Working Hard to Get Better With Fibromyalgia

Oh my god, y'all. I have absolutely lost my mind. I'm accomplishing things, finally, and that's good, but oh my goodness this animation festival kicked my booty! I've been spending quite a bit of time sipping chocolate milk and watching brainless stuff on YouTube, waiting for this fun to pass, and then right as I started wondering why I was having such a tough time recovering from the weekend, I realized that...

Oh, yea. I live in South Louisiana. Even though it was in the 80s over the weekend, it's now freakin' cold. At least there's a reason I'm hurting- fibromyalgia tends to go nuts when the weather changes. Knowing that is a positive thing, because it tells me hey, there's a reason you're hurting. I figured since I'd figured these things out, I might as well share a few helpful hints in case any of you have fibro (or know someone who does).

One of the main ways I manage my pain took me the longest to figure out. It makes little sense to me, but when I'm hurting, I have absolutely got to get up and exercise. Stretching is good, walking is good... but I have to get off my butt and get my body moving. If I don't, I end up hurting even more, and for even longer. Exercise helps get the natural painkillers moving, and it helps my muscles loosen up and just stop hurting so much. It's a fine line between "enough" and "too much," but not enough will hurt me every time.

Also, a hot bath can do absolute wonders for me. Massage is good too, if you have someone who'll do it. Sometimes my feet and ankles get to hurting bad enough that I really need someone to rub them and stretch them- that's when my husband is even more indispensable than usual. After just a few minutes of intense stretching, it will usually take the pain down to a tolerable level.

But most of all? I don't know that I would be alive today if I hadn't found my pain management clinic. My doctors work with me to help control my pain, and they've given me back a large portion of my life. Don't get me wrong- you don't walk into pain management and say, "Hey, I've got this pain and I need uber-big painkillers." They'll laugh at you, and send you away. But if you're willing to work with them to manage your pain (see that bit about exercising?), then pain management can be the best thing you've ever done.