Fibromyalgia and Fitness

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in April and have just recently started trying to lose weight. I initially started trying to walk and do general calisthenics, but that caused my FM to flare up. Is there anybody out there that is dealing with the same problem? If so, please give me any advice you have...what's worked for you, what has made it worse? Anything will help.

I am gluten intolerant, and until I stopped eating it, I had horrible body aches and pains. The doctors kept telling me nothing was wrong with me. I am now 100% gluten free, and I am 95% pain free. I'm just saying, it's totally worth looking into. Perhaps it will help with your pain, and you can get on your feet and start exercising. I will pray for healing for you.

thanks for this post, I can't contribute to anything but I have a dear friend with this problem so it's great to see how others deal with this.

Hey I just wanted to share with all of my fellow FM sufferers, I also have a lot of ankle pain especially when I walk or stand for more than 30 minutes, I push myself everyday but 3 things have completely changed my quality of life and taken me off medications completely that is:
1. Having a positive "Not letting anything get me down" attitude (not overcoming to the pain and suffering)
2. Vitamin B-12 injections
3. (new recent discovery are those Shape up type shoes. I don't have the Shape Up brand I have the cheap version, but that make a world of differnce of my pain levels!! Hope anything I have said makes a diiference in someones life :-)

Perfect reply. I agree with all of the above, and i also have b12 Injections

It's pretty clear that different people handle their pain differently, and that some people who have posted have more complex medical situations than "just" FM. Through my own medical journey, I've learned that many other conditions have the same symptoms as FM - which is why the diagnosis is/was considered a "junk" diagnosis for a long time.

Here is something to consider. If you have other conditions or issues that flare at the same time as FM, then it's likely that there is a link to what's causing those flares. I would urge you to see a really good rheumatologist and tell them *every* medical problem you've ever had. Write it all down and give it to them. Once my doctor was able to look at the whole picture (not just things *I* thought were rheumatological), she was able to put it all together and make a correct diagnosis. I had NO idea that some of my medical problems were actually stemming from a particular rheumatological condition. I'm not a doctor, and I'm not going to try to diagnose anyone from what I read in an online forum - but from my own experience I can say that it's important to tell your rheumatologist about your gastrointestinal issues, and your headache issues, how you've recovered from surgeries in the past, and EVERYthing else in your medical past.

On a different note, I agree with some of the people here who say "get up and go", "push through your pain". That's great, IF YOU CAN. Only you know if you are using your pain as an excuse. If you are, then STOP using it as an excuse. But if you really canNOT get up and move your butt sometimes, then don't let other people tell you you're being lazy. Pain and fatigue are real. Take the time to think it through for yourself, be honest with yourself, and do what is right for yourself.

It's not helpful to be told you're lazy because you can't or don't or won't get up and go like someone else. Would you tell a blind person to "try harder" to see? I think a lot of depression around disease and disability comes from other people (and yourself) telling you that if you just tried harder you'd be better. If "trying" was the cure, NObody would be sick or in pain.

Pushing through pain to some extent is good and necessary. But if you are injuring yourself, you're not doing yourself any favors. If you're causing joint damage, that pain is there as a signal for you to stop. I "pushed" through the pain after a surgery, and wound up with permanent damage. I should have taken the time to heal at my body's pace, not some artificial time limit that "most" people need. It was a hard way for me to learn to listen to my own body's signals.

I'm not a lazy person. But sometimes I look like I am. Who cares? I do everything I *can*, but I no longer try to do things I *can't*. And I don't beat myself up over it anymore.

I know this is a weight loss and fitness forum, and that most healthy people can live by the "no pain - no gain" philosophy when exercising. Some of us have to watch what we eat even more carefully because we're not able to burn off all those calories with (as much) exercise.