I am fibro flaring bad. I have severe allodynia pain on my back right now. I have a wicked migraine. And my fibromyalgia decided to join in with a massive Flare up. No reason at all for it, just a pain on pain flare. What are the types of Flares we have? I will tell you.
The ‘why did I even do that’ Flare
You know this Flare. You maybe were doing something innocuous as household chores or lawn work. And then… why not to More. You feel fine, am I right? So you push on and hell yeah stuff gets done! Bravo! You feel productive and it is great you got way more done than usual. You painted the whole house in a Day! But you are very sore. Your muscles are weak and hurt in so many places. And the next day? Everywhere hurts so much. And for the next week… pain.
The ‘I slept too long’ Flare
You know you haven’t had any good sleep all week long. And maybe you work so you couldn’t get a good nights rest. And that insomnia is dragging you down with epic fatigue levels. So on the weekend you crash and you sleep 12 hours. But when you get up you hurt in your knees, your hips, your shoulders, you lower back… it is the you were laying down too long Flare.
It is the ‘what did I even Do’ fibromyalgia Flare
You did nothing. The weather didn’t change. You slept normally. Nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe Saturn is in Retrograde. Who knows. But you have a Flare. Maybe for days and days. But who knows the cause. Maybe stress? Maybe you have a cold? We can never know on this one. It is a mystery Flare.
The ‘weather’ Flare
Studies have shown it isn’t the weather but we know it is the weather Flare. Storm rolls in and you feel it.
The ‘Flare Flare’
This is when all comorbid pain hits you at once. So you have a migraine, a fibromyalgia flare and severe allodynia flaring from FM all at the same time. That is my Flare right now. It is the pain on pain Flare. Could be any comorbid pain condition suddenly getting worse at the precise time you are suddenly Flaring with the FM.
It is the ‘I did it because I wanted to damn well do it’ Flare
This Flare is one we know is coming. We want to do something whether it is go on vacation or bowling or whatever it is you Want to do and Know it will cause a Flare, but you damn well want to do it. Often we do such things on days we know there will be recovery time. We plan these Flares. We are willing to suffer the consequences for the thing we want to do.
It is the ‘I got really stressed’ Flare
This one happens at the worst time. You are in a really stressful situation, stressful time in your life… stuff is happening you have to deal with. Things are difficult to handle. And Bam Flare added to all that stress. Also happens with emotional stress.
What flare happens to you often?
Further reading:
The fire inside: What triggers Flares
Tips for when you are in the Flare
Monday Manual: Recommendations for a Flare (Humor)
Brainless Blogger 
I typically suffer from the “why did I even do that” flare and the “i did it because i wanted to”
Right now I’m “why did I even do that.” I did a little rearranging in my room….not all at once but a little bit at a time and I’m paying for it now. 😦
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I am totally with you on those. Those are my big ones too. Funny thing is we don’t always know where the Limit Is. So then we cross it without even knowing.
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Exactly. It’s like, “Okay I’ll do this much.” and then we get through it and think “oh I’m still feeling good” not realizing that we’ll feel the pain later. UGH!!!
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I’m sorry you’re struggling so much at the moment. I can empathise with the ups and downs of fibro, and I found this such interesting reading as I’d never really thought of the different types of flare before. Definitely feeling the weather flare & “what did I even do” flare!! xx
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Oh that ‘what did I even do’ flare drives me nuts! Comes out of nowhere and I am like but I didn’t Do anything.
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I’m a frequent flier of the because I wanted to and did too much flairs. I also get these fatigue/exhaustion flairs and I seriously wonder if I have the flu but the only symptom I have is the fatigue. My body says nope your not leaving your bed this week. They always last about 5 days and for no apparent reason.
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Oh yeah fatigue can definitely flare as well!
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I love your descriptions of flare types. So sorry to hear you’re flaring bad.
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Glad you liked it! Yeah, just a bad week I guess, for whatever random reason.
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I can relate to several of those flares, it is not so bad when you have an I did it because I wanted to one because at least you had some pleasure first. The weather ones are annoying because they are not even consistent, sometimes storm clouds bring flares, other times they don’t! The random out of the blue ones are just plain sickening. But never the less we suck it up and endure. Great post.
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Yeah, when you do something and know we will flare, at least we get to do something we want… and know the flare is coming! The random ones are always such a surprise and you just have no idea why
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I also have the “I can’t help it but I hád to do it”-flares. Like doing stuff for the kids, with the kids or something.
There are just things that have to be done.
I hate the weatherflares. I live in the Netherlands and we hardly ever have the same weather for weeks. It’s rain and wind most of the time and that hurts. But than it changes and it hurts. And now it is cold and it hurts. I love going places with warm weather.
I also have trouble with the “I’ve been sitting in one position for too long (half an hour will do) and now I can’t get up”-flares.
I hate it when you ‘plan’ your flair and it hits you to early or harder than you planned. When you just have a few busy days but can rest in the weekend and the migraine hits you on thursday. It shouldn’t. This way you never get things done.
Anyway, I enjoyed your blog 🙂
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Oh, yes, planning flares can be tricky. They can come early and last longer than we anticipated for sure. Glad you liked the post.
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Thank You for the list 🙂
I usually have the “I’m going to do it and suffer the consequences later” flare 🙂
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I only do that one if I have the recovery time. lol
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😀 Yeah… I don’t think that far ahead most of the time lol 🙂
My friends wish I did because they always hear about the consequences, mostly because I can’t do anything but sit there an txt lol 🙂
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Yeah, but I guess there is always pain consequences and we don’t want to just miss out all the time, eh? No fun in that!
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Yup 🤗
I’m trying to start my own business and hang out with friends. Unfortunately both of those have pain consequences. But I’m not going to stop 🙂
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Starting your own business has to be stressful. But once you get going on it it will be much better.
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That’s what I’m hoping 🙂
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Omg… Yesss. These are the flares. Actually yesterday I did the to much household chores and today I’m living in that flare. With total regret I mite add. Blaaa So when I read this it really hit home for me. Thank you for posting. Such little things like relating to a chronic sufferer can lift your spirit. And we all need every bit we can get. Gentle hugs.
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Yeah I’m flaring too, but more of a weather thing I think. Or maybe random. Who even knows sometimes!
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Right!
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These are definitely the types of flares I seem to cycle through. Very interesting read!
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Thanks!
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I haven’t been diagnosed because I’m stubborn but my sisters and Mom all have. This speaks to me so well. We moved 3 weeks ago then my parents came to visit and I’m feeling all the flares. I’ve done too much. Slept too much. Had weird weather. Had major stress. Had fun and done nothing too. Now I’ve got a migraine and I’m so sore that I feel sick 😷
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I feel you. I just aborted a migraine but the rest of me sucks right now.
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