When you’re living with chronic pain, every piece of clothing you wear has the potential to cause pain. One of the hallmarks of fibromyalgia and chronic pain is skin so sensitive that even the slightest touch causes pain. Many people can develop such hypersensitive skin that it’s difficult to find the right clothing to wear. While ideally, we could all accommodate our bodies by walking around in just a fluffy robe (or nothing!) that’s not very realistic. Here are a few things that I’ve learned over the years about wearing clothing with Fibromyalgia.
One of the hallmarks of Fibromyalgia and chronic pain is skin so sensitive that even the slightest touch causes pain. Many people can develop such hypersensitive skin that it's difficult to find the right clothing to wear. Click To TweetThis post includes affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy for details.
1. Seams cause a lot of sensitivity
Seams are the bane of my existence. My husband thinks I’m crazy but when I’m wearing something with seams I can feel them digging into me and irritating my skin. They cause both rashes and pain and so I avoid them if at all possible. Thank goodness for the invention of seamless undergarments and clothing.
Bras have basically become evil torture devices so I almost never wear a bra when I’m home. However, I still feel like I need need to wear one outside my house. I used to go bra-less to pick up my kids from school, but after I had an experience where I unexpectedly had to get out of my car and go into the school office I changed my bra policy. Since then I have been on the hunt for a bra that doesn’t make me insane. My favorite discovery so far has been this bra.
It’s not perfect (there’s basically no support) but it meets society’s standards without me feeling like every minute is torture. For a little more support but slightly less comfort, I like this bra. It is seamless and doesn’t have an underwire.
Pants are another clothing item that can sometimes have irritating seams. It’s taken me a while to find some, but there has been some recent development in seamless pants.
I wear a lot of leggings and yoga pants that are designed for people who want to look good while they work out but happen to benefit me for my everyday wear. Seamless and tagless shirts are a little harder to find, but there are usually some with athletic wear.
2. Sometimes loose is best
The downside to seamless clothing is that it is often tight, so depending on what pains me the most I might switch to something loose with seams that don’t constantly touch my skin. This is where Maxi dresses come in because they are loose-fitting and very cool for those of us who live in hot climates. If you’re looking for straight-up comfort you can get something like this, extremely loose but still acceptable to wear in public.
Comfort has always been a big priority for me (I once told my mother I wanted a flannel wedding dress because the lace was too itchy), so generally, I could care less what I look like when I leave the house. However, I’ve noticed that I feel more confident in myself when I occasionally dress up a little. If you want something a little more stylish, but still comfortable I love this dress. I wear it on occasions I’m not feeling anti-seam.
3. Clothing that sits on your waist may cause discomfort
Many people don’t like clothing that sits at their waist. In that case, low-waisted pants may be a good option, or possibly drawstring pants. For several months after I had a c-section, I had to wear scrubs because I couldn’t stand anything tight on my waist and there weren’t a lot of other options. These days I’ve found a different option in maternity pants because they are designed to fit below the waist. I have some pants that fold over like these ones and they are incredibly comfortable.
4. Other clothing suggestions from my readers:
Buy shirts a few sizes bigger than you need for a loser more comfortable fit
For some comfortable but affordable leggings, a reader suggested Leggings Depot on Amazon.
A reader recommended Agnes and Dora clothing. I’ve never tried them but everything looks both cute and comfortable.
For comfortable bras, a reader recommended Genie Bras which are seamless, but also provide support.
If you have to wear jeans one reader suggested Next.
What clothing options have worked for you?
Oh are my new new hero. I’m sitting here biofreezed up, heating pad on, tums still in teeth, sedated and in FREAKING pain. FYBROMYALGIA. NEED I SAY MORE. I just found you and am binge reading your posts. I particularly love the ones about hating summer. Can hardly type this my hands and fingers hurt so bad from the damn heat and humidity. Keep posting. I need you!?
Thanks Kate! I feel your pain. It’s a heat index of 115 today and I’m super over it!
I have so enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on dealing with clothing issues and chronic pain and fibromyalgia and other issues. It seems that as I continue to go to the doctors I find more and more chronic problems .
I am not sure when this question was posted but I want to add a comment anyways. I was diagnosed in 2004 which at that time was hardly any help not to mention most doctors did not believe this was truly a serious illness. So, through trial and error I have found many things that work for me.
Regarding clothing I find that I can tolerate cotton or cotton blend (must be mostly cotton). I buy Dresses that are very loose fitting. I have found that I can no longer tolerate wearing pants of any kind. I have found a site called Women Within that has nice dresses for any occasion. I have also bought shoes from them.Finally, I also do not wear a bra any more because they cause me pain.
I should point out that I no longer work and I am home alone the majority of the time.
I have suffered fibromyalgia for nearly 20 years but in the last 5 I’ve had much more severe symptoms. Clothing drives me nuts & now that I can be a housewife I’m pretty much in big tshirts & shorts. I’ve come to love scrub tops because they are big & boxy & I can get away with no bra. Bras have become my torture. I’ve worn the seamless “genie” bras for sometime but they get uncomfortable fast & are hard to get into. I’m tolerating the flexee tanks best at the moment- give a slight bust & belly shaping without the underband or seams.
Valuable article. Thank you so much for this.
Thanks for your recommendations. It’s also nice to know I’m not the only one.
Hah – seams are the bane of my existence too. I used to try hard to wear those high-waisted workout leggings, but I feel like I’m being suffocated to death. And all I feel are those seams and giant bands! Now I’m confident in my comfy clothes. Just like you said, loose, no seams, and as little as possible on the waist. And screw that bra!