What are health flares? I had never heard of the term "health flare" until I got diagnosed with Gastroparesis. When I began researching more about the disorder, I came across the word "flare" a lot.
The actual definition of the word is: "a sudden brief burst of bright flame" and a "light burn with a sudden intensity." When thinking of this in relation to your health you could be thinking, "Nope, I'm pretty sure I don't catch on fire and burn..." but you actually kind of do. The symptoms you experience are your body's messages trying to tell you that something is wrong and off balance. When you "flare up" your symptoms present themselves in a way that (depending on the symptom) can feel like burning; the symptoms often tend to burst and spread too, much like fire.
So, a flare is when your symptom(s) act up. Most of the time, it feels like it comes at a random time and can last for days, weeks, even years. Some Gastroparesis patients go into "symptom remission" for many years, but then all of a sudden they'll get a bad health flare that knocks them on their butt again. Personally, my own flares with Gastroparesis bring back stomach pain, bowels inconsistency, and I'll get nauseated and start to get migraines. For Hashimoto's, my hair will fall out and I'll get really itchy and fatigued. These flares vary for everyone: some get worse symptoms, and some are able to feel a flare coming on soon enough that they can try and prevent it from becoming crippling.
So that is the best explanation I can give on what a flare is because it really is different for everyone, we feel them differently, and with different illnesses come different symptoms and emotions. What is fairly common (with some exceptions) is how we can effectively deal with these flares. So keep in mind that these tips are for more than just gastroparesis, though you will hear me speak of it often as I give examples.
Ways to manage symptom flare-ups:
Reduce your stress. First and foremost, think about your current stress level. Stress is very much connected to health flares and especially to your stomach (if you have gastroparesis, you may know what I'm talking about). People can, however, hold their stressful energy in different places and feel it in different ways; I tend to feel it in my stomach first (pain and bloating), followed by migraines. When I start to feel them, it lets me know when I'm too stressed.
Think about why your flare could have started. Do not make yourself crazy by overthinking everything you ate, drank, and did in the past days leading up to your flare... but think for a moment and see if anything comes up. Did you eat something that was new? Something you probably shouldn't have ate? Were you under a significant amount of stress? Did you eat too much? Too little? Over exercise? Never put yourself down when thinking back, but use it as a tool to help yourself the next time. Using a food or habit journal has really helped me see what both foods and activities by body likes and dislikes.
Find ways to calm your body down. Baths, foot baths, aromatherapy, exercising, meditation, yoga, reading, drawing, listening to music, etc. Figure out what you enjoy doing the most to wind down and relax your body. During a flare the last thing you want to do is have the "go, go, go" attitude. You need to rest.
Go easy on yourself and don't give up. Going off of what I've already said, try not to let the flare(s) discourage you. Find ways to stay motivate and in a good healing mindset. There are many times the flares may just happen for a reason completely unknown, so remember to be easy on yourself and your body. Negative self talk can hurt you, so be aware. You're not at fault, so instead of discouraging yourself, try to learn from them.
Alter your eating habits. Using gastroparesis as an example, if you're going through a health flare it may mean that you should alter your eating habits a little. Take a few days of eating more bland, mushy or liquid foods, your stomach may need a little time to reset. If you're going through another type of health flare, know that your diet can be so healing. Eat nutritious, in-season foods to help get your body back to a state of healing and control. The foods you eat can either be helpful or harmful. Food is medicine, but it can't be if it's processed junk food.
Contact your doctor. Flares can be due to many things, from stress, something you ate, drank, air quality, heavy metal exposure, season changes, how warm or cold the shower water temperature is etc., but it can also be a sign that something has changed in your health. This can be more severe (in a case such as cancer, symptom flares could be due to spreading of the disease), so it is always better safe than sorry when it comes to your health - so please contact your doctor.
Treat yourself. Ease your mind and if you feel up to it, do something for you. This could be getting a massage, having a foot bath/regular bath, trying hydrotherapy, going to an acupuncture appointment, trying a meditation or yoga class, having reiki done, and on and on. It could even be as simple as sitting outside with a cup of warm tea relaxing.
Think about things you can improve. Something that has really helped my health is routine. I have had a really consistent morning routine for the past year and my health has definitely improved by doing so. For more information about routines, you can check out my post here: The benefits of having a routine (gphealthandwellness.com)
Exercise is important, but don't overdo it. Don't overexercise when you're in the middle of a flare, maybe just stretch or do some yoga. From my own experience with exercise, I often have less flares the more active I am, and the more consistent I am with my exercise routine. Aerobic exercise strengthens your heart and lungs, helping your overall health. It's also a great mood booster! Don't forget that movement is key to a healthy life, but over exercising and straining your body is not something you should do.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions or comments! I am also always taking blog post requests, so let me know what you'd like to hear from me!
Stay healthy,
Loreal
Note: I am not a doctor and I am not telling you what you should or shouldn't do for your health. I am only telling my own experience and giving ways to cope and distress. Please CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR before trying or doing anything different in regards to your health.
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