Posts: 139
6/26/12 11:45 P

sounds normal to me. maybe start with some simple stretching, skip anything more just stretch for a week or so and then add to that walking
I am trying to get back to where I can work out but even small things cause me pain like you, so it is slow, I have to remind myself that moderation means I stop before I hurt. Hard to do since I am not in pain when I am exercising.
Have you ever tried Tai Chi? Or TTAPP? both are great when you have fibro. I use them and normally would alternate between the two. Trying to get back into that. I also do walking inside when I am able.
set a timer stretch 5 minutes, after a few days increase to 10 minutes, after a couple weeks of stretching and increasing time start walking or whatever you want to do, start in 5 minute segments, increase by 5 min every few days
Hope this helps, it is what I would suggest to clients I work with and I am a holistic health consultant and work with several clients with pain issues

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6/15/12 6:22 A

This sounds like my story. The tough part is learning to listen to your body it seems. At first i'd do a mere 5 mins at a time then rest for 30. I gradually increased but there are days, sometimes many in a row, that I can't do a thing. On those days I stretch a bunch.

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5/18/12 1:10 A

Everyone is right, pacing is key. I still run into days when I do too much which means that I spend lots of time in recovery (resting, getting my anxiety down, dealing with associated pains in my body) but over time it does get better. I'm learning to separate my ego from my intuitive self when it c ones to this. It's a fine balance, but one we all need to learn. good luck to you.

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3/6/12 10:36 A

I spoke with a personal trainer who works specifically with people with fibromyalgia. She told me that, what would be a warm up for the average person is like six months of overworking the body for people with fibromyalgia. So, your response to exercise is NOT unsusual for people with fibromyalgia. My mother (who has the disorder not me) was an amateur body builder and ran 6 - 10 miles at a time. But now, if she gets on the recumbent bike for 2 or 3 minutes, she is in agony for weeks thereafter. Part of the reason why I'm on this group's page is because I am hoping to find out something that might help her. Unfortunately, I don't have any solutions for you. I just wanted to let you know that you are not abnormal and you're not doing anything wrong.

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12/13/11 6:01 P

Thanks Pam. The problem is, I'm not doing "anything", really. I'm not even doing a casual stroll around the block. It's not raising my heartbeat, I'm not sweating, or out of breath. I'm not even tensing my muscles much that I can tell. It's no worse than me walking around my house once. But the next day is pure torture. I've never had this happen before.

I believe I've had Fibro going on 25 years now, but have only been diagnosed for 9 months. In all that time, exercise wore me out - made me extra tired and achy the next day - made me sweat and feel like I was doing something while working out. I was truly pushing myself. This is the first time it's been like this. I feel like when I finish exercising, I'm all wound up - and excited, like you're supposed to be, I also feel like i haven't 't done ANYTHING at all, because really, I haven't. Then, after I relax and cool down (sometimes even taking hot baths to make sure the muscles aren't too tight), I go to bed and wake up feeling like someone put me on the spin cycle of the washer. Everything hurts as though I had done the biggest work out. Heck, even sitting on the toilet hurt, and that's just wrong.

This wouldn't bother me if I had worked out hard and could back down. I'm not. I'm barely moving for 10 min straight, that's all, and I have more trouble remembering to walk slowly than anything. Walking that slow is against the grain, if you know what I mean.

I spent 20 years in the AF and though I hated the workouts, I could do my 1.5 miles, or I could ride the exercise bike, and be fine the next day. I realize that for the last year and a half I haven't worked out or exercised, but this beyond low workout level. I take like 50 very slow steps and then hurt enough to make me wanna take some serious pain meds!

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12/13/11 3:29 P

I guess the key is to be able to pace yourself and dont overdo it or push yourself too hard. Unfortunately it is after you do push yourself too hard or overdo it that you feel the pain and then it is too late...I found walking exercise part one on realage.com with leslie sansone to be a good workout for me that I can keep up with and not feel sore afterwards. I do not kick very high and I really feel it when lifting arms above my head a few times for some reason that really overexerts me so I just try to pace myself and do the best I can do. Some days I do the whole fourteen minutes and don't feel anything and other days I feel exhausted or out of breath afterwards. Some days I sweat a lot doing it and other days I don't so not sure if it is the intensity or what. Guess we just have to do trial and error and try to find what works best. The key is to keep moving. Good luck trying to keep up the fitness part.

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12/13/11 2:35 P

My doc has insisted I start an exercise program. a year and a half ago, I was walking around the block twice, which is about 1 mile or so, and other than a few leg cramps, I did fine, but my schedule changed, making it impossible to exercise during daylight hours, and I don't intend to be one of those people run over at 2 am walking outside in the dark. So I inherited a treadmill, and thought that would be great. I started out what I thought was slow - walking at 2 miles per hour for 20 minutes. It was easy. I wasn't winded, didnt' even get my heart rate up. The next day I felt fine. So, I inched up to 2.5 miles per hour the next nite. It was easy, and I wasn't winded, and I felt fine. I woke up the next day, feeling a tad achy, so that nite I decreased, back to 2 miles per hour for 20 minutes. The next day I woke up in such pain that even my skin hurt. I told my husband I couldn't put pain patches on, because I'd be one pain patch from neck to toe. (I figure they don't help headaches much).

So I skipped a night.

After skipping a night I was back to normal. Still a tad achy, but I wanted to really keep this going, so I walked at 1.4 mph - which I found very difficult to walk that slow, for 10 minutes. I woke up the next day in pain. Not as bad as Saturday, but bad enough for me to decide this wasn't working - and that I would start this after the holidays when my to do list wasn't so long and I can suffer in peace and quiet without guilt.

So when you first started, did you implode like this too? If you did, how long did it take for you to ease out of it? The thing is, The exercise doesn't hurt when I'm doing it. In fact, it's so easy it's not funny. It's the after affects - and it's not just my legs, it's my entire body.

My mother once asked me "where is your fibro?" Uhm, the entire body! Isn't it that way for everyone?