I Believe it is a Wide Mix of Everything..

We Hurt, and the More we Hurt, or Feel Fatigued the Less we are Apt To Move, or we May Believe that Movement will Make things Worse, when Actually the Opposite is True...

So Then We Slow...and our Pain/Fatigue Increases...this Increases our Heart Rate since we are Not Moving Enough, Our Heart will Automatically Kick a Gear Higher to make sure Blood Circulates well..well, This Can Cause our "Anxiety/Depression" to Rear its Ugly Head..

Which May Slow us a Bit Further..which only Exacerbates the Initial Issue..The Pain & Fatigue.

I was Really Quite sedentary between 2006-2009 I pushed to Stay as Active as I Could, But I had an Underlying Issue that was Stopping me Cold...I Had Scar Tissue in My Abdominal Aorta, Blocking the Flow of Blood to my legs...so this Made Walking Extremely Painful..

But, I Found I Could Walk Fine in a Pool...and Could Actually gain Muscle Strength.

Thats When I Got the Big Boost out of the Whole Rapid Decline...Everything Backed Way off..Anxiety, Depression, Pain & Fatigue...the Headaches...the RLS.



Didn't take it all away...just Gave me the Hope, and Encouragement I Needed, that 1 day I Cold Feel at least Semi Normal again.

Being De conditioned On Top of Having Multiple Health Issues only makes the Rest of the Health Issues Worse..I was in a Bad Place 4 Years ago on Every level...I am No Longer there..

Some Exercise actually Should be the "Relaxing Kind"..like Stretching while Belly Breathing..this produces the "Healing Hormones" we Need so Desperately..any Kind of Exercise is Good...no Matter what you are doing..but the Stretching while Belly Breathing seems to Bring on an Almost Instant Response within us..I Know I was Amazed.

So, Tho You Sound pretty active actually, Many of Us are Not, or Were Not..and the Stretching/Breathing Exercises are a Very Good Place to Start..and if you have Access to a Pool...This Process will go Much Faster..

Slow & Easy...Always.

I was diagnosed at 12 and am now 35, for me I think it's gotten better. But it could be just coping and getting used to it - I barely remember not having it. I'm tentatively diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis. Compared to that, fibro is just an afterthought. I think it's because I can't block it out of my thoughts like I usually can with fibro... hopefully I will learn soon.

Exercise and good sleep help considerably. When I was lifting weights 3-4 times a week for 1-2 hours I felt better than any time in my life. I so wish I could do that now...

Dakota, I feel like I'm 90% less active than I was. I struggle incredible to get things done. I have started asking the kids to do the animal chores and even help out around the house a lot more. Which I know doesn't hurt them one bit. I guess I'm just scared of becoming immobile because I think I am about there. So do I make myself go for those long walks that cause so much pain or give it up and crash on the couch like I so desperately want to do anymore. It really may not be the fibro that 'makes ' me, it may be the ddd as it is getting so much worse!
I'll try the stretching and breathing thing more often.
I had a breakdown a few years ago and it took me a long time to become mobile again...it's a scary thing.

I've only been at this three years -- but it has taken most of that to figure out my own body and how it will respond to many things - activity, stress, weather, .....but I definitely have been improving as the time has passed.
The medicines (Savella) have stabilized in my system...and I feel better than I did in the beginning.

And...I've adapted and changed a lot of my lifestyle. Yes, I have included family members in the household more - and am blessed that they are helpful. I've cut back things that stress. And I find that some days moving is much better than other days....so I just adapt. Not every day is the same activity level. I do think over doing activity causes me more pain at times - we just feel it more profoundly. But stopping is not good -- yoga is really helpful. You can find lots available online to try - even sitting on the bed! The pool is the best too! and walking. Those are my preferred activities on days when I can.

Bless you.

I need to rest and recuperate on the weekends so I usually just sit on the couch those days. However, those are the days that I hurt the worst. I think being up and about helps me with the pain. I know it helps with my mental state because keeping active takes my mind off the pain. So it's kind of a double edged sword for me.

I have found it does get progressively worse. Excercise may be good in short increments, and you may feel less stiff at the time. But, when you go to relax in the evening, the pain and muscle cramps start.
And when you have these conditions, it is hard to motivate youself because, you are either too fatigued or in pain. I have been suffering for 20 yrs.

My Fibro has absolutely progressed with new symptoms appearing throughout the years and other symptoms worsening. I believe part of it is that I'm 7 yrs older than when I was diagnosed, part of it is the change in weather (increasing humidity over the last several years), and I believe part of it is that the illness simply progresses over time (like most chronic ailments).

More of my body's systems are now involved. The worst part of Fibro in the beginning was the Fibro Fog. Over time, my spelling has gone into the toilet, I lose my train of thought, my photographic memory is gone, all 18 trigger points hurt continuously, my migraines are worse, the weight gain SUCKS, etc.

For several months a few years ago, my left leg would just give out on me and I'd collapse on the floor. It was really scary (I kept thinking 'please don't let this be MS) but, it eventually went away on its own.

I had one mini-remission about a year after diagnosis. I was taking Elavil and it helped substantially with sleep - which allowed me to think more clearly and it raised my pain threshold. But, I ballooned and gained 45 pounds so I stopped taking it.

It didn't crave food or carbs (I have had very little appetite since the beginning). Weight gain is part-med side effects and part Fibro. Constant sleep deprivation affects cortisol and that makes it very hard to lose weight.

I saw a nutritionist who INCREASED my calories to 1200 per day. I gave her my detailed food/activity diary and she agreed that a 'normal' woman would've dropped weight and quite a bit of it with the way I was eating. It's incredibly frustrating.

Frankly, I think the symptoms that are on the peripherary or that are caused by meds we have to take are as bad as the direct Fibro symptoms.

I haven't been officially diagnosed with FM... But, if I do have FM..my symptoms started out with low energy, depression... leading to headaches... neck/shoulder pain... months later came the tingling and numbness in my hands. Not sure when it started, but now is the stiffness in the morning, poor sleep, constant all over body pain... a moderate hum of pain... everywhere with a spike in the target areas of neck, back, and hands. So for me, if it's FM.. it's progressing.. it didn't just wham start with all the pain areas.