Flare ups?

Symptoms & Treatments
1

Until recently I didn’t know that the days I wake up in so much pain that I can barely move and am sweating, have no appetite and well pretty much wishing for the end of this life at I’ve come to live, that these are possibly my "flare up " days. I just had one and the funny thing is I knew that it was going to be.

Is it possible to be able to know what’s going to trigger flare ups? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make them less intense? Or a way to shorten the time? How do I explain it to my family and friends? I’d also say my coworkers but unfortunately I have no support from my job! :frowning:

2

My PCP has me on Savella 50mg tabs 2Xday, Hydrocodon/apap 325mg tabs PRN every 6hrs. My Brother became an Angel on March 1st. Since then I have had what I call a mental & physical Meltdown-Flare 4 times. The Savella makes me Sleepy ALL day if I take 1 in the AM, my solution was to take 2 @ bedtime & for some odd reason sometimes the Hydrocodon doesn't work, so there I am, in excruciating pain & no ease down from it.

The 3rd time I had a Meltdown-Flare I called my PCP's office & was told to come in, there I was driving down the highway @ 5 to 10mph with the single purpose of getting to the office to get some sort of help, I live 4mis from my PCP's office, by the way, (WL to LV). Two teenie towns out in the middle of nowhere.

My PCP went into the samples closet & gave me Lyrica 50mg tabs 2Xday for when the extra boost is needed during a Flare. So far it has worked. !!!TYG!!!

It doesn't make the Flare shorter it just gives me the UMPH I need to ease down the pain. I also have a TENS Unit that I can take with me if needed, but I don't know about the place you work at if it would let you have 1 in there w/you.

A TENS Unit is (please bear w/me) transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Which zaps the nerve areas of the most painful part on the body w/electricity & it zaps maybe 2 or 3 times faster than a second. I can plug it into the wall or I can use rechargeable 9V batts. I bought mine in January because that is when companies want to get rid of last years models for this years models, hence a cheaper price!

Some folks use the slap on numbing patches. Some Say they heat up but actually it is the sensation of heat rather than the heat I was expecting. Heating pad & or Gel packs some of the packs were specifically for a body part, ie knee/ankle/elbow or I have 1 that is for the back which covers my entire back w/ straps to secure it there., & I have braces for my wrists, elbows, knees & back. Don't be fooled by the elastic "braces" the pharmacies try to sell, they do not work, you need to buy the ones that have unmovable plastic support within the elastic/velcro braces.

For me the more Stress I am under the more Pain I will be in, YipeeSkippy. I couldn't afford the memory foam matresses so I bought the 4" memory foam pad from WM for $100, about 4 yrs ago & I Need to replace it.

M

3

Hello Nickole,

This is such a tricky condition, and I know everyone experiences it in different ways. For me, I try to avoid meds as much as possible. I am always willing to try, but so far none have suited. I use pacing myself, meditation, mindfulness, relaxation as much as possible, as well as gentle exercise and rarely now, Tai Chi.

As I don't work now (sadly), I realise it can be so much harder for people who do. I don't know if it helpful to say this, but employers do have a duty of care to their employees, so could there be adaptions to your working life to explore, or shorter hours? As for family and friends, they do find it so difficult to understand, I can only suggest you direct them to info on the Internet, or even let them look on here! I wish you well

Take care, Anne