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How can you tell if you're about to have a flare up?

By HERWriter Guide September 2, 2010 - 1:30pm

Like the tell-tale tingle of a cold sore attack or the sore throat and achy muscles signify the flu may be about to strike - many with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have their functional days. At other times they may have days or weeks where they are literally bed ridden or close to it.

What tells you this may be about to happen? Are there signs you now recognize that signal your CFS is going to get a lot worse?

~Susan

By HERWriter September 27, 2010 - 2:10pm

Susan,

These symptoms are also the ones that are liable to show up any day that I overdo things. In those instances, it's not so much scarey as it gives me a heads-up that it's time to slow down. Stop what I was doing. Take a break. Maybe eat something, or lay down for awhile. Break up the remainder of the day, change plans, cancel appointments.

If I do that quickly and thoroughly enough, I can avert going on to the big flare. So in those cases, the symptoms are doing me a favour, you might say. They are warning me that energy is getting low and I need to re-charge.

If though I haven't been able to gear down enough, and the symptoms are still there, still strong, and if they are showing up more and more over say a few days no matter how I clear out my schedule ... then I do get a feeling of impending doom, as I could be looking at something very unpleasant and possibly lasting weeks or months ... and there's no way to know ahead of time.

This happened last fall and then again last winter. But not since then, and so far so good this year. Often by early September I have had serious downturns but it doesn't seem to be happening.

Yeah, I will deal with a sense of panic. Of fear and dread. And be so angry! Because generally it's happened while I'm really into something and now, it gets dead-ended. Makes me furious when it happens.

All you can do is get serious about everything you know, all the detox stuff, the diet stuff, the resting, all the stuff you've gotten slack with because you've been doing ok ...

It is pretty awful. I'm fortunate, I don't run into it like I used to. Some folks though live with this all day every day and don't know if it will ever end.

September 27, 2010 - 2:10pm
By HERWriter September 10, 2010 - 9:11pm

Susan,

I'll recognize a particular type of buzzy, vibrating type of sensation in my lower arms and hands. That's where it usually starts. Or sometimes it'll start in my face. My brain will slow down, thoughts get disjointed, and I get disoriented. Talking might be slow and difficult and I may sound out of it. My vision may become fractured and blurry.

I may experience some vertigo, feel clumsy and like I might bump into things. I may be short of breath, feel like gravity is too strong, and may feel like I'm going to fall down. My breath may start coming out in a sort of silent whistle.

These are the main things that are my warning signs.

September 10, 2010 - 9:11pm

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