If you’ve been diagnosed with fibromyalgia you’ve probably heard about flares.
Or instead, you may be wondering why sometimes your condition gets much worse almost out of the blue.
Definition
For most people withfibromyalgia, the symptoms vary from day to day.
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Despite the frequency of flares, however, we know very little about them.
Unlike day to day variations, flares usually last several days or weeks.
Symptoms
The symptoms of a fibromyalgia flare often differ from thedaily symptomsand may have a distinct pattern.
Symptoms may includeflu-like body aches,pain, fatigue, stiffness, and cognitive dysfunction (fibro fog).
Flares can sometimes be extremely difficult to manage.
People may be unable to work and become minimally functional at home.
There are unfortunately few treatments which work to specifically treat flares.
Medications for fibromyalgia usually take several weeks to work and therefore are usually ineffective in controlling a flare.
Pain medications are also of limited value.
You may feel that your entire household is thrown into disarray when a flare strikes.
Being unable to cope with the mess adds stress, which in turn can worsen your symptoms.
Some people find that they’re too disoriented to drive safely and have trouble even putting a sentence together.
(No pun intended!)
Review the common triggers and think about what you’ve got the option to do to modify these.
Some people have sleep apnea which requires treatment.
Pacing yourselfis a key component in prevention.
Keeping a journal is very helpful for finding patterns in your disease, such as your common triggers.
In time you’re likely to see several patterns, which in turn may help you lessen your flares.
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