While central sensitivity involves a lot of flu-like symptoms in general, there are some things that can make these symptoms more pronounced. These symptoms can include flu-like aches and pains (dull, achy, sharp, pinch), altered sense of smell, congestion, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, swollen, soar, and watery eyes, increased fatigue (where you can barely keep your eye open or can’t keep your eye open for long), and very thick brain fog.

There are a number of food intolerances that cause these symptoms (which may or may not be linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome IBS), but it’s mainly only an issue for me when I eat a lot of a kind of ingredient. Wheat is one of those ingredients, along with some dairy. But, having a glass of milk, or a sandwich isn’t going to trigger these symptoms.

Nope, it’s more like when I sit down and eat several slices of pizza. In this case, it’s a lot of wheat and dairy consumed in a very short amount of time. However, this can also occur when eating a couple slices of pizza each day for several days. In this case, it’s an accumulative effect and makes the flu-like symptoms even more mysterious, because it’s often hard to pinpoint what caused them unless you look back at your week and identify a trend in food consumption.

When these symptoms kick in, sitting around the house all day doing nothing is torture. I have to get my mind off the aches and pain, but what can you do when you are so tired that you can’t even keep your eyes open most of the time, and so achy all you want to do is curl up and fall asleep, but you just feel to crappy to actually do it?

#1 Take something for the aches and pain.

I take 1,000mg of Vitamin C to give my immune system a boost (because these symptoms tend to be a sign that it’s being compromised, and the last thing you need at this point is actually come down with a cold or actual flu), dextromethorphan for general aches and pain, hydrochlorothiazide to help flush what I’m intolerant to out of my system quicker, a little prune juice or cranberry juice to vacate the excess in a another manner, I drink plenty of water, and I take my Effexor which gives me a little epinephrine-based energy boost.

#2 Listen to some good music.

Especially with the Dex in your system (it can make sounds more crisp, clear, and more of a physical sensation), music is a great way to pass the time. It also helps get your energy up if you start with slow paced music and work your way up to a faster pace/beat. Working your way up in energy will bring you to the next phase…exercise.

#3 Exercise.

At this point, simple tasks, reading, pretty much anything that requires a brain is out of the question, but moving to the music is something I can manage. As long as my coordination permits, I dance or do an exercise routine. I go as hard as I can for as long as I can listening to music that emotionally stimulates me. It’s the music getting the chemicals flowing that results in the increase of energy. After I’m done, all the wonderful little endorphins are flooding my body and most of the aches and pains disappear for a couple hours at least).

#4 Make a list and act.

At this point I can get physical tasks completed, like chores or running very quick errands. Just little things that don’t take more than 5-15 minutes to complete. I just make a list of little things to do and I do them one at a time in no particular order except what I feel like doing at the moment.

All of this helps fill my day, and still allows me a little energy in the evening to watch some TV. So, a day that started out looking like it was going to be a highly non-productive and miserable day, actually ends up being one of my most productive days. It was just a matter of taking little steps and doing little tasks. Even big tasks can be accomplished by breaking them down into several little tasks.

So, next time you get the flu-like aches, pains, and fatigue try this method. But keep in mind, this is basically the method I use to get myself moving most days, so if you are feeling particularly exhausted and full of pain, remember this formula daily:

At least for me anyways, and I hope it works for you too! 🙂