@A MyFibroTeam Member
It seems that I live in STRESS. I am anxious about everything! The last month we've had to spend over $4000 for things we had no control over. We don't have a 401K, used up long ago. There is no savings. If we do have a small amount put away, something always comes up and takes it away. I don't know what we are going to do. All this is so stressful because when our finances are out of whack, it makes me worry and pray. So stress for me is an everyday thing.

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A MyFibro...

Oh my, this is a tough question for me. I do know that stress contributes to my fibro but I cannot actually say how much. I have pain on a daily basis whether it be fibro, arthritis, bursitis or others. I have become so used to pain that I really have a hard time distinguishing a flare from my other painful diagnoses. ( I hope that makes sense). I would have to estimate it around 55% or so. What I notice most is my irritability and lack of patience, then if I stop myself and think I realize the pain in my body has increased. It's hard to explain how I have become "used" to the pain, not that I like it I'm just used to it. A day without pain would absolutely blow my mind.

I think that stress can be a factor but not always the trigger of a flare (if that makes sense!?) It can be small and seemingly insignificant things that trigger them for me. It could be underlying stress but I'm not always conscious of being stressed when a flare occurs.

I have to agree with 7Jenny77 80% to 90% If I get stressed, which is a lot, I start out getting hot flashes and then feel overwhelmed and eventually weak, tired and in pain.

I find that stress can of course, make the pain worse, but I don't necessarily think it causes a flare. I know that the extreme stress I was under three years ago is what made the pain and other symptoms so bad, I finally figured out what was going on after it was all over. I'm under the stress of reliving that three weeks right now, but I'm not in a flare.