Sensitivities

An interesting characteristic of people with fibromyalgia is that they are often bothered by a myriad of things that don’t generally bother other people, things like florescent lights, noises, chemical odors, tags in their clothing, etc.

These sensitivities relate to the five senses, which are sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. In my own case, I’ve established in previous blogs that I am sensitive to smells such as gasoline, perfume, etc. and that I am sensitive to touch such as a seatbelt. I don’t seem to be bothered by lights or sounds. Others with fibromyalgia are. I’ve known people with fibromyalgia who are bothered by buzzing sounds and flashing lights.

Sometimes people with fibromyalgia don’t know for sure what triggers their sensitivity. One fibro-friend complains that every time she goes shopping, she experiences chest pain. She says that when she starts going through clothing on the racks the pain kicks in. Is it the motion? Is it chemicals in the clothing? We’ve never figured it out.

These days, my pain is pretty much under control, but all it takes to upset my physical well-being is a chemical floating in the air. Since that is the case, I very much avoid what I call being “a captive” anywhere. What do I mean by being a captive? I am a captive on an airplane. The seats are all assigned. If the woman sitting next to me is wearing an offensive perfume, I’ll be sick. On a plane, I’ll have to suffer the exposure for some duration of time, and I’ll be sick even after the exposure ends. Yes, I can ask to change seats. But how big is the plane and how strong is the perfume? Changing seats might not help.

You should be able to control your home environment. If the lights bother you, shut them off. If the noise of the fan bothers you, get rid of the fan.

If you work, you are pretty much a captive in that environment. Whether you can modify your environment there is questionable. Only you can decide what to do and how far to take things.

Even though many people share your diagnosis of fibromyalgia, your specific list of symptoms and sensitivities are probably fairly unique to you. You need to determine what things bother you and how to avoid them.

Just like an allergy, you need to avoid the things you are sensitive to. If you spent time exposed to those things, it is a withdrawal from your lifestyle bank account and you will experience it in your body as pain. If you avoid those things, it leaves your lifestyle bank account intact, and you will continue to feel at least as good as you did before.