I.C.O.F.U.

That sounds bad.  It's not what you think, it stands for in case of  flare up.  What's a flare up?  It's what it sounds like; your pain flare's up.  :)  It's brought on by the weather, extra stress, a sickness, or hey, for no reason whatsoever, maybe your body just thought it was time for one.

Here's what to do in case of an emergency:

-Grab that dang "Lucy!"  (See yesterday's entry.)  Take the medications you've been prescribed for pain.  You have 'em for a reason.  No need to suffer.

-If you don't have a heating blanket, you best be investin'!  Heat is amazing for inflammation and feels oh so good.

-Taking a seriously hot bath (whether you have a heating blanket or not!) helps a lot.  A bath bomb will most definitely help with the stress it's brought on, too.  Epsom salt helps to pull toxins out of the body and helps sore muscles, that one's always good and really cheap.

-If you have rice packs, or any heating packs, use them!  They'll be your best friends.

-Have you heard of BioFreeze?  It's an all natural version of IcyHot.  So much better, though.  Works better and it's all natural.  It's a combination of Menthol and Arnica (a natural pain killer.)  Google it, that stuff works really well on me.

-Avoid caffeine, sugar, coffee, tea or chocolate.  I know it sounds like these could be comfort foods, but it's one of the worst things you could do for Fibro, let alone a flare up.  These are stimulants and yeah, they stimulate an already pissed off body. DO make sure you're drinking enough water.  Dehydration makes everything worse and people with Fibro tend to not drink enough as it is.  

-Try to distract your mind.  I know that sounds impossible, but try.  I started this blog because of a bad flare up I was having.  I thought maybe if I wrote about the pain it would help, it did.  Don't do anything too aggressive, we're trying to eliminate pain here.  Maybe take up writing like you've always wanted to.  It's winter now, maybe knitting?

-Get all the help you can.  Don't do the dishes.  Don't clean up the mess in the bathroom.  Trying to fight through a flare up will only make it worse.  Ask for help from a spouse, friend, parent, sibling, neighbor, any resources you have, use 'em.  Too embarrassing?  Ok, let it sit there.  It's just dirty dishes.  They can wait until you're feeling sort of better again.

-Find comfort in any form you can.  Yes, I mean whip out those fuzzy socks, that heating blanket and your "I don't function without coffee" pajamas.  Whine to someone, write about it.  Talking or writing about it helps.

-Romeo and Juliet.  'Nuff said.

-Sleep/rest as much as you can.  This probably isn't realistic for any of us.  Most of us work or have kids.  I have four kids ages 6, 4, 3 and 16 months.  So it's mostly, "she did this!"  "He hit me."  "Fill up my sippy."  "I'm hungry."  It never ends.  I never sit down.  I did say try.  Just make sure you're getting enough sleep every night.  I read a study saying people with Fibro actually need 10-12 hours of sleep a night.  I know that's how much a newborn sleeps,  but really, sleep is great for our old bodies and you know EXACTLY what lack of sleep does to us.  Peeps need not fear a zombie apocalypse when we're not sleeping enough.  

-Above all, relax.  "This too shall pass."  Flare ups come and go.  Deal with them in the best possible ways you can.  DO NOT BEAT YOURSELF UP!!!  Don't make me beat you over the head.  If you had control over your body, you wouldn't feel any pain.  You do feel pain, there's nothing you can do about it, so why in the heck make yourself feel guilty on top of it all?  That will take longer for a flare up to dissipate.  Don't do it.  Guilt is NOT invited to this little party we're havin' here!  

Couldn't live without my heating blanket!