The Fibro Follies

Is there anything worse than a flareup of fibromyalgia?  Probably - but in the throes of one, the patient would be hard-pressed to name one.

The worst flareup I ever experienced came on suddenly at a grocery store. I’ll never forget it. I started the shopping trip a little tired but nothing out of the ordinary was going on with me. There was absolutely no warning. On the typical scale of 1 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain), my pain level that day went from a 4 (a pretty good day for me) to an off-the-chart 11+. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the bottoming out of my energy level. It happened so fast, I barely made it from the produce section to the little cafe attached to the deli, where I collapsed into a booth and had to wait for my husband to come pick me up and finish the shopping for me.  The whole transition - from functional to flareup - took less than 2 minutes.  When I finally got home, I hobbled into the bedroom and fell onto the bed, where I stayed for the next 2 days.

During flareups, it’s easy to add mental anguish to the physical pain and discomfort. But for the sake of your energy level, you should try to maintain a buffer zone - a safe “space” both mentally and physically between you and the rest of the world. We’ve all heard “conserve your energy” but what does it really mean? Is it as simple as doing nothing?

I think the concept of the buffer zone takes “doing nothing” one step further. What I try to do is this: imagine I’m in a cocoon, made of bubble wrap, several feet thick. Inside that cocoon, my energy level simmers, like a stew on the back burner. It’s like brewing tea out in the sun - no input of energy from me or an external source, just the natural energy of the sun.  It might sound “new age”-y and a little off the wall, but it really works for me. It makes me feel more proactive, without actually expending any real effort (other than a slight bit of mental visualization). In short, it makes me feel I’m contributing to my recovery and healing.

The next time you’re feeling a little energy-depleted, try a short rest with this simple visualization. Practice makes perfect, so the next time a flareup hits you, you’ll be ready to try it out. If it works for you, great. But if it doesn’t, don’t use it as another thing to beat yourself up with. We fibro patients have enough to deal with. Just resolve to try something else.

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