My doctor also wants me to be more active and he doesn't mean to start running a marathon. At least not yet. What I try to do is listen to the oldies but goodies on my TV and gently dance around. Then I get on my trampoline and jump on that so it's not on a hard floor. What I really need to do but am afraid to do, is to stretch because I know it will hurt, but I have to start somewhere. And I also need to build some muscle. I want to welcome you to the family and also say that if you need someone to help in anyway I can, I am here for you. I may be starting out slow but slow wins the race, right? Hugs Gramybear

Thank you Gramybear!

I used to have incredible balance, but that's shot. I would really like to get that back.

I thought about trying Tai Chi. That looks low impact and very fluent. I'm going to ask the place that does warm water therapy if they can offer evening times....warm water make me feel lots better and I think it would help.

Welcome!

As many of us have found---start slow but tiny. I did yoga for 15 years, the gentle at-your-own-pace beginner's level via DVD at home (I couldn't afford the classes at the gym) and I started doing 5 minutes every other day, then eventually after a ew years (yes, a few years), I was doing 30 minutes every day. It was great! Slow and steady completely keeps you in the race, to borrow from GB up above. I was also able to not run marthons but do 5Ks. (It is past tense due to non-fibro issues. Argh.)

Tai chi's another great option, as is warm water therapy. Trick is to start small small small--- and rest rest rest in between any workouts.

One person a few years ago had a great program---do a few light exercises (like one-pound weights or stretches) during commercial breaks while watching TV. And only exercise during the commercial breaks during an hour-long show. When I had to relearn walking, I did that, and it got me my "x minutes per hour" without it being all at once and leaving me a mess.

Welcome to the forum:-)

I swim 1-2x a week. And then I started walking around the block 3-4x a week. But it took lots of time and patients to get to the point where I COULD walk around the block. I started out just walking down the road and back 1x a week. Now on top of that my husband and I started going to the gym 1x a week and I do a very gentle work out. It was very painful in the beginning, but I'm getting better at it. Make sure you give your self time to recover. Be gentle on your self. And also remember it's going to hurt, but it DOES get better.

I can barely walk due to the arthritis in my knees. The doc tries to ignore that since I'm "too young" to suffer from arthritis. Yeah, right. So most of my "activity" is yoga. It doesn't take much before I'm going to pay for it, though. I also have Chronic Fatigue syndrome. So I'm proud to say that I more than doubled my work out time last week from 2 minutes per day to 5 minutes per day! Seriously, I don't push it beyond this no matter what the doc says. There is a line at which being active just makes things worse.

For me, the best exercise is Pilates. I am in a class of 3. We are all older women. I can rest when I must, and leave when I'm tired. I go once a week and it's social as well as physical. It's a little pricey, and my son pays for me. Moving is critical, but we do wear out easily.

I echo the above and would reiterate that graded exercise therapy or g.e.t. is the only way to not be defeated. Even my cardiologist gets this now. I should be running at 30 minutes, but she realizes with all my spinal injuries, arthritis, fibro, and cfs, that I can build up and do some good. But, if I overdo it, I'm down for a good couple weeks and that means I have to start all over again.

Unfortunately, many doctors do not understand this concept. It's called "post exertional malaise" and it is a reality for our bodies. That is your truth and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. You are your own best judge of what you can and can't do. Having said that, I understand it's easier to do nothing and make excuses as I do myself...just start with 5 minutes of walking, moving your arms, any little thing you can do. And then give yourself a big congratulations for making the effort.

Aquatherapy was my savior and I mean savior. I am restarting a program with my original therapist and I will travel any distance to see her. I never felt better than when I finished a full therapy session with her of 6-8 weeks. Good luck and God Bless and keep coming here for support.

Thank you all for responding. I agree...my doctor just doesn't seem to get it. I do know that moving will help, he seems to think I need to do at least 30 min a day, to start. There is no way that can happen.

I also work a very physically and psychologically demanding job. I am a Blood Bank tech in level 1 trauma hospital. We also do liver transplants that are very blood product intensive. I would say in a 20 day work month, 15 of those I am up and running for the majority of the day. We get times when we are constantly running for 8.5 hours, because we are too busy to get a lunch. I come home more often than not exhausted and crumble into a pile of pain.....then the doc tells me I'm not physical enough.

I really wish the warm water therapy was not during work hours....I would travel the distance to do it. I just can't afford to miss the pay from work, plus incur the cost of the therapy.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and experiences....this is just what I was looking for in joining this group!

I thought my Dr. was crazy telling me to walk, but I do believe that it helps in the end. I don't walk far, just enough to walk my shih tzu. If you can't get to warer therapy, try warm/hot epsom salts barhs. The epsom salt replenishes nutrients and removes toxins, relaxes our tight muscles. Have your Vit D checked by your Dr. My Dr. said 50% of women are seriously deficient.

Feel better soon.

Paininlife I also have a physical job. I find that getting in the shower and stretching in the shower helps -- just careful not to slip! I have also purchased an elliptical trainer in the last year. You can find good deals on them when they are on sale. It is very good for the joints and you can get a good workout in 20 minutes while watching TV in your own home! Because I work swing shift it seems to help me get more workouts in -- getting to the gym was incompatible with my schedule.

There are many good gentle yoga and chair yoga videos (where you don't have to get on your hands and knees or lie on the floor) at libraries for free. For example, Peggy Cappy does videos for chair yoga. Or books by Lilias Folan, who did years of teaching on PBS television.

Or find a class where the teacher can work with your pain issues and modify postures for you. It helps if the teacher is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200 or above) because that means they have had training in anatomy and doing postures safely.

Even if you just sit in a chair and do the deep breathing exercises, you are still helping your body.

Hugs, and I hope you can find a form of exercise that helps your pain.

Take care,
Lynn

Moving, exercise is absolutely critical with fibro. The more you don't move the worse off you will be. There is a fine line though of doing too much. Stretching is also necessary. Remember that 30 mins a day doesn't have to mean 30mins at once.....it could be 15 mins twice a day.....10 mins three times a day or even 5 mins six times a day. It can be absolutely anything you can do....light weights, yoga, walking. If you don't have a treadmill just walk around your house.

I read your post on the 'updates' that come through days late so sorry this is a bit after the fact.

What struck me reading your post is how your doctor isn't hearing what you're saying when you describe how active your job is. So it might be worth getting some independent validation in terms of a pedometer, worn daily for an average week. You can't argue at steps per your day vs the recommended average.

Reading your post I actually think you may be doing too much, and would benefit from reducing your activity and increasing your resting times. It's not necessarily how long you rest, perhaps more that you build in regular 'rest' breaks wherever you can (i.e. not at work when there's a life threatening need for blood and you shut the door on them and say 'not now, I'm on my break!'). If you try and increase your activity you run a hightened risk of injury 'from the frying pan into the fire' as I've read it described.

Muscles, and the connective tissue they're wrapped in (the fascia) are funny / odd things and like a lot of tlc, way more than we give them. Regular massage tends to be their favourite thing, but resting of any kind, showers, baths, yoga / pilates / tai chi / qui gung, all of these things help muscles de-stress and prepare for the next event / day / activity.

On the flip side, the more muscles are continually over-exercised by any activity they tend to get mightily p-ed off and reach the stage where 'something' happens and you get problems, seemingly 'out of the blue'. I know...it happened to me. I worked in a hospital too, was busy like you describe too. My 'something' was a few 'somethings' including minor car accident leading to chronic but mild back problems, poor ergonomic work station for 6 months, severe overworking in a challenging bullying environment and I developed fibromyalgia to go along with my chronic myofascial pain syndrome (which got way, way worse as you'd expect).

There's a brilliant ebook all about muscles -the good, the bad and the ugly- that is worth the small purchase price. It's at www.painscience.com and helped me recover before a further injury led me to wave the white flag and give up trying to work and have much of a life.

"What works for stubborn aches, pains, and injuries? What doesnt? Why? PainScience.com reviews your treatment options and the nature of the beast: hundreds of self-help articles, plus several big tutorials about common musculoskeletal pain problems, routinely updated, and readable enough for anyone but heavily referenced for professionals. (Theres also a huge pain science bibliography.) I serve up the science of pain with some sass I try to have fun taking this subject seriously. ~ Paul Ingraham, publisher"

i was like you and didn't have a sedentary job or sedentary life, kept walking but that didn't help. so i kept trying physical therapy. i found a PT place near me that had evening hours. i like PT, it is light, it isn't aerobic and yet also gets your heartrate up. it is low on the ground so you can rest inbetween and store up spoons if you need to. it was easy on my joints and really helped me build muscle. i have to say that the PT i did and the muscle build up i did helped my fibro the most of anything. and i tried water therapy, hot tub and massage, supplements, accupressure, accupuncture. and while the PT was hell to start, it was so worth it. muscle mass, i think, helps me maintain good levels of mitochondrial cells that increase energy and help muscle pain. or at least, that's what i think happened with my fibro. now i stand all day long and do inversion therapy, with some light PT. i'm more active now in my more disabled state than i ever have been in life. PT, i recommend it.

I AM afraid if I don't walk, I won't be able to. Also, my walks bring me relief from brooding and negative thoughts. The sun is shining today and the breeze is cool, gorgeous weather, glad my little dog and I could get out. Even if it's just to the corner.