In a flare or crisis or it’s not fibromyalgia

[Bambi]

I feel guilty cause I only seem to come on here to vent in a crisis! I have had fibromyalgia since I was 35. I am now 67. The spring was emotionally stressful for me as I have strong differences of opinion with my sister and we had a falling out for a couple of months. We’ve gone back to supporting each other 1100 miles apart and avoiding certain topics. In June, I helped a friend weed her garden(she was diagnosed with elderly onset RA and was having trouble with her hands), then I realized what a mess our own yard was and weeded our yard in 2 hour increments over several days. I tried to push myself up out of a lower area and ended up bumping my knee and scraping it. Sometime after that, my left hip area started to hurt. My right hip was the first thing that hurt when I was first diagnosed so left was strange. Anyway, it got worse and by mid July was really hurting. My Dr did a cortisone shot in the are of the bursa and that really helped! The area higher up on my left hip still hurt but I was able to go on a very wonderful long planned Maui vacation and it didn’t interfere. I snorkeled every day, floated in the pool, and rested a lot. After I got home, sometime around mid August I started having worse pain again with numbness/tingling in my left calf and foot. I should have gone back to the Dr sooner but finally did after a couple of weeks. Dr thinks it stems from lower back issues. X-ray showed “mild wear and tear”. I’ve gone to accupuncture all summer but it hasn’t helped like usual. I’m scheduled for Pt but have to wait 2 weeks. MRI has been ordered but not scheduled. The last two days I have hurt to the point of crying, my brain fog is really bad, my blood pressure is up, and I just don’t feel well. I feel like all I do lately is complain. I’m scared and now my right hip is starting to hurt and I hurt all over today. I can tell my stress level and fear are making everything worse. Thank you for listening and any advice for getting out of this cycle while I’m waiting for tests, etc?

 

[sunkacola]

Hi Bambi,

Sorry to hear that things are so challenging for you. I think the most important thing you can do for yourself right now is work very hard on lowering your stress level. Remember that worry is not just useless, but is actively doing you damage, which is exactly what you are worrying about...and the worry makes it worse. So whatever you have to do to break those thoughts and take your mind elsewhere or to a more positive place, do it.

Find your own ways of calming yourself down and finding peace. Google it, and try whatever seems it might help. there are a hundred thousand different things you can find on the internet, including guided meditations if that is your thing, music, relaxation techniques, meditation training and so on, and all of it free. This stress you are having is your #1 enemy.

Also, don't even apologize for venting, because we all really need that sometimes and anything that can give you a pressure release is a good thing. We are here to support each other. Come and vent every day if that lowers your stress! We won't mind.

Finally, remember that eating regularly and only healthy food, avoiding alcohol, being careful with meds, finding joy in small things, and getting enough exercise every day are vitally important, and see to it that you are doing those things to the best extent that you can each day.

Hang in there. It won't always be this bad and you can take an active part in making things better.

 

[Bambi]

Thank you so much! Thank you for reminding me of all the right things to do which tend to fly right out of my head when I get to this point. I haven't gone for a walk the last couple of days so I'll. be sure to do that tomorrow! I. went to get my hair trimmed and had a wonderful conversation about dogs with my longtime stylist. That helped! Sometimes it just helps to vent so I appreciate it very much.

 

[DebMarPir]

Maybe I am not the right person to give advice but after three or four flares the idea of even one more is enough to make one panic a bit. The last one made me feel the same; maybe it wasn't a flare, maybe it was the new me, maybe it was a new disease entirely. But it passed, it was just longer. I was so relieved, even if I am still combatting little bits hanging on. What I found was that I still went to PT as it was ending and while it hurt a little at times, I felt so much BETTER after, it was like black and white. I was rather astounded, to be honest. So yesterday I went again, knowing how I felt tired and wanting to rest but it helped. In a flare, I can't do much of anything. But if you feel you have any relief, you might try stretching? It helps me. I put on calming music, and rest. I get muscle spasms, so then I get up as they bother me and work them out. We all need this - vent away!

 

[Jemima]

I feel guilty cause I only seem to come on here to vent in a crisis! I have had fibromyalgia since I was 35. I am now 67. The spring was emotionally stressful for me as I have strong differences of opinion with my sister and we had a falling out for a couple of months. We’ve gone back to supporting each other 1100 miles apart and avoiding certain topics. In June, I helped a friend weed her garden(she was diagnosed with elderly onset RA and was having trouble with her hands), then I realized what a mess our own yard was and weeded our yard in 2 hour increments over several days. I tried to push myself up out of a lower area and ended up bumping my knee and scraping it. Sometime after that, my left hip area started to hurt. My right hip was the first thing that hurt when I was first diagnosed so left was strange. Anyway, it got worse and by mid July was really hurting. My Dr did a cortisone shot in the are of the bursa and that really helped! The area higher up on my left hip still hurt but I was able to go on a very wonderful long planned Maui vacation and it didn’t interfere. I snorkeled every day, floated in the pool, and rested a lot. After I got home, sometime around mid August I started having worse pain again with numbness/tingling in my left calf and foot. I should have gone back to the Dr sooner but finally did after a couple of weeks. Dr thinks it stems from lower back issues. X-ray showed “mild wear and tear”. I’ve gone to accupuncture all summer but it hasn’t helped like usual. I’m scheduled for Pt but have to wait 2 weeks. MRI has been ordered but not scheduled. The last two days I have hurt to the point of crying, my brain fog is really bad, my blood pressure is up, and I just don’t feel well. I feel like all I do lately is complain. I’m scared and now my right hip is starting to hurt and I hurt all over today. I can tell my stress level and fear are making everything worse. Thank you for listening and any advice for getting out of this cycle while I’m waiting for tests, etc?

Hi Bambi,

Lovely to hear from you again. Don't worry about only coming here to vent - that's kind of the point, I think, and we can all relate to how necessary venting is!

To put your mind at ease a little on the symptoms in your leg - and perhaps pin-point at least a partial contributor to the hip pain - that kind of numbness and tingling is textbook for irritation of the sciatic nerve (a chunky nerve that starts in the spine and travels down through the hip, and all the way down the leg). I have a whole heap of damage in my lower spine, and have long suspected that the hip pain from my fibro (nasty!) is perhaps a little connected. I've read that while fibro pain can be totally random, it can also be an amplification of real issues within our body. Your doctor's conclusion sounds pretty logical. I'd guess that you've got some irritation in your back, which is triggering all sorts of fibro pain - so remember that the pain likely doesn't reflect the actual injury, which is probably relatively minor. Your stress is probably keeping your body in a flare too, so Sunkacola's advice is fab, as always

Sciatic issues can be tricky, because just a little inflammation in the spine can kick-start them, and then they can take a long time to improve. The good news is that these symptoms can be caused by inflammation alone - say, for example, if you twinged your back when you hurt your knee - which means that with time, they can go away all together.

A physio can usually help with this kind of thing, but you can also do certain stretches (Google "pigeon pose" - a great yoga position for sciatica) experiment with sleeping with a pillow under your hips/legs and perhaps try a local anti-inflammatory (I use diclofenac patches on my lower back when it gets inflamed, which helps!)

Probably not necessary, but I'll add the caveat that if your leg problems get worse over time or any increasing back pain emerges, I'd try to push for a CAT scan of your lower back, because they can't really see in detail what's going on from an X-ray. "Mild wear and tear" sounds pretty promising - most people's backs' show some damage when examined in adulthood - so hopefully you've got nothing to worry about at all. But, only a CAT scan or MRI will show definitively whether a nerve is actually getting pinched.

I hope you feel much better soon, and that your flare dissipates with ease!

 

[JayCS]

I feel guilty cause I only seem to come on here to vent in a crisis!

I know what you mean. But I bet you've given others quite a bit of ear in your life. And when we listen to people venting and react we aren't just giving ear, we can learn, and take. So thank you for opening up about your guilt feeling. ;-)
And it's more than 'just venting'. Letting off steam (about what's happened and is happening) is part of it, but asking for advice doubles it, a tough one like your "advice for getting out of this cycle while I’m waiting for tests" quadruples it, then coming back to listen to others putting "the cycle" into a new perspective and trying to put the ideas into practice (to change what's going to happen) adds an essential core.
How to get out of a "hamster wheel" (the beautiful image for "rat race" in German) by stepping aside, putting time aside is always a big challenge, because it always compels us to believe that the only way out is faster. Fascinates me to watch hamsters in their wheels just: Stop and get off. Wish it were easy to copy . My empathy tells me it's not possible for them to do, a miracle :.