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Sleep troubles coming back in the fall..

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 10/23/2008 12:28 AM (GMT 0)
After a restful summer, my old symptoms seem to be coming back. I started taking a pill from VitaminWorld early last summer that all of a sudden cured my horrible problems with sleeping. But, the past few days things have changed.. rapidly. I go to sleep at a reasonable time but wake up feeling like I have not gotten ANY rest whatsoever. This is nothing new to me, but it's surprising that it's suddenly started happening again. Do you think that it has to do with the changing of seasons? Yes, I do have FM and have been suffering from it for many years now. For the last couple days I've been lagging behind HORRIBLY. My family notices I wake up with black circles around my eyes and I feel like I haven't slept at all. I'm only 16 but I feel as if I'm losing my mind. My family thinks I'm just being lazy but I have a lot of trouble concentrating, memorizing, problem solving, and etc. I also have a large problem with low blood sugar, which makes me extremely irritable and will make me so sick that I'll throw up. I'm also male, so I constantly doubt the fact that I actually have FM since it's known to be only in women. Both lupus and FM run in my family.
My main question is just if any of you notice differences in symptoms throughout the different seasons.

Post Edited (probull3t) : 10/22/2008 8:40:09 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/23/2008 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
My problems started when I was about 15. Since you are around that age I think one of the most important things for you to do is sit down with your family and make sure they understand that you aren't being lazy and that you have some serious health issues that really need to be addressed. Especially since FMS runs in your family they should be a little more understanding regarding what you are going through. If you aren't already, you need to be seeing a doctor about your symptoms to find out if it really is FMS and if it is to treat it with medicine other than vitamins.
Posted 10/23/2008 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the reply. My parents are pretty understanding since they know I'm not lying. It's just my siblings that drive my crazy. I was diagnosed with fm after like 2 years of doctor visits. I've tried pretty much everything that all the specialists could think of. Everything from antidepressants, anti-inflammatory, anti-seizure, sleeping pills, muscle relaxants. The results are- they either didn't work at all or I was highly allergic to the drugs. Like with sleeping pills, I would have a huge improvement for sleeping, but I got giant hives in my air ways. I haven't been to the doctor all summer because I've just gotten used to the pain from fm. My main question is just if any of you notice differences in symptoms throughout the different seasons.
Posted 10/23/2008 4:48 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Probull and welcome!

Yes, fibro is mainly a 'woman' disorder but med to get it too. It's probably about 80/20 women to men. And those women are mainly 40 or more but we have a huge number of younger women on here. So...there are statistics but they don't mean much in your case. You have what you have. One day when your siblings get older they may mature with more compassion but until then try to be patient. I'm sure it's very hard to just ignore their remarks but I have faith that you can survive them....and fibro.

The seasons do affect most people with fibro. Most often when weather starts to turn colder the pain starts to build, sleep might not be as good and for some it takes more medication to ease their pain. Even when storms approach I feel a change in pain levels. Maybe it's the barometric pressure, I'm not sure, but yes the seasons make a huge difference to most. People who live in warmer climates feel it's better on their fibro torn bodies and those in colder climates often suffer more. Personally I prefer cooler weather than warmer but then I'm just weird...lol

Do you use any kind of heat on your bed? An electric blanket maybe? Warmth is one of the great aids for fibro. Even those 'rice bags' can work wonders. Ever try one of those. Easy to make...just take an old sock...a CLEAN one...lol... and fill it about 1/2 full of rice. Tie a knot in the open end and you have a rice bag that didn't cost you $40. Warm it in the microwave for a minute or two and apply to the painful area. For me it's my neck and shoulders that are the worst.

And pillows! Lots of them so you can get very comfortable. We need as much sleep as possible and good quality sleep. Sounds like you're quality of sleep isn't so great. That's something you may want to talk to your doc about...maybe a sleep study would help. Just ideas to consider.

If you ever need to chat feel free to email me. My address is in the little envelope under my name. Take care!
Chutz
Posted 10/23/2008 4:49 AM (GMT 0)
Have you been checked for sleep apnea? The other thing you might consider is that teenagers need A LOT more sleep than children or adults. Your body is working overtime finishing growing up and you really do need a lot of rest. That could be part of your problem. If you are in school and staying up doing homework and all the activities that a teen does, you might not be in the bed long enough to get the rest you need.

Hope you feel better soon,
Sue
Posted 10/23/2008 12:04 PM (GMT 0)
I've done the sleep apnea thing. They just said that my brain is still actively going just as much when I'm awake making it so I can't get in a deep sleep. I graduated highschool last year and started taking community college courses until I can go to a university. It's not stressful at all. Heat doesn't work well for me as I probably have arthritis too. Like I said, the whole summer was great for me and even when I started school again I had no problems with sleeping. I went to sleep at 11 pm last night and just woke up at 5 am feeling worse than yesterday. I'm not sure anymore what to do.
Posted 10/23/2008 12:55 PM (GMT 0)

Hi probull and Welcome-

I'm new to fibro but learning fast that weather affects me. I live in MN and the cool weather is already making my pain worse. Can't imagine what the winter will be like! It's getting dark earlier and I want to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. If I wake up at 5, I make myself rest in bed till 6.

I know it's hard to feel bad after you had a good summer- I hope it gets better for you again! In the meantime just do the best you can each day and the group will be here for you also.

Let us know how you are doing- GamJill

Posted 10/23/2008 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
Look for melatonin in the Health food stores, it's supposed to help with sleep. It's a supplement, try maybe Hot Cocoa made with warm milk at bedtime.
just a suggestion. Are you worried or bothered at night? Worries and unfinished business can keep you awake as well. So maybe mediation and relaxing
tapes might help. Other than that, I wish I could help...
Soft Hugz and keep us posted.........
Posted 10/23/2008 3:14 PM (GMT 0)
How about trying out a bright light? I got mine from Apollo, which is a pretty reputable company. Do a search on SAD (seasonal affective disorder), and see if you might have that. Using the bright light helps many people with SAD.
I also believe that we too are animals, and our bodies sense when winter is coming, and thinks it should eat more and slow down. But in today's modern world, we completely ignore what nature and our bodies try to tell us.
Good luck to you.
Posted 10/23/2008 8:45 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the responses. Yes, I do take melatonin from VitaminWorld. It helped all last summer except for now. See, the trouble for me isn't falling asleep, it's getting a full night's sleep. I keep going to sleep at night and then bright and early I'll wake up. I normally need to sleep a lot longer than that to feel rested. I'll check out the SAD thing.
Also something I've noticed since it's been getting colder outside, is when I wake up in the morning and go outside, I'll instantly get a migraine the second I open the door. I know it's the weather that's making this happen. I just wish there was an easy fix to this..
Posted 10/23/2008 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
I've taken a look into the SAD thing and it's interesting, but I don't think that's what's wrong with me.
Posted 10/23/2008 9:47 PM (GMT 0)
The cold weather effects me totally different than the warm weather. When I get hot, my legs itch and feel like I have fire ants biting them. When I'm cold, my legs ache and feel like I'm having growing pains.
I wonder if the the trouble with you getting migraines is from tensing the neck muscles. Do you have trouble with TMJ? This tends to cause me to have a headache daily and a migraine a couple of times a month.
I'm pretty impressed that you are finished with high school and going to college. It must be very hard for you to HAVE to get up and go to do something that requires you to think. I have a LOT of trouble in the thinking department! lol Keep up the good work! You have a lot to be proud of yourself for!

 

 

added: I personally have sleep problems ALL the time!!

Posted 10/24/2008 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
Once in a while I'll wake up with a neck problem, but no I don't think that's it. As for the weather effects, I feel the same way as you when it's hot and cold.
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