Add Back Pain to Menstrual Health Tracker symptoms

[watermelemon]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering whether Fitbit would be able to add "back pain" to the list of symptoms in the Female Health Tracker.  This has been mentioned briefly by a previous post, but it did not really seem to be discussed and that post has since closed for additional thumbs up.  I, personally, get a very specific kind of lower back pain during my period and I know that that is a fairly common symptom during a period.  I also find it to be a good indicator of when a period will start, and so it would be a good addition to the current symptoms.  I think that this could also be resolved with a different suggestion made by someone in another post that we have a custom symptom option, and so back pain could be made a custom symptom.  However, until that feature is added, I feel that back pain should be added to the symptoms options.  Thank you.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[LuciaFitbit]

@watermelemon thank you for sharing this suggestion with us. Back pain is a common symptom and could be a good addition to the Female Health Feature. I am keen to hear what other users think! 

[EdmundC]

Back pain is a universal issue as people age - rather than adding just a specific symptom why not allow users to create a "symptom" in the same way that we can create custom foods, so that user can track any issue that they are experiencing?  Foods track calories but "symptoms" could be made to track the degree of pain instead - back pain might be 90% one day but improve to 30% after treatment or medication.  If this was done flexibly than a user could also add a "medication" too which would mean that when you go to see a doctor you would have a record of symptoms, treatments and results in one app.

[watermelemon]

@EdmundC I understand your desire for a general back pain symptom or symptom creator.  However, I feel that that is a different feature to the one I would like added, as that would apply to general health, whereas my proposal is specific to the kind of lower back pain some people experience due to menstruation, and thus is related to the Female Health Tracker.  Perhaps you could also mention your idea in a separate post to see if others agree?

[EdmundC]

I have no problems with your suggestion, I thought it was a good one - I'm simply thinking that a more general form of tracking might be more attractive to the fitbit developers as it could be used by all users just by reworking an existing app in fitbit.  Although judging by the lack of anyone else's comments on this thread there seems little interest in either of our approaches.

[MommaBof3]

I think the back pain is a great idea. But migraines are also a common occurrence. What about a way to choose between adolescent, regular periods, perimenopausal, menopausal. This would help me tremendously. My periods are all over the place and the tracker is trying to figure out the cycle and it is very confused right now. Thanks! 

[sherree0573]

I have just asked for the same thing and think it would be a great addition to the period tracker and if also easily added to general health too but most important to me is the period side

[Kitkatmoss411]

Also possible to add more moods? I feel like there are more moods that we experience than the current ones available. But I totally agree with the back pain as an addition to cramps 🙂 

[EarleneFromUSA]

Back pain, for me is not in the least bit related to menstrual cycles.  It is related to my health, of course, but also related to the work I did most of my life, as well as the condition of my spine.  I also get different forms of back pain.  Some is low back pain and some is upper back pain.  The causes of the different back pains I get are not from the same things.  For example, when I am on my feet for too long during the day, the pain is in the  thoracic spinal region.  Lumbar pain can occur for me from various causes, but usually not from standing for too long in the course of my day.

In addition to the types of back pain that I usually feel, there are other types, such as back pain associated with UTIs (lower back) or back pain associated with Gallstones (between the shoulder blades).

So I would like to see back pain included, but with more specificity, and the option to by indicate the region of the pain (lumbar, thoracic, cervical at the very least.)

[RosarioYDT]

In logging symptoms you should add Lower Back Pain. I’m actually surprised it’s hasn’t been there from the start since it’s a very common symptom 🙂  

[EdsonFitbit]

Hi @RosarioYDT, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us, this feature suggestion already exists so I’ve moved your posts here to keep this board organized.

[ZaraT]

This is exactly what I wanted to submit! I personally get quite painful back pain in my lumbar spine and sacrum leading up to or during my period and it is definitely a major indicator! Having this as a symptom to add would be brilliant. I agree with the different spine locations also. Like it has been said above, aches and pains in different areas relate to different things, daily activities etc. Thank you!

[katastrophic]

I'm honestly really surprised that this wasn't part of the original rollout of symptoms. Backpain is literally the only thing that's consistent enough for me to know when I'm getting my period. That and feeling my abdomen heat up. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi everyone, and thanks for sharing this suggestion. We’re very happy to let you know that this has been released on Female Health tracking. You can find more details here: Do I see a period on the Fitbit female health calendar if I log flow details?

@watermelemon, in recognition of your excellent suggestion, each of your votes will now count as 5 votes – you have the power! Thank you for sharing this idea, and thanks to everyone who voted and commented for your enthusiasm which has now materialized for everyone’s benefit. We hope you all enjoy this new addition to the Fitbit product or service!