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Altitude and flare ups?

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Posted 3/21/2011 9:43 PM (GMT 0)
I live at a high altitude and every time I travel to the city I have to go up and down 7,000 ft of altitude. I am noticing when I do have to do this drive as the driver and then do all my shopping or doctor appointments the flareups of pain increase and hit me hard. I can not avoid the having to get to down at least 2 x a month. I wonder do others suffer from this change in pressure.

Also as a storm approaches and the pressure in the air drops I am hit hard. This week I am near bed ridden as we have been hit with huge feets of snow and more storms coming all week long.

I wondered if a low level or warm area to live in with dry heat would be better for less Fibro attacks.

Or If you live in those dry condtions and low levels, do you still get flares up just as randomly and intense?

Thanks,

My husband wanted me to find out if it is just a high altitude thing or not. We are new to this diagnoses but have lived with it for over a year now and wishing we knew more answers.

I get a new symptom each month and I try not to wear myself out but my stress levels must be shot.

thanks for listening,

<edited to bring font size in line with the rest of the page>

Post Edited By Moderator (Lynnwood) : 12/8/2014 7:17:56 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/21/2011 10:05 PM (GMT 0)
Our local tv station has a doc who was commenting that the pressure drop generally brought in with an average storm is equivalent to about a 300 ft elevation change. Tv doc was kind of gaffawing at the notion of people being effected saying you'd have people having problems all the time if it were true but look at how many people know a storm is coming just like us. And, yes, both my H and I are terribly effected by an impending storm so I would say there is some merit to your question.

I would suggest, tho, you don't discount the drain of driving and all those errands/doc appts. We wear out. My experience with Fibro has been it's not just one thing, it is many. That's why it's so darned hard to figure out. Best of luck to you!
Posted 3/21/2011 10:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you,

Yes the driving alone will knock me out and yet other times if the husband drives I come home tired but not hit with a flare up.

Lately I just order things on Amazon and have it delivered. If only the doctors could be as easy to access.

I can usally start feeling the muscle pains at about 4000 foot marker on the highway. I come home, increase what ever med I can and tell my husband it will be a lazy few days around the house because Momma is hurting.

Thanks for listening
Posted 3/22/2011 5:24 PM (GMT 0)

You aren't crazy.  I spent a few weeks last year at Yellowstone and Glacier, and it was pure torture.  Up and down and up and down and the pressure changes HURT!  Being a flatlander, I had no idea what to expect.  To make matters worse, I didn't think to have my CPAP adjusted for the altitude, so I didn't sleep, either.

My theory is that the human body is a barometer (think about it), so no wonder we are sensitive (fibromites especially!) to changes in the weather.  We have a cold front headed our way and I can sure feel it.

Posted 12/9/2014 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
I know this topic is old, but I'm hoping someone might read it and comment. In April and May of this year I lived at an elevation of about 8500'. I felt the best I'd felt in 4 years. No pain, no fatigue, it was great. I went back to 2000' elevation for about 6 weeks and the pain returned... I'm now living at about 5200' elevation and I'm still dealing with a fair amount of pain. Over the weekend I visited Breckenridge, CO and felt amazing. As I started coming down the hill, I could feel my body hurt more and more as the elevation dropped. I'm wondering if anyone else with Fibro has had positive effects from living or staying in high altitude.

Thanks-
Posted 12/9/2014 12:39 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Find a Cure 4 Me, and welcome! I live in Florida and am practically at sea level and feel sooo much better than when I lived in a higher elevation. I have never lived in extremely high levels of elevation, though.

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.

It also would be good for you to do an introductory post so members will know you have arrived. You might get lost in this older thread.

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 12/9/2014 7:20 PM (GMT 0)
I lived in Louisiana when I was diagnosed, that is at sea level. I now live in Calgary, which is around 4000ft. My pain comes in the same cycles in both places.
Posted 12/9/2014 7:48 PM (GMT 0)
Alison -

Recently, I have been doing college tours with my daughter. I had two that were near mountains and higher elevations. I became very uncomfortable when going through the up and down of the different elevations. My shoulders were brutal and very frustrating. I only remembered this because my daughter had been complaining about popping her ears from the elevation changes (she is one of the people who can't seem to do this) and wishing that she had brought the special earplugs I bought her.

It really makes sense that these things would affect us.
Posted 12/10/2014 12:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, Find a Cure,

Welcome. I guess I'm the opposite of you, I live in Colorado (and almost always have) and I've consistently noticed that I feel better when we travel to sea level. And at our cabin, which is 8500 ft, I have even more pain, more fatigue, and headaches, not to mention motion sickness from getting there ;(

We're all unique.

Debbie
Posted 12/11/2014 12:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Find a Cure,
I know exactly what you mean! I live outside Washington DC, so basically at sea level. We traveled to Colorado Springs twice earlier this year for ~ 2 weeks each trip. I felt sooooooo much better while we were there! If I recall, the area is at ~ 7500 ft, but as you move around the town that goes up and down quite a bit (almost 2000 ft if I recall correctly). But my Fibro pain and fatigue was much better and I was able so much more there.

The flip side is my tremor was much worse. Go figure. The Dr tells me there are proven effective treatments that can help for the tremor, but my fibro is "uncontrolled" as the Drs & nurses put it recently.

Have a blessed day!
Mari
Posted 1/9/2017 9:29 PM (GMT 0)
I also notice my pain increases greatly at LOW altitudes. I am from Colorado and I started experiencing pain when I moved to the Black Sea. Now I live on the west coast of the United States at sea level. Whenever I come back to about 6000 feet I feel much better. It could have something to do with the cold as well...

In my apartments I the Black Sea the electric was cut and I couldn't sleep or hardly get out of bed because of the cold. So I don't know. Colorado also has cleaner air, more sunlight. Could that be a reason people are feeling better there
Posted 1/11/2017 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
The Ups and Downs of it all! LOL
I move around the US pretty frequently and I have noted that it takes time to let your body accquement (sp) to the new pressure.
It's now been scienfically proven that Fibro is a cellular disease that effects the nerves directly and so it would follow any change in atmospheric pressure will cause an immediate flare.
While some people feel great at low pressures they feel awful at high pressures and visa versa. Same goes for going up and down in elevation in any one day period. We just cannot do that well at all, nor can we hide from changes in weather conditions.
Well that's by my vast experience at least.
Many Blessings,
Cherish
Posted 1/12/2017 3:28 AM (GMT 0)
Old post brought back...

Not sure about altitude, but pressure changes with storm systems , i know a lot about.

It even makes me breathe shallowly..

Lots of changes in weather right now..the thing that helps a lot is microcurrent unit ..after i put it on , my breathing steadies, which helps my muscles feel better..its also calming

Lj
Posted 1/12/2017 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
I found in a pain management clinic that my doctor sent me to that cold weather and cold in general causes fibro flair ups. Heat is your best friend in these situations. I sleep with a heated mattres pad set on low during the winter. I have found this to help in lowering the amount of flair ups and pain.
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