Since I have always worked at a physical job, I learned early to try to keep pushing through the pain. I simply have to keep working, I take care of animals and if I don't get the chores done, they will die and probably so would I.

It would be much easier to pack it in, but that wouldn't do anybody any good. I also try to walk each day in addition to the farm chores. The dogs are much better for that, too. I can't do a lot that I would like, so I find other things that I can do.

Yeah, if I do too much I pay for it the next day. I'm sitting here with a heat wrap on my back this morning, just trying to get the energy to get out there.Somedays I do everything bent over from the pain.

You can't let this win, I've been battling it for 30 years. If you let it take over you will soon find yourself unable to move at all. I will not be bedridden if I can possibly help it.

I have a treadmill at home, in the living room, behind the sofa, when I started out exercising, I walked on it, very slowly, even 2 mph for five mins at a time, and as you get walking, i forget about the pain for a little, I now love my treadmill as it's the only form of exercise I do.

How does anyone possibly exercise with the amount of pain they have? It takes what little energy I do have to take a shower! When I do have a "good" day, I try to get some laundry or housework done, but I suffer for it the next day. Any suggestions?

Val

My suggestion is not to give in! I've posted some time ago what I do to fight this illness that bring us down all the time. it's not easy like you said to exercise but you must make an effort if you really want to get better.
You don't have to run of do aerobics , noo, just do simple and nice exercises for joints and for muscles for 5m today , 10 m tomorrow wnd so on ; increase the time of your exercises slowly but once you start you can't stop. There are some exercises that I do for FM and they do work. I also walk long distances, dance and meditate.
Don't think that i'm not in pain because I have 24\7 pains aggravated for my spine and hip problem which doesn't help. Painkillers make no effect on me, can't sleep and i feel like a zombie all day. But at least I try to get better, I exercise and I take vitamins to help me. I don't exercise every days but I try when I can. I have to do all my housework because I have nobody to help me so I've learned to carry on even when I can't do it any longer.
I am deeply depressed all the time but my advise is don't give in to illness

I am also in charge of the house. My husband works long hours and I have three children to look after and clean up after. All the housework is down to me. So I cant give in and lie in bed for weeks or someone come to do the housework or kids. I have to do it, end of. I believe that that is the reason why I am where I am now. Feeling better for it! Still have pain but not like it was. Movement is def helping me.

I actually found amitryptilline very helpful, until it tried to kill me twice. I say twice because it was such a good med for me that even after the first time I had a bad reaction I tried it again, at the cardiologist's recommendation. Unfortunately, it soon had the same effect on my heart rate, which was not good and this was while maintaining a pediatric dosage.

I didn't even realize how helpful it was until I had to stop taking it. For several weeks after I stopped it felt like all my nerves that had previously experienced pain were growing back and hurting terribly. That's just a description, obviously, not a real physical reaction. That's just the way it felt.

Wow! That's not good. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with that med. I had a bad reaction to a med last year which was meant for my arthritis. I had to come off it.

How does anyone possibly exercise with the amount of pain they have? It takes what little energy I do have to take a shower! When I do have a "good" day, I try to get some laundry or housework done, but I suffer for it the next day. Any suggestions?

Val

Start with an amount that does not cause significant problems the next day. This may be tiny at the beginning. That's fine. Work out every day or every other day. With very limited ability to do anything without flooring yourself the next day working on endurance exercise might be kinda pointless in the beginning. I suggest strength training. With that it's possible to make progress on a couple minutes a day when you're starting out. This can be as simple and minimal as picking something like push-ups or body weight squats and adding one single repetition each session.

Best of luck with that. How are you doing?

Anything you can do to move more is worth the effort. Hopefully you can find a balance that doesn't leave you a painful, crippled lump in the corner the next day. That is important.

Start very slowly, maybe even slower that what they may say is slow. No one that hasn't felt what fibro can do to you can really tell you how to develop a successful exercise program.

Do let us know how the Sit and Be Fit program is working for you.

Hello All! I am beginning the weight loss and exercise journey after a wonky year: FMS 23 years, finally DXed as Lyme disease in 2008. Anyway, I had a hip replacement then knee replacement over the past 9 months. The knee replacement still bothers me, but not as badly as it did prior to surgery. I think it is in part because I am a walking Paraplegic for 31 years now. And at ( I think) 180 pounds, I'd like to lose at least 35 pounds, hopefully 45 pounds. Any weight off these knees is good!
I've looked at a website called cfidsselfhelp.org. They discuss Pacing so we don't crash & burn. They are offering a group counseling of FMS/ CFIDS people's at the end of September. This is a great website with a great library of articles. Another I have found is fibromyalgia -fitness.com. The site is packed with stretches, exercises, diet help. The host is PT who works with a lot of FMSers. And he has his own auto immune disorder. He's also written 2 books on fibromyalgia fitness. These past few weeks I've been canvassing these 2 websites.
I ordered a fibromyalgia cookbook last night by Deborah Rawlings. I also have a Lyme cookbook. My aerobic will be the stationary bike as walking is not my cup of tea. Another aerobic + strengthening exercise I've done with great results is Oxycise. In about 20 minutes a day you work through your own body. The Oxycise website has 2 pages of Success Stories of FMSers & others with chronic fatigue. The last time I did it I lost 25 pounds over 3 months, but honestly some people really take to it, others have to build up to the full 20 minutes. And there's nothing wrong with that. We're looking at a lifestyle change, not a crash diet & exercise that will boomerang back on us once we hit our goals then start sitting on our laurels.
Monday I start 3X weekly aqua aerobics classes in a 90° therapy pool. I'm not sure if it will kick in my metabolism but it sure will feel good! I'm also going to start the exercises in the Fibromyalgia Fitness books. There is a 12 week EBook and a 7 week book EBook along with their website. And I must be aware of Pacing myself. Crashing & Burning are not conducive to long term fitness.
I look forward to all of us on our balancing pacing journey!

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