Chronic pain issues - suggestions for coping with flares/brain fog

GaleHawkins

jrbb03092 wrote: »

I have fibromyalgia, arthritis and chronic migraines.

I seem to do well when I'm just dealing with my baseline of every day pain but the moment I hit a flare or more than a day of migraines (I can have 4-5 days at my worst), I default to old behaviours.

I find it hard to get out to walk when it takes all my energy just to get out of bed and take a shower and I find it hard to eat well when my brain's barely online enough to say "no, comfort foods aren't going to make things any better".

I'm assuming there are others here dealing with the same kinds of issues. Do you have any tips or tricks or anything that helps you push through those times?

I am lucky enough to be a stay at home mum and I can adjust my schedule as needed (daughter is older) so mentally I'm in a good place (there's no guilt or anxiety associated with my being ill).

And I feel like, aside from migraine attacks and fibro flares, my head is in a good place and I /really/ want to succeed this time. But when those two things hit, it's like my brain and body shut down and I'm just operating on auto-pilot until they clear. Help?

@jrbb03092 I can not tell you what may work for you but will share what I did that knocked my joint and muscle pain level of 7-8 to 2-3 in just 30 days about 20 months ago and still is working today with many positive side effects.

I have Ankylosing Spondylitis (1976 first labeled). Aug 2014 I was told to start Enbrel injections Nov 2014. I was not liking what I was reading plus my wife did not want me on Enbrel. In the back of my mind I thought if I would just cut out sugar and all grains I would hurt less. After not being able to taper off due to cravings I finally just went off both cold turkey first of Oct 2014. The first two weeks were hellish then all cravings went to Zero and stayed that way.

Only 30 days later the pain was well managed Rx meds free. 6 months later my 40 years of life defining IBS fully resolved and has not returned. My weight was not a direct concern but drifted down from 250 to 200 and has remained there for the last year without dieting. My blood work is better at 65 than it was at 45.

With AS the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae is often the trigger. It is good a breaking down carbs passing through the gut so I may have starved it so it was more in balance with the good microbes. I read most autoimmune diseases stem from gut microbe balance.

Keep trying and I expect you find a route back to full health. Best of success.

jrbb03092

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and advice. I do a lot of meal planning and have lots of coping mechanisms (appliances, short-cuts) for how to cook when my hands are hurting more than usual, etc.

For some reason I've been (blame it on the brain fog) not clueing into the idea that I need to do the same for my weight loss/moving more. Plan ahead for those days and come up with ways to deal with specific problems/pains/flares. Will think on that.

Jkowals123

I heard the supplement NAC is good for migraines!

danimoore08

Hiya, i have fibro as well and migraines. Lyrica keeps the pain mostly around a 4, but stress or b overdoing it causes intense flares spiking the pain to the point i can barely move.....i have been tested for diet triggers and have none. I have seen a nutritionist and done elimiation diets nothing helped.

That said i have almost completely stopped flareups (except from major unexpected stressors) by.... making my own smoothies in the morning using a frozen fruit mix from walmart, yogurt, kale and some orange juice. Pineapple contains an anti inflammatory thats been found to reduce fibro pain. That sets my day off right and clears my fibro fog!!!!

The second key.....is move! And move hard! When i workout hard i feel so much relief afterwards!!!! Its true that getting theu the workouts at times makes me cry from the pain, but to know that relief is coming makes it worth it. I highly suggest piyo, and zumba. I spent a lot of time packing on the weight cuz it just hurt too bad to move, i went to soooo many docs but nothing really helped. So i just thought about how good i used to feel (3 kids ago, four stomach surgeries, a bout with ovarian cancer, and forced medical menopause, all before my 30th birthday) and i remembered how active i was with sports and other intense physical activities and i decided to give intense exercise a try.

So far the intense workouts coupled with a few small diet tweaks its been great!. So nice to live without as many flareups and fog! Give it a try. Not gonna lie the working out can be excruciating but the relief afterwards is incredible!
try

gentlygently

I certainly relate to the plan ahead (CFS, lots of brain fog) advice - I try to buy in a range of food. I do a huge online shop every 2 months or so and get a veggie box that ranges from 'good meat to cook properly' to 'point and shoot' cooking for when I feel ill. If I do feel ill and crave comfort food, I give myself some it - but keep the portion size reasonably sensible. So I don't feel guilty, and hence get into the 'oh well th hell I'll have the rest of the packet' thinking. I just say these are not day for losing on. I don't try to lose fast - I have too much else to cope with.

Alternative sources of comfort - longer rests, long bath, downloading a movie, texting friends to arrange to meet up (when perky), have a good winge on MFP, getting a massage, meditation tapes, healthier comforting foods (greek yoghurt, fruit loaf) - could all help when you need to show a bit of love to yourself? Perhaps put a list on the fridge to remind yourself - or on the cupboard with the junk food?

I know it is hard - especially when your body hurts - but Excercise really is a top priority to being/feeling better... Good luck