Fibromyalgia and Foot Pain

One of those little complications to having Fibromyalgia that myself and friends talk about is foot pain. Our discussion centers around how difficult it is to even walk with the pain in my feet and how much it tingles. It is so difficult that some of us use wheelchairs for mobility.

Surprisingly this foot pain or neuropathy most of us do not even have diabetes. Friends with diabetes know exactly what I am talking about. The first thing they ask is if I have diabetes. The verdict has always been no, even after having various tests at various times.

Neuropathy with Fibromyalgia and not having diabetes is surprisingly common among the women I know. Myself and others has gotten some relief with a variety of remedies. Arch supports in my shoes were very helpful when the pain was at its worse.

I also used warm foot baths before bedtime too. The relief I felt when I finally started asking other women if they had this type of pain was also extremely helpful. Most of them were just gritting their teeth and doing what they could.

The pain is many times present first thing in the morning. It even is at the point that I do not sleep with covers or socks on my feet at night. It feels like I have been on my feet for a 12 hour shift. In reality I just got out of bed.

Sometimes I use the electric cars at stores such as Walmart. Part of the reason is the pain in my feet. It was difficult to learn to use the cart at first. I was so grateful to be able to get groceries and shop with my children.

People do tend to judge you if you use the carts though, particularly if you do not look very old. Having children has been a challenge. I have difficulty doing the things I want and need to do with them. It takes a lot of planning and thought about how to do things now.

Another way I and some women with Fibromyalgia deal with the pain is medication. You just get so tired of medicine. Luckily the same medication, Neurontin that works for people with neuropathy from diabetes seems to work for me and some of my friends.

The flip side to that is that like many medications not all people can take Neurontin. The Neurontin worked best for me when I took it every day. It seemed to build up a cumulative effect over the days.

Myself and friends who have Fibromyalgia have this type of pain in other places than our feet. The pain can be in my arms, hands, fingers, and even face. Unfortunately when there is this type of pain in your feet the more you move around the more it hurts. When you do not move around much you do not get the gentle exercise that helps the Fibromyalgia.