Dos and Don’ts of Living With Fibromyalgia Pain
Fibromyalgia is defined by lasting pain throughout your body, which is often accompanied by tenderness in your muscles, joints, and other soft tissues. The causes of fibromyalgia aren’t exactly clear, although in some cases it may be linked to physical or emotional trauma.
It’s difficult to come up with one-size-fits-all advice for dealing with fibromyalgia pain and fatigue, since the condition affects everyone differently. “Some people may be working 80 hours a week, while other people can’t function at all. And it’s all under the fibromyalgia title,” says Daniel Arkfeld, MD, DDS, a rheumatologist at Keck Medicine of USC at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
Still, there are some widely applicable nuggets of advice for living with fibromyalgia — tips that can help you reduce or distract from pain and fatigue, and make the most of the energy you have. Here are some of those rules for fibromyalgia self-care.
Do Listen to Your Body
People with fibromyalgia may not have the same ability to get through routine daily tasks before fatigue sets in — especially if fibromyalgia pain is also getting in the way.
Although it’s not exactly scientific, Dr. Arkfeld says that in the case of someone with fibromyalgia, you can think of energy as a resource that’s easily exhausted. “If they have 10 energy boxes a day, and they are being asked to use 20 energy boxes, they’re going to be chronically fatigued,” he says.
That’s why it’s important to take note of how your body feels, rather than ignore signs that fatigue is setting in — which may be accompanied by symptoms like greater pain throughout your body, difficulty concentrating, or a worsening mood.
Don’t Try to Muscle Through
Whatever level of fibromyalgia pain you experience, it isn’t necessarily something you have to just live with.
“There are a lot of things that can be done for pain, depending on what’s causing it,” says Arkfeld, pointing to medications, high-quality sleep, and correcting hormone or nutrient deficiencies as areas that can be beneficial.
If you try to push through your fibromyalgia pain rather than addressing and treating it, you may end up making the pain and fatigue worse, Arkfeld says. Instead, try to develop a self-care program with the goal of reducing pain and fatigue, and don’t push yourself too hard when your body is telling you not to.
Do Use the Energy You Have
For someone with fibromyalgia, knowing when you’re likely to have the most energy and the least pain — such as earlier in the day for some people — can help you plan out your activities and get things done. That can also mean doing structured exercise on days, or at times of the day, when your energy level is relatively high.
“Fatigue requires not overdoing it, but not underdoing it,” says Arkfeld, since the more active you are when you have the ability to be, the more energy you’re likely to have in general. Plus you’ll feel better about getting things done, which can boost your mental health — something that’s especially important in the context of fibromyalgia.
Don’t Ignore Your Mental Health
Arkfeld also notes that many people with fibromyalgia are especially sensitive to side effects of antidepressants, even at what are considered to be low starting doses of some drugs — so it’s important to see a mental health provider who is familiar with fibromyalgia.
Do Get Enough Sleep
Sleep can be an especially difficult area for people with fibromyalgia, since poor sleep can be both a cause and an effect of fibromyalgia pain.
“In deep sleep, you release a lot of neurochemicals,” says Arkfeld, which are highly beneficial in reducing pain and fatigue. And for many people with fibromyalgia, “Interrupted sleep seems to aggravate pain quite a bit.”
To increase the odds of getting a good night’s sleep, Arkfeld suggests reducing stimulating activities — including use of electronic devices — before your bedtime, and sticking to a regular sleep schedule.
Do Exercise With Caution
Physical activity is important for people with fibromyalgia, but it’s just as important to be measured and realistic about your capabilities, says Arkfeld. “You have to slowly increase your activities, because if you do too much, you’re just going to flare and end up taking steps backward.”
Do Seek Help and Support
When you have fibromyalgia, you should expect a lot out of your relationship with your doctor, says Arkfeld. “Even though you might look really healthy, when you go under the surface, there are a lot of issues,” he says, when it comes to levels of various hormones and antibodies (immune system proteins).
For example, Arkfeld says, many of his patients with fibromyalgia also have low thyroid hormone levels — but it’s not always clear early on when such tests are warranted. It’s important that your doctor take the time to obtain a complete medical history from you and perform a thorough exam to arrive at a diagnosis and determine what additional testing might be helpful.
But according to Arkfeld, “You have to really engage the patients, get to know them, build trust. And that can take months.”
It’s also ideal when you can lean on friends or family members for support, and let them know what you’re experiencing with fibromyalgia pain and fatigue — symptoms they probably can’t see and may not know about in the moment. “At home, if the spouse or family are supportive, it can be very helpful,” says Arkfeld.
The Takeaway
Fibromyalgia pain and fatigue can range from a nuisance to crushing symptoms that make everyday activities difficult. Fibromyalgia self-care can help ease your symptom burden, which means listening to your body, respecting your limits, and getting the right amount of sleep and physical activity. Talk to your doctor about tests and potential treatments that may help you address pain and fatigue.
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Sources
- Fibromyalgia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 25, 2022.
- Liu HY et al. Brain Morphometry Changes With Fatigue Severity in Fibromyalgia. Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. June 28, 2023.
- Fibromyalgia. Stanford Medicine.
- Cojocaru CM et al. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Medicine and Pharmacy Reports. January 29, 2024.
- Yang J et al. The Safety and Efficacy of Low-Dose Naltrexone in Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review. Journal of Pain Research. March 21, 2023.
- Bidonde J et al. Aerobic Exercise Training for Adults With Fibromyalgia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. June 21, 2017.
- Estévez-López F et al. Effectiveness of Exercise on Fatigue and Sleep Quality in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. July 25, 2020.
Samir Dalvi, MD
Medical Reviewer
Samir Dalvi, MD, is a board-certified rheumatologist. He has over 14 years of experience in caring for patients with rheumatologic diseases, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus, and gout.
Quinn Phillips
Author
A freelance health writer and editor based in Wisconsin, Quinn Phillips has a degree in government from Harvard University. He writes on a variety of topics, but is especially interested in the intersection of health and public policy. Phillips has written for various publications and websites, such as Diabetes Self-Management, Practical Diabetology, and Gluten-Free Living, among others.