Exercise regimen while living with chronic pain?

Weight loss is about eating less than you burn off, if your daily activity is limited due to illness/disability, then you can still lose weight by focusing on diet. It would be a good idea to see a dietician (i.e. medically qualified one) for advice about how much to eat and also what to eat, to ensure you're getting the nutrition you need and in case there's any extra dietary requirements for your medical condition.

In terms of exercise, do whatever you can that isn't going to make you feel more ill. Don't compare yourself to other people, you know if you're doing the best you can, and you also need to listen to your instincts in terms of when to stop, so you don't make yourself more ill. Exercise is for health, it should make you feel more healthy, not less healthy. Weight loss is about calories in v calories out and can be achieved without exercising. For most people, exercising to increase the calories out part of weight loss is a very good idea because it has so many health benefits. But if a medical condition makes it difficult or impossible to exercise, then that's not the same situation.

I have fibromyalgia and some other issues too, not exactly the same problems you have, but I sympathize with your pain. I’ve found that fairly lite workouts in the evening seem to be best; things like yoga or simple crunches and lunges, etc. all done at a slow pace. For me, pain flares up considerably after working out, so if I do it in the evening I can rest or go to bed right afterwards. If I work out earlier in the day, the day is pretty much wasted. I have a hard time accomplishing much else due to pain and fatigue. I try to avoid pain killers as much as possible, and ice and heat can only help so much. Hopefully, keeping at it will eventually lead to being able to do longer more rigorous workouts.
I can’t begin to imagine how hard it must be to have chronic pain and a 5 year old to try to keep up with! Good luck. :flowerforyou:

Hi Alexarose- that's awful I have had endo since I was 9 (started my period at 8) and it's no joke.

(I'm guessing you've already done these things, but I'll ask anyway) Have you asked your Dr. about switching off the Mirena and trying a different BCP? Or having a laporoscopy to treat the endometriosis? Are they sure you don't have any endometriomas? If you're in pain all month long, you might have something more complex going on.

I had a miscarriage at 12 weeks in June, and have been off the pill for over a year. My cycles are horrible with being off it, but it took so long to regulate them after getting off the pill, that I don't want to go back on it before we TTC again. The one thing I've found that really helps with pain is taking Aleve 24 hours before my period is expected. I take one in the morning and one at night from the day before my period starts until the day after it's over (usually about 10-12 days- ugh.) Throughout the day I use Midol and Ibuprofen in alternating doses as well. My doctor recommended this approach, and it's kept me off prescription pain meds so far.

As for exercise, this sounds bad, but I just force myself to do it when I can. On super bad days (I also have chronic bladder spasms, which plague me worse than the endo cramps), I take them off and rest. I'm on my cycle and in pain for so much of the month that I would lose a lot of the fitness ground I've gained if I stopped because of my period. I hope you find some answers, living in pain is awful

I have fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome so I can try and imagine how you feel . I am sorry that you are in pain and feel stuck. I find that if I multi task then it is easier for me.
If there is a show that I really want to watch then I work out while watching it, either at the gym on my iphone or at home on my computer attached to the tv. I am on the phone often with my friends and I usually do housework during that time or I make my meals then. I get tired very fast and everything makes me feel run down so this has helped.
Maybe you can add some members to look at your diary and give tips? You may not feel you have enough calories but with the right adjustments it can be enough. Try to add more veggies into your meals as this is a good way to fill you up, also add chia seeds to your meals as it really does fill you up and keep you satisfied for longer.

I have fibromyalgia and in doing a bit of research have found that the following exercises are recommended for those of us who live with chronic pain.

1. Yoga. You can do a beginners or gentle yoga and burn calories without hurting yourself

2. Aquafit. I don't know if you have somewhere that has a warm pool (the water is kept warmer than the regular pool) but my local YMCA offers aquafit both in the regular and warm pools.

3. Tai chi

4. Swimming

5. Walking

6. Pilates

I don't know if any if those help but maybe there is something there that you can do. If it's too painful to do 30 minutes of something break it up into 10-15 min intervals throughout the day.