Move It! Exercise! What?

During the time my fibromyalgia symptoms were so horrible, I read articles about the importance of exercise in coping with my illness and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  It was quite comical to think I could do any kind of exercise when most days just getting out of bed and taking a shower left me absolutely exhausted.  Tears formed in the corners of my eyes just thinking about trying to move muscles and joints that were screaming with pain when I was simply sitting still.

But you know what?  All those voices encouraging me to get up and get moving were right. It helped me feel better while I was sick.  And it established a pattern that I could continue to follow as my symptoms improved.

I had been working on the other aspects of my recovery plan for several months before I added exercise.  I got rid of chemicals in my home environment, stopped eating processed food, and started eating whole foods rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. My pain level was already improving from these changes before I started trying to be more physically active. 

To find an exercise routine I could live with I had to:

Be Realistic

I'm not very athletic. But before I got sick, I could walk three miles a day, hike up a steep mountain, swim laps for thirty minutes at a time, chase grandchildren around the park, and shop all day long.  I had to come to terms with the fact that these might not be attainable goals for me now that I felt so bad all the time. But just because I couldn't do the things I used to do before I got sick, didn't mean I had to settle for doing nothing at all.

Start Slow

One doctor said that he asks his patients to start their exercise program by walking only one minute a day at the beginning. That encouraged me so much.  I thought that even in my debilitated state I could manage to walk for one minute.  I worked up to walking five minutes at a time, then ten, and then fifteen.  I was strolling, not race walking, but I was up and going.  It was a start.

Be Grateful

I believe that attitude is everything when you are dealing with a chronic debilitating illness. (And even when you're not.)  I focused on expressing gratitude for what I could do instead of complaining about my limitations.  Some days the gratitude thing was easy.  Other days I spent a considerable amount of time whining and feeling sorry for myself before I was able to start counting my blessings.

The three types of exercise that seem to help me the most are:

Stretching

I know some folks with fibromyalgia that have gotten good relief with yoga or similar programs but I am too uncoordinated to get the hang of bending my body into all those odd positions.  I do a little bit of Tai Chi which has been helpful.  Simple stretches work best for me.  I do a series of arm stretches and then get on the floor and do a series of leg stretches. Since I was being realistic, I started out by doing only two reps of each stretch and gradually worked up to twenty reps.

Swimming

Swimming is a great way to exercise your muscles and joints without putting weight bearing pressure and stress on them.  I started out swimming to one end of the pool. I rested for a while and then swam back to the other end.  That was all I could manage at first,  Gradually I worked up to swimming laps for five minutes before I had to rest.  Now I stay in the pool for thirty to forty-five minutes at a time several times a week.  I swim laps part of the time and do leg lifts and stretches holding on to the side of the pool part of the time.

Getting Outside 

Having a chronic illness that quite frequently made it seem impossible for me to leave the house, lead to feelings of isolation and depression.  It has lifted my spirits to get outside and walk a little even if it is only for a few minutes at a time.  My husband and I love to go camping. When I was sick I didn't have the stamina to hike like we did before I became ill. But there are other ways to enjoy the beauty of nature. The boardwalk I am strolling on in the photograph at the beginning of this post is only about three hundred yards long. It was a great place to get out and enjoy nature without exerting a lot of energy,  I was able to walk through that lovely area when my fibromyalgia symptoms were still quite severe.


I have been symptom free for seven months now.  (Except for one flare up due to chemical exposure that you can read about in my last post).  I have more energy and stamina now but I am still working on returning to the activity level I had before getting sick.  I continue to look for ways to stretch and move my way toward better health.

Flareup: Bad News is Good News

I woke up one morning last month scared senseless.  I rolled out of bed acutely aware that every muscle and joint in my body hurt. I had pain in both legs, both arms, my shoulders, my neck, my back, my hands, my feet. After over six months of absolutely no fibromyalgia symptoms, it was back.  So naturally I toot the most sensible and rational course of action:  panic followed by a headlong tumble into despair.

For five days I sat around enveloped in fibro fog, fatigue and pain; but mostly I passed the hours whining and feeling sorry for myself.  On the fifth day there was hope in the darkness.  I started to think about possible reasons as to why the symptoms had returned. What had I done differently?  Then it occurred to me.  

We had gone swimming in the middle of a hot summer day so I had used sunscreen for the first time since my recovery.  I believe a light bulb may have actually popped up over my head.  I didn't look in the mirror to verify this because I was too busy trying to remember where I had put the bottle of sunscreen I had used the day before I woke up with the horrible return of symptoms.

Aha!  I found it!  This is the list of active and inactive ingredients in the sunscreen. And....(drum roll please) that liquid was full..of..chemicals.

By using the sunscreen, I had unintentionally turned myself into a human science experiment that confirmed my theory that chemical exposure is a contributing factor to fibromyalgia symptoms.  I had been vigilant about getting chemicals out of my environment and food.  I had eliminated chemicals from sources that were not always obvious: fragrances, cleaning supplies, personal grooming products, and processed food.  But the day before I woke up with the return of that awful pain, I had slathered sunscreen all over my skin, the largest organ in my entire body, without even thinking about all the chemicals that were in it.

I couldn't stop smiling (even though smiling made my face muscles hurt more.)  If the chemicals in the sunscreen caused the flareup, then my body should be able to eliminate those toxins and recover from that specific exposure in a week or so.  Eight days later the pain and fatigue were gone. What I thought was really bad news:  the return of symptoms, turned out to be really good news: concrete evidence that exposure to chemicals contributed to my fibromyalgia disease process.

I will continue to avoid chemicals in my environment and food and eat healthy whole foods full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.  But I am going to be a lot more careful about where hidden chemicals might be lurking.  Being well feels too wonderful to take a chance on feeling that horrible again.