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6 Replies
Gabbie - November 16

I have read many posts where people talk about what they call a flare-up. I haven't had a day without pain for about a year and some days I'm worse than others. Does everyone else have daily pain or does it go into remission, so to speak, only to "flare-up" at another time?


islandguy - November 16

Hi Gabbie:
When I have a "flare-up" - it means that I can't get out of bed and if I need to..... it is soooo painful that any movement hurts. I will need to use one hand to pick up the other arm because if I put any tension on the muscle it will be excruciating. Most of my time in a flare up has been spent horizontally in bed because it is just too painful to use any muscles. ..... When I first got fibro it wasn't this bad,,,, but as time would have it escalated to this point. Stress is a major factor for me along with not enough rest and of course the weather factor. Major flare-ups are extremely painful and sometimes the best of "meds" don't help the pain.
Take care.....mine is yet to go into remission as I heard it can.


JJ1 - November 16

I am lucky because compared to most others here, I am only mildly affected. When I was first diagnosed, my severe pain was not daily, but pretty close and there were several days per week when I was completely debilitated where I couldn't get out of bed. After diagnosis and starting Elavil, my pain and irritable bowel syndrome is more under control and I suffer mostly from fatigue and brain fog. I guess you could say I feel some sort of "pain" every day, but I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so it is more what I would call soreness than pain. When I talk about a flare up, I am having severe pain, flu-like, or irritable bowel symptoms again. I started back to work full time in Sept. and I have noticed that I am starting to get more frequent flare-ups. Today, I am getting a horrible pain in my knee like I pulled something and I am having to limp and all week my digestive system is messed up with irritable bowel syndrome. Gabbie in your case, i would say a flare-up would be when your pain worsens.


LBB - November 16

On a day to day basis I experience mild to moderate aches and discomfort. My whole goal is to try to prevent a flare-up. I try watching my stress level, exercise program, and sleep schedule. When I get a flare-up I can often times compare it to a really bad flu. Everything aches, IBS symptoms return, and the fatigue level certainly increases. I will often experience dizziness. For me , once I have a flare-up it seems so difficult to get past it. I am currently handling these symptoms without meds. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, and the side effects from meds make me feel far worse. Please keep in mind that no two cases are alike, what works for me may not for you. Learn to figure out what your body is asking for. If it's sleep than rest, if its exercise than take it slow with stretching , if you need pain meds., then find a doctor whom you can trust. Best of luck to you!


JJ1 - November 16

LBB, I think our symptoms are very much alike. Except for Elavil (which really made a big difference for me but unfortunately doesn't work for everyone) I deal with the symptoms medication-free. Your statement about the difficulty of getting over a flare up rings so true. I try my hardest to avoid flare ups by minimizing stress and trying to not let things get to me. But once a flare up starts it is like a snowball. It seems like the stress of "oh my gosh I am having a flare up" is enough to open the flood gate on worsening symptoms.


lisa1 - November 16

JJ1-I could not agree more. I also have not gone a day without some sort of pain since I can remember, but when I feel a flare up coming on I put myself into a near panic because I know how bad it is going to be. I am working on that because it must make it worse.


Gabbie - November 17

Thanks for responding. I really wasn't sure what flare-up meant because I have not been without pain even for one day. Now I know for sure because I have experienced times when I have had pretty much all the pain symptoms along with dizzy spells, nausea and IBS all rolled up in one awful package.



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