What is a fibromyalgia flare up?
A flare-up is when symptoms become worse than usual or last longer than usual. During a flare-up, you may feel pain and stiffness that lasts for several days or longer. The pain may be more intense than usual, and it may be accompanied by other symptoms such as: (1) muscle aches and stiffness (2) sleep disturbance (3) headaches (4) nausea or vomiting (in severe cases)
If you've been living with fibromyalgia for a while, you may be familiar with the symptoms of an unexpected flare-up. You might start feeling sore in your muscles or joints that weren't painful before, or your body might just feel generally off.
Fibromyalgia flare ups can vary from day to day, week to week and month to month. It can be more than just a bad night's sleep - it can be the start of a vicious cycle of pain, fatigue, depression and anxiety.
In this article we'll look at how you should respond when you experience an unforeseen fibromyalgia flare up. We've compiled some tips on how to handle the situation:
- Take the right kind of rest. If you're having a fibromyalgia flare, try to get as much sleep as possible. Sleeping more than usual during a flare can help reduce symptoms and may also help prevent a relapse when you're done sleeping. A good rule of thumb is to get at least eight hours of sleep per night if possible. If you need more than that to feel rested, try taking short naps instead of sleeping longer stretches. Also remember, your body needs rest in order to heal itself, so try not to keep moving around too much until the symptoms have passed.
- Get yourself some TLC. If your muscles hurt so much that they're keeping you from doing things like getting out of bed, then it's time for some tender loving care (TLC). This means finding someone who knows how to massage the tissue in exactly the right way and giving them permission to do so until your problem gets better.
- Don't try to hide it from your family or friends. Everyone will be better off if you can be honest about what's going on for you and let them know exactly what they can do to help you through this stressful time. This is sometimes easier said than done since it's hard for people to understand the kind of pain that you are in. At Aromalief, we hear from our customers how challenging it can be when no one can relate to what you are going through, this article contains additional tips on how you can be better supported by a loved one.
- Stay hydrated! Drinking water will help keep your body from breaking down as much during this episode and make sure that your muscles aren't getting as fatigued from all the extra stress placed on them.
- Ask for help. If you need more rest or less stress in your life to manage your symptoms, talk to your doctor about it! Your doctor will be able to give you recommendations.
- Be flexible. If something is causing a flare-up, change what's happening around it—and change how often it's happening—so that it doesn't happen again as often or as badly in the future. For example: if your flare-up happens when you wake up at 6am on Monday mornings, try rescheduling the things you need to do that might get affected when you try to sleep longer, so that they happen at different times on other days of the week.
Just remember, when you're in the middle of a flare up and you're wishing it would all go away, that the body is an amazing machine and has its own amazing ways to battle illnesses and repair itself. But there are many things you can do to help your body heal more quickly and play your part in speeding the process of healing along. Don't feel like you have to sit around and wait for it to get better. A flare up means your body is telling you something, and you should listen!
The information shared in this blog post is not intended to replace the advice of a medical professional. Please consult your doctor.
A cream like Aromalief Vegan Pain Relief Cream can help during these difficult days. Our customers with fibromyalgia report that it's the best cream they have found so far to help them ease the pain.
FIBROMYALGIA BLOG POSTS
If you liked this blog post, here are the other most read posts on our site that you may be interested in.
- What to Eat If You Have Fibromyalgia
- Fibromyalgia-Friendly Grocery List
- Can Hemp Help with Fibromyalgia?
- How to Use Aromalief for Fibromyalgia
AROMALIEF FREE RESOURCES
This pain tracking sheet is a simple to use form that you can print several copies and put them in a binder. You can fill it out throughout the day or every night with a warm cup of tea. Writing things down can also help to get them out of our mind.
This guide contains a comprehensive plan to help you live with less pain with the help of nature. This includes: Foods, aromatherapy, meditation, routines, sleep, exercise, self care, and more.
