How does fibromyalgia affect your driving?

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Fran

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All of my pain from my mysterious health issues cause me a lot of pain. I just can not sit in a car for very long. If I am driving I get spacey and do stupid things like run red lights and stop signs. I was wondering if Fibromyalgia affected you guys in a similar way. Does it interfere with your ability to drive?
 
Yep. I don't drive anymore. Same kinda things.. Plus I would forget where I was or where I'm going.. Just safer for everyone...
 
Same here, can't sit for too long, because my back, butt or knees start hurting so bad. I rather not drive, I'm driven to places most of the time, specially when I need to go to the doctor :) I rather not to drive, honestly. Specially when I get aches in my hands and fingers.
 
I drive as little as possible due to dizziness. If I am riding for a long time it causes pain in my pelvis and legs.
 
Yep. I don't drive anymore. Same kinda things.. Plus I would forget where I was or where I'm going.. Just safer for everyone...

This has happened to me three times in the past two months. The worst time, I forgot where I was even though I knew I was close to home. I could not even figure out what direction to go.

I got scared and started to cry, and my passenger was pretty freaked out by it. My passenger had a suspended license. That meant I had to keep driving. My passenger gave me directions. I never drove alone after that episode, I was barely able to keep it together enough to get home.
 
Plus I would forget where I was or where I'm going.. Just safer for everyone...

Actually this happens to me all the time! Driving or not driving, just last night I needed to go to the kitchen which is next to my bedroom, once I was there I completely forgot why I was there! I got back into my room and I saw my pitcher, that reminded me why I had to go to the kitchen. It's scary!
 
The pain and sensitivity of my back against the seat can cause me to really dread a long ride. Sometimes the muscle fatigue is so intense that my arms feel like they are being ripped out of the sockets. All in all a great time to get muscle spasms at 70 mph. HA,HA.
 
I have stopped driving because of the same issues. I do drive around town a little if I need to go to the grocery store or drugstore. Most of the time my husband drives. I get spacey and my concentration is just not up to par. Last time I drove on the expressway my daughter and sister were with me. I ended up cutting someone off....scared the heck out of my sister and daughter. Then when I dropped my daughter off at home it was dark and there was no lights in the driveway...ended up running over a bush. Decided it best I just let my husband drive me around.

I mentioned these issues to my neurologist and he wants me to have a CAT scan. Not sure about that and have to wait until I have medical coverage to get that done. Wondering if it is necessary as it seems the concentration issue is probably fibro-related. Has anyone else had their doctor recommend a CAT scan because of this?
 
At a certain age in life most of us have these little laps in memory. I don't like driving long distances as I get tired concentrating on the other traffic and watching out for deer and children. I can drive easily 45 to 50 miles, but going further than that my muscles start to cramp and my hips hurt, and sometimes my feet feel numb.

My family does not understand that driving is not fun for me anymore, but is a real chore. I don't mind driving around town or even a quick trip to another town, but I shy away from all day shopping trips and malls, and too much traffic.
 
I do not know if I can chalk it up to a laps in memory. I was only five blocks from home on a road I go on all the time. I knew that I should know where I was, but I just couldn't figure out where I was at or how to get home.

GOOD NEWS! My friend, the one with a suspended license got his license back! He does not have a car and needs to get to work. I need a driver! We have made an arrangement where he can use my car to get to and from work, but in return he has to drive me around when he is not working. So far I love it.
 
I don't like driving long distances anymore.. I'm good for about 45 minutes then I have to stop and get out to move around and stretch. Back, hips, knees, legs, feet, everything hurts so back. Congrats to your friend for getting the license back and being your personal driver.
 
I do not drive any more than I need too. I get sore when sitting for long. I sometimes have dizziness and so I try not to even be a driver too much.
 
I try to drive as little as possible because even with power steering, I find it very painful and tiring to turn the wheel. Highway driving is easier because I don't have to steer as much as in city traffic, but I still have very sore shoulders and neck when I've had to drive anywhere. Thankfully, the fibro fog hasn't affected my driving much, but I'm amazed at how physically demanding driving can be. And don't even get me started with having to scrape the windows in winter. Ouch!
 
My husband does most of the driving. We have to stop frequently so that I can get out and stretch. I rode 5 hours straight last year coming home from Pa., my back was out for almost 2 weeks. I have problems if I'm stopped at a traffic light...I feel like my car is rolling (it isn't) and I about push the break through the floorboard. Ugh.
 
My Dad has fibromyalgia, along with a slipped disk in his back, however his driving isn't affected as much as I would have thought. In our main car, a Citroen Berlingo, he manages okay, however the upright and high posture of the car makes it rather difficult to sit in for long periods of time, although we have had some long car journeys in which he has driven all the way.
In my brothers car however, a Mazda MX5, we were very surprised as to how comfortable he was in it. It is a very low down car, and he can drive it, in a comfortable position, for hours.
 
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