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Fibromyalgia
Symptom Management - The Importance of Pacing
Fibromyalgia is known for its disabling symptoms of
widespread chronic pain and fatigue. If you have Fibromyalgia, then you know how severe these
symptoms can be. However, the severity of your symptoms may vary greatly over
time. Some days you feel okay, others you don’t.
Here
is an effective strategy to help manage your symptoms so you have more good
days than bad, and you may also find your bad days are more manageable.
Striking this ‘balance’ is the goal of good symptom management.
A
program of fibromyalgia symptom management should always
include an element of “pacing”. This is extremely helpful in managing both pain and fatigue and is probably the single hardest thing
you will need to learn how to do!
Pacing
doesn’t mean waiting until you are worn out to stop what you are doing. It
means setting a schedule of activity and rest. Sometimes only a few minutes
each. Then you gradually increase your activity until you find the right
balance between activity and rest. Most importantly, you do this for everything
you do, even when you feel well.
Now,
be honest. When you have a good day what do you do? You run around the house
trying to catch up on all the housework. You stay a little extra longer at work
to finish up that project. You go out with your family for a whole day in the
park. Or maybe a big shopping trip. You just plain overdo it! Then what
happens? You CRASH BIG TIME, right? You spend the next few days in bed or on a
strictly reduced schedule.
STOP!
This is not the way to manage your symptoms. Experts agree that learning to
pace your activities by alternating between periods of rest and activity is the
proper way. Now, this doesn’t mean just when you are feeling poorly. The key to
this strategy is to pace yourself when you are feeling good! This way you won’t
cause a flare-up by doing too much.
So
how do you do this? Here are some basics you can implement today and improve your fibromyalgia symptom management
through pacing.
a. Start Using a Stopwatch or Timer. Learn
to pace your activities by the clock. To start, set your timer for five minutes
or longer if you think you can do the activity that long. When the timer rings
it’s time to change positions or rest. You can gradually increase the intervals
of activity and rest as you learn what your endurance level is.
b. Change positions: If you are sitting,
stand for a few minutes and vice versa.
c. Stretch: At least twice an hour, do a
little mild stretching. People with fibromyalgia
need to be cautious about overdoing it with stretching. By this I mean
“intensity” rather than frequency. Our muscles respond to extreme stretching by
contracting even more. The way to avoid this is to stretch mildly – just until
you feel the muscle extend. Easy does it is best. Ask your doctor or
physiotherapist to recommend some good stretching exercises. (You can do a lot
of stretching while sitting.)
d. Set A Schedule: Plan out your
activities for the next week. Don’t overbook your schedule. Plan time for rest,
personal time, family time, as well as work – if you are still working.
Remember, your schedule doesn’t have to be written in stone. You can always
change it. Now that you have a schedule, try to stick to it. Some people find
it best to make a schedule one day at a time. In this case, it may be best to
create your schedule the night before or first thing in the morning.
e. Prioritize: You may find your schedule
was too much to follow. Don’t despair! This is a learning opportunity. Make a
list of the things you want to accomplish and assign each task a number
according to its importance. Then, when you make your schedule you can spread
the tasks out over time. Don’t try to do all the important tasks all at once.
Also, don’t put too many strenuous tasks together. Plan for rest breaks.
Remember, you’re pacing yourself.
f. Split tasks into smaller bits: Do you
have to wash all the dishes at once? Do you have to put them all away right
after washing? Same with vacuuming. Instead of doing the whole house, do one
room each day! Learning to split these jobs up into smaller chunks is an
important part of pacing.
g. Learn to Delegate: This can be really
challenging for some of you. Asking for help is not always easy. But for many
people with fibro, it’s a necessary part of fibromyalgia symptom management. Try to enlist the help of family
members. This might cause some friction at first, so it is vital that you first
explain why you need their help. Get some information on Fibromyalgia and print out some copies to hand out. Then go
through it together. Once they more fully understand the situation, they may be
more willing to help.
h. Learn to say NO: This is tough to do, I
know. We often feel bad when we have to refuse someone’s request. An easy way
to say “no” gracefully is “I’m sorry, but my schedule is really full right now.
I don’t like to say yes and then not be able to fulfil my obligation and let
you down.” They’ll understand that your refusal is partly because you don’t
want to disappoint them and it’s not against them personally.
Some of
you may be asking, “Well how can I pace myself at work?” Granted, your boss may
not like you taking a 5-minute break for every 5 minutes you work! It may just
be that your symptoms are so severe you might have to reduce your work schedule
or maybe even stop working all together! This can be a very difficult decision.
You may
want to consider working from home as an alternative. Some employers now offer
this option. As well, the Internet provides you with many work from home
opportunities. This is not for everybody. You do need some computer skills and
the self-discipline to stick with it. Some of you may not even be well enough
to work from home. But it could be something to work towards. Learn to pace
yourself using the strategies outlined above. You may just find you can handle
one or two hours of work at your computer each day.
However,
if you must work outside the home, then planning your pacing schedule and using
the above strategies becomes even more important. You will definitely need to
delegate more, learn to say “No” to many things, and not overcrowd your
schedule.
Managing your symptoms of fibromyalgia through pacing is
not always easy, but if done properly you will find that you will actually
reduce the amount of “down” time and get more done.
Remember…easy
does it!
For
more topics about fibromyalgia
symptom management, watch these 2 videos:
This
article is from the Get Your Health Back – Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Freedom.
It consists of a strategy filled with guides on sleep, pain, depression,
anxiety, diet, exercise and fitness plans, diet plans and packed with 369
healthy and delicious recipes
To
find out more about this program, visit the website - Get Your Health Back – Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Freedom
