Push & Crash Cycle (also known as Boom & Bust)

[Mdaisy]

Hello Everyone,

Just thought I would blog about the Push & Crash Cycle (or Boom & Bust).Whilst living with Fibromyalgia we experience many days where we are in too much pain or feeling very fatigued that we are mainly in the house. So when we feel better what do we do, up we get and do as much as possible.This is where the push & crash comes into play as we push ourselves so much then the crash and the flare is really bad.

Don't for a minute think I have not done this in the past, of course I have. I understand that when you have been poorly stuck indoors that a good spell is a chance to get up and do things.

Getting the fresh air and seeing the world helps you to feel better too. However, to aim to help control the symptoms pacing & gentle exercise is advised. Doing the same amount everyday, trying not to push yourself on the good days and it may break the cycle.

If you look at the end of the blog there is a scale of symptoms. With the push & crash cycle imagine a zig zag pattern, up and down the scale from the near the top to the bottom , up & down , up & down. This represents the way that when we feel better we do things and than feel so bad we can hardly get out of bed. With pacing and gentle exercise the aim is to be maybe go between level 60 & 80 say and the pattern be like a bumpy road rather than the zigzag.

Saying all this I know it is hard but it is achievable. So maybe try and adjust a few things here and there and eventually you may feel you are on the bumpy road rather than the rollercoaster.

There is also a blog here called Thoughts on flares written by Lindsey Middlemiss (founder of FibroAction before merger with FMAUK ) that has helpful tips too, link below;

healthunlocked.com/fibromya...

I hope this helps and little steps are the key, small changes here and there.

Best Wishes

Emma

Scale

100 Fully recovered. Normal activity level with no symptoms

90 Normal activity level with mild symptoms at times

80 Near normal activity level with some symptoms

70 Able to work full time but with difficulty. Mostly mild symptoms

60 Able to do about 6-7 hours of work a day. Mostly mild to moderate symptoms

50 Able to do about 4-5 hours a day of work or similar activity at home. Daily rest

required. Symptoms mostly moderate.

40 Able to leave house every day. Moderate symptoms on average. Able to do about

3- 4 hours a day of work or activity like housework, shopping, using computer

30 Able to leave house several times a week. Moderate to severe symptoms much of

the time. Able to do about 2 hours a day of work at home or activity like housework,

shopping, using computer.

20 Able to leave house once or twice a week. Moderate to severe symptoms.

Able to concentrate for 1 hour or less per day.

10 Mostly bedridden. Severe symptoms.

0 Bedridden constantly. Unable to care for self.

[Hidden]

Thanks for posting this Emma it's proved all along what I thought, I have someone else's brain and someone else's body.... Cos they certainly don't match, my brain is fired up and working ( ok slightly insanely but well, up the higher end) but unfortunately my body is down round 20..or slightly under... but then I do have arthritis too .. This will come as no surprise to my family who know the way my brain works now and my OH frequently says I think back to front.... I just tell him its the price to pay for genius .... Now to get him to believe it

VG

[Saskia]

Hi everyone,

I am "all screwed", too! I can just about manage to go out every day. If I am really bad then I don't. My husband drives us and our 2 dogs to the fields where we mooch round slowly and the dogs have a good time sniffing, playing and tearing around like mad things with their doggie friends. Sometimes we drive about 20 miles to a lovely sandy beach where the dogs have a wonderful time.

After being out with the dogs I am usually fit for nothing! Unlike VG, my brain doesn't even function very much...lol.....

I belong to a choir but don't get there very regularly these days and quite often have missed so many rehearsals that I am unable to sing in the concerts.

If I do aim to go to choir practise, I have to lie down for about 3 hours in the afternoon and then it is a struggle to get up and get ready to go out, so I don't always manage it.

Very occasionally in the evenings, I can get a few very small jobs done like folding the clean laundry to put in the airing cupboard. Even a simple job like that leaves me exhausted! I did that last night and have to confess that I must have overdone it, as I didn't get out of bed until 10.00am! I haven't had my breakfast yet as I have to wait for my morning medication to go down ( blood thinning tabs and meds for oesophageal reflux) ... I take all the other meds and supplements with my breakfast.

I used to work with Fibromyalgia but took early retirement when I was 50 and I have got worse over the years...pain-wise and lacking in energy.

Like VG, I have extensive osteo arthritis so that causes quite a lot of my pain.

It is a grand life, isn't it?!

Many thanks, Mdaisy, for posting the info. It does make sense but, as VG says, when we have other health issues they have to be taken into account, too.

Love and warm hugs to you, Mdaisy, and all who read this.

Saskia XX

[ladymoth]

Agree with all this!

Like VG I have arthritis too, but before that developed I would set about jobs with all engines firing and then conk out.

Four years ago, I did a 'Race for life', finished the 5km course at a slow jog and felt very proud of myself. For two weeks afterwards I wobbled when I walked and couldn't think straight - I was even too tired to eat!

This is a big come-down from my thirties, when I did five marathons, each in a good time of around three hours. I was a classy athlete in those days, and tremendously fit - ah well, I've had my day, so I should be grateful! Now I'm around the scale of 4, which is not bad, and I am thankful for that.

Well girls, as VG says, it's the price we pay for genius!

Keep your feet up and your tea cups full

Love Moffy x

[Tiny09]

Hi there this happened to me on Friday I was having a good day n loads if energy, so I swept my back garden and then I crashed n still in pain nw.

[Mdaisy in reply to Tiny09]

Yes it’s easily done - sometimes psychologically it’s worth the crash for fun activities but housework no so much ..... sorry you’re in pain and suffering now for Friday x

[Tiny09]

Am still in pain now mdaisy am not liking how I feel atm, arms feel numb, keep dropping stuff, I carnt get a pain management med review until the 3rd June, my current meds r only 30% effective. I just wanna 😢 😢

[Agora1 in reply to Tiny09]

Tiny09, don't be sad, don't cry, the repercussions aren't worth it.

Fibro isn't the end of our life but just an adjustment in how we live

each day. There is a correlation with anxiety and fibro. The inactivity,

the fear we experience as well as no exercise causes our muscles to

tighten and atrophy.

Warm water exercise or a nice hot bath are a friend to Fibro. There is

a technical reason that some of us are more prone to this muscular disorder

and it does stem from the brain. With our pain,

medications don't seem to work. Using other modalities are better tools.

Relaxation techniques as well as mild exercise.

Physical therapy can also be beneficial in releasing trigger points along the neck,

shoulders and upper and lower back. There still isn't a sure cut way to diagnose

Fibro short of the number of trigger points found by a Rheumatologist.

There are many holistic type tools that can help. Stretching, massage therapy,

Reiki, Biofeedback, Meditation and of course Pain Management.

The more we learn about what triggers our pain the more we can be in control

of what we choose to do or not do. Sweeping has always been an issue for me

and yet shoveling snow hasn't. I weigh the trade off before starting a project,

knowing that the following day I may get a kick back. It makes me feel that I

am in control of my life.

I have never been on medication since the side effects were worse than the

discomfort and pain. It's been 30 years since I was first diagnosed with Fibro.

From the beginning I became a poster patient making a film with my Rheumatologist

on the feelings associated with Fibro. I also talked with patients in my Water Aerobics

Class. Stay Positive. Stay Active. xx

[Tiny09 in reply to Agora1]

I was put on waiting list for hydrotherapy treatment in Jan but due to corona virus everything is on hold, was referred to pain management, carnt start classes until its all over, waiting on them calling me on the 3rd June for a pain med review, as wot am currently on ain't working, am struggling to get through a day atm