Fibromyalgia weather sensitivity is found in most everyone who has the illness, one close to it or any type of arthritis-related condition. Cold, hot, dry, damp- all such weather conditions can have a dramatic affect on how you feel.

Plus, let the barometric pressure change quickly and you have instant aching, hurting, throbbing joints and muscles. Ouch-ee!

Last October 2012, I wrote in Facebook about the “Baromeric Pressure Changes Blues” and a lot of people had something say about this topic. I welcome your comments below:

(Audio podcast 8 minutes 54 seconds)

As people with Fibromyalgia and a lot of other chronic illnesses know, storms like the approaching Sandy mean you’re hurting worst than usual. When you’re in such pain, you feel like singing the “Barometric Pressure Change Blues” for sure! Yes, Fibro folks can sense (even before the local weather announces) that changes in the weather or storms are approaching because the barometric pressure fluctuates. That means PAIN starts long before the wind and rain appear.

Mostly, this happens inside of you because such barometric pressure changes have a dramatic and direct impact on how the fluid in your body reacts: in tissues, in joints, in the tiniest places. These areas are super sensitive to such changes and directly result in lots of pain and agony.

The best and easiest way I ever found to relieve and at least temporarily resolve such internal imbalances was to soak in a tub of warm water. Water puts gentle pressure on your tissues and helps to even out the pressures throughout the body. Thank goodness, I don’t have to suffer with this problem any more, but I remember times when I would get in my hot tub (at or slightly above my body temp) to get the best relief and would STAY THERE FOR HOURS! It really worked. Sometimes I could even get out of pain without taking meds.

Warm water pool exercise is another example of how such water gently presses on your tissues. It helps to circulate sluggish lymph fluids back into your system. That helps a lot of things. This is an excellent and easy therapy for a chronically ill person. If the person cannot exercise, vertical floating provides almost as much benefit.

I urge you to try this soaking technique in a tub of warm water. You’ll be amazed at how well this trick works. Then…you can choose another tune rather than the Barometric Pressure Blues

That’s why when I heard that bad, changing weather was approaching this week and I remembered that ole’ train-was-headed-towards-my-eyeballs feeling, I got in my 98 degrees Fahrenheit hot tub to soak for awhile. Not too hot; not too cold. Having the water be so close to my own body’s normal temperature meant I would not get overheated, but instead stay warm and comfortable. I knew I could move, stretch and meditate at will.

I suspect the reason I felt the weather change more so this time than others was because I started out the week quite sore due to physical exercising and working out.

Normally it is difficult for a Fibro (or CFSME) person to work out because they struggle against a combination of overwhelming exhaustion and the deconditioning that comes from living in a chronically ill body. And, when they do work out, they must put up with being very sore even from the simplest of exertional challenges!

Even so, spending 15 minutes to an hour in water at that moderate degree of heat, allowed me not only to soak my otherwise aching body, but gave all the fluids and such a chance to normalize in the water. That helps with pressure changes and also stimulates the lymph fluids to move around a bit.

*Sometimes lymph gets a bit stuck or sluggish and that can make you feel badly, too. To relieve sluggish lymph, some people choose lymph drainage massage, however soaking or moving gently in water helps, too. It lets the water pressure do the work for you.

So no matter which way you choose to get needed therapy and keep your body parts in good working order, a Fibromyalgia or CFSME person has two viable choices to keep in mind: 1) workout in a cool to warm pool at a moderate exercise level -or- 2) choose warm water that’s close to your own normal body temperature for a relaxing soak. Either one is a great choice for calming down those aches and pains and your Fibromyalgia weather sensitivity symptoms. (Note: Be sure that you don’t be too aggressive in warm water; any type of true aerobic activity can elevate your temperature and blood pressure to an unsafe level. If in doubt, always ask your doctor for advice about your health and how to migigate your symptoms.)

Best wishes, Cinda Crawford

Your host of the Health Matters Show

PS- I’m rushing to get this posted for you, as my dog lays at my feet shivering and anticipating the bad weather. Yes, once again, you and I are canaries in the coal mines…sensitive and reactive to our world that can seem threatening at any given moment. Be prepared and have your survival tips handy. Don’t let Fibromyalgia Weather Sensitivity catch you off guard!