Chronic Pain & Exercise
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Hi I am Bhavani. I am new to this forum.I am suffering from fibro, I think it is genetic for me,cuz my dad has it.
I have ruptured disc, and sciatica from past 12+ years.Due to some nerve damage I have developed fibro.
I can do only walking as exercise. Due to my hysterectomy and some hormonal issues I am always fatigued and tired.
I cannot enjoy vacations with family, even to outlet mall is big shhhhhh..for me.
I am on a mission to improve my health.So the first step is weight loss.So far so good,I can say the scale is showing some results.
I tried yoga,it gives good relaxation, but not that good for weight loss.
hi Bhavani, I feel your pain. It is very depressing when you can't enjoy normal things like vacation. Been there! I think for all of us it is a matter of building tolerance and carefully choosing our battles. Our pain is not going away, exercise and diet also doesn't make it disappear, as I have heard for some (some have made their symptoms "disappear" by strict diet, therapy, and exercise, only to find that when they couldn't continue it forever symptoms returned.) but through my experience, low impact exercise is building my stamina, where I can endure pain a little better than b4. Still some days are worst than others.
As for food choices, some foods make me hurt more.
So the questions for me are "do i want to eat this now and suffer & be in pain later?" "Do I workout for as much as I can now, be in better shape & look better in those skinny jeans, while feeling good about myself, then be in pain later?" Or "Do I be out of shape, Hate the way I look, and still be in pain today?" Those will be questions I will ask myself for the rest of my life. The choice is Mine... I choose IN Shape w/ a side of pain. lol. hope this makes sense... This was my little Rant :bigsmile:0 -
Hi new member here
and this so true....I suffer from chronic lyme disease and nerve damage from shingles......But since Ive started exercising again and doing yoga again Im feeling better....This time of year is bad on my hips the colder it gets the worse the pain is and alot of the times the pain gets so bad I dont want to move at all and just cry
Welcome to our group and I hope you can find some support here and who knows some answers for your pains.
winter it's really bad for my pains, everything aches I feel as if my bones are going to break at any time; but summer time with hot weather is even worse for my muscles pains... That's why I started going out for a walk and do strengthening for muscles, it's not easy but it does helps.0 -
Hello Charlie, sorry to hear about your problem. To be honest I have no clue at the moment of what you can do to make you feel better but I will do some research on your health problem and if I find something helpful i will tell you.
All the best for you 0 -
Good afternoon all,
New member here, I have DDD L4/L5, L6 is thinning - chronic pain especially in the winter months has been away of life for me for 24 years.
I have learned over the last 5 years my pain is related to drops in the barometric pressure. Today it dropped so I am sitting on an ice pack for relief.
I am allergic to pain killers and ibuprofen. Tylenol doesn't touch this pain. Plus, the things that worked last year don't seem to be helping this year.
I do use a TENS unit, Tylenol cream, ice and heat, an inversion table and believe it or not Jagermiester - not all at once, LOL. I have a sleep number bed, to which I attribute being able to get up each morning!
I am very blessed, exercise helps! However I cannot exercise every time I have a flare. I do gentle yoga on a daily basis and am so thankful for the flexibility I have. I do other exercises and really am getting in good shape for the first time in my life.
Stress eating is my most difficult side effect from the pain.
I friend gave me a topical cream called Plexus - doesn't seem to help, but she says they have pills and a nerve cream, too. Has anyone tried them?
I appreciate any input and truly am saddened to read each of your struggles. I am prayerful that you will each find a way to deal with your pain, find the relief you need and meet your other goals.
Kim0 -
Basically my nerve is crushed in my collarbone region on both sides. This causes nerve pain in my shoulders, down my arms to my hands and across my back. Sometimes I have pain in my chest which in all honesty feels like a heart attack. Scared the life out of me the first time it happened. It also causes me to have chronic headaches. The operation I had involves removing my first rib (which is a combination of bone and muscle under my collarbone) this is meant to relieve the pressure off my nerve but alas it did not work. I have tried walking but can't walk far as I need to rest my neck to relieve pain in back. In saying that though I do try to walk at least 2 to 3 times a week, even if it is only for 10 minutes.0
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Oops previous message was for DarkLady. Still trying to figure out the messaging.
To Necee, I honestly never thought of youtube for low impact exercises before. Thanks for the idea.0 -
Good morning all, pain filled start to the day. Hooked up to TENS, just got off my ice pack and really no relief.
What are your weapons against stress (pain) eating? I don't believe it will be a huge issue for me today, as I am nauseated from the pain right now…but last night was a different story.0 -
A HUGE ..... :drinker: :flowerforyou: :bigsmile: to all of you. Throughout all of your struggles and pains, you still are trying to get/stay fit & healthy. I commend every one of you guys and would like to thank you for being such a good example for anyone that says my pain = unhealthy. Keep pushing guys.... Don't give up! This is each of our fight, let's WIN the best way we can!0
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Good morning all, pain filled start to the day. Hooked up to TENS, just got off my ice pack and really no relief.
What are your weapons against stress (pain) eating? I don't believe it will be a huge issue for me today, as I am nauseated from the pain right now…but last night was a different story.
Hi, maybe start off by trying to go for the healthier foods/ snacks. If it is comfort foods you are reaching for, find healthy alternatives. For example if you want something sweet like ice cream sundae... mmmmm. try combining apples, bananas, grapes in a small bowl. 2 tbsp whip topping (frozen in tub, keep tub in freezer. it will have consistency of ice cream) top with few nuts, and tbsp of nestle quick choc syrup (its better for you b/c it has real sugar, not high fructose) and whoooooo, a treat! its about 200 calories still, but you have vitamins and fiber you would not have gotten with reg ice cream or cake.0 -
Hi new member here and this so true....I suffer from chronic lyme disease and nerve damage from shingles......But since Ive started exercising again and doing yoga again Im feeling better....This time of year is bad on my hips the colder it gets the worse the pain is and alot of the times the pain gets so bad I dont want to move at all and just cry
Have you thought about water aerobics?0 -
There is sooooo much involved in living with chronic pain in my life. Everyone says moving, staying active, exercise makes it better. Well there must be something terribly wrong with me. Every workout is a battle; before, during, and especially after. Before- pep talk to move your bones, while they ache every minute. During- shortness of breath, feel dizzy, stiffness. After- ohhhhh, the pain up to 2 or 3 days worth, soreness, stiffness.
I have consistently been working out, doing everything right, stretching, stopping when i can't go any longer, but it has not gotten too much better. The only thing that keeps me going is my goal of losing the lbs to feel better about myself. and the support i get on mfp. I just keep my eyes focused on that light at the end of the tunnel and hope i reach my goals and am able to keep it off this time.
I have learned to take one day at a time and not keep saying why me.... The battle is mine. I control my body. I am trying not to let my body control me.
As for the eating/diet that is another beast of it's own. lol.
I do have trigger foods that make me feel worse, but like any addiction, its a fight to Just Say No! lol. I make choices everyday... do you want to be in pain tomorrow or eat this pizza today for 10 minutes of pleasure? Mmmmmmm..... Decisions, Decisions.
I understand your situation and I must say that in the past i used to overdo in my good days - in the present there's no good days- and the following days I could barely move.
My body is always changing during the day, I might wake up with bit of energy so I go for a walk, or I do some cleaning in the house, but after that I feel exhausted! so I take a rest reading a book, watching a movie or just playing a game.
Some days I feel heavy and it's a hard task to move my limbs or even to eat, if it wasn't for my husband i would stay in bed like a zombie! :sad:
I have 24/7 pains in my body I can't get rid of them, some days are bearable others are really terrible. what I do is trying to keep my mind off pain by doing thinks I like.
As for food :glasses: :drinker: hun sometimes I do the same, I feel this craving for pizza and even though I know that afterwards all that cheese will increase my pains I just eat it! In my case, I eat always healthy food and by this I mean loads of veggies, fish, fruit, no pasta, rice or potatoes - very rare to eat it- and the result is that once in a while I need to eat something not healthy and I do because we cannot be slaves of our illness.0 -
Basically my nerve is crushed in my collarbone region on both sides. This causes nerve pain in my shoulders, down my arms to my hands and across my back. Sometimes I have pain in my chest which in all honesty feels like a heart attack. Scared the life out of me the first time it happened. It also causes me to have chronic headaches. The operation I had involves removing my first rib (which is a combination of bone and muscle under my collarbone) this is meant to relieve the pressure off my nerve but alas it did not work. I have tried walking but can't walk far as I need to rest my neck to relieve pain in back. In saying that though I do try to walk at least 2 to 3 times a week, even if it is only for 10 minutes.
that's not good and it really causes loads of pain but if you wear a neck collar when you go out for a walk it might ease your pain...
Those chest pains... terrible I have them as well as the migraines and headaches.
You just have to set your limits as you've been doing but try each day walk a bit more and do simple and advised exercises for your problem. Don't give up and don't lose hope0 -
As for food :glasses: :drinker: hun sometimes I do the same, I feel this craving for pizza and even though I know that afterwards all that cheese will increase my pains I just eat it! In my case, I eat always healthy food and by this I mean loads of veggies, fish, fruit, no pasta, rice or potatoes - very rare to eat it- and the result is that once in a while I need to eat something not healthy and I do because we cannot be slaves of our illness.
Can you please help me understand how pasta, rice, potatoes and bean have a negative affect on pain? I understand the glycemic index part - but as someone with chronic pain I am wondering if the rice and potatoes I've eaten in the last couple of days could be adding to the pain I am experiencing!
thank you in advance!0 -
As for food :glasses: :drinker: hun sometimes I do the same, I feel this craving for pizza and even though I know that afterwards all that cheese will increase my pains I just eat it! In my case, I eat always healthy food and by this I mean loads of veggies, fish, fruit, no pasta, rice or potatoes - very rare to eat it- and the result is that once in a while I need to eat something not healthy and I do because we cannot be slaves of our illness.
Can you please help me understand how pasta, rice, potatoes and bean have a negative affect on pain? I understand the glycemic index part - but as someone with chronic pain I am wondering if the rice and potatoes I've eaten in the last couple of days could be adding to the pain I am experiencing!
thank you in advance!
i haven't done any formal research on it yet, but i have a pretty good idea. My theory is: I have heard that sugar/ carbs (rice, potatoes, pasta, beans) turn into a crystallized, broken glass like substance in our bloodstreams once broken down by our bodies. its like tiny shards of glass running through our blood vessels. ok our nerves are already super sensitive, i.e. fybromyalgia... soooooo broken glass running through our veins.... mmmmm.... :sad:0 -
I found this online has anyone tried it or know anything about it if it works or not??? http://www.fibromyalgia-fitness.com/fibromyalgia-exercise-videos.html0
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Good afternoon all,
New member here, I have DDD L4/L5, L6 is thinning - chronic pain especially in the winter months has been away of life for me for 24 years.
I have learned over the last 5 years my pain is related to drops in the barometric pressure. Today it dropped so I am sitting on an ice pack for relief.
I am allergic to pain killers and ibuprofen. Tylenol doesn't touch this pain. Plus, the things that worked last year don't seem to be helping this year.
I do use a TENS unit, Tylenol cream, ice and heat, an inversion table and believe it or not Jagermiester - not all at once, LOL. I have a sleep number bed, to which I attribute being able to get up each morning!
I am very blessed, exercise helps! However I cannot exercise every time I have a flare. I do gentle yoga on a daily basis and am so thankful for the flexibility I have. I do other exercises and really am getting in good shape for the first time in my life.
Stress eating is my most difficult side effect from the pain.
I friend gave me a topical cream called Plexus - doesn't seem to help, but she says they have pills and a nerve cream, too. Has anyone tried them?
I appreciate any input and truly am saddened to read each of your struggles. I am prayerful that you will each find a way to deal with your pain, find the relief you need and meet your other goals.
Kim
Have you ever tried Aspercream? It is an aspirin cream that seems to help my low back pain. I am however on heavy narcotic medications, which don't always control the pain.0
