Am I the only one that does not have flares but daily ongoing pain?

I have been the same as you for 42 years. Now as I'm getting older, there are more complications , as you said degenerative disk and also arthritis, torn rotator and bad knees. The only thing better has been migraines stopped at 67. I have no idea what a flare is,, there are just degrees of how bad the pain is. I am very sorry for you.

You are not the only one. I see that degenerative disc disease is common among us. Probably the nerves are being excited, exiting the spine. Would be my guess. Relaxation techniques are helpful in my case. After the many surgeries, and continuing degeneration and pain I simply refuse to relax enough. (I want to do my work!) What I have found super helpful is MFR (there is a section here) but you have to find the right MFR therapist. I found one who is self taught. He does a great job on my body. Also, I take low dose Percocet (10/325) one half tab daily (1.5 average per day) for 25 years. I have no addition issues what soever. I have chronic pain tho and it helps me with where the pain is the most. Tried all the nerve/antidepressant meds - they did not work nor could I tolerate them. ( I am drug sensitive). Also - if you haven't checked out the weather: check out the weather! the days that are the worst for me have high-temperature swings and changes in humidity dryness - and certain seasons (December and June) and HEADING INTO a rain. (when it rains I am fine). Weather is my biggest daily trigger. We are water-based beings and I have to be careful about alcohol and salts and maintain an equilibrium. I have to walk everyday and keep my body circulating fluids. good luck!

I was having lower back pain but have found great relief from the muscle spasms by sleeping with a pillow:
-- Side sleep - place between the legs.
-- Back sleep - place under the legs.
Spasms have stopped.
For neck pain - I am using a contoured Tempur-Pedic Pillow. I had to get accustomed to it but it works. There are different sizes. It supports the neck and head.

Hi,
I was diagnosed with FM when I was in my late twenties or so...I'm 84 now and yes, you might now have a chronic condition and not just FM. This is just me, now. I have no way of knowing what's going on with you, but I do believe my FM slowly became Neuropathy as I got older. Check out those threads here. Maybe a Mod might jump in and put up a few threads for you. But, you might ask your Doctor if that could be what's going on.

Good Luck

Oh gosh me too. I have multiple pillows on my bed that I use. Like you said one between the knees. One up against my gut, one I am holding onto, and one on my back side. If I didn't have these pillows, I would not be able to get the sleep that I do get which is only 2 1/2 to 3 hours a night. I know that the lack of sleep is part of my pain problem, but no doctor wants to deal with it. Oh, and I also have a special pillow for my head. It might be the one that you are talking about.

I am at my worst in the summertime. I know from reading other people's stories that it is the cold that gets to them usually. By I am the opposite. I love the cold. It is any kind of heat that I can't handle. Because too for me it isn't just the pain but all these weird symptoms I get. And not so weird like being sensitive to heat. But things like spiking a high fever with activity. I think something in my body that controls my temperature is off. It can be in cooler weather outside, even in the wintertime, and If I start working around the house especially, if I get too warm which is super easy for me to do my face flushes, and I start sweating like crazy. Like I have been running marathons or something. And if I don't sit down right away and get cooler, I get a temperature that can go up to 102. My normal temp is actually low around 97. The temperature thing was one of those strange symptoms that I didn't understand and no doctor I think believed me. I stopped bringing things up to my doctors a long time ago because of how they act. But I have been tracking my temps for a while now and what brings them up. And it is activity or high anxiety or stress. But always activity if it is too much and if it is something where I bring my head towards the ground such as mopping or something. With the fever, I also feel sick and dizzy and usually start getting what feels like a heat headache. I finally found something on the web that talks about it. It is a real thing! This blew me away. I was so relieved. But there is hardly anything about it out there. I can't think of the name at the moment.

You sound similar to me. I got rid of most of my migraines when they put me on a beta blocker. I also got Fibro in my 20's and am now 48. So, not as long as you but a long time. I too have a torn rotator cuff as well as a torn knee. Of course, my knee was looked at 17 years ago now. Who knows what is wrong with them now because my knees give me so much pain. My legs are my main pain from fibro, but I don't remember having a lot of pain directly in my knees when I was younger while now my knees are so painful. It started in the last 5 years or so. And just keeps getting worse. I am sorry for your pain but am glad that it isn't just me with everyday pain and no flares. I don't feel so alone.

Does anyone else get high fevers with activity or stress that I was talking about in the reply to loriesco's post? Or any fever over 100. Especially, when doing the kind of work that brings my head towards the ground such as when you mop. I get what feels like a heat headache, get very flushed in the face, sweat profusely, and just feel ill. I'll check my temp, and it will be anywhere from 100 to 102.5. Right before the activity I had a normal temp. My normal temp is low around 96.8 or 97 something. I brought it up to a doctor once and he didn't have a clue. I don't think he believed me. It does sound weird but that is the kind of strange symptoms that happens to me. I found something on the web once, but I can't remember what they call it. Before that, I thought no one would believe me. I had been tracking my temps doing this for years now. And was so relieved when I finally found something on it. I don't know if it is linked to fibro or not.

I am SURE it IS real! I get a "flu" feeling when I over exert myself. After 30 years I figured out (with the help of this group) I was having an "inflammatory" reaction. After 30 years! I am now taking Zazzee Tart Cherry capsules (which someone here recommended). It quells the inflammatory reaction from high uric acid (gout.) the somewhat lazy doctors always attributed my inflammation to Osteo Arthritis because I have so much of it. It was the easy answer to them. Keep on and never give up. Someone will listen. Bring them the information. That is what I do, and my primary doctor steps aside and orders the confirming tests I ask for! (she's too overworked to want to challenge much and is happy to refer me over to the specialists when appropriate).

Hi, thanks for your post. What do you mean by a chronic condition? I have a lot of other chronic conditions but as far as Fibro is concerned isn't it a chronic condition also? Although it is considered chronic most people have flares. But I think it is still considered a chronic illness. So, do you mean after you have Fibro for a while it can become an everyday thing and be chronic in that sense? I would say I hope not but it's already been that way for me. And when I was diagnosed in 2001 when I was 24 it was already an everyday condition with no flares. I would get new symptoms that came along and worsening pain, but it was still every day even then. You have had Fibro for a while. Is it every day for you? And if so, has it always been or is that new for you as you got older? Is anything better now that you are 84?