Fitness with Fibromyalgia

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Fitness Struggles

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lonisansevere43
lonisansevere43 Posts: 6 Member
in Social Groups
I have fibromyalgia and DJD, degenerative joint disease or aging of the bones. On a different note, I also have idiopathic Hypersomnia or excessive daytime sleepiness so I am always tired and can always sleep.

I started seeing a rhumathologist in September and was just given the diagnosis of fibromyalgia maybe 3-4 months ago.

I was just given the diagnosis of DJD and still need to find out from my PCP who diagnosed me where I can go from here with this diagnosis.

I struggle daily just living. I work as a pharmacy technician and with the DJD, it is hard for me to bend down and get back up when trying to get pill bottles off the lower bottom shelves. The fibromyalgia mainly affects my back, hands, and wrists.

One of my specialists just informed me that I need to lose between 35-40 pounds. I know exercise needs to be encorporated; however, I am not sure what I can even do since I feel like my body has soo many limitations on it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated?

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  • canadjineh
    canadjineh Posts: 5,396 Member
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    Exercise is important, but fat loss is in the kitchen, fitness is in the gym. Try working with your food first. I had to be gluten free to help with my IBS and joint symptoms. You may find that you lose fat weight simply by trying that first (I do need to be strict though, otherwise I am back to serious pain and fatigue and GI symptoms). I am on a moderate protein, higher fat and lower carb plan and it helps a lot for me. Everyone is different though. Most of my exercise is walking and working out in the pool (aquacize and deep water running). Less stress on the joints and yet good muscle resistance to strengthen them. I realize I don't have your problem of DJD but my bone density was tested last month at a 25 y. o. normal - pretty darn decent for a 51 y.o. - and all due to exercise in the water. I also take supplements instead of drugs and they work for me. There's some interesting articles I've posted in the Medscape thread on this group - you might find them enlightening too.
    Keep on working at it! Friend if you like :)
  • dianneeverding
    dianneeverding Posts: 4 Member
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    I have Fibromyalgia and Sleep Apnea. I have issues with my joints working as they should so I was forced to find activities that are very low impact. The best thing that I have found to do as far as exercise is to walk. It takes a good deal of time and the weight loss is a slow process but it has the least "crash" after working out and does not create more problems with my joints. I do however have to be very particular about the shoes that I buy and can only buy the memory foam athletic shoes (not cheap). Another exercise that works very well is swimming if you have access to a pool. I sadly do not but in the past have had great success with exercise in the water. Simply walking in waist high water is a very good exercise and reduced the pain in my joints. I had a round of Physical Therapy and he strongly recommended continuing the water exercise therapy for strengthening and reducing pain. I am not sure with your DJD if you can do Yoga but it helps a lot with Firbro to stretch and release the tension that builds up in the muscles. Best of luck and remember to start slow and listen to your body. you may have to experiment with how much exercise you can tolerate so as not to "crash" and slow you down. Prioritizing time for rest is also very important. Remember ANYTHING that you can do is better than nothing at all and even breaking up exercise and starting with walking for 5 minutes several times a day is a great way to test your tolerance with out over taxing your body.

    Hope this helps

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