Seven Embarrassing Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Living with fibromyalgia is more than painful. It is frustrating and often embarrassing. This wretched chronic illness has caused embarrassing moments from the beginning. Today I am sharing seven of my most embarrassing fibromyalgia symptoms.

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Number 1: Fibro Farts

When we hear the word fart, the first thing that often comes to mind is excessive gas.

As I shared in my post Fibro Farts, inflammation can cause excessive and unwanted flatulence.

While unpleasant, there’s another type of fibro farts that are far more embarrassing than an unexpected blast of air from my rear end.

Everybody has gas, but not everyone has brain farts otherwise known as brain/fibro fog.

Brain farts are the worst!

With brain farts I forget simple words.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I could quickly replace the word with a similar one, but instead it’s like my words have been erased from my brain.

I not only forget words, brain farts also cause me to say the exact opposite of what I intended and to speak like Yoda!

Not fun at all, brain fog is!

Number 2: Excessive Sweating

Excessive sweating is so embarrassing.

It can be 55 degrees and for no apparent reason, I will start sweating profusely.

My fashion style is layers so that when the sweat starts pouring I can start removing layers without terrifying those around me.

Number 3: Sensitivity to Touch

I used to be a very touchy feely type of person.

Forget handshakes, I would go in for a hug.

The pain I experience from fibromyalgia can at anytime include one or more of the following pains; nerve, muscle, and joint.

Hugs leave my muscles feeling bruised.

Handshakes make the bones in my hands feel like they are being crushed.

A pat on the back feels like being hit full-force with a baseball bat.

A simple caress down my arm or leg may feel like someone is rubbing them with sandpaper.

How is this pain embarrassing?

No matter how hard I try to hide how much it hurts, my face often gives it away. There are times when I burst into tears or an expression of pain escapes past my lips.

Number 4: Balance Issues

Weebles wobble and never fall down, but this gal wobbles and falls down often!

Thankfully, after making some major changes to my pain management plan and lifestyle, how often I fall has significantly decreased over the years.

However, no matter how careful I am, I still have balance issues.

I could be standing with my feet flat on the floor, weight distributed evenly, and for absolutely no reason topple over.

There are no warnings or triggers.

Number 5: Sensory Overload

Out of the blue, everything around me will suddenly sound too loud or be too bright.

It’s not like there are actual noise levels that I need to avoid.

It can be a level that has never bothered me before and won’t bother me ever again!

Same goes for light.

Without warning, my eyes may feel like they are being seared from the sun or lights.

This causes my eyes to water and often so badly that I have to stop what I am doing dry them and give them time to recover.

It’s humiliating to have to pull over on the freeway while driving or walk around squinting my eyes while tears run down my face as I look for somewhere to stop and deal with the problem.

Number 6: Muscle Spasms

Muscle spasms are more than painful or annoying, they are embarrassing.

The spasms that like to humiliate me the most are with my hands.

Hand spasms have caused me to drop glasses, plates, and phones.

If dropping things wasn’t bad enough, there are times when whatever I am holding gets flung across the room.

If I fling a pen in your face, chances are it was because of a muscle spasm.

Number 7: Resting Pain Face

I have always been the kind of person that people felt comfortable approaching. That is until pain consumed my body and life.

Without realizing that I am doing it, my expression is far from inviting.

I don’t mean to have resting bitch face. While pain and fatigue are to blame, they aren’t always the cause. When you have lived in pain as long as I have, your body gets used to doing things.

My resting pain face is a symptom that I have no control over. It is like my facial muscles remember the pain of smiling too long and purposefully avoid it.

These are just seven of my many embarrassing fibromyalgia symptoms. Which ones cause you the most embarrassment?

Related Posts

• 5 Ways to Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain
• The Cost of Living with Fibromyalgia
• The Advice I am Glad I Didn’t Take
• “F” Words That Describe Living with Fibromyalgia