Struggling to Exercise with Pain and Fatigue

Oh and also: pools are great for us and minimize flare up risk that you might get with other, more intense exercises. And definitely Tai Chi or Qi Gong (helps with stiff neck and back muscles as well as physical fitness and stress reduction).

This is our conundrum, so we can all sympathize, or at least I can say I can: Work out too much and you trigger a flare up, and too little is almost worse cuz you don’t get better. And that fine line doesn’t stay still. I have made some steady gains, and here is what I have learned so far: 1. Start light. You MUST go slowly with your progress, and you will be amazed at how you feel if you are patient. I regret every self induced flare up because I was feeling “good” so I got excited and did too much. Walking and stretching counts as exercise. Go slowly and enjoy the fresh air and looser muscles. No distance is too little, each step is a step you otherwise wouldn’t have taken. 2. Physical Therapists are your heroes. Get a script from your doc for it. 3. Diet is important too; and like with exercise, make small changes first. 4. Sleep is the most important… why did I wait until number 4? You are exercising so that you sleep better. Because if you fix your sleep, you just might fix your fibromyalgia. There is no such thing as a Fibromyalgian with perfect sleep; they are heavily correlated. The basic sleep hygiene practices should be memorized and taken seriously: strict, early bedtime. 1mg or less of melatonin supplement. No screens 1 hour before bed. Stretch before bed. Dark room. Good quality pillow. Etc etc

Swimming and even the local water aerobics groups are so great. I was the youngest in a group of 65-80 year-old people. I felt scared and awkward to join but it was the best thing for me and I was accepted and felt better physically. It was so much fun.

Also, I lost a decent amount of weight (10-15lbs) comfortably once I got more mobility back, the weight loss and the progress in PT were one to one and I think definitely related!

Some physical therapists can offer pool therapy! This can be really effective for fibro folks getting mobility back

I have a membership to the YMCA. I like to swim laps in their pool, and it’s way easier on my joints than walking or any of the machines in the gym that are supposed to be “good” for people with joint pain, fibro, etc.