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My clothing and sheets hurt me, is this normal?

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 1/20/2016 6:07 PM (GMT 0)
I am new here and am wondering why my clothing hurts me...I cannot wear a normal bra, jeans or shirts that rub on my skin as it is extremely painful, especially straps and seams. Now my bottom flannel sheet has started to pill and these tiny pills feel like little rocks boring into my skin. My husband thinks that I have lost my mind. I am sitting in a chair with pillows under me and behind me as the upholstered cushions feel too uncomfortable. My skin on my thighs, upper arms and upper back feel all prickly and painful off and on throughout the day. My vision has changed three times since November and I have to alternate between my new glasses and my old glasses or just not use any while reading. My neck hurts, my left foot and toes get weird burning pains as well as my right arm below my elbow. I think I am losing it.....is this all fibromyalgia?
Posted 1/20/2016 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Downeaster, and welcome! No, you are not crazy. Quite a few on this forum have this problem also. I don't but I do cut tags out of my clothes since they bother me. I sleep on very soft sheets which are put over a pillow top mattress that is topped with a foam egg crate and also a fiber bed. A fiber bed is like a feather bed but you can wash it and don't have to deal with feathers poking you. If I'm hugged hard it really hurts me, too.

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum. There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there. Good starting links would be Symptoms, What Else Could It Be, and A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalga. You just might see yourself there. All of Fibro 101 is good so do read it. I think it will answer many of your thoughts and questions.

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
Posted 1/20/2016 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
I second Sherrine. We can't tell you if it's fibro or not, but many of us who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia have a lot of trouble with the same issues. I have to buy super soft sheets too. I wear my socks and underwear inside out to get the seams away from my skin. I can only wear elastic waistbands, and finding a new bra is torture. I've been looking for a few years and still can't find any new ones I can stand. Don't get me started on shoes. rolleyes

It's very typical for people with fibro to have sensitivities to touch and pressure. Nope, you aren't crazy.
Posted 1/20/2016 7:44 PM (GMT 0)
I think we are a bunch of princes and princesses. As in The Princess and the Pea ....X 50.
Posted 1/20/2016 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
Are you on anything like Lyrica or gabapentin?

They calm the nerves down for us so we're not so tender. I take gabapentin which really has helped me.
Posted 1/21/2016 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there! I too have cut all the tags out of my clothing. A tiny almost invisible to the naked eye, speck of something on the bottom sheet feels like a shard of glass. Thankfully I am small chested so I don't wear a bra unless I am greeting the Queen of England or attending some other formal event. I have to buy shoes will a minimal amount of seams...Aerosoles work most of the time. I can't wear a headband or barrette...and to my husband's chagrin, I finally had my hair cut very short because the weight of it gave me a headache.

All of this because of skin sensitivity.

Donna
Posted 1/21/2016 9:19 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much everyone for your replies; they are very helpful. My optometrist is the one that is convinced that I have fibromyalgia and has written a letter to my PCP, now I'm waiting on her as my vision can't be properly taken care of until I have a diagnosis and treatment. I have also recently started wearing diabetic socks - loose white cotton with flat seams and no tight elastic - also foam padded slippers and all cotton leisure bras, I feel as if I have aged 20 years in just three months!
Posted 1/26/2016 11:12 AM (GMT 0)
Hello downeaster. It sounds like you have a bit more skin pain than me. My skin patches of pain are not as big as yours. (so far.) I hope yours settles down soon. It sounds miserable.
Posted 1/26/2016 11:32 AM (GMT 0)
A form of Paresthesia. Fibro is a central nervous sensitization and it can express itself in more than one hundred symptoms. Becoming sensitized to touch is a common form.

I had it so bad coming off a drug I was given for fibro that I could not wear clothes - I lived in a fleece robe for over 6 months.

The good news is if you calm the nervous system down it will go away. When we get disturbing symptoms the concern about them is what keeps them going
Posted 1/26/2016 7:25 PM (GMT 0)
You are new here, and I want to add a disclaimer. There are lots of different opinions here. Many of us don't spend undue time and effort thinking about our symptoms, but they still don't go away. I think about my symptoms only when something is bothering me, and I try to fix it. Dwelling on my symptoms (because I don't) is not what is causing them.
Posted 1/26/2016 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
I totally agree with Austen. I always have symptoms but by focusing on other things or just going about living, the symptoms will fade somewhat in the background but mine have never totally gone away. And if I dwell on the symptoms they do seem worse so I don't dwell on them.

Sherrine
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