Being Prepared for Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS Flares

Don't Be Caught Without What You Need!

Symptom flares are an unavoidable part of life for a lot of people with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Both illnesses can include flares when symptoms get significantly worse; and remissions, when symptoms recede to lower levels. (However, not all cases feature flares and remissions.)

A woman looks inside an empty cupboard
Sami Sarkis / Getty Images

Sometimes, you have a pretty good idea a flare is coming. Symptom triggers such as the holiday season, your menstrual period, busy times at work, and seasonal temperature changes may be easy to predict and prepare for. On the other hand, things like the flu, a car accident, bad news, or a sudden stressful event can take you off your feet without notice, at a time when you’d expected to be feeling about “normal” (whatever that means for you). Sometimes, a flare-up may strike out of the blue for no apparent reason.

During a flare, symptoms can be seriously limiting or fully incapacitating. Severe pain or fatigue may leave you unable to leave the house, prepare food for yourself or even take a shower. That means things like grocery shopping and running to the pharmacy are out of the question.

So you’re not left without necessities when you need them the most, it’s important to be prepared for a flare-up to hit at any time.

Keeping the Right Things on Hand

What things do you need to get through the day? Make a list, starting with the most obvious things and then moving onto those that are particular to your needs when you’re really in bad shape. The first item? Food.

Extra Canned Goods and Frozen Foods

Make sure there’s enough food to get your household for several days. Try to keep simple meals on hand that you or someone else can quickly throw together. Non-perishable items are great—you can put them in an out-of-the-way place and leave them for when they’re needed.

Lots of Specialty Foods

If you have food allergies or sensitivities, keeping the right foods well-stocked is even more important. It can be extra hard for someone else to shop for you. It’s a good idea to look into grocery delivery services so you have an emergency back-up plan. The last thing you want to do is make yourself feel worse because of what you eat!

Healthy Snacks

Potato chips and candy are unlikely to give your body what it needs to come out of a flare! However, when you can’t get to the grocery store, it’s hard to keep yourself in fresh fruits and vegetables to nibble on. You may want to keep things like nuts and dried fruit on hand so you can get some nutritional value from snacks.

Are cooking and grocery shopping hard for you, even on good days? Consult shopping strategies and cooking tips for ways to ease the strain.

Drugs & Supplements

It can be hard to stock up on an emergency supply of prescription drugs, especially since many of the ones we commonly take (such as antidepressants, sleep meds, and narcotic pain relievers) tend to be carefully doled out. However, you may be able to find ways to make sure you’re not without the drugs you need when a flare strikes.

Mail-Order

Some pharmacies operate purely through the mail, utilizing the phone or internet for ordering. Many traditional pharmacies are now offering these options as well. You do have to get your drugs ordered several days before you’re out, so this requires some planning. I’ve seen some pharmacies offer automatic refills. It can pay to explore your options. You may also want to look into mail-ordering supplements.

Larger Quantities

For drugs that aren’t tightly controlled, ask your healthcare provider if it’s possible to prescribe larger quantities, which means fewer refills. (It’s sometimes cheaper as well.) If you’re facing a predictable flare, you may be able to talk to your healthcare provider ahead of time about early refills; just keep in mind that early refills may not be possible for a variety of reasons. You should check to see if your insurance will cover them, too.

Plan Ahead

An easy way to see ahead of time what you're getting low on is to use a weekly pill sorter. When you fill up, pay attention to how much is left in the bottle. Try to get things purchased or ordered when you get down to a two-week supply.

Passing the Time

Days can drag when you can barely move and have to lie there alone for hours on end. You may not be able to do much, but you should have something available to do. The possible forms of entertainment may be limited by your specific symptoms, but some ideas include:

Movies & TV: The Right Stuff

Action-packed, adrenaline-pumping shows and movies probably aren’t your friend during a flare, and brain fog may eliminate anything thought-provoking or deep. Look through your movie collection and identify the ones that you think would work on bad days. Consider whether they’ll be too visually stimulating, depressing or cerebral. A digital video recorder (DVR) or a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu can provide appropriate entertainment to help pass the time. 

Reading Material

Think about the typical severity of your flare-related brain fog and what you can reasonably read. It may be that light subject matter is okay in a novel, or you may have better luck with short stories or magazine articles.

Craft & Hobby Supplies

You may not be able to do all the things you like. But if you have a craft or hobby that can help occupy your time, it helps to have extra supplies set aside for those downtimes.

Games & Puzzle Books

Research actually shows that immersive video games can distract your brain from pain. So, if the lights, noise, and action of these diversions aren’t too much for you, electronic games may be a good option. If that’s not the case, puzzle books (crosswords, word-finds, Sudoku, etc.) may be better.

Coloring Books

It may sound strange, but a lot of adults are now coloring. Research shows that it can relieve stress, and it’s a great way to pass the time—especially if you have little kids who hang out with you when you’re down. You can find a ton of adult coloring books online and in hobby or book stores.

Computers & Internet

Of course, there’s an endless array of games, activities, and things to do online. You might also benefit from finding an online forum where you can talk to other people who are experiencing the same issue.

Whatever you choose to pass the time, try to remember that being in the same position or performing a repetitive motion may cause pain or muscle fatigue and make you feel worse.

4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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  2. Siracusa R, Paola RD, Cuzzocrea S, Impellizzeri D. Fibromyalgia: pathogenesis, mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment options update. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(8):3891. doi:10.3390/ijms22083891

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  4. Sajeev MF, Kelada L, Yahya Nur AB, et al. Interactive video games to reduce paediatric procedural pain and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Anaesth. 2021;127(4):608-619. doi:10.1016/j.bja.2021.06.039

Adrienne Dellwo

By Adrienne Dellwo
Adrienne Dellwo is an experienced journalist who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and has written extensively on the topic.