Is living in a warm climate better than the Northeast?

Hi, I am new to the site. Is living in the North East the worse place to live for Fibro? I have been told this disease is linked to my 2 cases of intense Lyme disease. The weather in the North East seems to make it even worse. Is this truly the case, or does it just seem that way? What natural remedies have you all found? I feel like a petri dish experiment for my Rhuematologist. The Nuvigil/Ultraset combo works, but I would rather not do this. My family does not understand why I don't get anything done. My kids think I am stupid. How have you all explained this relatively newly understood condition and has anyone else experienced this?

Hi, and welcome! I lived in the Cleveland, Ohio area for years and moved to Florida. I am much better in Florida but, as Joy just said, there are ups and downs. We do get the storms in the afternoon in the summer months so I do hurt more then but the vast majority of the time I am much better than I was in the frozen north.

I use ibuprofen with food, Tylenol, magnesium malate, vitamin D3, and a muscle relaxer to help me be in control of my pain.

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum. There are good links about fibro and you will learn a lot there. There are links about the supplements I just mentioned and how they work in the body. All of Fibro 101 is good so do check it out.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you. Hope to hear more from you soon.

Sherrine

I'm from Australia and trust me, both extremes can "put paid to you" !! Thankfully where I live (Sydney) doesn't get the horrific extremes that other centres get but you can still suffer, summer and winter.

If the climate is CONCLUSIVELY impairing some key functions (respiratory/mobility) then maybe some other solution needs to be investigated.

Georgia near the mountains has been the best for me. I've lived all over GA.
The summers are milder and not as humid as many areas. The air is purer for me.

I have trouble with humidity in the summer, but also have trouble with storms in the winter (any lows tracking West to East, but oddly enough, not South to North, so Nor'easters don't bother me at all). Any strong barometric drop causes me to flare (pain/stiffness/headache), but winter is worse than summer because the systems seem to move more slowly. Extreme changes, like MrsFish said, seem to be worse than a single season or temperature.

At least now that I'm a teacher, often when we have huge snowstorms and I'm flaring, I'm also off from work. Happened a lot this year!

When I retire, I told DH I want to move to San Diego...72 and sunny year-round :)

We lived in Washington and my Fibro was terrible. In moving by the time we got to Kansas, the pain lessened. We have now been in Durant, OK since last JUly. I sleep better and in less pain. I have taken, per an article, sitting in sun 15 mins a day

I moved to the Tampa, Fla. area 2 years ago from Iowa. Yes, it is much better living here. My fibro pain is better.

I developed a problem with heat in my 40's that would naturally be associated with menopause. I had some sweating and such. However, I never experienced the usual menopausal symptoms. Just one day in my 50's I had my last period. But since then, the sweating got worse and this feeling that I was "baking" when I was in the heat outside or indoors was just more than I could deal with. I would take cold showers and stand in front of the air conditioner, lay in bed under the fan and have ice packs on me. The bad part is that the more I felt like I was baking from the inside out, the worse my pain became and I also felt nauseous. My blood pressure also went up. I had lived in Florida all my life. I was born in central Florida, moved to the panhandle as a teenager, met my husband there, married and had our first child there. We eventually moved back to my hometown in central Florida where we remained and raised our family. We just moved to New England this last fall and I can't tell you the relief I am feeling. I literally thought I was going to die in the heat of Florida. Everyone is different with Fibro. Most people are affected by the cold weather, and that would make sense if it affects your joints. For some reason, my muscles are more affected. In fact, my Rheumatologist treated me for MS for awhile because I had the symptoms and my B12 was in the basement. The medication she gave me, Baclofen, gave me hallucinations, so I asked to be taken off. I have dizzy spells, I have headaches, I definitely have what is known as Fibro fog, I am not able to walk as steady as I used to and have to take stairs slowly going up and one at a time going down, side ways. I have random leg pains, ankle pains and burning for no reasons. Very painful. Facet pain the Rheumatologist calls it. I no longer work after 41 years. So, the short answer is that I am a strange case in the fact that heat is my enemy, cold is my friend. And, I love New England. Just beautiful.

I lived in North Texas for eleven years, Dallas Fort Worth to be exact. For my fibro it was the pits. It's hot as blazes, has extreme weather changes that bring on muscle pain and spasms, and at times can also be arrid and cool, and lets not forget the ice storms and tornadoes those are freakin awesome too. LOL.

My fibro likes a temp of about 80-84 with moderate humidity. I finally broke down and moved home to Louisiana. My arthritis is worse here, but my fibro is WAY better. Some days I often wonder if I have it at all, and then a flare happens to remind me that yes.. it is not a figment of my imagination.

I also do Very well in Colorado, during the summer. Have not even dared to go in winter. That's just pushing my luck.

So If I had a choice it would be Colorado Springs in the summer months, and Louisiana during winter. ahh. heaven.

I live in the northeast too. Got lyme, fibro and mold issues. I do believe that mold can be a big factor, in this illness depending on your genetics and detox pathways. If you have a leaky basement, then I would check for mold. Proper remediation is key, it's made a difference for me. For weather, I like sunny and 75. The extremes bother me.