30 ‘Red Flags’ That Might Means a Fibro Flare-Up Is Coming

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From person to person, fibro “warning signs” varies,while few don’t even get any hint at all. So we asked a question to our community  ” Living with fibromyalgia and Chronic Illness” to share their “Red Flags” that might mean a fibromyalgia flare-up is coming. Some of these may be signs you notice, too. Lots of member participated in discussion and share their thought with us.

Basic purposes of compiling these warning signs is to spread the awareness related to fibro, what causes flare up someone else may trigger flare up to you to. So by avoiding these triggers, you can avoid fibro flare. Try to read all of the signs, may it help you out.

Here is few of their Warning Signs:

1. Alesha Paddock For me… my body starts to become very irritated with a headache, irritated leads to soreness that leads to Excruciating pain (flare up) pain then leads to stiffness (settling down) stiffness leads to relaxation then to extreme fatigue, fatigue puts my butt in bed for several days Then wah-la, all better.

2. Denise Rukavina : I feel feverish when I have a flare up I get extremely exhausted and noise bug’s the crap outta me then for day’s I feel like I have a horrible flu with headache’s hurting worse but anymore I have daily headaches some are worse than other day’s. … It’s been so long I don’t know what a good day feels like anymore. Some days I feel like giving up tired of this life but I have my kids that keep me going!

3. Michelle Boehrs : Annoying things become more annoying. Bright lights, loud noises, abrasive people. I feel pressure on my shoulders, like someone is standing behind me and pressing down on them. I get an ache like the body aches that come with the flu, which intensify until I can’t stand it. I know I’m in for it when I suddenly run out of patience with EVERY little thing.

4. Wanda Nesbett : Everything I ate tasted like ant spray smells for a week and the pulsatile tinnitus was off the chart. And then the pain hit.. oh did it hit. Neck, under collar bones, forearms at elbow bend and back of knees and ankles. What a week. I think it was from the temps going from -18 to almost 50 over just a weeks time. And we are starting that cycle again.

5. Kelly Baughman : For me it s when I been doing to much. And push it I feel the pain starts I know I m going to be in bed for days also when the weather changes to fast I hate that pain hits hard. Lastly stree is bad for me. Had to cut ties with people that all they do is cause stree

6. Tamra Mattox : A flare starts with headaches, and leads into more exhaustion than normal. I end up in bed for a couple days. I’m sensitive to foods, sounds, stress. Burning pain starts around my spine and spreads over my back, up to my scalp, and down to my hips, legs, feet. Massages and touches are painful.

7. Jennifer Willand : For me, my chest flare ups are the worse for me. I know something is about to happen when I start to get shortness of breathe like I have been running and I get sensitive to noise. Sometimes my joints swell but that isn’t always a sign of what is to come.

8. Lorie Lightfield : Burch I also have intense hearing and smell issues but I also get cherry red around my nails(toe nails,finger nails)it looks weird but I know to sit back and take it easy or I’ll pay for it

9. Mandy Watkiss : I know when cold weather is coming as my knees will increase dramatically. I know I’m in for a bad day when I’m still awake from day before cos was in too much pain to drop off to sleep. I’m always weary of having a day that’s too productive as overdoing it today will cause a flare that may last weeks.

10. Cari Mann: Heightened sense of smell I smell stuff my family doesn’t. And of course, then it will trigger a migraine for me.

11. Tami Johnson There are 3 parts of flares for me, the first : Confusion, not remembering words or even the right exit to take on interstate to get home, short term and a bit of long term memory almost gone , trying to remember what you watched on tv or ate for lunch the day before. Feeling lost when someone reminds you of memories you can’t remember a thing about. Not comprehending simple instructions (example: recipes, books, directions) you read the words but they make no sense to you. This is a pinch of what fibro fog is for me.

The second (physical) : waking up and feeling like I haven’t sleep for days, extremities feeling more like weights that are almost impossible to move, joints hurting in places you didn’t even know existed, muscle spasms that you can actually see jumping and twitching, bad right neck and shoulder pain, fatigue that is indescribable, bee like stings in random places, legs ache but want to move them for some reason, tingling / numbness in toes, laying down because that’s all that you can do and my ribs hurt so laying down is painful , random shocks of lighting type pain in vaginal/ rectum area. This is what physical flare is to me.

The third: depression, feeling hopeless, angry, guilty, wanting just to die because you can’t imagine living like this for the rest of your life.

12. Deborah Wingfield Conlon : I get a hot shaky blood feeling we’re it feels like all my nerve endings are on fire then I get very fatigued feel low and body feels heavy every limb is a chore to move then I feel weepy

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14. Susan Thaler : When a flare first starts coming on my head gets very foggy. Can’t think. My face gets numb. Difficulty talking. Become shaky and balance suffers. Legs become weak and must sit down quickly (have done that many times, faking looking at the bottom shelf in a store). Soon a wall of pain hits. By then I must be in bed as any focus must be on getting through the flare

15. Laura Oehlerking : My eyes begin to burn and when i urinate its very hot feeling yet not painful.my regular pain starts shooting towards a 10. My breathing becomes labored, my IBS kicks in big and my legs start getting heavier. So going up the stairs becomes a major task and i can no longer be in any conversation because all my energy has to go into just living. My flares tend to last 3 days.

16. Jennifer Henley Peters : Vertigo, blurry vision and excessive sweating

17. Jameelah Shabazz : I can flare from doing too much…but if my body gets overwhelmed by the pain, I will have a full pain seizure (can last anywhere from 5 minutes to hours, I had one that lasted for 10 hours (with breaks, but every time I tried to get up, my body would convulse again), that’ll bring a flare…& if I have a lot of appointments in a week (2-5 per week) will produce a flare…as well as stress & fatigue…I usually get sweaty, dizzy, vision gets very blurry, and limbs feel like weights

18. Karri Ferren : I don’t sleep for about a week prior, then I get a round numb spot about the size of a milk jug lid right next to my left shoulder blade. Sometimes both sides, but not often.

19. Julie Walton: Hands start to stiffen…. usually on days of extreme cold or extreme heat the hands start to stiffen and within a short time the joints start to ache then the tenderness in muscles and inevitably dull headache can last from 1-7 days symptoms can disappear in the click of your fingers or slowly subside over a longer time

20. Tammy Lopez : It all starts with right side neck pain that radiates to my right shoulder and I can begin to feel the headache coming on. I start to feel achy and feverish. Then comes the not sleeping part even though I am so extremely exhausted.

Of course then comes the restless legs then the hip pain. Not to mention the explosive almost immediate sense of diarrhea. And then I begin to wonder how I even have anything in my body to digest since I don’t eat much because everything makes me nauseous. As I make the horrendous exhausting trip back to my bed that is stacked with ten different size pillows that I sit between like a puzzle piece, I feel like tiny little worms are dancing to rap music inside my ears and the tiniest movement of my hairs on my head make my entire body cringe.

I can’t comprehend the simplest words; not even my own name. Everything is moosh. The dizziness is like the feeling you used to get as a kid when you first walked off the coolest roller coaster you ever rode but this time the feeling is so utterly annoying and won’t go away. And this is just the beginning of the symptoms

21. Noah Silletta : If I get under 6 hours of sleep/1 night, the flare is guaranteed. I have daily pain. When intensified pain stays between the base of the skull and the shoulder blades for more than a few hours, I know I’m in for a flare. I get tremors and general body weakness.

22. Renee Goodwin : Yes, and the sides of my neck, the muscles feel like rock. I have hardly any range of motion, then, I move with ease and get the most excruciating pain shoot up to my right temple and stays there. At times, I feel the blood physically running thru my veins, I know the next day, I should just stay in bed. My body gets exhausted from that, “rush of blood”, thru out.

23. Jenny Crowson Lucas : The only thing I can pinpoint would be the night before I can’t sleep Any! Then, that makes the next day horrible!! I don’t think have a lot of flares, but just stay painful and sick most of the time

24. Vivian McCarty Olsen : When I start feeling depressed or full of anxiety,, I know a bad day is coming.

25. Joel Ramirez : Taste and smell changes, increased tenderness, and it feels like I’m getting sick.

26. Kat Herard : My flares are usually preceded by increased insomnia and extreme exhaustion. Also, certain sound frequencies will either make me sick or irritate me

27. Cheryl Poitevint : Vibrations in my body.. my hips/pelvis vibrate like a cell phone in my pocket… then it will spread towards and up my back… always down a few days later, always

28. Rozanna Eckstein : My eyes become extra sensitive, my knees and elbows start swelling and get warm, and random bruises start popping up on my body.

29. Sandra Johnson : Very sensitive to light and noise. My feet and hands feel like I have stuck them in warm water after coming in from the cold. I can not stand to be around anyone and do not want to be part of any kind of conversation which is hard to do when you teach school and you are a mother. Migraines and blood pressure is very sporadic. Ache from head to tell. Just this side of hell.

30. Sherryanne Fleming : Heightened pain, stomach issues and extreme fatigue. Feels like I’m fighting off the flu. Usually end up in bed .. sleep for 12-14 hours for a few days and hopefully it’s over. I’ve had flares last for weeks… so I really pay attention and slow down further when I sense one may be coming. Avoid stress!!

Note: Concept/Idea Courtesy: The Mighty

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