Fibromyalgia: What Triggers Us & How To Cope

For most of us, Fibromyalgia is a changing diseases, with symptoms differing from day to day. We have our ups and downs – our flares and remissions. Surprisingly, even though flares are a significant component of fibromyalgia, many ‘experts’ know very little about them.

New research has shed some interesting light on how flares differ from more daily symptoms, and how stress, poor sleep and changes in weather are all capable of causing them. Flare symptoms include flu-like body aches, exhaustion, pain, fatigue, among others. Most who suffer use a variety of medical treatments to alleviate them, along with rest, activity avoidance, and stress avoidance.

Flares can make many of us feel completely out of control. Along with general pain and extreme fatigue, cognitive function (sometimes referred to as ‘fibro fog’) can be severe during a flare. For some, that makes it impossible to go to work, drive, or even put together a sentence.

It may seem overwhelming, but there are ways to cope. It is refreshing to know that with time and effort, it is completely possible to identify our triggers in order to avoid or minimise the flares in future.