HOW I DEAL WITH A BAD DAY OF FIBROMYALGIA

Fybro has a debilitating affect on our lives and we have to find coping strategies to get us through a minute, an hour,  a day, a week..We are constantly researching answers on diet, excercise, cures etc etc

After talking to a few of the ladies on here I noticed we all have different coping methods help us get through a day eg:

Humour 

Gratitude List

Watching comedy movies etc etc

While talking to these ladies they made me laugh and I thought that is so important for my mood and to know that I still can enjoy a day..To remember how a gratitude list helps you stay positive and be grateful in the worse of days..To know there is a life outside of the fatigue and pain..

That I can put things into place just to get some form of enjoyment no matter how small..

So I thought why not have a post of positivity in where we can make people laugh, share what we do to have a good day, what we say to our selves to keep going.

I make silly comments in my head  when I get out of bed in the morning when I feel like a stickman (stiff and sore) when going to the bathroom and its always a debate wether I am going to make it in time or should I just buy a  large nappy  or bucket to save myself the bother of worrying about it lol..

I am constantly tripping over the dogs and what a time I have trying to walk around my home with them constantly playing under my feet or following me (I have two stalkers in my home not just one)..

I have already shared that when I am getting off the floor it would make a great Youtube video of my face showing not only extreme determination and strain but ugliness at its best..

Its so important we laugh at ourselves as well to know we can have moments when its ok..

Please share your funny moments, inspiration, ideas on how to keep positive

 

Thank you for sharing Laura.  I'm sure you're story is echoed in many of our lives - good advice to 'have a giggle' sometimes at ourselves.  I know I look so silly trying to get in and out of my shower - I actually stop occasionally as I've dissolved into laughter at the very ridiculousness of the whole situation. It does make us feel better. 

Like everyone suffering from this unforgiving condition, I've become an internet addict researching ways to  help.  I have eschewed the drugs route - some I couldnt physically tolerate and those I could either didnt work or just caused other issues which weren't worth it.

One thing I've noticed in every piece of info I've encountered is that stress hormones play a large part.  We all already know we need to lessen our stress but knowing it is not the same as finding a way to do it.  I've found that I now stress about lowering my stress - go figure smile  Excess cortisol is bad for us in so many ways and has a knock on effect of lowering seratonin levels - now conclusively known to affect our ability to deal with pain.  I'm on the hunt like some kind of wild woman now to find ways of naturally elevating my seratonin - avoiding pharmaceuticals if poss.  Vit B6 and B12 supplements seem to be a good idea.  As does magnesium, already recommended by many on here.  Something else that cropped up was inositol, which I'd never heard of before but apparently  some studies have shown that inositol improves the activity of serotonin in the brain. As a supplement, it may be effective in alleviating anxiety and depression and supporting nervous system health.  Inositol is very effective for calming the nervous system when mixed with magnesium.

Well here goes - yet another round of spending money - I guess when pain becomes so constant and so debilitating and it causes such sadness in our lives, we'll try anything once.  Laughter really is often the 'best medicine' too. 

I start a 20 session course of Hypobaric Oxygen Therapy from 1 June - costing me a fortune because the NHS wont fund it but it's documented to give great relief from pain to MS Sufferers and is now considered good for arthritis and rheumatoid issues (eg FMS).  It has no side effects so I have to give it a try.  If nothing else, sitting still in the pressure chamber for over an hour will help me relax smile

Very good advice from Loxie. Everyone's input is certainly appreciated. As to humour Laura, it definitely helps me to cope. How often do I find myself hurrying upstairs with something specific in mind, only to get up there and say to myself,"what did I come up here for?" I stand there trying to remember and I find it so ridiculous that I burst out laughing. Or at times just climbing the stairs and feeling my legs creaking and aching, I have to stop and again, I have to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. It keeps things in perspective without feeling too sorry for myself. Laughter really is a positive tool dealing with any chronic condition.

Laura...the bathroom image is me to a T !.

Hi Loxie

Yes stress is a difficult one and it plays havoc on my neck and shoulders especially now with Fybro..

I laughed when you talked about your shower and how you laugh at yourself..That is brilliant as sometimes the pure frustration of it all leaves you with the only thing you can do is laugh..

I have become an internet junkie with finding information..I feel that comes from not wanting to just lie down and accept this is how its going to be.. STRONG WOMEN comes to mind..

I will look into inositol and thanksfor the other advise always good to know..

My memory is horrendous now and I have so much difficulty remembering how to spell when writing on here..I am in the middle of talking and my mind just switches of mid sentence and I cannot for the life of me recall the word I was going to say..I was beginning to think I had dementia at one point..Not yet as I have remember to come back on here..

I have got talking knees when climbing the stairs..I even do a good impression of the noise they make when explaining to people lol

You really didnt need to share that I already knew lol..Weird or what?? lmao

Do you get enough sleep Laura? I have found that adequate sleep can make the whole difference with our thinking. When I don't sleep well, my memory is much worse. 

That's a great idea, if you happen to have a not bad day, then if we can make some laughter for those who need it then I'm with you on that Laura, I was just getting ready to go to docs the other day and my son came in and asked if I was alright as he heard a lot of ooh and ahhs coming from this room, unfortunately before all those minds start racing, I was only trying to put my socks on. Lol you ought to hear the noises if it's my trainers now that's another story 😡

I sleep great and would have to sleep through the day as well, sometimes more than once.. Although tonight I am up and that is unusal for me..

Lol i am the same getting in and out of a car..Not sure what i am like in the house as the dogs don't say much ..lol

Well good that you can sleep. I am a very lite sleeper and I wake up frequently. I guess too much sleep can be a problem as well since it can make us feel more lethargic. Such a balancing act heh?! I have just been reading about the latest discovery regarding Fibromyalgia. They now know that it begins in the hands. We have too many blood vessels and this causes circulation problems throughout the body. My hands have always pained me and I have carpal tunnel syndrome as well. I can hardly open a jar anymore. I really think that reflexology massage could be practical since the nerve endings are in the hands and feet. So massage therapy on our hands can probably do us a great deal of good. Anyway, this is a definite breakthrough for us. 

That is interesting as I have had Carpal Tunnel but it has gone.. I then got tennis elbow  it still plays up.. same arm by the way.. Yes I struggle to open jars..

Unless they introduce massage and reflexology etc etc through NHS a lot of people wound not be able to afford those therapies..

That's all I do, is wake up, watch tv for a wee while then force myself back to sleep for another hour, etc this goes on all night, sleeping tablets don't work, I think this is the world of all us fabriomyialgiac's x 😏

This is unusal for me to be up in the wee hours of the morning.. I have gone through periods of not being able to sleep for a few days.. But other than that I am very lucky.. Either that or I am getting old and the disco queen has been put to rest..

Well I think that we can do it ourselves by learning some of the techniques online. I studied it years ago and used to do it on my feet. I got rid of my spastic colon using reflexology. Now considering this discovery that the condition starts in the hands, I am thinking that we could pay more attention to this area to promote circulation. It sure took them long enough to to figure this one out anyway. But obviously this will help the researchers to treat FM more efficiently. 

Yes self help would be great...It would be nice to be able to jump out of bed in the morning.. But hands is a good start lol

I missed the toilet seat the other day was very upset at the time but now I see the funny side its a toilet seat no different than every other day x

lol I know Melissa I would constantly cry if I didn't see the funny side at times.. There are times I am constantly needing the loo and as you can imagine the stairs are like mount everest 20 times a day.. In fact I deserve a medal for that constant trekking lol

The problem for me is going out, I was in a shop one day, I couldn't hold it, had to abandon trolley and try and run for home! 😅