Flare Time: Day Two

Hey everyone,

I didn't get posting yesterday as I was in too much pain to do anything yesterday and couldn't really think about what to put.

I was planning on talking about fibro fog yesterday, but I have decided to talk about Flare ups instead. I think this is a very good topic as people tend to forget that even though we may have good days, it doesn't mean we won't have flares.

What is a Flare Up

A flare up is when our body has taken more than it can cope with and our pain is heightened, our fibro  fog is worse and our fatigue is more than normal.

Causes

There are many things that will cause this to happen:
Too much exercise can be a huge factor
A traumatic experience; death of a loved one, an accident, loss of job
Sickness; Having the flu or other viral infections can be triggers
Changes in the weather; extreme climate changes are often a trigger
Hormones; Pms or Menopause can often trigger a flare
Lack of sleep; changes in sleeping routine or sleep disturbances can be a massive contributor
Treatment; changes to medication, or other treatments such as physio or other physical treatments
Travelling; any forms of travel can affect your body, such as sleeping in different bed, long distances in car, plane or other forms of transport can cause the body to stiffen and may cause your body to weaken and flare up

How to prevent flares

There is no actual prevention from all triggers as some cannot be controlled. However there are ways to keep track of yourself and your body and try to ensure that the ones you can be deterred or decreased.

One thing I find really helpful is a diary. You could keep track of things like weather, pain, activities, sleep pattern, food intake, medication. Just taking a few minutes each day to write these things down may help you to ensure that certain triggers don't happen.

For example, my current flare up is due to 4 days of excessive walking. Thursday I walked toby for over half an hour, friday I did the same, Saturday I took him to the beach and then walked him in the evening as well, Sunday I walked him twice also. Sunday morning I already felt more tired and my pain was higher than normal, but I continued on regardless, cut to Sunday night and I am in so much pain I cannot get to sleep, I lay awake all night and ended up sitting with Thomas having a cup of tea at 4:30am. I finally got over to sleep around 8am and woke up around 12 in horrendous pain, I could hardly move. Had I paid attention to my body on Sunday and rested instead I wouldn't have ended up in so much pain.

How long does a flare up last

There is no real rule of thumb on how long a flare up will last, for some cases they can last a day or two, sometimes a few weeks. My most extreme flare up was while I was still going through the diagnosis process and I would say it lasted the better part of a year. Some people can last for years in a flare up and just feel like it is the norm for them to be in so much pain. I started to think that I would never have a normal life again when after 18 months I was still having more bad days than good. In fact going out one day caused me to be in bed for the rest of the week. I was so grateful when I started having more days were I could feel normal again.

How to treat a flare up

So far the only thing I find helps is a lot of rest. I do generally use heat patches or hot water bottles on the most extreme pain places, but this will only ease the pain slightly until you move the heat away and then it will be back so it is not a permanent treatment. I try to spend most of my rest time lying down but with pillows propping me in different angles as I find that lying flat on the bed hurts me more. Sadly as there are not proper cure of this illness as you know and treatment is just about medication and managing the symptoms.

If you have any other ideas of how we should treat a flare up, please let me know in the comments as this would be really helpful to other people as well.

I have to say one of the hardest things is trying to get people to remember that although one day we may be able to get up and go and do something doesn't mean the next day we will be able to again. I have found so many different times that people in my life have compared days were I have been out of the house and yet not able to do it on another. It has taken me a long time to get over this actually being hurtful. I have got to a stage now where I just take a deep breath and remember that I don't always know what is going on with other people in their private lives, so I cannot expect them to know exactly what is going on with me and how my body changes from day to day.

Anyway, I hope this has all made sense, as right now my head is getting really sore looking at the computer screen and I am not actually able to think straight now. So I am going to go and rest for a while.

I am sending you all loving hugs and praying you are having a lesser pain day.

Love you all,

Lyndsey xxx