17 Ridiculous Things That Get Interrupted by Fibromyalgia

It’s no secret that fibromyalgia can make it difficult to accomplish everyday tasks. But what happens when you’re in the middle of showering, cooking dinner, or driving to an appointment, and your symptoms strike out of nowhere? Maybe you have a sudden attack of pain or fatigue and need to immediately drop whatever you were doing, or perhaps brain fog stealthily creeps in and, out of nowhere, you can’t remember where you were going, what you were looking for, or who you were talking to.

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

When fibromyalgia interrupts your life, its effects can range from frustrating to scary to amusing. One of our Mighty members, Gretchen, recently shared how she was struck with pain in the middle of washing the dishes. She wrote, “I just had to abandon washing the dishes because my hand decided to fibro-cramp into the shape of a dead spider and refuse to bear any pressure. What’s the most ridiculous thing your disease has interrupted you doing lately?”

We thought her experience was so relatable that we posed her question to our Mighty Facebook community as well. Below, you’ll find some of the most ridiculous things fibro has interrupted people doing. If you can relate to any of the following, know you’re not alone. Let us know in the comments below what “interruptions” you would add!

Here’s what our community shared with us:

1. “Brushing my teeth standing up was a bit too much for me this morning. I had to urgently but strategically collapse onto the nearest rug.” – Deanne M.

2. “I burned ramen because I forgot I put it in the microwave. Fibro fog robbed me of some really good ramen that night too…” – Robyn A.D.

3. “I know this is kind of TMI but… sex is definitely something fibro has interrupted… I’ve been in the middle when my hips have given in and I can’t go any further without taking a break! It can be really embarrassing but I think it’s pretty funny. After it happens a couple of times you just learn how to shrug it off and deal with it!” – Sydney M.K.

4. “Taking a shower and washing my hair when my arms hurt so much so I just stand there hoping the shampoo would go on [its] own…” – Carla S.M.

5. “Putting laundry away. I was in the middle of it when fibro fog struck hard and even with a shirt in my hands I forgot what I was doing. For the life of me I couldn’t remember, got frustrated, and wandered off to take a nap. Only hours later did I get irritated with myself for not finishing with the laundry situation.” – Molly D.

6. “As ridiculous as it sounds, just making dinner. The extreme fatigue hits and there’s just no way to be able to function. Fibro makes me feel like a failure as a mom a lot of times.” – Amber M.

7. “Was on a first date when brain fog struck, I completely forgot what I was saying in the middle of a sentence. Then I had to explain this happens sometimes though I couldn’t remember what fibro was so I couldn’t explain properly.” – Hadewych D.

8. “I was in the middle of my ballet performance. Literally on stage dancing, when a flare hit. As soon as I got off stage, I started crying in the dressing room. I wasn’t diagnosed yet and it was such a scary feeling, having almost no control over my body in a time when I needed to control all of my body. I was 19.” – Jordan H.

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9. “Once I was giving my pathology exam in university, I had studied like crazy, I knew everything… until my professor asked me the first question. The fog hit me so bad I couldn’t remember a word. Luckily my professor was a doctor, so he asked me what was wrong and I badly explained to him fibromyalgia. He understood and gave me a break, I took the exam two hours later!” – Federica V.

10. “I nearly dislocated my finger while opening a bottle of pop.” – Carrie B.

11. “Fibro fog is the worst! I’m constantly forgetting the most basic things like certain everyday words or what I walk into the room for or open the cupboards/fridge for. When I’m driving down my street sometimes I zone out and forget where I’m going. I mean I’m still paying attention to the road but when I get to the end of my street I’m like, where am I going again?” – Allison M.

12. “I couldn’t for the life of me remember the word ‘plate’… so it was a flat bowl for the rest of the night. I also forgot my way home (terrifying at the time but I can laugh at it now) and called my mom in hysterics because I was lost. Forget the fact we all have GPS on our phones and my address was programmed for this very reason…” – Bay H.

13. “One morning while in college, I woke up and was getting ready for work. I sat there staring at my boots on my feet, crying because the brain fog was so bad I couldn’t remember how to tie them.” – Stephanie W.

14. “I’ve been having awful painsomnia lately and am not functioning well during the day. Last night I put my toothpaste on my pointer finger because I’d forgotten to pick up my toothbrush.” – Sam T.

15. “Cooking/eating. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been sitting on the couch thinking *name of food* sounds good right now. I get to the kitchen and can’t remember what I wanted to eat and if it’s located in the fridge or the cupboard. I have a certain cupboard that contains all of my gluten-free/dairy-free stuff. Earlier this week, I seriously spent five minutes staring at the closed cupboard doors trying to figure out what I was doing.” – Stacie B.

16. “Going out to dinner. Fog was so bad that when they sat our food down in front of us, I just stared at it like I’d never seen food before in my life. My husband had to snap me out of it and remind me we were eating. I’ve never been more scared, or embarrassed, of fibro fog in my life.” – Molly D.

17. “I was kneading dough and got pain in the backs of my thighs. Suddenly, down I went, up went the dough and down it came on my face. Wasn’t funny at the time, but it’s hilarious now.” – Vanessa S.

MORE ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA:

Fibromyalgia, a chronic illness with three main symptoms — widespread pain, chronic fatigue and cognitive trouble. Fibromyalgia is a complicated illness that’s not well understood. In the past, it was mischaracterized as a mental health disorder. Even today, some doctors wave off fibro symptoms as being “all in your head.” This isn’t the case. Read The Mighty’s comprehensive guide to fibromyalgia here. Click here to join our fibro community and connect with people who get it.