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Today, I wanna share some fibromyalgia driving tips with you on how to make driving easier and less painful specially people with chronic pain. Hi, my name is Heather, and I suffer from fibromyalgia, so I thought to share these tips with my fellow warriors.

Fibromyalgia Driving Tips

I’m very fortunate now to be able to work from home. Previously, I was a teacher, and my commute would always be an hour each way. So I learned a few tips and tricks along the way to ease my pain.

Sunglasses are a Must

Sensitivity is a huge issue for those of us dealing with fibromyalgia. Aside from the daily pain, we also have to worry about sensitivity to cold or heat, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to smell, all kinds of issues. So these are some of the things I use to help with my sensitivity. A big problem I have is a sensitivity to light, so I always carry a few pairs of sunglasses in my car, in case I accidentally left one in my classroom or at my house. It was always good to have a couple of pairs as a backup, because the sunlight can give me a migraine pretty quick without sunglasses. It’s one of the most vital fibromyalgia driving tips.

The Two S’s (Sweatshirts and Sweaters)

Another problem I had in the car was cold. I get cold very easily. Sometimes I get hot very easily, but I can’t turn off my air conditioner, because then I feel like I’m suffocating. And I live in Texas, and it gets really hot outside, so we pretty much always have the AC running in our car. So a thing I would do that would really help a lot was kept sweatshirts and sweaters inside my car for when I got chilly. That way, I could leave the air on and not feel like I was suffocating, but I also wouldn’t be uncomfortable and cold.

The Fragrance of Lavender Oil

I have serious issues with sensitivity to smells. I don’t do good with artificial fragrances. They give me a migraine very easily. I like to use essential oils to fragrance things. Most importantly, I like to use lavender oil in my car to help relax me, especially when I’m driving far and in pain. So the list of fibromyalgia driving tips includes Lavender oil. It just kind of soothes my body and soothes my stress away, and it’s just a nice fragrance too to make your car smell good without an artificial smell that will give you a migraine.

Physically Demanding

Over my years in teaching, I taught all the way from babies to second graders. It was very physically demanding working with younger kids. My body would ache really, really bad on the car ride home, so here are some things I did to make myself more comfortable in the car physically. No matter how comfortable your car seats are, it can still be extremely uncomfortable when you deal with the daily pain of fibromyalgia, especially for prolonged driving.

The Magic of Pillows

I had a luxury sports car with the nicest seats available, and it was still extremely uncomfortable on those long commutes. I found that using a pillow to sit on helped so much. Now, they make all kinds of pillows you can buy for the car and for commuting and driving, but I found that this cheap Ikea memory foam pillow works just great, and I’ve used it for a number of years. I didn’t really like it the first time I tried it to sleep on it, and then it became my sitting pillow for the car. Another important thing in the list of fibromyalgia driving tips.

Anti Stress Comforting Wrap

Another thing I love to do on my way home from work before I left would be put this(anti-stress comforting wrap)in the microwave. This is an anti-stress comforting wrap. You can put it in the microwave or the fridge for muscle and pain relief. I like to put it in the microwave and then put it around my neck on the drive home. It helped relieve a lot of the tension and stress in my neck muscles.

White Cream Liniment

One thing in the list of fibromyalgia driving tips is I really liked using was this white cream liniment. It is amazing. It’s kinda like using Bengay or some kind of muscle rub, except I personally think it works better. Of course, with fibromyalgia, it’s not gonna take away all your pain, but these things can help ease your pain and stress of a car ride, especially if you have a long car ride daily.

Water & Snacking

Other things I like to add on fibromyalgia driving tips is to do is to make sure I have some kind of snack and a water bottle in the car in case I need to take my pain medicine. That’s always important, ’cause then you don’t have to stop on your way home and get those things from a gas station or a drive-through. So that would be another big tip I’d share with you guys.

Stretch it Out

Also, if you’re going on a road trip, make sure you stop as often as possible and stretch your legs and move around. Sitting for too long can put you in a flare just like doing too much can put you in a flare, so you want to be sure if you go on a road trip, that you stop as often as possible and stretch and move around. I hope these fibromyalgia driving tips help you. Thanks for reading!