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AimB143

Member
Joined
May 8, 2021
Messages
14
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
08/2020
Country
US
State
MO
Hello! I'm Amy. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in August of 2020. I didn't believe that was what I had for several months. However, through research of fibro & charting my flares, I now know this is for real. I was really wanting to connect with others who have it...and have a few questions. I recently realized my flares are so much worse in Spring & Summer. Is this par for the course? I suffer after being in the sun, excercising or "overextending" myself. I also have terribly tight muscles in my calves almost all the time. Also par for the course? Migranes, all over muscle pain, joint pain, insomnia, etc...you know the drill. I've thought about medicine for it, but because of the side effects, I'm just not sure. Anyone use meds for Fibro and do ok with them? Right now all I use is Tizanidine occasionally to relax and sleep well. But only when I really need it. Anyine who can share a bit? I would REALLY appreciate it. Thanks so much!
 
Hello! I'm Amy. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in August of 2020. I didn't believe that was what I had for several months. However, through research of fibro & charting my flares, I now know this is for real. I was really wanting to connect with others who have it...and have a few questions. I recently realized my flares are so much worse in Spring & Summer. Is this par for the course? I suffer after being in the sun, excercising or "overextending" myself. I also have terribly tight muscles in my calves almost all the time. Also par for the course? Migranes, all over muscle pain, joint pain, insomnia, etc...you know the drill. I've thought about medicine for it, but because of the side effects, I'm just not sure. Anyone use meds for Fibro and do ok with them? Right now all I use is Tizanidine occasionally to relax and sleep well. But only when I really need it. Anyine who can share a bit? I would REALLY appreciate it. Thanks so much!
Hi Amy and welcome to the forum.

the thing with fibromyalgia is that nothing is par for the course except pain of some kind that is usually widespread in the body and fatigue. Every detail within that is so variable that no one symptom is felt by every person with fibro.

I can say that what you experience is within the understood range of symptoms that people with fibro have.

Many people experience flares with a season, but not all the same one. for instance, what gets to me is chilly and damp weather. I do OK with everything else in terms of weather or season.

Meds are another thing that varies greatly among people. Some work for some people, nothing works for everyone.

My #1 advice about meds is to try all of the other things you can do for yourself before you start taking meds. there are so many other ways to relieve the pain, reduce stress, and feel better. If you do opt for some medication, stay away from anything narcotic, especially opiate. Those drugs are as addictive as heroin (which is also an opiate). It is not impossible to take drugs like that and not be addicted, but it takes more care than most people can put into is, especially if it relieves pain that is real and present, and if you take them daily you will eventually be dependent on them. Best not to start.

You can stretch the muscles in your calves and they will feel a lot better. This is important for your back, as well. Tight hamstrings account for a lot of back problems. Look up online how to stretch your hamstrings. Go very gently and slowly but so something to stretch them every day and you will find that it gets better faster than you think.
 
Thanks for clarifying that "nothing is par for the course." I do now remember reading that it varies person to person. I completely agree with the idea about meds! I eat healthy & try to excercise as much as I can manage. I'll also try the other things listed in the article on managing fibro. Great article, btw! As far as calf pain goes, I stretch them often & so far nothing seems to help..but will keep trying. Thanks so much for replying.
 
It sounds as if you are doing a lot for yourself, so good for you on that!

I wonder how you are going about the calf-stretching, and if maybe another method might help.
You never know.

One good way is to stand on a step or slightly elevated thing of some kind with my heels off the edge and lower than the rest of your foot.
Then, even if you have to pull yourself up at first, bring yourself into a position of being on your toes, and lower back down again. this is actually a calf-building exercise, and will strengthen the muscles in your calves, but at the same time it stretches them.
Just a thought.

If the stretching isn't helping, look for different ways to stretch, because for everything there are many different ways to do it and not all ways of stretching work well for everyone. :)
 
Hello there Amy! Great to have you. Welcome to the forum. Hope to see you around!
 
re so much worse in Spring & Summer. Is this par for the course? I suffer after being in the sun, excercising or "overextending" myself. I also have terribly tight muscles in my calves almost all the time. Also par for the course? Migranes, all over muscle pain, joint pain, insomnia, etc...you know the drill. I've thought about medicine for it, but because of the side effects, I'm just not sure. Anyone use meds for Fibro and do ok with them?
Hi Amy, and welcome.

I'm exactly the same as you - the hotter weather seems to make me worse, rather than the other way around. I have a friend with fibro who is the exact opposite. It's so strange that we each have such a unique journey with this gremlin!

I was also the same as you on the incredibly tight and almost cramping muscles, and thankfully have gotten this particular symptom to a much better level. What seemed to work for me was working on my overall stress levels and self-care, and gradually introducing daily movement. When I say gradually - I mean at a snails pace! Before my illness got going, I was a really sporty, active person. As my fibro symptoms got more extreme, I found that one trip to the gym, one hike, one bike ride etc. completely slayed me and left me out of action for days. But, I kept reading how important exercise is for fibro management, so I decided to make a plan. I started out walking 10 gentle minutes a day, and built it up insanely slowly - over the course of about a year - to walking 45 minutes at a pretty good tempo most days. I know that some might find this simply impossible, but my gut has been that sudden changes are what really aggravates things. By evolving what I can do slowly, I seem to be able to make little improvements. Coming back to your question, the more consistently I walk, the less muscle tightness I seem to get. I still have muscle soreness - feels almost bruise-like - but that contraction feeling isn't around so much. I hope maybe that helps!

On medicines, for me conventional drugs just didn't agree. I've taken a roster of different antidepressants, and all eventually made me really sick. Painkillers don't seem to help, although I'm not comfortable to try opioids (keep in mind how addictive benzos can be too!) Once my doc finally gave me a solid diagnosis, I tried cymbalta, but that made me feel much worse. I was bed bound with violent nausea and heart palpitations, plus withdrawal was a nightmare when I stopped. It's a bit TMI (about to overshare...) but it also made the big O in the bedroom entirely impossible, which is not really something I'd love to sign up to for life! That said, some seem to genuinely find relief with medications. My friend, mentioned above, took amitriptyline for 15 years and sung its praises, beyond an ongoing battle with weight gain. I will once again agree with Sunkacola - there are a lot of other things you can try before diving into the medication cabinet. You'll find tons of info about supplements and lifestyle hacks here in the Forum.

Good luck!
 
Hi!
I'm very active in the summer, and let me tell you, it causes you to sweat! That causes you to love sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Electrolytes are especially important to ppl with fibro. I supplement magensium and eat lots of potassium rich foods and it really helps.
I'm on cymbalta and it does help. I used medical cannabis and CBD oil for flares in the past and it really helped, but my current job doesn't allow for any kind of drug use. Each person and their reactions will differ.

I would love to be 'fibro friends' lol
 
Welcome, Chickie!

Great to meet you here. I've also found magnesium really helpful.

You said you're very active, which I think is something that most of us dream of! I'm curious - if you don't mind answering - how do you manage your activity levels to keep self-triggering to a minimum? Always love to hear what works for other people!
 
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