Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes pain and tenderness all over the body. Scientists estimate that around 5 million people in the United States alone are fighting fibromyalgia.
Although men and children may have the condition, women do get it more often. During the middle ages most individuals start experiencing the condition.
Living with FM doesn’t just cause physical pain. The course of fighting fibromyalgia when it starts taking its emotional toll can be equally draining. FM, in fact, is linked to anxiety and depression, as well as a problem with focusing on tasks. It is considered a system problem because fibromyalgia can affect more than one location at a time.
Although pain caused by fibromyalgia appears to be normal or even continuous, the pain can fluctuate or vary from a dull throb to an acute sensation. While FM does not have cure, there are lifestyle changes and some therapies that can relieve some of the excruciating flare-ups. While fighting fibromyalgia, you have to strictly adhere to these lifestyle changes.
Below are some of the key ways fibromyalgic people can manage this condition.
7 Ways Of Fighting Fibromyalgia Flare ups and pains
1. Increase Your Physical Activities
Everybody needs to work out daily but if you are fighting fibromyalgia, this is even more important. Light exercise, as with many other conditions, will reduce the FM discomfort.
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Even if you only go for a 20-minute walk, exercise can alleviate joint and muscle pain, boost your mood and improve your quality of sleep. Start with things that are quick, low-impact, like walking, biking or swimming. You may want to try resistance training as you become more comfortable with these too.
- Get Enough Sleep
Low quality of sleep does more than just trigger black circles under your eyes. Fatigue appears to be a common symptom of fibromyalgia and inability to get enough sleep will intensify this symptom.
Furthermore, lack of sleep decreases your pain threshold and can also raise anxiety levels, which can magnify the debilitating symptoms.
Consider restful sleep a priority by turning off your computer every night and getting at least eight hours of sleep. Setting yourself up a bedtime can be useful. Establishing these routines will help your body fall into a more normal sleeping routine.
- Mind What You Eat
What you consume can also influence how you sleep, so make sure you eat a low-fat diet which is high in fruit and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. Beware of your sugar intake, too. Even losing a few pounds can make your painful joints feel better while fighting fibromyalgia.
Furthermore, you can eliminate some foods that cause flare-ups. You may even have developed a reaction to those foods. You can do a diet reduction to try to find the foods that harm you. You may also launch a journal, detailing your daily pain and food. You may find a connection between certain signs and foods.
- Reduce Stress
Being under constant stress causes a range of unpleasant symptoms from migraines to flares of pain. Getting your stress under control is a good idea while fighting fibromyalgia. Meditation, deep breathing exercises and mindfulness practice can help to reduce stress.
Often, therapy can help you to move through your tension in constructive ways that can reduce your physical pain. Whether you are getting one-on- one therapy or in a group setting, a professional’s encouragement will help bring the mind and body to a healthier place.
- Try Taking Supplements
Although not scientifically proven, specific supplements can increase joint mobility while reducing inflammation. Glucosamine and chondroitin function well. Turmeric is also a popular supplement which has been shown to reduce joint pain.
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If you have been diagnosed with FM lately, you will know you are not alone. Every year, thousands of cases are seen and handled. Get support from local online groups, and don’t forget to ask your doctor about further ways to ease your symptoms.
- Increase Intimacy
Fibromyalgia may interfere with intimacy in both men and women. In addition to stiffness and pain, being unable to be intimate with your partner can also lead to depression.
However, just because physical intimacy doesn’t seem feasible, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be close to your partner.
Even something as easy as cuddling will unleash hormones into your brain which can do miracles for your perception of pain. This is a soft way of fighting fibromyalgia.
- Try Other Therapies
Physicians don’t usually prescribe pain medication for FM, so you can always play with other forms of therapy in addition to relaxation and at-home massage. It can also be effective in acupuncture, water aerobics, and hot and cold therapies.
CBD helps alleviate discomfort, stress, and even fear symptoms, so you may find it useful to have different forms of it. Because of this, fibromyalgia hemp can help you feel more comfortable for longer time periods.
Causes Of Fibromyalgia Flare Ups
Many people with fibromyalgia can regularly experience some of the signs. Though, fibromyalgia-associated discomfort continues to fluctuate and get worse.
When symptoms increase in number or severity suddenly it is considered a flare-up or flare-up.
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A flare-up can last from a couple of days to weeks at any given time.
Many factors can cause a fibromyalgia flare-up, including changes to:
- diet
- hormones
- physical or psychological stress
- schedule
- sleep
- temperature or weather
- treatment
Stressful events, surgery or injuries may worsen the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
Sometimes, flare-ups can be caused by lack of sleep, or doing too much or too little exercises.
What Are The Symptoms of fibromyalgia?
Widespread discomfort is the primary sign of fibromyalgia. The condition causes the muscles, tendons and joints to have discomfort, weakness and tenderness. The main signs vary from person to person. Signs can and do differ in severity.
Symptoms can include:
- Pain all over the body, particularly in the back or on the neck.
- High sensitivity to pain, bright lights, smoke and some food.
- Stiffness during long stays in the same place.
- muscles spasms
- extreme tiredness
- poor quality sleep
- General weakness
More complicated symptoms include:
- Difficulty understanding, listening, paying attention, and focusing, called fibro fog.
- Slow or muddled speech.
- Headaches or migraines are common.
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
Sometimes, people fighting fibromyalgia can suffer clumsiness, dizzy spells, feeling too hot or cold, bouts of discomfort, the symptom of restless legs, and numbness or tingling of hands and feet.
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Prevention of daily pain and sleep may cause problems in the home and at work. The difficulty of dealing with this disease can trigger anxiety and depression as well.
Fibromyalgia symptoms may be difficult to handle. Secondly, stopping a flare from forming is less difficult than handling a flare.
Fibromyalgia diagnosis
When you think you’re having fibromyalgia please visit your Doctor. It can be difficult to diagnose fibromyalgia, since there is no specific test to identify the disorder.
Fibromyalgia symptoms can differ, and are close to those of several other conditions.
You’ll be asked during treatment about how the symptoms impact your daily life.
Furthermore, the body will be checked to test for visible signs of other disorders–sore knees might indicate inflammation rather than fibromyalgia, for example.
In order to be properly diagnosed with fibromyalgia, some conditions must be met.
If your Doctor suspects you may have fibromyalgia, first they will have to rule out all other factors that might worsen the symptoms.
The most commonly used diagnostic criteria are:
- Either you have severe pain in 3 to 6 separate parts of your body.
- You have milder pain in 7 or more specific parts of your body.
- Symptoms have remained at a consistent level for at least 3 months.
- No other cause has been identified for your complaints.
The severity of the discomfort used to be measured by applying gentle pressure to certain “tender areas” where any pain is expected to be at its highest. But nowadays, that is less popular.
What are the complications of fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia may lead to pain, illness and reduced quality of life. Fibromyalgic people may experience complications such as:
- More hospitalizations: people fighting fibromyalgia are twice as likely to be hospitalized than people without fibromyalgia.
- Lower life quality: Fibromyalgic people report lower quality of life.
- Increased depression: Fibromyalgic people are more than 3 times more likely to experience major depression than individuals without fibromyalgia. Depression evaluation and care is vitally important.
- Susceptibility to other forms of arthritis: Sometimes, fibromyalgia co-occurs with other arthritis forms, such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and ankylosing spondylitis.
How do people get fibromyalgia syndrome?
Symptoms of fibromyalgia resemble arthritis symptoms but fibromyalgia affects the soft tissue, not the joints.
The cause is unknown but risk factors include traumatic injury, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune disorders like lupus, as well as genetic factors.
Can fibromyalgia be inherited?
Siblings, parents and offspring of fibromyalgic people are eight times more likely to have the condition than those who have no family relation with the disease. Many genes have been implicated in playing a part in fibromyalgia syndrome.
Can fibromyalgia go away?
Fibromyalgia has no cure yet but the symptoms can be treated. Fighting fibromyalgia for life is the only solution for now. It takes only a miracle for this disease to go away completely.
Does fibromyalgia affect the eyes?
Fibromyalgic people can typically report eye pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision and fluctuating visual perception, concentration problems, sensory pressure and dry eyes.
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Can fibromyalgia affect your breathing?
Fibromyalgia can affect the chest wall muscles increasing discomfort taking a deep breath and make it difficult to take a deep breath.
Those with FM often have prolapse of the mitral valve, which can lead to increased distress or anxiety attacks triggering shortness of breath.
Can fibromyalgia affect the ear?
FM is often combined with ear-related symptoms such as sensation of ear fullness, ear pain and tinnitus (ringing in the ear).
Final thoughts on fighting fibromyalgia
There is no known cure for Fibromyalgia. Nonetheless, Lifestyle changes, improvements in medicine and changes in diet will help treat FM and reduce the likelihood of flares.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be managed and people with the disorder can live their life to the fullest.
Sources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315646#treatment
https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm#complications