
Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.

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I haven't dealt with full-blown FM for an extremely long time, so maybe I haven't had long enough breaks in between to recognize a true flare.
I have periods of time when I feel semi-normal, then suddenly will wake up with lots of pain/stiffness (arms, neck, shoulders, etc.) for a few days.
I ususally attribute them to weather changes, goofs with meds, etc.
I thought you had to reach a point of remission to have a flare, and then the flares last more than a few days.
How to you tell the difference between a bad couple of days and a true flare?
I have periods of time when I feel semi-normal, then suddenly will wake up with lots of pain/stiffness (arms, neck, shoulders, etc.) for a few days.
I ususally attribute them to weather changes, goofs with meds, etc.
I thought you had to reach a point of remission to have a flare, and then the flares last more than a few days.
How to you tell the difference between a bad couple of days and a true flare?
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I never got that complicated with it. A bad couple of days? A flare? I guess I lump thngs together. I had never heard you needed to be in remission to have a flare. I understood it more to simply be a deviation from whatever your personal norm of the time was/is.
but to me a flare is when my symptoms either Hit me all at once or each of them are more intensified...like I feel I have been in a flare almost constant since August of this year...it was Hot when they frist started hitting me hard..so it was not due to cold weather...I guess I am a lumper as well...since it is so rare people have remissions...
I also find that when I'm in a flare, time stops so I can be miserable longer.
I was quickly told that I had to stop calling it a flare because a fibro flare was something else and it involved a state of remission then return to symptoms. That's where the idea of remission first came from.
Anyway, I was never explained as to how long a "flare" lasted, but I got the idea that if it was short-lived (matter of days) then it wasn't a true fibro flare.
Mine seem to come and go with extreme weather chnages and I didn't know if that was considered a true flare or maybe just a couple of painful days.
Many thanks for the input so far. Keep 'em coming if you got 'em.
My definition of flares "for me" is my level of pain increases, or is different for a time period before returning to pre-flare status.
I have been in a flare the last three weeks. I keep waking up with certain muscles feeling like someone was hitting me in the middle of the night. Or like I got up and excercised in the middle of the night without knowing it, LOL! I mean, I know for most of you, that's normal, but it's not for me. It's a new thing. So, that's how I defined it at a flare. Different pain than usual. If it's just the regular stuff, raw skin, fever, achey, then I am just basically experiencing my regular pain, but this is new.
Just my .02.
If your knee is swelling, I don't think that's related to your fibro, or at least I don't have any sort of swelling or anything. My fibro is inherited and wasn't the result of an accident the way yours was.
Either way, a flare is what you define it to be IMHO.
Last year I cooked Christmas dinner for 20 people, did most everything by myself. Hubby and daughter cleaned the house, so all I had to do was prepare food and keep kitchen clean. Yeah right "all I had to do" lol. The day after Christmas my body was inflammed and everything hurt. I felt like I had been to a gym and had used every machine there, twice! I was so sore! it lasted for a week - so I guess that was a flare, at least for me.
I hope this helps in some way and that you feel well...hugs jilly