im wore out and my back, arms, shoulders and hands r acting up i have that itchy crawlie feeling all over and cant sleep its gonna be a long night. i did find that sleeping on my living room floor seems to help with my back a bit though along with the heating blanket and for some reason im a bit dizzy but the good news is with the warmer weather i havent needed my cane as much but i do keep it with me in the car at all times cuz im finding out that fibro is very very very unpredictable. last week before the storms i had 3 days of 90 percent pain free with energy to spare and this week all i wanna do is sleep.
I’m so sorry you are having such a tough time right now, but please know that we all fully understand and send you gentle hugs
Bev
I sometimes get that itchy feeling too. It's like restless leg syndrome but in my arms too and it makes it difficult to sleep so I know how you feel. I wonder if the dizziness comes from swollen muscles in the neck and shoulders that trap nerves around there. I get that too! You're right, it is an unpredictable disease and forthought is always a good thing. Don't get stuck outside without your cane. Sometimes you can get to where you're going fine but then coming back, it strikes and you are stuck! It's good that you have periods of almost pain free times, unfortunately I'm in pain 24 hours a day 7 days a week and it is exhausting.
Feel free to add me as a friend if you wish. Bye for now. Carol
Can you do any gentle stretching. Sometimes ive found a combination of stretching my major muscle groups (thighs, buns, arms) and a heating pad has helped with some of the aching.....also the RLS. its limited but sometimes helpful.
I plan to do that everyday and then the day is over before I know it and I'm still stiff and sore. Then I think tomorrow is another day, I'll do something then and the same thing happens again!! I suppose I'm stuck in a rut on a vicious cycle and need to plan and make time to stretch. You're absolutely right though, it does help if you do it little and often but I always overdo things and end up in agony again. I need to learn my limits and keep to them. I asked the specialist at the fibromyalgia clinic if I will every be 'normal' again and she said this is your new normal and you have to learn to adapt to it and live within your limitations. Fine words but when you have been used to being so active and helping everyone else, it's very hard to realise your now the one who needs help.
Oh it very much sounds like we have been having the same conversations! I am encouraged to learn my limits, do little then rest, then do a little more - my mind does not work like that, if I feel reasonable then I just feel I can’t miss that opportunity, so I overdo things. With me, because I can not work I feel I am not contributing so if I manage to do something it’s almost like a sense of achievement. I know I’m gonna be laid up in agony soon after but I just can’t seem to change ‘who I am’. I get told - just as you do, that I am not that person who could function at 100 miles an hour…always being the carer. Now everyone has to care for me, and it feels WRONG. Lets face it 2 miles an hour would be good.
You would think after 4 years of fibro and CFS I would have learnt!
It makes me think that the sufferers of this cruel condition are like minded in many more ways than we imagine.
Bev
It's true Bev, we are like minded and it's good to know you're not alone with thoughts, feelings and symptons. I can't work either, there are times when I can't even walk and I have to put a pillow on the floor next to my bed so that I can roll on to it and then crawl to the bathroom and back again and just lie there with my body burning and bruised. It's really hard to explain to people who do not have FM because the symptons don't show on the outside and people can't see the pain until your face is contorted with it. I type backwards and say things the wrong way round and stumble over words like English is my second language! Long pauses in sentences and a blank look on my face like a fool. It's all very frustrating and I hate to talk about it to my family and friends as they just don't get it. It's good to know we don't have to suffer alone and we are not imagining the symptons we have. Very frustrating!
Hi, sorry for interrupting but can you tell me where you have a fibro clinic?
Vicky
I am sorry that you are having a really painful time right now...we do all understand what that is like...I am glad to hear that you have gotten breaks from time to time where virtually your pain was diminished some...I sure hope this flare up doesn't stick around for long. It truly wears you down being in pain constantly, especially when it interferes with your sleep. I have constant pain all the time and sadly no breaks of relief. It is hard and we all understand...I used to have some pride in feeling that I had a very high pain tolerance but now being in high levels of pain nonstop has reduced me to often crying like a baby...and learning moderation is not my cup of tea. I have not yet learned to place event he smartest limits on myself because I feel like I am giving up on me. It is truly a very painful disease physically and emotionally. I hope that we can help you through it along the way. Dizziness may also be induced by sleep deprivation...as well as the swelling in the neck and shoulders...all in all, I hope this flare dies down quick and you can have relief.
Hi Vicky. Were you asking me where the fibro clinic is? I live in the UK and there is one near where I live in Manchester/Wigan. Sorry if this doesn't help you. It was an week course where we spent about half an hour looking at a power point story on different aspects of FM then we would do some exercises noting how many we could do of each one and how long it took us to finish them every week. It wasn't what any of us thought it would be but it did show us more aspects of FM and stressed how we need to have a good relationship with our GP and discuss things with them. Our own doctors (GP's in UK) don't like us to be on sleeping tablets but we learn how important sleep is to FM and healing and that it also stops us from sleeping so we need them. We learn not to be apologetic about being ill and to say how we feel and what we need. Everyone is different and each one of us can have different symptons but it doesn't mean we don't have fibromyalgia. We need to educate our doctors too.
ty Bev i have been very busy and not able to get on i will give an update in a new discussion
i keep my cane in the car at all times Carol just in case cuz it is unpredictable and im still having pain mostly my back right now and my feet
my heating blanket helps alot and i do some stretching in the mornings cuz sometimes it takes more than 2 hours to get out of bed i recently started stretching before bed and this morning it took less than 2 hours to get out of bed im gonna keep trying the night stretches and see if it makees a difference
ty mom1 i been busy with docs and rest lately i will post what doc said today my back still hurts and the swelling in my hands had not gone down much the doc saw today the swelling and such my back stll hurts my feet r being a pain butt im doing a bit better