting in the floor and scrubbing kills my shoulders. I'll hurt for a week afterwards. He says he'd rather do it than have me hurt.

There are days I can't even drive myself anywhere for the pain. If my husband is gone I just have to pick a "good" day to do errands and things. It's very frustrating, but what else can I do? You will find that you do what it takes to survive the best you can when you have fibromyalgia. I am not giving up all the things I used to do; I just have to pick times to do them.

Letting others help is vital for fibromyalgia patients. If we try to do everything ourselves we will make our condition worse. You can even bring on a fibro flare. Those are to be avoided at all cost!

Be good to yourself. Let family and friends help if they will. Be gracious, and thank everyone. There is nothing wrong with asking for a helping hand.

I had plans to run some errands today. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep any last night, so I wasn't able to drive today. This is a regular occurrence for me these days.

Insomnia is a problem for many fibromyalgia sufferers as I said in a previous post. Learning to deal with it the best way possible is something we all have to do.

Take today for example. I had to stay home because it wasn't safe to drive. I didn't wallow in self pity, or let it ruin my whole day though. I have been doing some writing, learning about grammar and dialog for my stories, and talking with friends. I also put into place a new idea for a writing blog.

The point is this: If something associated with your fibromyalgia keeps you from doing a set thing, do something else! Make the best of a bad situation.

It really is possible to make lemonade when someone hands you lemons!

Fibromyalgia sufferers notice things others never worry about. Driving over bumpy, rutted, and uneven road surfaces are bothersome to everyone, but for fibro sufferers, they are actually quite painful. Even small potholes will cause pain because they jar the vehicle. Any sudden jerky movements can cause discomfort in someone with a pain condition.

Since we can't pave every road, and sometimes the only way to our destination is over a messed up street, the best option is to go slowly. Driving slowly and maneuvering the car to miss as many holes as possible is really all we can do to alleviate pain.

If you are the passenger in the vehicle, ask the driver nicely to go easy. Most people in a fibro patient's life know what they are going through and will accommodate.

Be nice to yourself. Taking a few extra minutes to get down a bumpy street is much better than hurting the rest of the night!