Fibromyalgia and Weight Lifting

I have fibro and I lift. Let me say that I don't know your level of pain, but I hurt anyway. I ache and hurt all the time. Lifting makes me hurt, but in a different, I feel my muscles being used that I havent used for awhile feeling. Thats different than the fibro pain. My philosophy is - i'm going to hurt anyway so why not get some benefit out of it. Feeling accomplished at something boosts your mood. I don't agree with your doctor on the depression theory. I also had post partum depression and put the baby in the stroller and walked walked walked. I slept better, felt better and it helps depression.

I don't think I have fibromyalgia, although it has been suggested, but I do have chronic pain and joint problems.

Chronic pain can trigger depression. But, exercising often helps with depression and anxiety. Do you have a therapist? It can help you with learning to deal with chronic pain, and a therapist will notice if your depression is worsening. I'm all for antidepressants, but when depression is triggered by chronic pain you also have to shift your thought processes and learn how to cope with it.

Has lifting or exercising triggered major fibro pain in the past? If not, what about slowly starting a program and seeing what happens. If it causes problems, you can stop. By slowly, I mean light weights and a couple of times a week. You can always try heavier lifting later.

Hope you feel better soon. All of this is just layers upon layers, and it's a balancing act of what makes you feel worse physically but better mentally.

Hi ya, I have Fibromyalgia along with other illnesses (arthritis, depression etc) I am on 20-25 tablets a day. I have only been diagnosed in the last 18 months and I have decided to try and loose weight. (used to be 30 stone) about 8 years ago. I never done any exercise to loose weight, only diet. With my health conditions I am in agony and I pull muscles easily.. I have suffered from Tennis elbow in both arms for over a year (nothing extreme only carrying a bag and stretching!!!) I have had a number of Corticosteroid injections in my arms, luckily my left arm seems to be fine now but my right is terrible and I am waiting to see a surgeon as I cannot use this arm at all. I have tried exercises like Zumba and now I cannot even get into the pool to start swimming. The only thing I seem to be able to do is brisk walking but then again I am still in pain all over even doing that. I try and exercise but my body is really restricting me and I don't want to be a cripple! I currently pay private Osteopath to give me massage, acupuncture and really is helping me. I hope once my right arm is kinda fixed I can start low impact exercise like swimming... I definitely need to do exercise as well as diet or I’ll be a slim unfit person instead of a fat unfit person.

I have fibro and was lifting at the beginning of my journey along with cardio. I stopped as I wanted the scale to drop a few lbs as my body always held onto a little more water. Wish I wouldn't have though! I was looking great. I did mostly the machines and free weights on my arms. I went VERY slowly, and if anything hurt in a "funny" kind of way I stopped. I watched You Tube videos on proper form, and read books. Most of my pain is in my knee and elbow joints, I tried not to push those joints too hard. I think a goodly amount of cardio shouldn't be a bad idea though. I get stiff if I don't move. Just do what you can do, even if it's 5 minutes! And body weight exercises are always good too

i have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. i tried lifting heavy for about 6-8 weeks and found that as long as i gave myself enough rest between sessions (usually 48-72 hours) i would be okay, but if i tried to lift again too soon it would cause a flare. overall i noticed a "different" kind of pain, as some others have mentioned--a "good" pain, the "i'm sore because i did hard work" kind.

(i didn't stop lifting because of the FM; i got frustrated because i had gained a little bit of weight back and the scale wouldn't move back in the other direction--most people say this is because i have so little to lose. i wish i'd just stuck with it though. i think when you're ready, lifting could be a really great addition to your workout program if you take it slow and really pay attention to what your body is telling you as far as rest & nutrition. also, i do yoga every day and it's the thing that's made the biggest difference in my FM pain--after several months of doing yoga 3-4 days per week, my pain had lessened enough that i was able to start running--something i've always wanted to do! i went from barely being able to get out of bed to being regularly active and loving it. so if you haven't tried yoga, it might be worth a shot!)

i too have fibro, luckily the last month i have been quite well and started going to the gym, i started with less than 5 mins on the treadmill and 10kg on the sholder press (1 rep). i went from no exercise to this and incrased very slowly up to 18 mins on treadmill and i feel great. although i want to push myself more - it's the fear, i'm sure we all know it, fear of a flare and the pain, that it will grind me to a halt and i won't even be able to go to the gym- .

i learnt about pacing froma phsyiotherapst last year but was in too much pain to start then. definatly the pain gets me down, even depressed, the fear of it is like a dark cloud lurking so i totllly understand the apprehension about lifting. i think your doctor is being sensible and cautious but we as a collective with fibro have better insight to living with chronic restricting pain. my input would be go for it but slowly, very slowly. maybe increase your cardio as a sertonin boost? or use strap weights?

for myself i'm glad i read this thread as i really was getting ahead of myself in a massive way, just because i'm feeling good and have been consistant with the gym (gained 4% muscle in a month) i was looking into doing some jillian micheals...luckily the fear of a flare held me back and now i've got sensible. i know pacing (gradully increasing) is the only way forward, i got all excited and thought i could lose my tummy! was i being totally unrealsitic?

what i've found is when i'm pain free(ish) i forget what life is like with the pain and vice versa

those of you in bad pain at the moment sending hugs:)

Make sure you talk to a specialist in fibro not a GP to get your answers. I sat still and then it got so much worse exercsing in water is the first step if in pain but otherwise yes, weight trainning is great on low weights with more reps at first. The main thing is to remember to stretch afterwards and if you are fatigued beyond normal skip weight trainning and do cardio to get energy level up

I have had fibromyalgia for over 20 years. I have had success losing weight but I have to get better at not being such a yo-yo with my exercise levels. I am buying a fitbit flex to help me monitor my movement and be gradual in increasing so that I don't cause injury and flare-up. I like duffmama's suggestion to start with resistant bands. I also do walking with my dogs because it is the one thing that doesn't overdo my muscles. If any of you want to support each other send me a message and I would welcome helping you in your weight loss and healthy journey.