Things That Exacerbate My Fibromyalgia Symptoms

 

There are so many things that can exacerbate my fibromyalgia but I’ll share a handful of the common ones.

• What is Fibromyalgia?
• What Are Common Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

To start with, many of us with fibromyalgia have other medical conditions. I, myself, have chronic back pain conditions that I’ve found can make my fibromyalgia symptoms worse or sometimes even send it into a fibro flare. The more my back hurts, the more my fibromyalgia symptoms worsen. My skin feels as if it’s on fire, I find my ability to concentrate decreases, and I stumble my words when trying to communicate.

For many people who struggle with fibromyalgia, stress is a big thing that can exacerbate the symptoms. Something as simple as an argument, worrying or even crying can send fibromyalgia into a fibro flare or cause a variety of symptoms to surface. This is something I try my best to avoid. It’s best for all who have fibromyalgia to avoid stress as much as possible.

Medical tests or having surgery can worsen fibromyalgia symptoms as well. Only days ago I had a surgical procedure where I came to during the surgery from a lack of anesthesia. I felt the cutting, ablation, stitching and numbing shots. It was a living nightmare to say the least!

In addition to the pain I felt during the surgery, and the surgical pain after surgery, I am now paying the price from having fibromyalgia too. My whole body now feels as if I am bruised all over and my muscles are constantly going into spasm.

Even laying in an MRI machine or on a medical exam table at an appointment can exacerbate fibromyalgia symptoms. This can cause muscle spasms from lying flat on a hard surface, which can cause a muscle to pull if you move wrong during the spasm.

I recently had acrylic nails put on as an anniversary gift from my husband. I found myself regretting them within a few hours when my arms, hands and fingers were unbelievably sore. The amount of filing and buffing done flared my fibromyalgia symptoms, and caused me to rethink having acrylic nails and going through all the upkeep to keep them beautiful. I decided it wasn’t worth the added pain.

A lot of exercises or workouts can cause your body chaos when living with fibromyalgia as well. I’ve always loved to dance, so when they came out with Zumba for the Wii I was thrilled…until the morning after I tried it. I could barely walk, every muscle in my body felt like they were beaten and bruised. Muscle spasms galore. I talked with my doctor and she laughed when she told me Zumba was not for people with fibromyalgia! This was in my early years of learning to live with fibromyalgia. I was told walking, yoga, pilates and water were the direction I should go.

Activity levels are another thing that can intensify fibromyalgia symptoms. It teaches us the hard way to pace ourselves or we pay the price for over doing it. I’ve learned to take more breaks throughout my day to minimize the fibromyalgia symptoms. I’ve also learned to pace myself and keep my week balanced so I’m not physically drained early in the week.

In addition to the things above, there are so many other things that can exacerbate fibromyalgia symptoms. Some of these things we already know about and we try to limit ourselves from them. Then there are others that we haven’t experienced yet that we will learn as we go.

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