Flare up stories

Flare-up stories are weird to me, because who knows what a flare-up really is and what it really isn't. At first, I didn't know what a flare-up was or what it wasn't. I think I was in a flare-up for years and years on end. So, you may not exactly know what a flare-up is. You just know that you feel bad. You need to talk to your doctor, and you can just go based on your symptoms. Keep a diary of everything that's going on with your body. That way, when you go to the doctors, you'll have enough information to share with your doctor, and you'll be able to tell them more definitively what's going on. They can help track your symptoms and maybe even give a better definition for what's going on, and maybe even diagnose more clearly what's going on with you.

Video 2 Transcript

I once had a flare up that was so bad. I was on holiday in a hotel in Blackpool and I was stuck in that place with no kind of medication at all. See at this time I wasn't aware it was fibromyalgia and I didn't know that I needed medication to survive. I ended up curled into a ball that was seized that way for about two days. My muscles seized up and I couldn't move. It was so painful. After it, because once the muscles started relaxing, they had to heal because they were damaged.

Video 3 Transcript

I'll tell you about my first flare-up that I realized was a flare-up was after my oldest son moved back in. I'm somebody who cannot stand being hot. Even in the middle of the winter, I had my air conditioner on and my fan on and we entered into a very stressful episode and I just kept overheating and overheating and sweating and I couldn't understand why I was going through this and I thought maybe it was early menopause. So I got checked but every time I had something in anxiety happen, I would get overheated and so I did my research and found out that that was an extreme flare. So even with keeping everything cool, I still overheat and that's my horrible flares.

Video 4 Transcript

So this is a new flare that I just experienced the other day. Luckily, I was at my best friend's house who has had fibromyalgia for a long time and she recognizes signs. She was having her daughter's birthday party. There were a bunch of kids running around making a lot of noise and she's got a lot of animals that make a lot of noise and I'm kind of used to sitting in the dark and everything being low-key. I started really spinning in my head. Migraine came on really bad. She took me down to where she goes when she starts to have flare-ups. She realized that I wasn't going to be able to handle it. Took my glasses off me and gave the keys to my son and told him to take me home. I had a migraine for two days just because of sensory overload and that was a major flare for me.

Video 5 Transcript

I think I am the flare-up queen. I think at my age of 76 the flares are in succession. I was in the emergency room last night because of a flare. Every bone and muscle in my body hurt, but then my left jaw started hurting and it scared me. But the emergency room did a lot of heart tests, said that I'm fine, and that the pain in my jaw was probably fibromyalgia. That was really good to know. It could be a lot worse. I could have a lot of things that accompany it, but there aren't many. I'm just very sensitive to pain.

Video 6 Transcript

Okay, flare-ups. I'm still finding out what caused my flare-ups, but definitely stress and definitely when I overdo things, I end up spending a couple of days in bed or really, really crying in pain, not knowing what I've done to cause it. A flare-up is where I can't even stand. I can't get out of bed. Everything hurts. So you soon learn not to do what you've just done. So please, when you learn what causes a flare-up, don't do it.

Video 7 Transcript

My worst flare-ups are usually when the seasons change, most specifically from winter to spring. I do best in the winter when it's cold. That tends to keep the flares at a minimum. I'm usually okay in the summer but then it rains and I get a flare and then something falls apart in my life and I have stress and I get a flare or something important is coming up and I need to be somewhere and I get a flare. It made it really difficult to try to have any kind of career because you never know when those days are coming. It's very hard to function when you can't think through the pain.

Video 8 Transcript

One thing I'm experiencing right now is lots of small triggers that trigger these kind of smaller, if you will, flare-ups that maybe last a day or two. My mom asked me a few weeks ago if I felt like I was in less pain than I was at the last major flare-up. And while I feel like yes, overall, my pain is a smaller amount, there are lots of little triggers. And I'm on my fetal day as a teacher. I live in a household with lots of animals and a partner. And things have to get done no matter what. And sometimes those things can trigger something, especially if a flare-up is already partially triggered. Sometimes it's hard just to even unload and reload the dishwasher. I try to get something done and then evaluate how I feel. And I think that's really important with these smaller triggers is evaluating in the moment, just moment to moment, how I feel and taking a moment to pause, which can be hard.

Video 9 Transcript

Back in October of the previous year, my sister was getting married and I fainted at her rehearsal dinner. I then spent three or four days in incredible pain, not being able to eat or sleep comfortably. And then six weeks in massive amounts of pain, lots of more fainting spells and nausea and all sorts of symptoms. And then I went through a series of tests, blood tests. I did an cardiogram of my heart and everything before receiving the fibromyalgia diagnosis. It was really hard. My anxiety and depression were through the roof. And I'm very, very fortunate to have a wonderful partner who was with me through the entire thing. I kept track of all my symptoms down to just the minute details of what I was feeling and what I was experiencing and how. And I saw no less than four or five doctors, but ultimately it led to diagnosis. And I am thankful, I guess, for that.

Video 10 Transcript

Hi, I've just finished one flare-up and think I'm going into another one as my head is boiling hot. It is hurting. I have a lump on the back of my head which I haven't hit my head. My back can't stand up straight. I walk funny, if I can walk at all. My pain levels go through the roof. I can't sleep. I take my pain relief which isn't enough. And that's about it. That's all I can say is it's mega pain, 24-7 and can last for up to three weeks. I'm lucky if it lasts a week. If not so lucky, it will last maximum a month. I've had them for a month and it's really bad. Can't get it all bad.