Hello, I'm new here and am glad to find a fibro message board on here! I was going to start one myself if I didn't find one, so THANK YOU!

People who don't know what we go through have no clue about our disease! It will be nice to be able to support each other.

I'm 50 years old (5ft 3, 166lbs) and I've had fibro since I was 16 years old. I'm doing VERY well now. The only drug I take for fibro is Tramadol. I have been on it for over 10 years. I can take up to 4 per day and I never go over that amount because I heard that you can develop a tolerance to it. I usually take 3 per day. If I don't, I can hardly walk the first hour or so after I get up in the morning.

As far as exercise, I am now walking 3 miles per day at about 3-3.5 miles per hr. on my treadmill. By the time I'm done, even after cooling down for up to 20 minutes I have quite a bit of pain in my calves but I get right into the shower, cool down and then point the shower head to my calves and turn the temp up as high as I can tolerate it. I then rub the entire calf and behind my knees with shower lotion (I use Olay). After I get out of the shower, I rub them down yet again with lotion. If I don't do all of the above, I can hardly walk and I'm VERY sore the next day.
In the summer I use my pool. I can do a lot of different exercises in water without the pain. I know how to swim but I hate doing it for long, maybe because of a shoulder problem, or laziness, boredom more likely! The local indoor pool here is awful so I'm out of luck until May.
I've found that if I sit around I end up hurting more. You just have to learn what your body can handle and work with it, push yourself just a little bit harder but do it slowly and cautiously. Another thing I did was to set a goal to walk 1,000 miles for charity this year! It keeps me motivated, I log my progress and I'm helping out a good cause. (St. Judes). If it wasnt for that goal, I'm sure I'd slack off and not walk on some days. If I do miss a day, it's hard to make it up so I try to get it done and do it early otherwise I wouldn't do it. I'm NOT a morning person at all but it's the only time I have the (mental) energy to do it. So far this year I have walked a little over 41 miles.
There are some things I know I can't do but I hope to be able to do them in the future, unless it involves a shovel. I run from those things!
Good luck everyone and keep posting! You all have already helped motivate me. Thank you!

I have been off "bad carbs" and started pushing through exercise and next thing I know, I am not having the crippling stiffness. I have had a few weeks now with improvement and being able to exercise. It gives me more hope of getting this extra weight off. Bellydance is a great workout, fun, and easy on joints. Some yoga aggrivates my stiffness but I have found a style that helps. When I am doing better, I love TurboJam and Zumba. I am even doing some weight lifting with extra joint care. I find I have to mix it up a lot. If I am repetitive, I am prone to body damage, Have any of you found that? Sometimes I think I have other undiagnoised issues that are tied to the fibro. For example when I am doing something and a joint starts to bother me, if I don't stop in time, I will always have an issue with that joint. Sorry to get off track. I love to exercise and am doing my best to make lifestyle changes to overcome the fatigue, pain, and resulting stiffness to be able to do so. I appreciate this site and the community for the motivation and support. Much gratitude!

Hi all! I've had Fibro for 13 years, and tried all the different drugs. Frustrating, isn't it? As far as exercise, yoga works well for me, as does walking. For the last two years, I've also done pole dance fitness. SO much fun! It really helps me build up those reserve muscles for when I'm having a flare-up.

Other things I do that help me: consistent/weekly visits to my chiropractor, good quality vitamins (I use Usana), and eliminating gluten. We think I have celiac (too scared to go back on gluten to get the official diagnosis)... Now if I have any gluten, I get really sick! But being off of it has made a huge difference in the amount of bad days I have. I'm also learning what foods (like pop) trigger flare-ups for me.

I have had Fibro symptoms all my life, but was oficially diagnosed in 99. I take Cymbalta and love it. I also just had WLS. I love to take my rabbits in their stroller for walks in the park. I also really enjoy working out in the water- walking, water aerobics, water zumba. My gym has great classes for the water. I also like the strength training machines that use bands becaue I have more control over how hard I work. The more I put into it the more I get out of it. I'm going to find out Wed (2 week post-op appt) when I can get back to the gym. Until then, I am strolling in the park. I hope as the weight comes off the pain goes down.

Sounds great FibroFit! I love Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire too. I have to switch it up though. With the fibro, exercise makes my body stiffen up so severely I can barly function. It is so wonderful your body responds well to the strenuous exercise!

I could feel every wrinkle in the sheets and in my clothes. It felt like I had bruises every time anyone touched me.

This is me! I swear I can feel every crease in sheets and my pjs! I am the original 'Princess and The Pea", if you've ever read that story! I also feel like I'm bruised all the time.
I am now walking/hiking up to 7 miles a day. That's what is working for me as far a exercise goes. As soon as I get over a nasty case of poison ivy, I'm going to try water aerobics a few times a week. I'll let you all know how it works out for me.

I have a very hard time exercising so I have taken to the thinking any constant movement is exercise. I can usually exercise for about 20 minutes. Sometimes up to an hour if it is something easy. I set a stopwatch and walk, do Wii fit plus, play basketball( mainly passes and shots), do housework or occasionally go to the pool and do water exercises.

I do Pilates and Yoga at home and a couple of classes a week. Then I do uphill trekking 6 days a week and I find that if I'm having a particularly bad flare up if I can push my body hard through it and eat as wholesome as possible, the flare up doesn't last as long.

My new exercise love is Tai Chi. There really is more to it than meets the eye. I had to stick with it awhile to reach this point of appreciation. It even helped my stiffness yesterday after a hard workout of Turbo Fire.

I have had fibro since I had my son almost 35 yrs ago.. It has just been in the last 15 yrs that it is getting worse.. I am 56 yrs old and weight 173 lbs. Around 13 or 14 yrs ago I used to walk almost every day and the only pain I had was in my feet, but I could deal with that. I stopped walking after my mom died 12 yrs ago.. I take Celexa and Trazadone and Flexeril. My doctor told me I am gaining weight cause they cause me to be hungrier and also I have just been sitting around because I have been too tired and hurting that I couldn't exercise.. (By the way I did try Cymbalta twice and it didn't help my pain and gave me weird thoughts that scared me. Stopped taking it and felt better).. Since February at my physical and my dr finally tells me I need to lose weight, so I decided I have to do something. So I started walking. Twice at the mall, and on my treadmill and outside. The only problem now is the weather. If it is rainy or muggy, or warm out, it just about kills me. Even walking on my treadmill in the house with the fan on me doesn't help much.. But I have to keep walking.. A question, should I try to lose 1 lb a week or 2 lb a week?? I am trying to eat better also.. My hubby keeps (encouraging) me to keep walking. (He can ride his bike in 90 degree weather and enjoy it). I want to lose so badly and I want to keep walking,, Every day I walk I pray that Jesus will give me strength to do it. And he does.. I have lost 6 lbs since February and want to lose more more quickly.. Is it possible?

Good job losing 6 pounds! I have read that losing two pounds a week is the number to strive for. Sounds like you enjoy your walking and having a treadmill at home is great for those rainy days. I would rather be outdoors walking and running, my first exercise love, but can't anymore due to a foot problem I developed after the fibro set in. You may consider trying something new to mix it up a bit. Maybe check out the things people are sharing for ideas. You could try a class or just purchase a DVD to use at home. Something to strengthen and tone muscles is good to do a few times a week. The more muscle mass we have the more calories our bodies burn at rest. . With the fibro I have t mix it up a lot. I have an arsenal of DVDs, Tai Chi, Yoga, Belly Dance, Zumba, Turbo Jam, Pilaties. There are a lot of fun and worth while forms of exercise. The trick seems to be finding what you love, what works for you and doesn't make our symptoms worse.

Oh yes, What we eat is more important than the exercise we get during our journey to lose weight. Recording what we eat and using the MFP tools are great. I need to do better at measuring my food to make sure my numbers are correct. I find that following a plan or having rules for my eating help me.

I am glad we have this site and each other to lean on. Good luck and continued success!