Does exercise help your fatigue?

[Kirby]

I have a member of my family who swears by exercise for tiredness so I want to hear the experiences of others. Personally I rarely have enough energy to start exercise. Even walking to the shops tires me out or doing things around the house. I am interested to know what the general advice is in this area. When I saw a physio when I was first diagnosed he advised me to exercise at my own pace.

[Hidden]

Hello Kirby, thank you for your question!

The advice your Physiotherapist gave you is good advice! With Fibromyalgia we can be limited regarding exercise and if we aren't careful we can actually do ourselves more harm than good!

Gentle exercise can be good for us and we can benefit from this because it gives us the feel good factor, makes us feel more positive and this in turn helps us manage our pain better. The sort of exercise I am referring to is gentle swimming, Tai Chi, Yoga for example. All gentle and at our own pace. This is the key to exercising with Fibromyalgia. Our body basically has to call the shots.

Here is a blog that Lindsey posted a while back on Exercise & Fibro, I hope you find this helpful -

fibroaction.healthunlocked....

[Kirby in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks, Libs. I will take a look at Lindsey's blog.

I can't do swimming because of feeling cold all the time! Walking is about as much as I do and that's strenuous enough as i live in a hilly town!

xxx

[Hidden in reply to Kirby]

I live in a hilly part of town too Kirby, but I managed to walk to my local shopping parade with my youngest son today and although it was cold, it was so refreshing and being independent felt great!

I needed a big sit down with some cookies and a cuppa after, but it did make me feel good! xxx

[Ozzygirl64]

I find I cannot exercise without causing severe pain. I have tried doing a little here and there but it leaves me looking like a leaf departed from its branch, all with and dead! So I have to make do with doing odds and ends around the house and even that is tiring xxxxx

[Kirby in reply to Ozzygirl64]

Thanks Ozzygirl. That's how I feel a lot of time, the fatigue means I never have enough energy to even do exercising.

xxx

[Hidden in reply to Ozzygirl64]

Pottering around the house is better than nothing Ozzy, at least you're trying. Pace yourself, one small thing at a time is an achievement. Well done. xxx

[Ozzygirl64 in reply to Hidden]

Pace myself lol, that makes me laugh as the closest I get to pacing is hop hop hop at the moment, tires me out no end xxxxxx but I know what you mean, with big jobs I break it down into about 4 smaller jobs, sometimes takes me a couple of days to get it done but I get there xxxxx

[ladymoth]

I do feel better if I take a little gentle exercise - like walking to the fridge for some chocolate!

Seriously, I try to take several short walks each day, but if I overdo it, I can hardly walk at all the next day.

As everyone has said, it's important to know your own limits xxx

[Kirby in reply to ladymoth]

Thanks ladymoth.

Yes I feel I'm generally quite good at pacing myself but when someone says exercise helps tiredness as a general statement I then feel under pressure.

xxx

[bob2421]

Swimming is good I tried the gym I puecked :-0 all over the exercise bike that's not good I never did go back a second time. Ladymoth pass the choccy !please!

Take care God bless

[Kirby in reply to bob2421]

I can't do swimming, Bob - I feel cold all the time Even having a bath does that to me! I'll leave that one for another day...

[Cat53]

Don't you just love the way people like to judge you. Family members have looked at my husband who is in a wheelchair and has shoulder problems and is an amputee, and go on to tell him about this policeman, who is an amputee after a crash, who exercises at the gym everyday and is such a great roll model........ie get out there and fight back. My hubby is wonderful. He wouldn't have climb Everest or run a marathon before the accident, so why think he would want to now! Exaggerating, but you get my drift. We are all different and what one person copes with another doesn't.

[Kirby in reply to Cat53]

Thanks for that, Cat, and that is exactly how I feel - judged. It isn't just 'tiredness' it's exhausting fatigue. If only I could summon up the energy to do exercise but she (my sister) has always been more energetic than me. I was always the one who couldn't stand gym and running or PE in general!!

XX

[Hidden]

Every case is different isn't it Cat and shouldn't be judged. Yes there are some wonderful cases out there where disabled and ill people have accomplished incredible things, but there are also many people who can't manage anything genuinely. It doesn't make them bad people or lazy people.

People generally are very judgemental, we all know this through having Fibromyalgia. I wish as a human race we could all be tolerant of each other whatever our circumstances may be. xxx

[wobblybee]

I tend to feel better if I can just keep on the move,even if it's just shuffling,

instead of sitting in one position for too long (like at the laptop browsing this site)!

It's hurtful when someone close to you recommends exercise etc, when they should

know better, being aware of difficulties.

[Kirby in reply to wobblybee]

Thanks wobblybee - yes, I knew when she suggested it she wasn't talking about gentle shuffling or movement! And fatigue is so much more than 'tiredness'.

xx

[SootyB]

Well, I did a very short (and half-hearted, as I was propped up on a crutch!) workout last Friday (I wrote a blog on it), and I actually had to have a nap in the car before resuming work! Plus, the pain was pretty awful for the rest of the day, and I was dropping by mid-evening. Definitely didn't seem to do me much good! xx

[Kirby in reply to SootyB]

Lol, SootyB, not that you were in pain but picturing you doing your half-hearted workout plus crutch xx

[Cat53]

My Grandson has CFS and his doctor is pushing him to do graded exercise. So he is giving it a go, but guess what? He is 18 and just going to bed cos he is exhausted. It's 5.20pm. So that's paying dividends! Not. He is determined to do it so he can crawl into the doctors and say 'hey, hotshot.....this is what graded exercise does to you!'

[Cat53]

My Grandson has CFS and his doctor is pushing him to do graded exercise. So he is giving it a go, but guess what? He is 18 and just going to bed cos he is exhausted. It's 5.20pm. So that's paying dividends! Not. He is determined to do it so he can crawl into the doctors and say 'hey, hotshot.....this is what graded exercise does to you!'

[Kirby in reply to Cat53]

I know for people with ME graded exercise can do more harm than good.

[moss in reply to Kirby]

i have just been told by my rheumy to exercise

[Kirby]

Good luck with that, Moss. Best thing is to gradually build up if you can and to pace yourself