Fibro Flair Hell (the various kinds I get)

Itchy. I sometimes get itchy all over my body. I seem to have two spots that are permanently itchy. These would be the left side of my nose and a spot on my back about three or four inches down from my left shoulder and in about 3 inches from the side. These two spots never stop itching and can be lessened now and then by scratching but it will get back too full on itchy in a short time after. My scalp and my back seem to be the worst spots for itching.

Red Spots. There are red spots mostly on my head where my hair is. Sometimes they show up on my face and on occasion on the rest of my body. On a rare occasion they will be raised bumps under the red spots. They often itch when it spreads from my head. They are almost always under my hair on my head, as in it’s rare they don’t show up there.

Pin Pricks. It is a rare instance, but I do sometimes get the feeling of pins stabbing threw my skin. Most of the time it’s on my left leg, but sometimes it’s all over my body. It’s the same kind of feeling of when you get a flu shot and the needle breaks the skin. It will often last for an entire day.

Tummy Hates Me. This is all too common and is happening right now. I seem to not be able to eat anything or drink anything or my tummy will get upset as hell. It’s a real hassle as I will be in need of a drink of water and if I do drink it makes my tummy hurt and feel upset as hell. There is on occasion acid reflux with it.

The Poops. I will get the poops in a special hell kind of way and that will sometimes last for three or four days before it stops. This will happen at least once a week and will last at least twelve hours before it stops. I have taken to taking an anti-poop pill before I go out on the road or to an appointment as I might have to hit the bathroom on short notice, as in right now like.

Light Sensitive. I can get eye pain very badly when the light is in my eyes. This happens at least once a week. Sometimes it will cause a headache instantly if the light is bright enough.

Deep Tissue Pain. This is the feeling of muscles being sore in general. It will start with the muscles that come down the back of your head to your neck and it gives me a very bad headache every time. The pain will then move to my shoulders and across my chest (always from the left side first). Half of the time it stops there. The other half of the time it will spread down my back and into my legs and down my arms. This normally lasts for a minimum of four hours. It has been known to last me up to three days.

Joint pain. The muscle pain will most often be accompanied by joint pain in my neck and at random spots around my body that tend to move around while the flair is happening. But the neck is literally always in pain from this, even when I don’t have the muscle pain. This never stops, it’s just less painful now and then and way more painful in a flair.

Burning Hell Pain. This will be the feeling that you are being burned. It is more than often localised to my genitals. It can also be on my legs and on my back. I have a hot sensation on my face now and then but not the burning feeling. This is indescribably painful. When this happens it is even hard for me to talk to people as I am in so much pain. It is very much worse than when I broke my arm. The sensation will typically last from two to eight hours.

Cluster Headaches. These are headaches that will start in the front of my head just over my eyes then slowly move to the back. I am normally light sensitive when this happens. It will last four an hour or two then go away for a while then come back. This will last from eight hours to three days in length. The worse it is the less time I will have it normally. I have been in so much pain from this I wanted to pass out. For some reason the body pain can be suppressed by distracting myself, but when this happens there is no way to lessen the pain. All I can do is be in the dark and lay on my back with my eye closed. Of course I have to do things sometimes, so I will have to endure it now and then to get things done.

Can’t Stay Upright. This will happen no matter what. It does get better some days and others it’s way worse. I will not be able to sit up or stand for a long time as it will cause me a great deal of pain in my neck, back and a headache. I have actually passed out from this several times. The only way to fix this is to lay down for a while and it will go away. The time needed to fix this is exponential according to how long I stayed upright and how bad it is that day. Sometimes I can’t be upright for more than twenty minutes and some days I can be upright for five or six hours.

Food Triggers. If I eat processed meats or things like chicken nuggets or sugar, I will cause a severe flair and it will last at least eight hours. There are a number of out of the box foods that will cause this so I generally stay away from all of them. If I get a pizza it will cause a flair for example. But sugar is the worst, if I consume it I will be in hell for many hours after. Also beef causes me to get a bad headache that will sometimes last for days.

Cold or Hot. If it’s too cold or too hot I will get joint pain and if it’s extreme I will get muscle pain as well and a headache. This is one reason I don’t like summer that much. I can dress for the cold but when it’s very hot outside there is nothing I can do about it; I will be in pain more often. This does not always happen but does happen often. Sometimes the cold or hot will do nothing but most times it does.

Sensitive Skin. When this happens it’s all over. There is nothing you can do to stop the pain and everything causes it to be worse. Just having clothing on with cause you to feel like you are being burned or beaten. Lying in bed causes pain, a fan blowing on you causes pain. Someone touching you causes pain. The simple act of breathing when you are dressed will cause pain from the movement of your shirt. This I think is about as bad as it gets and it is always extreme to the point I just want to pass out and it often makes me cry. It often has the burning sensation and itching with it at the same time. This is true hell. I am lucky enough that it does not always happen. In fact, it is rare that this happens to me but many Fibro sufferers get this far too often.