[Huggy]

Hiya Lotus

Fibromyalgia is one of the issues my sister has had to contend with for many years. We have actually looked into this to some depth and you are right, it's a beastie that needs to be contained before it gets too much of a grip. Unfortunately what is generally not so appreciated is that a diagnosis of Fibro is often just doctor speak for "We know you have ouch! but don't really know why". MS and Lupus are often miss diagnosed as Fibro, as are many other conditions than manifest themselves as pain.

The problem then is that what might help for one flavour of Fibro may actually aggravate another. Exercise being a good example. Keeping everything moving with moderate activity helps the muscles and lymphatic system clear out the toxins and cell debris that needs to be flushed out, which would otherwise cause inflammation (causing pain). But if the pain is caused by tissue/nerve damage which is manifesting itself as inflammation, working the muscles by exercise can actually aggravate the situation.

And to further cloud the waters, trying to exercise through the pain (my legs are going all goosey just thinking about that!) will release endorphins as part of the body's coping mechanism, so there may well be some short term pain relief. Unfortunately once the endorphins have left the system, greater pain levels may be payback because of the strain caused by the exercise.

But.... for some flavours of Fibro, the best thing you can do is nurture the underlying fitness levels. Which is where I guess these studies come in. The problem is, if you are the one feeling ouch but not sure which version of Fibro you have, do you really want to put yourself up to and through the pain barrier to find out?

However, there are a couple of things that really do help. Stress! Or rather, stress reduction. Too much to go into here, but stress and pain, and pain management are clearly linked. And we are not talking 'shouting-at-the-kids' stress. Emotional, physical, psychological, environmental, any form that hits your particular buttons can trigger a pain response. Real life means we cannot escape all the stress triggers in our lives, but to learn stress management skills WILL lower the pain levels. Even something like taking a regular hot bath with nice smellies and reeeellllaaaaaxxxx can be more effective than a fistful of pain killers (not that they work half the time anyway).

Inflammation control is another proven helper. So anti-inflammatories should be considered, and anti-histamines can make a big difference.

Also look at acid/alkali diets. If someone has Fibro they will almost always be sensitive to acid foods and even something as innocuous as an orange can cause a flare-up. Again, too much to go into here but from research and our own experience this does really help.

And most importantly..... HUG! You can't overdose on hugs :-)

Huggy