Ok, can someone fill us newbies in? I try and read as much as I can on Fibro, but it gets hard when you don't know the lingo includes yet.
What all consists with a Fibro Fog?
What exactly institutes a flare? I hurt all the time, so how do I know if and when I'm in a flare?
Is heavy stammering a part of a fog? or do I have something else going on? I know that forgetting words and mixing them up can come with fibro fog, but does stammering/stuttering?
When I'm hurting especially bad, I start shaking (hands trembling) which then turns into twitching. Usually in all my limbs randomly. It gets to where when my thigh twitches it's as though I am kicking my whole leg out. Is this common with Fibro?
I've noticed that many people with Fibro finds that the cold hurts. This is true for me. But is it unusual that at night if I'm slightly too warm and try and stick my feet out of the blanket, the cool air hurts my feet so I have to cover them up? Should I be that touchy to the slight temperature change?
I'm sure I'll have other questions, but this is all for now. Thank you all in advance.
Well, Im no expert as I have recently been diagnosed but I have some of those same issues. So please know you are not alone! Hang in there, and try reading all you can read about the issues. Hugs, Jackie
I too am sensitive to cold and during the winter I wear socks to bed to keep my feet warm. If you can't keep your feet under the covers because they get too warm you might try putting socks on them when you uncover them and see if that helps.
This is merely by my own experience. The fog is a more advanced case of walking into a room and forgetting what you came for. This includes things like going to the store with a grocery list and then forgetting what was on it, or being in the middle of a conversation and forgetting the end of your sentence. I've even had times where I can't remember what a word means. Basically it shows up where something you have known for quite some time is just inexplicably gone.
As far as flares, That terminology has never made much sense to me. I have good days and bad days, if i push it, i have to take a couple of days to recover from overexertion.
As far as temperature, its a mess. I can't stand to be hot, i wilt in a 75+ degree room, but at the same time i have to be under a blanket to sleep especially for my feet.And then there's blankets. I have at least 5 on the bed at any given time of different materials and thicknesses and mostly end up layering them in a complex pattern depending on the day. It's a constant battle that to be honest doesnt make a lot of sense.
Hi MacRene, and Welcome !! I remember having the same confusion not to long ago… There is so much to learn & I often feel like its a full time job !!
Fibro fog can be defined in varies ways… My perception is that when you are living day in & day out with pain & fatigue & managing life with this… Our brains become overwhelmed & just can’t keep up …my life has become a post it note… I have 2 calendars one on my kitchen wall & one in my purse & I have 2 note pads a daily one and a weekly one, if I don’t write everything down forget it… Fibro fog is when you know you have to pay close attention to where you park & you still walk out & have to look for your car, it’s when you really can’t remember something & you know you know it… I can easily get in a fog & miss my exit or turn when driving, Iv even heard of people getting lost. There are so many examples… It’s a huge topic…
I can feed my dog at 12 & at three seriously not remember if I fed her, I have to look in the sink to see if her bowl is dirty or if I opened a new can of food… It’s crazy
The whole flare thing is hard to explain, I would say when your symptoms get worse, & your just not able to function as you normally do … That’s a flare, if you do to much, like one day I felt kinda good, so I started to clean my garage… Not a lot , but for the next 4 days I couldn’t do anything, to me that’s a flare, and every winter I have a time when I feel like the flu like symptoms I am use to, get worse, I have chills, can’t get dressed, sleep more, do less… It a flare, yes we hurt everyday & yes we have days that are worse than others & some are better than others, but to me a flare is when I can’t push my self no matter what. Nothing ever comes easy, if I have to go to the dentist, I have to push myself., even if I got 10 hrs of sleep…everything’s a struggle, but when I’m in a flare, I just can’t even push…
Hope that makes sense ??
I can’t speak on the shaking , but my legs get jumpy & jerk a lot, it’s usually in the evening, very restless. This is RLS & some medications can help with that, I choose to not take the med for that, I just deal with it. Luckily it does not happen everyday.
Hello and welcome! You've come to a good site for helpful info and decent, kind people.
Sorry but I'm I'm starting to feel badly, so I'll try to answer you concisely:
Fibro fog is that awful wave of tiredness that washes over you and then can also make you forgetful or mess up your words or cause you to fall asleep anytime it hits. People experience it differently but these are several of the variations.
Flares - I think that most of us are in pain 24/7 but there seem to be times when the pain becomes even worse. Usually something brings these "flares" on, like stress or the weather or a drop in barometric pressure or working too hard. They last for any length of time and then may recede again.
Yup, stuttering and stammering goes along with fibro fog. I get it from time to time and my tongue seems to want to go and say something entirely different than what my brain tells it, so it twists everything up.
Trembling can also be part of fibro. Twitching too. And your meds can also make you twitch. I know that I twitch at night, usually on my right side. Didn't until I took Lyrica and Nortryptiline. So it could be from either fibro or meds.
Yup, I get the too cold then too hot then feet out of the blanket thing too. Fibro seems to make us touchy to everything!
Maradia, I didn't realize that the heat intolerance while still needing to be under blankets was fibro. That's how I am too but I have to have my feet and maybe 1 leg sticking out from the blankets in order to not be too hot! Also need it if the fan is on but still need the feet sticking out. It's weird!
Thank you so much. When I say i kick my leg completely out, it is from a major twitch in my thigh usually and I do not have control over it and don't sense they are going to happen. I do know that they happen when I am hurting really badly or have over worked myself. And I guess its not as drastic of a kick as it sounds like, just a twitch in the thigh (usually) that makes my whole leg move, standing, sitting, laying down it happens when it feels like it. Your input has definitely helped, thank you again.
I experience all the things you mentioned describe a fog. Do you think very severe stammering has anything to do with the fog or something else completely on its own?
I completely agree with you on the flare, I'm glad to know someone is on the same page as me on that.
I agree, it is a battle that doesn't make a lot of sense.
Dee, thank you, this is all very helpful. Everything you said made things much clearer and I experience them daily. The one question I still have after reading this is on the stammering. I have developed a stutter which has gradually been getting worse. When I have overdone things and am hurting the stammer/stutter gets really, really bad. So bad that people can't understand me, even people who are around me often and know me well. I get so frustrated that I can't say what I need to and to be honest, I feel helpless. Any who, thank you once more. You truly helped.
Thank you, Petunia. This did help, very to the point and you got the information across and definitely answered all me current questions. I appreciate you taking the time to answer even though you were hurting badly. Understanding it all makes me feel a little less crazy, so thank you for that little piece of sanity.
To be honest with you I have never heard of stammering being a symptom. That is not to say it can be. Have you always had a stammering problem or did it come along with other FM symptoms? I want to say you might consider seeing a specialist for the stammering. They would most likely be able to determine if it is related or something completely different. You also mentioned your leg twitching? I got a post concussion last year and had twitching in my leg and arm for several months and I also experienced some slight stammering. I do not have restless leg syndrome so maybe that is what you are experiencing
Its hard to say. The stammering could be part of the fog, but if it's bad enough to where you're having significant problems communicating I would investigate it further. Ive gotten "tongue tied" in conjunction with the fog but never to the point i couldn't slow down and express myself more clearly. Then again I'm no dr, all i can really give is a measure of comparison.
I've told every dr I've spoken to about it, I've not seen anything listing that type of sensitivity as part of fibro but i've experienced it about as long as my other symptoms and i dont have any other condition that would cause it as far as i know