Flattened by spring weather
 

I couldn't wait for the fridgid winter weather to leave, so I could finally walk outside... Now that spring is here with "warm" forty degree days and pouring rain, i have been flattened by worse pain and a big spike up in exhaustion and Brain Fog!!!

Does anybody have some tips for dealing with weather transitions? Is anyone else's fibro made worse?

I was hanging on through winter by promising myself that when spring came, I'd feel better, and I wasn't expecting this sudden flare-up. Now I'm feeling soooooooo depressed. :(

Welcome by the way!
Molly all you really can do is be prepared for this to happen EVERY season change. Make a flare care package for yourself. Things that you know make you feel better, meds, heating pad etc. Make your doc aware that season changes also spike your FM issues. Maybe he/she can help you.
Just to let you know, you are NOT alone in feeling the weather. Just cope the best you can. I find pity helps!:D
Actually coming here helps because I know there are people who know what I am talking about and what I am feeling without having to totally go through the explaination of FM and what it does to the body yadda, yadda, yadda. If you feel that bad, call your doc and see what they can do. Otherwise I hate to say this but until the weather decides what it wants to do for good, you may have to ride it out.
Good luck and keep us updated!

I can totally relate, and it sucks.

For me, Winter is bad because of the cold and I spend the winter waiting for spring.... but the problem I have with Spring is that the weather changes so often, and I tend to flare anytime the weather makes a change.

In the spring there are so many rain storms and changes in barometric pressure and those cause flares for me.... it's so hard mentally because all of winter is bad due to the cold, but in spring I go back and forth between good days and really bad days everytime the weather shifts and changes. It's soooo frustrating.

One thing that helps me is to check out the "aches and pain" forecast on Weather.com http://www.weather.com/activities/he...m=secondarynav

I can enter my zip code and get a 10 day forecast that includes an "aches and pains index" (a scale of 1-10 that forecasts how much the weather will affect a persons pains for each day). I will often use this to help me plan my week and it also helps me by knowing what to expect.

Waking up and being in a flare without expecting is really frustrating and annoying - but at least with the aches and pains index I can sort-of know what to expect everyday. It's not perfect at predicting my own pain flares )especially because I flare from other things besides the weather) but it does help to be able to predict a weather-related flare.

For example - if I know that Friday will be a day with a likely weather flare, I can make sure I take it easy on Thursday so that I don't have a weather flare and over-activity flare when I wake up Friday morning.

Totally support what Liz just posted!

You're certainly not alone Molly! Mine are not like clockwork, but I can count on a royal flare each spring and fall with some minors in between...a lot. :rolleyes: I do, though, think that Cymbalta has helped some in that regard.

I remember my grandma saying, "Must be weather a'comin. My rheumatism is a'painin me." :o Okay, so she didn't talk all that well, but her point was made. Now that I look back at it, I wonder did she suffer from fibro as well. My great grandmother would say the same things, plus she had debilitating migraines, as I have had growing up.

When I have major flares, I'm on the phone to get an appointment and meds from my doctor.

And I love Wendy's idea.

Slightly less flattened by spring weather
 

Feeling a little bit better...The flare package idea has really helped. I have also given up the expectation that I should be in remission right now because winter is over. I gave myself a gift for completing physical therapy: I joined a fancy athletic club... mostly for the social contact and the delicious warm sauna room to ease my aches. I did a 7 minute workout on the seated step-machine! It's the first exercise I've done near "normal" people since I graduated from physical therapy. The fact that I could only do 7 minutes was a bit embarrassing, but I was proud of myself for being able to work out in a regular gym instead of the old torture palace...

Longing for warm sunny summer days though. :rolleyes:

There is a seated step machine????? Huh.....sounds interesting.
I am glad you are feeling better Molly. Don't be embarrassed by the amount of time you were on the machine, just be happy you got yourself to the gym and were able to do anything at all! Have you suffered any delayed after effects from it? I know if I were to do it, a couple of days later my hips would be a screamin'! So good for you!:D

Help with the buggies
 

My ultra flare months are April and late August. Each year I think it won't happen again or it couldn't get worse...but it does. :Sigh:

Now that summer is almost here, any suggestions on how to keep those pesky insects at bay? The mosquitoes just ADORE me...or maybe it is the scent of my fibro.(LOL) Anyone else find they are a favorite of the little fiends? :eek:

Gentle ehugs everyone, Carly:grouphug:

Hi Carly,
For the bugs -does adding more garlic to your food or a garlic supp help at all?

Thank you, this was very helpful to me. Being kind of new to fibro...... Altheia

The bugs love me too. On Saturday I was outside and I was inundated by black flies! It seemed like no one else was swatting away the pesky critters so I must have looked pretty interesting flayling my arms all over!:D

I was told my granma on my dads side stayed in the bed!!
From the memories i have of her-she was always sick too!
She wasn't "in the bed" but said she didnt feel good all the time!
I have wondered if she had fibro too.
As for da bugs....Well don't wear perfume/scented body lotions when you know your going to be outside...
That will help.

Kelli....funny part is...I don't wear perfumed things (I am allergic) and didn't take a shower that morning considering I would be at a race track and get track dust all over me.
I have always attracted bugs...even when I was young. People with FM seem to attract bugs. In Devin Starlanyl's book even she mentions this as a common occurance. Strange stuff huh?

"Ya know????" It's bad enough we're all human barometers, now the bugs are out to get us!!! Guess that's why last summer I got stung five times by wasps all at the same time (three on my eyelid and two on the inner arm). This year I've bought four wasp/bee catcher things you put fruit juice in -- the creepy crawlies go in the bottom and can't get out. I've declared war on those stingers!!!!! LOL

By the way, I've learned this was the wettest April for our area in 100 years!! Lucky us! NOT!!! But after the changeable spring weather, comes the humidity! Yuck -- can't win! :(

Here's to less pain for all!!!!! :)

more on the buggies
 

I have heard that bugs dislike garlic...problem is...so do I! Seems to be one food that really presents GI problems for me. :eek: Can I blame it on the fibro?:confused:

Anyone else here with multiple chemical sensitivity? Smells, sounds, and lights can provoke uncomfortable blocks of time. A walk through Walmart is a nightmare (the lingering popcorn odor w/ brillant lighting) Although I love Hallmark's greeting cards, our local Hallmark store also sells scented candles...lots of them. The artificial sweetness wafts through the store...gag. So sad. The perfumed inserts in magazines are also maddening!

Unscented soaps, detergents, fabric softeners are the norm here. Thank goodness for Seventh Generation and Unicure products.

Judy, does the "wettest April" factor mean we will have an elevated insect population this summer?

I'm off to bed and an attempt at sleep!

Gentle ehugs, Carly

Yup Carly. I can't be around strong perfumes either. I have learned to hold my breath on certain occasions. I agree with the magazine samples....ick! What bothers me the most is people who insist on bathing themselves in whatever scent it is...man or woman. Its enough to give me an immediate headache or feel nauseous.

Hey there Carly!

Oh no!!!! I hadn't thought about that possibility -- more rain = more bugs! Bright lights, loud noise, etc., bother me too. As far as the "garlic" issue, I don't know if it's directly related to fibro, but doesn't GERD sometimes occur with it? But you'll keep more than just bugs away if you eat too much of it!! LOL

Hope you were able to get some sleep last night. I haven't been in bed yet (9:15 am) but fell asleep in my recliner for a couple hours. Guess I'll go lie down pretty soon.

The sun is actually shining and my pain level seems to have gone down some. It's supposed to last through the weekend -- sure hope so!!! Here's to some pain relief for us all!