Our Fibromyalgia Blog Book

Being Tired Means More Pain

         Well, these six days since my last entry definitely served to prove the truth in one area of our Fibro situation.
         A few months back, when Kenzie and I attended our first Fibromyalgia Support Group meeting, I remembered to ask those in attendance one thing I'd been wondering for a short time prior to that: "When you're tired, do your symptoms increase?"
         The answer was a unanimous "Yes", and these last six days have proven that to me a number of times. There wasn't a single night that I didn't feel all those muscles in my lower legs tightened up, creating a constant (rather than throbbing) pain from below my knees to just above my ankles. I'm feeling it again now, as I type this just before bed (it's 11:52 PM). I took the relaxer pills about 45 minutes ago, but it looks like I'll have to get off my feet and lay down before I'll get enough relief to let me get to sleep. When the medicine kicks in, it'll be BIG relief.
         Kenzie has had her share the last few days, too. Most notable would have to be late this afternoon, though. Her car wouldn't start when she left the grocery store. I drove there, hooked up the jumper cables, and we went to work. No luck. When we finally decided to wait till tomorrow to take the battery out and get it tested, she was already hurting. By the time we got home, her neck and shoulders were stiff, her back hurt more than usual, and her bad knee was giving her a noticeable limp.
         When her knees get into this, I'm always relieved by the fact that our basement staircase has handrails on BOTH sides. I've used them in both directions myself. Like crutches to lessen the load on my knees going down, and as a means of helping pull myself back UP, when I'm not sure the legs will handle that job without being painful, especially the knees. And with her limp tonight, I was glad she had both rails to use for safety in case that knee gave out as she went down the stairs.
         I'm going to bed after I post this, but she'll likely wait another hour or so, tired as she is. Because she's hoping some of her pain will diminish before she comes to bed because she knows it will grow in intensity again once she lays down. So for her, the only way to minimize the pain for sleeping is to get it as low as possible before laying down.
         Swell. Now my arms are feeling tight, too, and my back hurts. I better get to bed before it decides to show me another new place where I can hurt. I'll push up with the arms of this chair to minimize the load and the pain on my legs, and head for the bed. See you all soon!