living with fibromyalgia

Dependence is Not Addiction | Living with Fibromyalgia

April 9, 2018 — 2 Comments

The war on opiods is real. Let me restate that” The war on opioids is real and those of us living with chronic pain conditions and invisible illness are at risk of losing essential medications that give us a quality of life.

The war on opioids is real

I say all this in acknowledgement of a real need to address “opioid abuse” and “substance use disorders” which are very real and claiming the lives of many individuals across the country. However, as someone living with chronic pain and a dependence on prescription opiioid medication to live a successful productive life, I cannot help but be fearful that the vilification and “war” on prescription opioid medication with broad sweeping generalizations is not only frightening by upsetting.

The purpose of this post is not to undercut the real need for legislative control and action around “substance use disorder” but to help dispel the myths and misunderstanding of the categorizations of prescription dependence vs illegal and prescription drug addiction (now known as substance use disorder).

What is Addiction

Psychology Today defines addiction as:

“An activity initially enjoyed by a person (eating, drinking, drug-taking, etc.), but with repeated use and higher amounts needed to achieve a similar ‘high’ that can become life-threatening for the person’s level of work and life responsibilities”.

Medical and substance abuse communities have found that there are neurochemical differences between a normal brain and an addict’s brain. There are even perceived differences between addiction versus the abuse of a substance.

Addiction can occur without physical dependence; consider cocaine or methamphetamine both have little outwardly apparent withdrawal syndrome but addiction to either can devastate lives. Non-substance addictions such as gambling, sex or internet also have no physical dependence. What is common to all these addictions is the unnatural cravings that prompt the compulsive behaviors. (National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphone Treatment)

Physical dependence can occur without addiction; this is the common experience of most chronic pain patients who are able to take their opioid medication as prescribed for pain but don’t develop the uncontrollable compulsion and loss of control. A desire to avoid withdrawal is not addiction. (National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphone Treatment)

Studies have shown that addiction can form in individuals through a combination of genetic makeup and poor social skills. This is why the offspring of addicts are prone to becoming addicts. One study showed that a child of a parent with a drug or alcohol addiction is eight times more likely to develop an addiction as well.

What is Dependence

‘Dependence’ is a term used to describe a person’s physical and psychological loss of control due to substance abuse. If a person uses many drugs and develops a physical dependence on these drugs, that person is usually described as dependent. That alone isn’t always an addiction, but it can accompany addiction. Today, medical experts refer to ‘dependence’ usually around a person’s constant drug and alcohol abuse. Conversely, chronically addictive behaviors like compulsive sex, constant gambling, and even non-stop Internet usage can be seen as an ‘addiction.’

Why Understanding the Difference Matters

According to recent reports; atleast 100 million people with chronic pain aren’t getting the relief they need and are seeking alternatives.

Because of some healthcare workers’ attitudes toward opioids and media coverage of the opioid epidemic, when patients bring up the fact that they live with pain, they’re looked at with skepticism, questioned relentlessly, second-guessed, and judged. This creates a conundrum for physicians that because they aren’t adequately trained to deal with chronic pain conditions or don’t believe in what the cannot see; create a disparity in how they prescribed opioid medication.

There can be an all or nothing approach to the prescription of pain killers with patients who for instance have a surgery having medication over prescribed. This creates a situation where leftover medication unintentionally getting into the hands of children or worse finding itself to the black market because it wasn’t safely stored or disposed of. On the flip side, chronic pain patients may be cut off from essential pain medication because that same physician that over prescribed to a surgery patient fears long term addiction in a chronic pain patient.

Representation Matters

In addition to these disparities, there’s not a lot in the media about chronic pain patients. Chronic pain is not visible therefore it is hard to fully comprehend how someone can live with vacillating debilitating pain. Additionally because the media is all about “juicy” attention grabbing rhetoric; speaking about opioid use in the context of addiction sells more headlines and is a more interesting story than highlighting the experiences of chronic pain patients. It’s all about addiction and people abusing their pills. But there are pain patients suffering long term and they can’t get any help from the medical community, many experts explain. “No one is willing to listen to them.”

Again there’s no question that the use of opioid medications in the United States is a dangerous and mounting problem. The statistics speak for themselves:

  • In 2015, opioid overdoses killed approximately 33,000 people, up from around 11,000 10 years prior.
  • Opioid abuse has been called the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history.

But the epidemic is driven primarily by illegal — not medical — abuse of prescription pills.

  • A study of over 135,000 opioid overdose victims found that just 13 percent were chronic pain patients.
Even when the numbers are put into the proper context, chronic pain patients bear an inflated burden of the backlash against opioid use, which was driven by the pharmaceutical industry in the 90s.

How to End the Myth

I take opioid medication every single day to function and live. I am not an addict.

The single most important thing people can do is to listen to chronic pain patients and advocates when they share their life experience. To often people judge and stereotype based on what they think they know or narratives that they have seen. Everyone’s experience is different and the statistics show that most chronic pain patients are not addicts. Chronic pain patients should advocate for themselves and share their stories. The more we know the more we can understand to listen.

At a systemic level, in 2013, the American Psychological Association (APA) released the fifth edition of the DSM. In this edition, the definitions revolving around addiction were changed once again. The APA ditched both “substance abuse” and “substance dependence” in favor of “substance use disorder.”

Part of the reason for the change was the confusion surrounding the word ‘dependence.’ The hope is that defining an addiction as a substance use disorder was a more inclusive way to identify people who need help, but may not have a debilitating addiction.

Advocacy

I join the U.S Pain Foundation as a Pain Ambassador or spokesperson for issues and legislation surrounding chronic pain patients, advocacy, and showing everyday through my work with 540WMain Learning Academy and beyond the face of chronic pain. Each of us is different and unique. Laws and legislation have to reflect this diversity. While reform is absolutely necessary, some of the restrictions on opioids have unintentionally harmed legitimate patients who rely on opioids to manage their pain and use their medications appropriately. As a result, these individuals are left with their pain under-treated or untreated. A failure to treat pain appropriately, however, leads not only to unnecessary physical suffering, but also increased disability, lost productivity, depression and anxiety, and even suicide.

Says the U.S Pain Foundation:

“In order to effectively address the opioid epidemic, we must enact balanced reforms that consider the needs of both patients with pain and patients with substance use disorder. Balanced reforms include things like increased access to alternative treatment options (including complementary and integrative medicine and medical marijuana); prescription monitoring programs; abuse-deterrent formularies; increasing public awareness about safe medication disposal; better understanding of risk factors and appropriate screening for substance use disorder; and so on.” Read their full position statement.

To learn more chronic pain visit the U.S Pain Foundation

Sources: Addiction Center | The Recovery Village | Healthline | U.S Pain Foundation |(National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphone Treatment)

Organic DIY Tea Tree & Lemon Essential Oil Cleaning Spray

April 5, 2018 — Leave a comment

Back in 2016 I made clear my goal to completely detoxify my life in all areas including my personal care and cleaning products. I can proudly say that two years later I have come a long way. From DIY toothpaste, oil pulling, shea butter moisturizers, deodorant and essential oils my life is one big ball of organic. To celebrate; I’m sharing this amazing DIY tea tree oil cleaning spray. Tea tree oil has many uses including cleaning and purifying.

I’m sharing this amazing tea tree oil cleaning spray

DIY Tea Tree Lemon Cleaning Spray

What You Need

  • 16 ounce spray bottle
  • 16 ounces filtered water
  • Tea Tree Essential Oil
  • Lemon Essential Oil
  • The Honest Company’s Organic Dish Soap

Preparation

  1. Add water to spray bottle
  2. Add 20 drops tea tree oil
  3. Add 10 drops lemon essential oil
  4. 2 teaspoons dish soap
  5. 2 tablespoons vinegar
  6. Shake and spray
  7. Don’t forget to label

What Makes It Awesome

This multi-purpose cleaner is great for cleaning as well as disinfecting and can be used on:

  • Countertops
  • Sinks
  • Mirrors
  • Glass, Metal, and Wood Surfaces

Stay tuned as I will be sharing more amazing uses for tea tree (and other) essential oils as well organic vendors and products I have incorporated into my everyday life that work wonders.

xoxo

The Gluten Free Chef

Vegan Baked Macaroni & Cheese | Living Vegan

February 6, 2018 — 1 Comment

It’s taken me months to find the time to share this amazing Vegan Macaroni & Cheese recipe with you. Created last year, this mac & cheese became one of the most popular dishes that I created for 540WMain Learning Academy’s monthly vegan pop up dinners. My goal was to create a vegan version of this classic American “main” dish as a side.

Feedback was so positive that I made it a staple for the newly created Vegan Cheese Making Class also at 540WMain. I’m elated to finally finally share this recipe with the world. Get into the recipe below.

Vegan Baked Macaroni & “Cheese”

Ingredients

  • 3 yams, peeled and steamed soft
  • 2 stalks celery
  • scallion
    3 cups non-dairy milk
  • 2 cups veggie broth
  • ¼ cup just mayo
  • ½ cup nutritional yeast
  • ½ cup (1 stick) vegan margarine
  • ¼ cup almond meal
  • ¼ cup balsamic or apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup Dijon mustard
    3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
    2 teaspoons tumeric
    1 teaspoon cumin
  • cooking spray

Preparation

  1. Wash and scrub yams, cut in half, cover with foil and bake on 400 degree F for 50-60 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool completely before moving on.
  2. Meanwhile, bring 5-6 cups water to boil. Add pasta, a pinch of salt and drizzle of olive oil. Reduce heat to low-medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside in large mixing bowl.
  3. In a food processor blend yams with milk until smooth. Set aside.
  4. Coat a cast iron skillet with cooking spray, add celery and scallion and sauté on medium heat until tender. Add margarine, almond meal, vinegar, just mayo, mustard, garlic, cumin, and tumeric and stir until margarine is completely melted. Add in puree yam mixture. Pour this sauté mixture over macaroni along with veggie stock. Stir in yeast and salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Grease a 6×9 pirex dish and add macaroni mixture. Bake on 400 for 15 minutes until bubbly. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Five Alternative Therapies for Treating Fibromyalgia Pain | Living with Fibromyalgia

January 4, 2018 — 3 Comments

The best piece of advice I can give to anyone living with fibromyalgia or any other chronic illness is to take a holistic approach to managing the disease and its symptoms. In my opinion, a holistic treatment approach is the most effective way to manage chronic disease and live as full of a life as you possibly can.

A holistic treatment approach is the most effective way to manage chronic illness

What Is A Holistic Approach?

What do I mean when I say “holistic approach”?  For me holistic means to treat my whole being or whole self in the way I approach all the different treatments that I use to manage my symptoms. This means asking myself how each and every singular treatment that I impose onto (or into) my body will affect my mind, my body, my soul, and my energy. Looking at my body and my mind as interrelated systems where each piece impacts and affects the others; ensures that I use therapies that compliment and highlight each other and each of my symptoms.

From a medical standpoint, holistic health care is an integrated approach to health care that treats the “whole” person, not simply symptoms and disease. Mind and body are integrated and inseparable.

One example I like to give is that early on in my journey, I was fiercely opposed to using any medication to treat my symptoms. This approach ended up doing more harm than good to my body and mind and so over time I slowly learned what medications and dosages work best for me and eventually led to a pharmacological plan that I feel compliments the non-Western medical approaches that work well for me.

What Is Alternative?

When I use the term “alternative” for this article, I am referring to non-prescription medication treatment options. In holistic medicine alternative therapies cover a wide variety of treatments that include

  • Yoga
  • Acupuncture
  • Meditation
  • Stretching
  • and more

In addition to prescription medication;the following alternative therapies are treatments that have significantly improved my quality of life and allowed me to have a full life even with the daily waxing and waning of the fibromyalgia symptoms that I deal with. The therapies that I’m recommending are relatively inexpensive, have low impact on the body, and naturally integrate the whole person in their approach. These therapies are not a magic pill or “cure” and have not eliminated fibromyalgia for me in any way. However, they have greatly improved my quality of life and made living with fibromyalgia more management and tolerable.

Of course I have to note that these therapies are what work best for me personally and I cannot in any way guarantee that they will work for anyone else. It is always best practice to consult with your medical and intergrated medicine specialist before beginning a new therapy.

1. Diffusing Essential Oils

For the past four years, essentials oils have played a major role in my every day life. Our mind creates powerful connections between scent and our emotions, surroundings, and memories. Diffusing essential oils is a simple but effective way to access these connections. Because diffusion distributes essential oil molecules into the air so effectively, it is an excellent way to maximize the beneficial properties of essential oils. Each essential oil has it’s own therapeutic property but oils that have best helped me are lavendar, peppermint, lemon, and sandalwood. Many essential oils can be ingested, put directly on the skin, and/or diffused. An excellent resource is Young Living. 

2. Acupuncture

According to Dr. Weil.com “Acupuncture is a complete medical protocol focused on correcting imbalances of energy in the body. It has been used traditionally to prevent, diagnose and treat disease, as well as to improve general health”. In a nutshell acupuncture modifies the flow of energy (known as qi or chi) throughout the body,  Acupuncture has also proved beneficial for reducing fatigue and addictions, and for promoting overall well-being.

For me personally, acupuncture has proved to me an effective treatment options when my pain levels have spiked beyond the point where prescription medications are effective. Fortunately, my medication regime has proved overall effective so I haven’t used it as much as I have in the past.

3. Water Walking

It probably comes as a surprise, but consistent movement is a top strategy to manage fibromygia pain and muscle stiffness. Moving beyond normal proves difficult with fibromyalgia and it is for this reason why man of us gain weight and have sore stiff muscles because excessive movement can also trigger flares. Finding the right balance between rest and movement is a constant challenge and is why I’ve found moving and/or exercising under water to be an effective solution. The water in takes much of the pressure of the joints and there’s a feeling of weightlessness that you have when moving underwater. Fortunately I live in a town where there are a number of therapy pools that offer walking under water as an option. I especially like participating in the winter time when cold temps make outside exercise even more daunting.

4. Floatation Therapy

Floatation therapy is one f my favostire alternative treatments. I’ve made it my aim to focus on self-care and so now I go at least every other week. Inside each float tank is eight hundred pounds of pharmaceutical-grade Epsom salt dissolved in ten inches of water warmed to skin temperature. Like the Dead Sea, this extremely dense solution enables people of all body types to float effortlessly.The float tank is dark and quiet, greatly reducing sensory stimulation. This unique environment frees the brain from the bulk of its processing duties and prompts the production of theta waves.

The magnesium is absorbed into the body and for me salt water floating is a must do in my bag of treatments to manage fibro.

5. UV Light Therapy

Last but not least on my docket is UV light therapy aka as a tanning bed. As a celiac with IBS I don’t absorb all the nutrients from the food that I eat and one of the vitamins that I am perpetually deficient in is vitamin D. Going to the tanning bed not only helps me with vitamin D but the warmth gets deep into my bones and keeps me toasty warm on these cold winter months.

So that’s my list. In no particular order, all the treatments that help me cope and manage and do all that I do. Let me know in the comments: What alternative therapies work for you?

What alternative therapies work for you?

 

 

 

 

10 Positive Ways Living with Fibromyalgia Has Changed My Life in 2016

January 2, 2018 — 2 Comments

My first blog Living with Fibromyalgia was originally it’s own stand alone website and my initiation into the world of publicly writing about my experiences with the illness. Started during a very tumultuous and emotional time period in my life, one of my fondest memories was closing out the first year (2012) on a positive note and trying to find the good amidst the haze and turmoil that I was going through at the time. Back then, it was my intent to make this positive introspective an annual list but somewhere in the journey of Living with Fibro being absorbed into theglutenfreechefblog, this annual introspective got lost in the shuffle.

So in an effort to restart and pay homage to yesteryear I wanted to reboot this list of the

10 Positive Ways Living with Fibromyalgia Changed My Life in 2017

For as much as I hate living with fibromyalgia, I must admit that the illness has completely transformed my entire existence and I literally owe all the work that I am doing right now (including being the editor of this website) is because of my journey living with fibromyalgia. Part of being mindful is finding positivity in all of life’s challenges so without further adieu here are some ways living with fibro positively affected my life for the better in 2017.

  1. Fibromyalgia taught me to put myself first.  I cannot do good for others if I do not do good for myself. Living with fibro means that I have to put alot of thought every second into what I do and how I do it. Self care has been crucial in helping me build two brands, write a blog, run a non-profit and all the other obligations that I take on. You cannot run on an empty cup so making sure I put as much time into taking care of my whole self is just as important in doing for others.
  2. Fibromyalgia helps me live in the moment. Thinking about the future and my body’s interaction with the future is full-time job in itself. In 2017, practiced more than ever existing in the moment and trying not to think too much about how a decision or activity now will impact tomorrow. By doing so I’m able to benefit from what I am doing right now and not add worry to this moment by thinking about the future.
  3. Fibromyalgia has given me a strength that I gets stronger every day. Life is tough. Life coupled with fibromyalgia is even harder. There were two defining moments in 2017 that I literally thought ” I can’t do this anymore” I literally wanted to go away. By the grace of God every time I feel like I can’t exist like this any longer. He gives me the spirit and the resolve I need to keep going another day. One day becomes two and 363 later another year under my belt.
  4. Fibromyalgia gives me courage to share the good and the bad. I made a concerted effort in 2017 to be more candid about the emotional roller coaster that I experience living with chronic illness. Even though I do my best to see the light everyday, this doesn’t mean that I feel happy at all times. Having and expressing a range of emotions is healthy and normal. I wanted to normalize this by sharing the range of feelings that I have with the world.
  5. Fibromyalgia helps me be easy on myself. As a type A personality I have high expectations on myself and others. Fibromyalgia picks expectations up and throws them into the river. I’ve learned to accept the moments when I’m down and not internalize these times to mean nothing more than I needed a break or I wasn’t able to at that moment.
  6. Fibromyalgia gives me unmatched empathy. As an empath, I literally feel everything including emotions of others. This ability to connect with folks on a deep emotional level is a blessing but if not recognized and harnessed can add to the baggage I already carry. I learned in 2017, how to better do what I can when I can for others and not carry their emotions forever.
  7. Fibromyalgia helps me seek balance at all times. Balance is key to my existence and in 2017 I learned how be better at balance.
  8. Fibromyalgia gives me wisdom to not seek perfection. In this imperfect world perfection is not attainable. Being the best I can be at any given time and doing the best with what I have is. I try to focus on this instead on perfection.
  9. Fibromyalgia teaches me to trust my instinct. I am a spirit and feeling driven person. If it doesn;t feel right, if it doesn’t happen organically, if I find myself trying to force anything to happen; I did a better job in 2017 with letting it go or letting it be. Everything happens if and when it needs to happen naturally.
  10. Fibromyalgia forces me to love surprises. I am a planner and a controller. Life can only be planned so far and I only have control over my actions and my mindset. I can’t control this illness. I can’t control life. I’m learning to love the surprises.

So there you have it. It no partucular order. All the postive ways fibromyalgia changed me in 2017. I look forward to this years lessons and continuing to live one day at a chronically ill time.

Do you live with fibromyalgia?

In what positive ways did it change your life last year? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

 

 

What Chronic Fatigue Feels Like | Living with Fibromyalgia

December 30, 2017 — 2 Comments

I’m writing this post during what will most likely be my last chronic fatigue flare of 2017. Even though I’ve lived with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (CFS) since 2010; every major flare seems like the first and even though mentally I handle them much better than I did in the past, it’s still difficult not to feel a surreal sense of death, doom, and despair.

It’s difficult not to feel a surreal sense of death, doom, and despair

The mental anguish and feeling that life simply cannot continue is what’s most difficult. Even though you know it will subside there’s always this feeling that maybe it won’t. This is what scares you the most.

Chronic fatigue is difficult to live with and live through but it is even more challenging to explain to others. It is so much more than just being tired, even more than being exhausted, and unless you’ve experienced it for yourself; you can never fully understand what it is like to live through an intense-severe chronic fatigue flare. Still it is my hope that through this post you might be understand the illness a little better and have an ounce more empathy for those of us living with these debilitating invisible illnesses.

What is Chronic Fatigue?

According to Medical News Today...Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) is a condition of prolonged and severe tiredness or weariness. It is not relieved by rest and is not directly caused by other conditions. CFS is a syndrome of persistent incapacitating weakness or fatigue, accompanied by nonspecific symptoms, that lasts at least 6 months, and not attributable to any known cause.

To be diagnosed with this condition, tiredness must be severe enough to decrease an individual’s ability to participate in ordinary activities by 50 percent. Chronic fatigue syndrome is much more than just feeling tired often. People with CFS are so run down that it interferes with their lives and can make it hard to function at all.

What is A Chronic Fatigue Flare?

So take all the information above and multiply it times one hundred and you essentially have what a CFS flare is. “A flare is the worsening or exacerbation of symptoms that already exist,” says Daniel Clauw, MD, professor of anesthesiology, rheumatology and psychiatry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “Patients use different time frames for what they consider a flare, but it’s generally several days or weeks of worsening symptoms. Anything shorter is considered normal waxing and waning of symptoms that someone with fibromyalgia can expect.”

When I’m in a fare I can literally sleep for 10-14 hours on end without let up. My entire body is weighed down and the entire experience is quite frightening. Imagine that someone has drugged you against your will and no matter how hard you try you simply cannot wake up.

Imagine that someone has drugged you against your will and no matter how hard you try you simply cannot wake up.

These sleep spells can last a few days, several days, or several weeks. Usually the sleep will let up slightly during the day to allow you to use the bathroom or maybe eat a bowl of cereal but for the most part any activity that requires any type of extensive brain or physical work

  • Cooking
  • Taking a shower
  • Doing laundry

are completely out of the question. At its worst, even getting out of the bed can literally takes hours upon hours. Other symptoms can include:

  • Internal fevers
  • Chills
  • Sweating spells
  • Muscle spasms
  • Nausea and more

But the #1 symptom is the exhaustion. Endless mind numbing exhaustion.

Getting out of the bed can literally takes hours upon hours.

So you seen CFS is no laughing matter. It is a real, tangible, debilitating illness that so far has o cure. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy and I pray for the day that it will be a thing of the past. Until then I share my experiences, spread awareness, and take one day, one flare at a time.

To learn more about chronic fatigue click here

Source: Medical News Today

The First 48 Hours After a Fibromyalgia Flare Up | Living with Fibromyalgia (REPOST)

December 29, 2017 — 1 Comment

Living with fibromyalgia sucks! There I said it…

But it is worth re-typing…

Living with fibromyalgia sucks

No matter how positive you think, or how mindful you are, there is just no way to dispute the fact that the illness sucks. Backwards and forwards. In and out. Up and down. All around; fibro stinks. Some days you wake up feeling deceptively great ready to take on the world. Most days you lie in bed angry, exhausted, and barely able to move wondering what you could have possibly done the day before to feel like you were ran over by a semi-truck.

You relish the good days but you also rue the good days since good days usually mean you’ve push your body too far. So you wake up the next day wishing the day before never happened.

You are constantly thinking ahead. Reshuffling your invisible spoons, rearranging your schedule, re-prioritizing what is most important to get done and what can be put off until a better day. Trying to mark one more item off your to do list before your body most certainly gives out on you. Then there’s the fibro fog and memory lapses. The jolts of pain. And the fatigue. Did I mention the fatigue? ( I might have forgotten). You don’t know unrelenting, indescribable, nonsensical fatigue unless you’ve lived with fibromyalgia. This post could go on and on but I’ll spare you. I think the point has been made.

September is Pain Awareness Month

And for those of you living with or knowing someone with a chronic pain condition, this post is written to help you better understand the emotional, mental, and physical toll that chronic pain takes on many of us living with an invisible chronic illness; specifically following a fibromyalgia flare.

Since my illness happens to be fibromyalgia this post is written from my personal perspective. But understand that many of these emotions, feelings, and perspectives are shared across different illnesses and it is my hope that by sharing just a glimpse of what is so often unsaid I’ll bring just a little more clarity on the complexities that come with living with a chronic illness.

For me though, what may be the worst part of living with fibromyalgia is the inconsistency of the illness. Even though I’ve lived with fibromyalgia for 7+ years; every day I learn something new. Each time I “flare” and feel increased surges of all my symptoms, it’s always like the first time since what causes today’s flare up might not be what caused the last one. You see these high tides of fatigue and pain are best known in the fibro world as a flare. What exactly is a fibro flare you ask? Thankfully I made a whole post about it.

What is a Fibro Flare?

Simply put :

“A flare is the worsening or exacerbation of symptoms that already exist,” says Daniel Clauw, MD, professor of anesthesiology, rheumatology and psychiatry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “Patients use different timeframes for what they consider a flare, but it’s generally several days or weeks of worsening symptoms. Anything shorter is considered normal waxing and waning of symptoms that someone with fibromyalgia can expect.”

You can learn more in my post here but what I most wanted to get across in this post is the emotional, mental, and physical pain that flares put on those of us living with chronic pain.

Guilt

Inevitably, flares hit us during the most inopportune times. Perhaps due to the subconscious stress of an impending big event, the physical toll of a long day, or even a sudden change in the weather the most common emotion that hits us during and after a flare is guilt. Guilt that we’ve had to cancel an important event. Guilt that we called into work again. Guilt that you let your friends or family down. The problem with guilt is that it is taxing to our already taxed systems. It is also insidious and has been one of the hardest emotions that I personally have had to learn how to manage.

Insecurity

Immediately after a flare; you begin to feel insecure. Questions like Did I push to far, can I begin again, should I go back to work, and can I handle my life begin to surface. It is easy to feel broken, embarrassed, and full of self-doubt. Sometimes I feel like I won’t survive another flare and I wonder how I’ve gotten this far. These feelings can linger for days after a flare has subsided.

Pain

Pain is a mainstay with fibromyalgia. Pain is always there even when it is managed by medication. Pain is unnatural to our bodies and sometimes it is hard to know exactly when flare pain begins and ends. Learning to exist day to day with extremely high levels of pain is something that those of us with fibromyalgia have learned to do very well. This constant pain is unnatural and can be worse immediately before or after a flare.

How Can You Help

This is just the surface of what happens after a person with chronic pain experiences a flare. If you are a caretaker, friend, or associate of somone living with an invisible illness it can be difficult to know how to help or what to do when your friend experiences a flare. You may feel helpless and not know what to do or say to best help. Come back on September 24th to learn how you can help.

To learn more about chronic pain and pain advocacy visit the U.S Pain Foundation