What is a Flare?

Why is it that somedays I can have a bad night and barely move the next day, and on other mornings after a bad night, I can go and go and go? Yesterday I was going. Today I am going. At some point if I don't get a good pain free sleep, I'll stop going and maybe even flare.

I think it is my mental state. Right now I feel positive. I don't feel overwhelmed. Nothing looks insurmountable. Then a day comes along when the car gets stuck in the snow, the power steering belt breaks, the dogs run-off, and suddenly the weight of the world comes crushing down. We all feel this way. This isn't peculiar to fibro. What is peculiar is how we deal with our symptoms depending upon the type of day we are having.

And what is the difference between a flare and normal aches and pains? Do fibromites only hurt during a flare? How do they know it's a flare? What is a flare? Very simply, a flare is when all your fibro symptoms exacerbate. To read another blogger's view on flares click the following link: http://marciacarson.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!CFDF79294097A9AF!437.entry

As a fibromite, I often ask myself these questions. I know my aches and pains aren't normal. Why? because it is not normal to just hurt without any visible or identifiable cause. You can't point to arthritis or swelling and inflammation in my joints. Diagnostics show nothing. Yet some mornings I can barely unbend my arms and my hips ache.

I am quite strong, and in pretty good shape, but sometimes a motion as simple rowing, like that used in vacuuming or cross-country skiing, hurts my shoulders. Sometimes just lifting my arms up to brush or style my hair is painful. Nothing is torn or inflammed. I could drop and do 10 push-ups without pain, but do the other motions and it hurts.

When things hurt, I get tired more easily. When I don't sleep well, it hurts. What a conundrum!

But how is this different from a flare? In my personal experience, I always have some daily pain and stiffness. I rarely experience a sound night's sleep.

But a flare is different. A flare is debilitating. I might have flu-like aches and pain throughout the whole body accompanied by overwhelming exhaustion. Just pouring a bowl of cereal can wipe me out. I'll find it impossble to concentrate or have an intelligible conversation. I won't be able to focus on reading or television. I'll feel heavy, lethargic, and have an overwhelming need to sleep.

There are other things that might happen. Every person is different You know when you are in a flare, because you can't motivate yourself to go on. There's nothing left in you. All you can do is give in and hope it passes quickly.

How long does a flare last? Who really knows? I've had them last a day or two. I've had them last a week. I've had low-level flares for weeks where chronic fatigue was the defining symptom. In this type of flare, I could do what was absolutely required of me but no more.