Weather extremeties and FMS Flare ups - Fibromyalgia Acti...

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Weather extremeties and FMS Flare ups

Bev95 profile image
38 Replies

I don't know if anyone else has or is experiencing the same but I am finding that weather extremeties affects my FMS.My FMS has been really bad since all the cold weather started. It feels like my body is wracked with pain..especially my neck, arms, hands, back, hips, knees, legs and feet. I still flare up in summer especially in very hot weather...but this winter is really bad..I am taking pain killers but when I take too many I start to feel yucky the next day and unable to concentrate..Is it just me, or has anyone else experience something similar and if so what can you advise? I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia way back in Oct 2006..it was really bad then...but I have found now that extreme weather temperatures have a profound affect on my FMS and my pain levels.

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Bev95
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38 Replies
PAULINE15 profile image
PAULINE15

I think I have to agree, like you my pain is really bad just now.

dawny profile image
dawny

hi there bev, so pleased to hear from you and sorry u r feeling so bad. i agree 100% with your comments, my fms had been bearable for years but this last snap of extreme cold has caused a massive flare - up. I visited the doctors today and have been put back on amitriptyline abd dihydrocodeine which i havent taken for years. Also ive been put on pregabalin. I have read alot of comments from other sufferers who have been affected by this horrible winter snap so u r not alone. Regards and hope you feel better soon, perhaps ure doctor may be able to help you out with different medication xx

julieru profile image
julieru

hmmm didnt associate the weather with my flare up. Had 4 days housebound feeling rubbish and gone from 900mg gabapentin to 1200mg to get the pain back under control

anjie profile image
anjie

I agree too just had a really bad 3 weeks of pain in...well everywhere...it's been really cold here, especially as i live near the sea, had a good day yesterday though.

me too i suffer more when its wet or cold

Kaz-C profile image
Kaz-C

I can actually tell when it's raining and wet outside before I even look out the window in the morning....I can't wait until we have a sunny day in Scotland!

mandyb profile image
mandyb

yes i am the same .thick socks and clothes helps i found

Nellannie profile image
Nellannie

I agree that the weather is a huge factor and I have a huge flare up these past months. Looking forward to warmer and sunnier days but not too hot! Stress seems to play a part in my flare ups too.

Hope it goes easier for you all soon.

Jacqui1964 profile image
Jacqui1964

Hi there yes i have to totally agree with you , I live in scotland way up in the highlands and over the last 2 yrs with very low temp hitting -17 sometimes i have days were my pain is so bad i break down and cry with it , and vice a versa with the heat ..Its really hard to find a happy medium some days , It gets to the stage were i just dont know were or what to do with my body because of the pain..I always find having a warm shower helps wish it could be a bath but i just cant get out of it once i'm in it i need my partner to help me .. Hope you have some better days ..x

Nance profile image
Nance in reply to Jacqui1964

Hi Jaqui, I am in the Highlands too, a wee bit further North than you,? and I have come to the conclusion this is not the place to live if you have Fibro & Osteoarthitis......we hit minus 26 last year.....absolute agony, thermals & central heating just didn't help enough, lol !

But convincing my husband to move abroad is proving difficult, especially as i'm very limited now physically. x

Bev95 profile image
Bev95

well, I am glad then that I am not alone..thank you everyone for such a wonderful response. I have done all sorts to try and warm myself and releive the pain when its cold and I am in pain..including having a warm shower, hot water bottle, even virtually standing and pushing my body up against one of my central heating radiators...I have a wheat bag that I use when I am in bed...that seems to work short term..I know how Jacqui feels I cant have a bath either..well mainly because I dont have one in my house now..I have a wetfloor shower, but even if I did have a bath in the house I wouldnt be able to use it..as I couldnt get into or out of it...Before I had the bathroom altered and had a wetfloor shower put in I couldnt use the bath even with help I found that task to painful! I want to thank everyone who has responded to my query...

Nellannie profile image
Nellannie

I would love to lie in a warm bath but like you can't get in or out. Have to use the shower. It has been 14 years since I last was able to get in or out of the bath. I have to admit I am a bit envious of my family when they have their lovely long soak!

Kirby profile image
Kirby in reply to Nellannie

I can't have a bath because I never feel dry after it. It's all part of this feeling cold and damp. The only time I have a bath is in the summer

Ebony profile image
Ebony

I agree the weather affects me and I feel much worse when the weather is cold and wet. About 4 years ago I visited Arizona in the USA and I felt quite well when I was there, something to do with the warm dryness of the desert.

Roll on summertime as this weather is causing me to be quite ill !!

suz134 profile image
suz134

The weather has hit me really hard. I feel like in my head i can get up and do anything but then my body just won't work with me. I used to go on the sunbed every couple of months which helped but since i have been put on pain releif patches i can't.

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to suz134

Ohh I havent tried those pain relief patches yet are they any good?

Kirby profile image
Kirby

I hate the cold but damp, humid weather makes me really tired. So does the warm humid weather. I noticed that when it was warm and dry last April I felt great after sitting in the sun.

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to Kirby

Yes funnily enough last April in that dry warm spell my FMS seemed to improve slightly...still had pain but not near as bad as I do in the cold winter months

ShazzaN profile image
ShazzaN

I also flare in cold and damp weather so you are not alone with this, I think its quite common to be honest. I struggle big style with it this time of the year and absolutely loathe the winter. Im much happier and a lot more active when the weather is warmer.

Hope you get over this blip soon

Hugs

Shazza N

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to ShazzaN

well until the warmer weather I think this blip will last until then...although I now know how to manage the pain a lot better than I did when I was first diagnosed...I beleive we have some warmer weather coming this week according to the weather forecasters...good I look forward to it...! Hugss :)

gandalf profile image
gandalf

I know how you feel I too suffer terrible with the weather and living here on an Island is aufull Im in constant pain and cant wait for some warmer weather so i can start living a little again..I hurt from my head to my toes and get so depressed of constant pain..although the summer months are better for me I still have pain but to be able to get mobile is nice,

I have been diagnosed with Fibro about 10 yrs ago x

jazher profile image
jazher

Hi,

I cannot stand summer and heat, Its my worst time especially for my fatigue which i always a killer.

I dont mind cold sunny days they are proberbly my best times, Its the windy, rainy days that bring all my joint pain on and it is not nice.

kel xxx

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to jazher

I can relate to this too hot and my fatigue gets worse...but in winter my pain levels are terrible..often unbearable.. I simply cant handle the cold even with winter sunshine..its still the cold that affects me! xx :)

Kestrelflyer profile image
Kestrelflyer

Hi. I can totally agree. The colder the weather, the worse my pain.

I was luck enough to spend a week visiting my parents who live in Spain last Sept/Oct. The warm weather was such a blessing! I soaked up as much sun as possible, without actually sunbathing, and felt so much better. I did still have one bad day whist out there, but one day out of 7 was nothing to complain about!

Once I got back home to the UK, my condition got worse everyday until I was back to my usual painful self! A lack of Vitamin D and low calcium levels are extremely common for anyone with severe and long-term pain. Most people who don't live in a particularly sunny country have low Vit D and calcium levels, but hardly anyone is aware of it until they are tested. I've been taking supplements for several months now and my levels are up, however, I'm still in pain!

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to Kestrelflyer

I know what you mean I was in Lanzarote with my family in early December and it was wonderful not too hot and my FMS was not too bad...as soon as I landed back in the UK two weeks before Christmas I was in agony..!!! Hmm never thought about Vit D and calcium...I wonder if sun bed treatment would benefit someone with FMS..I am curious to know...I might give it a try if so..LOL! :) Gentle Hugs :)

Jacqui1964 profile image
Jacqui1964

Hi Nance well my other half wont even think about moving hence me moving here 5 yrs ago its lovely for the views but weather wise terrible and as we all know the weather effects our illness .. I hope you have better days xxx

Nance profile image
Nance in reply to Jacqui1964

Yes Jacqui, there is no denying the highlands are beautiful.........but feckin cold, lol !

Gentle hugs. x

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to Nance

My brother lives in the Highlands and he is welcome to it...it is too cold there for me and my FMS... LOL I live in The Cotswolds...and the winters here are bad enough...today its been cold, rainy and windy...and my FMS is bad...My fiancee is in hospital at the moment so I have to venture out every day...I cant begin to tell you how much pain I am in by the time I get home...but then again maybe most of you can! :)

Kirby profile image
Kirby

Yes, humid heat makes me fatigued, cold and damp makes me fatigued and more pain.

Nance profile image
Nance

I feel more alive in the heat, in Rhodes last year I only had one bad day pain wise, but other than that I enjoyed the sun on my bones !

Maybe it is the fact I come from the cold, damp highlands the heat makes me feel better ?

Just wish I could live there.......you know test it out, lol !

Bev95 profile image
Bev95 in reply to Nance

wouldnt we all if you do go live out there remember to send me an invite to come visit...LOL!

Nance profile image
Nance in reply to Bev95

I'd need a lottery win Bev......be nice though !

Bev95 profile image
Bev95

Oh yes that would be nice...then I could go somewhere its warmer...I am going through a bad flare up at the moment..been in and out of bed all day...my arm, shoulder and neck really bad today..!I would love to be somewhere warm...

snowbird profile image
snowbird

i to have the same the last few months have been awful unbelievable pain mostly in my back shoulders neck ect. going to the dominican in 3weeks and 5days im praying that the heat will make me feel better it usually does fingers crossed

Bev95 profile image
Bev95

Lucky you can you squeeze me in your suitcase...LOL!

FibroguyinWales profile image
FibroguyinWales

It definitely seems to me that colder/damper weather makes me feel worse. Winter is a bummer as it also compounds any depression that I'm experiencing, which as far as I'm concerned has a symbiotic relationship with fibro.

Bev95 profile image
Bev95

Well I know it does affect me in fact when the recent weather turned colder I have noticed that my fibro has made a turn for the worse...the pain in my neck,arms, hands, legs, thighs, hips and back has intensified and got worse so you have my sympathies if you are having similar...As for depression well I do get depressed as constant unrelenting chronic pain makes me feel low and frustrated and generally awful...I try to keep a smile on my face for others...but I think the only person I am trying to fool is myself...by trying to put a brave face on things..!

looking4me profile image
looking4me

This summer was brutal for me. Waking up every night for three weeks with cluster like headaches It was intolerable. My stiffness is worst in the heat.

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