About the fibro flare

I've just come out of a four week flare-up and was discussing it with a friend today which got me to thinking there should be more awareness about what a flare-up actually means for fibromyalgia sufferers. Clearly, I can only speak from my own experience but I know other sufferers have had similar ones.

Usually, my flares last around 1-2 days, once a month. For these days I usually rest in bed, am unable to move/walk without an aid such as crutches, am exhausted and sleep more than I am awake, cannot concentrate on anything so the only thing I can really do is binge watch Netflix and even holding a conversation requires too much energy. I have learned to cope with these though as the rest along with some medication and my TENs machine tends to make me feel better and then I can get back to my usual self.

Once a year, it seems, I have a major flare-up. These flare-ups last for about 4-6 weeks and for me are the most mentally draining. It is when I have these flare-ups that I start to think "how can I possibly go on living like this". The fatigue is high - I will fall asleep at the drop of a hat and I will fight to keep my eyes open when I'm doing something as simple as walking down the stairs. Every movement is painful and I struggle to walk anywhere as because it is painful, it is also extremely exhausting. I can't put into words how all consuming the pain is - it is so strong you can't think about anything else. Just like with the smaller flares, I struggle to concentrate on anything, hold conversations and generally function. It can take me twice or three times as long to do daily tasks such as having a shower or doing the washing up because everything feels like it is taking twice or three times the energy to do. I might do ten minutes of the task and then have to sit down for around 30 minutes to an hour before completing the rest of it. On the worst days during a flare up, I am bed bound and unable to really do anything, including reading a book. The slightest touch will cause me pain and even things like the wind can make me itch. I will also find that I have flare ups of other symptoms such as IBS and Costochondritis (a sharp pain in the chest).

I have not written this as a "woe-is-me" post. That, in general, is not my attitude to this illness. The majority of the time, I like to get on with it and will try almost any method to reduce symptoms or enable me to function as normally as possible. Like I said, during these excruciatingly long flare ups, it can seem almost impossible to have a positive attitude. This is just simply to raise awareness of what a flare-up actually means for sufferers. I find it particularly frustrating as when I am not in a flare, I am very active and sociable and so it is not just the increase in pain that I have to deal with during a flare up but also the inability to live my normal life.

A lot of sufferers, including myself, will not go out and socialise when they are having a flare-up as they are either in too much pain or simply do not have the energy as all their energy is going into completing simple daily tasks. This means that a lot of people do not see the battle that fibromyalgia sufferers face during their flare-ups as they are not out of the house and therefore it is more difficult to understand, hence writing this blog post.

What can you do to support someone who is having a flare-up of fibromyalgia or other chronic illnesses? The best thing to do in my opinion is to be supportive, be understanding that they can't go out or can sometimes only socialise for a very short period of time and offer to help them out as and when you can. When I go through a flare, I find it difficult to ask my friends and family for the help that I need so it really helps me when they offer the help to me however I am trying to get better at asking for help when I need it. I am so lucky that I have really supportive friends, family and colleagues who always support me when I am going through a flare-up.

Flare-ups are real, there are many different symptoms and they make every little thing exhausting. This is why people who fight chronic pain are warriors - they are often battling their own bodies just to get through the day and are some of the strongest people I know, even when they seem to be weak.