Should People with Fibromyalgia Run Around Naked?

Fibromyalgia is synonymous with pain, but clothing does not have to be painful.  I have found that when I’m going through a flare-up, overdid for the day, or just in a higher level of pain, that I have increased sensitivity to touch and clothes that touch my body can hurt horribly.  The biggest offenders of clothing that increase pain for me include bras, jeans-due to the waistband, and socks.  

Some Clothing Pain Offenders

The title of this post “Should People with Fibromyalgia Run Around Naked?” is intended to simply be a slightly humorous way of acknowledging that a lot of clothes actually cause or exacerbate pain for many people with Fibromyalgia.

Throughout the years, I have had to completely change the way I dress to keep from increasing my pain from clothes.  In the past, I tended to dress up more frequently and rarely wore jeans and never wore sweats (not even at the gym).  Now, in order to alleviate the uncomfortable itchiness and shoots of pain as the clothing rubs against my skin, I have learned some things that work for me clothing wise.

For waistbands, I purposely buy jeans and dress pants a size too large and then belt them gently, so I can loosen it up as needed.  If the pain is bad, I wear sweatpants.  I make sure all of my skirts have elastic bands that fit gently on my body.  I also get light flowing dresses that are not fitted, so they don’t rub against my body.

Finding the right clothing for each individual with Fibromyalgia can be a little tricky, as with everything with Fibromyalgia what works for one person may not work for another, so there tends to be a lot of trial and error as you learn what will work for you.  I thought it might be helpful to talk a little bit about the most offensive clothing for me and what I’ve done to compensate for or alleviate clothing pain.

Footwear:

For footwear I tend to wear Airwalk sandals.  They are loose, comfortable, have decent support, but don’t apply pressure around my ankles at all.  At home, I prefer to just go barefoot. I avoid socks during the summer, unless I’m going for a walk somewhere that might have rough grasses or rocks.  


When I wear socks, I prefer them to fit perfectly and have cropped tops.  If it goes up my ankle onto my leg it actually hurts me.  I’ve had some friends recommend diabetic socks because they are designed really well and tend to be very comfortable, plus they're designed to work with diabetic neuropathy, which certainly has some similar symptoms to the nerve issues we face with Fibromyalgia.  Also, if you wear pantyhose you may want to consider trying ankle highs instead of control tops.

Bras and Underwear:

The worst offender for me are bras, especially if there is any wire in them at all or if they don’t fit perfectly.  If my pain is really high, I sometimes choose to simply not wear one if I can stay home, but I am too conservative to not wear one out in public or if anyone might be coming over to the house to visit.


I’ve had friends recommend Ahhh Bras, especially for larger busted people, but I tend to use Playtex Bras with extra comfort and breathing.  No wires of course!  


Underwear just needs to fit comfortably.  I prefer cotton because it’s gentle with smaller waist bands, usually the bikini style.  No dental floss for a back though, that always looked painful for everyone (whether they have Fibro or not)!

Clothes on Racks

Waistbands:

I already mentioned that I tend to buy one size larger than I need for jeans and pants and then belt them loosely, but when the pain is really bad only elastic bands will work.  


Of course, sweatpants are the most common piece of pants clothing with elastic bands, so I wear them a lot around the house or at night.  


There are also some pajama jeans, pants, and shorts that have elastic bands and fit nicely without binding.  I also admit to really liking loose flowing dresses and skirts,because they look lovely and fit comfortably.

General:

Overall, I find that my best bet for eliminating clothing pain is to ensure that I wear soft loose fabrics.  One thing that may seem a little counter intuitive is that if the clothes are way too big and loose, they will actually rub more against my skin and hurt more, so there is a fine line of how loose the clothing needs to be.  


On top of that, having soft fabrics is probably the most important thing to keep in mind.  I like cotton and some blends as long as they are soft.  I love silk, stretchy knits, and some flannels.  My cousin, who has Fibromyalgia, used to remove the necklines from t-shirts and all tags, because the sensation of the clothing rubbing near her neck caused such annoying pain and discomfort.

Why does clothing cause pain?

An Ant-Which I Hate Due to Allodynia

My understanding is that the pain caused from clothing comes from the symptom of Allodynia that many people with Fibromyalgia have.  


According to the free medical dictionary, Allodynia means “Pain that results from a noninjurous stimulus to the skin” or “a condition in which pain arises from a stimulus that would not normally be experienced as painful.”  


This explains the pain caused by clothing rubbing against your skin (mechanical allodynia), a simple touch or hug (touch allodynia), and extreme temperature changes or pain caused from heat or cold packs (temperature allodynia).  Not everyone with Fibromyalgia has this, but some of us do experience excruciating pain from things that should NOT hurt.  For me, I tend to be more sensitive when the pain is already worse for the day.

Another part of Allodynia that I really dislike is that sometimes a gentle moving touch or an ant walking across my arm will actually cause this horrible sensation through my entire body where I feel every movement everywhere. Like my entire body has bugs climbing all over it.  


Of course I’m not really covered with bugs, but the sensation is really gross. Fortunately that isn’t an everyday occurrence, but it does happen sometimes.  It’s kind of funny, the other day I had to come with things I hate and couldn’t really think of anything, but now I can. I really HATE ants!  You know come to think of it I really HATE indifference too.  But that’s a bit off of the subject…

Conclusion:

So should people with Fibromyalgia run around naked?  Honestly, unless you’re at a nudist camp, probably not. I’m fairly certain there are laws against that at least in public places!  But I do recognize that there are times at home, when fewer clothes are better simply to eliminate clothing pain.

Do you have any issues with clothing causing pain? If so, what have you found that works for you?  With all of us being so different and the symptoms for Fibromyalgia presenting in such different ways, I suspect that the clothing options that I’ve found work best for me might not be the best for everyone. 


Does anyone else have any suggestions or helpful hints for dealing with clothing pain?