My fibromyalgia flared up big-time after I had Covid two years ago. Five days after getting Covid, I started having flares with very painful all-over muscle pain lasting a couple months, with some weeks of relief in between. During the periods where I didn't have bad body pains, I often had daily headaches, but at least they were relieved by Tylenol. Now, I have been in a lot of body pain every day for almost 3 months. The pain is worse in my upper back and neck, with milder pain in my arms and legs. It's hard to get through the day. I don't take any medications for it. I've read the drugs meant for fibro aren't that effective and often have bad side effects and serious withdrawal issues to get off the drugs. My PCP won't provide any strong pain meds.

Since this started, I've also had terrible insomnia. I usually fall asleep at night because the pain and lack of sleep wears me out, but I wake after 4-5 hours and can't get back to sleep. I've tried Trazodone but am weaning off that because I don't think it's helping me anymore. I take a sleep gummy and 2.5mg melatonin before bed.

Looking back, I think I've had fibro for years but my symptoms were minimal and only occurred for about a week once or twice a year. I tried a gluten free diet for 3 months but didn't notice any improvement. I haven't tried Tiger Balm, but use a cream similar to Ben Gay Ultra Strength.

I appreciate this forum, but wish there were some in-person support groups. Most of my friends and relatives don't understand or believe in fibromyalgia, so it's a very lonely disease.