Fibromyalgia: Why You Should Keep a Pain Journal

I began keeping a pain journal while my husband and I were living at a friend's house. It was an odd situation, but it worked for us, and I am still very grateful to the friend who took us in. Unfortunately, I was in a lot of pain, and was having trouble determining the causes. One huge factor I discovered that was triggering my migraines was lack of sleep. I also learned that weather changes were causing my pain fluctuations- this was something I had never considered, and wasn't even looking at- but I was using the pain journal as a regular journal, too, and after two entries of "wow, I'm feeling so much better, and I love the sound of the rain..." I started making notes in the pain area about what the weather was that day. About two months of that led me to notice that my pain would get worse as a front approached and then be relieved once the rain actually hit.

(Oddly enough, as I write this, my pain levels are increasing- and I checked, and sure enough, we're scheduled for a thunderstorm later tonight. I am a human barometer. It's amusing, and annoying.)

The first thing that I addressed with the doctor was the sleep issues. We had to get them under control, because the migraines were killing me- they would leave me with "hangover" pain that would last for days, and some of the migraines would spiral into cluster headaches if the pain wasn't controlled or if other stimuli would exacerbate the pain. At the same time, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the doctor and psychiatrist decided that the psychiatrist would treat my sleep issues, as many bipolar medications can help regulate sleep.

The doctor put me on a medication to treat my bipolar disorder, and gave me a sleep medication to use as necessary. My regular MD gave me migraine medication to treat any that came up, and as I began sleeping better I had fewer migraines, though they did still come with annoying suddenness- and worse, now I couldn't predict what would trigger them. (I never did figure out any trigger other than lack of sleep- no foods seemed to particularly bother me, no scents, nothing.)

My pain journal helped me immensely. Without it, I never would've figured out part of what was causing me so much pain. And, while I didn't figure out any particular food triggers, many people with fibro have found these issues, and it's helped them to cut back the amount of pain they have to deal with on a daily basis. Anything that lessens pain is a good thing in my book!

To finish my tale, we moved into a house of our own, I got onto topamax for migraines, and I haven't had one since. It's been a lifesaver for me- and luckily enough, I don't have the "dumbs" that a lot of people complain about on it. Without it, I'd be miserable a lot more. And while, as mentioned earlier, I still have to deal with the whims of weather affecting my body, yoga helps a lot, and I don't mind so much. It's kind of nice knowing what the weather's going to be like.

So, get that journal started! It could be the best thing you ever do for yourself.