Discouragement

I feel like I'm losing my ability to be resilient. Too much. Too much. Doctors say exercise well if I go to the mall and start walking I'm liable to fall in a heap and cry because movement HURTS. It's a catch 22 I am fed up with. I'm retired thank God I can't imagine having this when I was raising my children and working. It's so fricken cold out and I need sun. I need to take my beagle out and play with her and can't, I'm in a flare and it's 10 degrees out. So I'll eat.
Hallahan

You have to get through the pain in the beginning, then it becomes easier. Do try to exercise and walk. The less you do, the less you are able to do. A body in motion, stays in motion...

I hope that you feel better soon...

Hugs, Karen...

Just noticed you are new to the forum... Welcome!!!

Do check out the first thread titled "fibro 101". It is full of all kinds of good information...

Maybe if you join a group at the Y? They do classes for people with arthritis. You can find some good friends there too.

Hi, Hallahan, and welcome! Well, I think I'm losing it! LOL I saw a post from you in a thread and I had never seen your name so I checked and see you posted this nearly a week ago and I didn't see it. I'm so sorry I'm late in greeting you.

I think you are just in a "burn out" stage. I go through that at times. Just remember that you are doing a good job at living with fibro. We don't fail unless we don't try and you are trying so that is good. You are just in a bad patch right now.

There is NO WAY I would walk in the mall. I don't ever go to the mall. I walk outside, check out my neighbors' landscaping, and just looking at the beauty that is all around me. Y-e-s, I know you live up north. I'm in the Tampa Bay area but I used to live in the Cleveland, Ohio area so I do know all about cold and snow. When I lived up there I purchased a walking in place video by Leslie Sansone. It was called the 1,2,3 Super Fat Burner. I liked it because you could do this at any age. If you did it for 15 minutes, it was like you walked a mile. It wasn't too strenuous for fibro and incorporated a tiny bit of arobics. I only did it for 15 minutes because I hate exercising. LOL Now, I know all the basic steps so I can do it while watching TV when it's too cold for me or if it's raining. So that's a thought for you.

It's very important to keep moving with fibro so your doctor gave you good advice. If you sit or lay too long you will be stiff as a board and have more pain. Walking is a gentle exercise and is excellent for fibromites...actually for anyone! I also swim in the warm weather and some like yoga, too.

Cold weather causes more pain, also. I'm so much better since I moved to Florida.

Have you tried magnesium malate and vitamin D3 supplements? Magnesium malate is magnesium bound to malic acid (found in apples) and studies have shown this helps with our pain. Also, if you are deficient in vitamin D, which many are, that can cause more pain, too. I take both of these and there are links in Fibro 101 all about these supplements and how they work in the body.

I did raise three children after I developed fibro but it's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it. So many times I would think, "I can't do such and such" but I always would try and 90% of the time I found I could do it! I have had fibro for 27 years and have had a full and enjoyable life in spite of this illness.

If you haven't already, please read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum. There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there. We do have to be our own advocates with this illness so it's important to learn all we can about it.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you. Hope to hear more from you soon.

Sherrine

Yes, I do have days where I feel "good". I still have pain but I've lived with pain for so long that it's just a part of me. I have several other illnesses that can cause pain, too.

But, I think when you get your pain under control, you will sleep better and that will help with the fatigue. For years I would wake up numerous times during the night and even get up about 5 times a night to walk around to help with the pain so I had a chance of falling asleep again. about two years ago I started getting progressively worse and fibro isn't a progressive illness. I headed to a board certified rheumatologist and after many x-rays, a ton of blood work, and two MRI's he discovered I had ankylosing spondylitis along with fibro. This causes a lot of pain. I was put back on ibuprofen and was given a muscle relaxer called Robaxin. That has made a significant difference in my pain levels. I only take half what the doctor prescribed because I didn't want side effects. I now only get up once a night to use the bathroom! The added rest has helped me a lot. You never know what will help you.

I don't suffer from depression but many with fibro do. But I am a positive thinker and that has helped me nearly as much as medication with my walk with fibro. I look at all I CAN do and don't think about what I can't do since that will only make me sad and not solve a thing. But I can do most everything if I pace myself when doing them. I even steam clean my own carpeting. I'm a widow so I don't have a choice. There is a great link in Fibro 101 about maintaining a positive attitude when you have chronic pain and I have read it many times...when I'm having one of those days. No, I don't suffer from depression but I sure can get the "blues" on occasions. I think this link can help you, too. I know being cooped up in the house for months on end doesn't help with depression or with your vitamin D levels!

Try to find things that you can do that interest you when you are housebound in the winter. For me, I started doing genealogy and it is so much fun, keeps my mind active, and I feel like I'm doing something good for my family. Something like this helps you focus on other things than how you are feeling. I never to a "body check". I set daily goals for myself...things I know I can get done. That makes me feel good, too. Today my goals were to pay bills, work on the forum, and do my laundry and I have done all this now. I'm smiling because I don't have to think about these things now and can enjoy my evening and I will set goals for tomorrow, too. Just keeping busy and living your life helps a lot with fibro.

You said that when you are distracted and having a good time....(that should tell you something)....you suddenly realize you are exhausted and can't continue on. I never think about how I feel but sometimes it will feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me. That's fine. That's my body telling me to rest a while. If I pace myself, this rarely happens. If I dive in whole hog and never stop what I'm doing, then I run into this. I love gardening and my back yard is one big flower garden with paths of grass running through it. It's a lot of work but it brings me great joy to see it's beauty. So, I will get out early in the morning and work for about 45 minutes. I know I can do this without causing me to flare. Then I stop for the day and, if I have more to do, I will get back out there in the next couple of days. Pacing. It's so very important.

I hope this answers some of your questions. I have done so many things since my fibro diagnosis. I really have. I have traveled overseas several times and even stood on a glacier in the Canadian Rockies. I love snorkling and I also have been parasailing. GULP! I wanted to do that soooo badly but good old fear tried to creep in and steal that experience from me. I don't live in fear so I got in that harness, the boat took off, and I was flying high above the Caribbean. Oh my goodness! It was amazing but yet I was wondering how my landing would be. LOL I did have good instruction so that worked out, too. I wasn't about to let fibro keep me from having such joy and I'm glad I tried it. Just live your life the best you can. Find what helps you get in control of the pain and you should do fine with this illness.

Sherrine

That idea sounds just like my husband's - he's always saying, "Someday they'll invent a pill that will take Fibro away completely and you'll be right back to your old self!" (of 30 years ago - that would be nice.)

My husband is an optimist :) I can't say I am holding my breath on this one, but hey - hope he's right.

I actually like walking in the mall - I do it a lot in the Winter months. Getting out among people is what gets me moving for the day...I get coffee, do errands, eat my lunch and listen to music while in the car (usually doing all these things by myself.)

When I come home I usually go out in the yard, clean up poop and throw a ball for one dog and a frisbee for the other. There are times when I'm just too zonked, but they'll stare at me with those eyes - you know those eyes...and doing it actually makes me feel better, as long as I keep my spine straight when I throw the ball.

I hope something helps you soon, exercise or a pill or something! 80 degrees wouldn't hurt either, eh??

Debbie

I have been seeing therapist a new experience for me...I am one of those cup half.... full no I see 100% full . (It drives my husband crazy) but for the first time in my life I am depressed .....chronic daily pain will make the happiest person alive .....depressed. The therapist is helping me to exchange sad hopeless thoughts to more happy thoughts being gratefully for the good things in my life, it is a process I am working on it, but sometimes I get discouraged too. My daughter has used this online therapist www.onlinecounseling.org because she does not have time to go in person. Just talking to others that know how we feel helps so much

I know exactly how u feel. I'm in the same place mentally. Im just sad,angry,miserable right now. I think we all get like this. The pain and stress just build until we r worn out! I know things will be better..we all just have our days...or weeks or even months. I will be praying for u. Please pray for me as well.