Fibromyalgia- Causes of Muscle Pain, Fatigue and Flare-ups.

Whe you get a diagnosis of fibromyalgia, doctors are very quick to tell you what they can do to help you. (It doesn’t take very long.) They will suggest reviewing your pain relief and they may add a drug to help control nerve pain (an anticonvulsant like Lyrica for example, or an antidepressant like Cymbalta). They may refer you for physical therapy. All very worthy. And helpful for those patients who aren’t already on these treatments.

But then they will tell you just as quickly what they can’t do. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Travelling with Fibromyalgia

I had a short trip away recently. A four day city break, four couples, no kids. I enjoyed the trip, and I practiced some of the pacing strategies I’m trying to follow. Pre-emptive rest. Rest whenever my body demands it and my head is too foggy to think. Let people know that I have fibromyalgia so they understand my needs. And some of it helped. But I was still exhausted by the last day, and it took me longer than the two days I had set aside to recover after I got back

But I learnt a few things that will help later planning. (Hindsight is wonderful- so is the Internet when you want to get some more suggestions.) Here are some tips I would suggest. Continue reading

Posted in energy and fatigue, General | Leave a comment

Fed Up and Angry with this Fibromyalgia thing

A month without posting- way to go with a new blog- that’s how to keep the punters coming back.

But I had an excuse, I had a month from hell.

It coincided with one of the phases of grieving over my fibromyalgia I guess. Not sure which phase, but it left me extremely pissed off, despairing in the realisation that this thing doesn’t go away. It can get better, by degrees, you can see improvements with various forms of treatment or self management. But it doesn’t go away. Overdo it and it will come back. Continue reading

Posted in General | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Weight Control with Fibromyalgia

Losing weight while when you’ve got fibromyalgia can be difficult. There are a number of obstacles. First, your ability to exercise is limited, because of fatigue and the tendency of too much exercise to make you suffer from extra pain straight after or the next day… Continue reading

Posted in weight control | 1 Comment

Tips for Energy Management with Fibromyalgia

I’m no expert, but I’ve been doing my research, and I’ve been living with fibromyalgia, back pain and exhaustion for much longer than I realised, so I developed some of these strategies instinctively. Continue reading

Posted in energy and fatigue | 7 Comments

How to Improve your Memory and Reduce Fibrofog by Using Lists

I’ve always been a bit of a list maker. But generally it was just a shopping list, a Christmas list. A list for a specific purpose. A List with a start and an end to it.

Since I started having major memory problems a few years ago and sometimes even lose my basic intelligence and ability to reason, lists have become far more important. As has writing things down. Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

the start

Just over a month ago I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Anyone who has this condition, will recognise some of the feelings I have experienced over the past few weeks.

At first there was an almost elation-type relief. Finally I knew what was wrong with me. I wasn’t a hypochondriac. And I wasn’t imagining my pain or fatigue to be any worse or more inconvenient that anyone else’s. Continue reading

Posted in mental fog, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment