I know, I know…no normal person wants to exercise when they are sick, exhausted, in pain, dizzy etc. etc. … and I’m SO glad I wasn’t normal! Because if I wasn’t such a diehard for working out (any sane person would have went and lied down somewhere when they felt that crappy!), I would have NEVER discovered the absolutely huge game changing benefits of working out in my fight against fibromyalgia. I mean…exercise and fibromyalgia!?!
So let me explain.
I’ll admit I stumbled onto the fact that exercise is so beneficial in fighting fibromyalgia (for me) and for years I wondered just how much of a factor it was in how I was managing to function fairly well with fibromyalgia. But I’ve come to think it’s a very key factor for me and I’m definitely not going to take the chance of stopping it anytime soon.
And I think I’ve been incredibly lucky that I stumbled onto it right away, during the early stages of my fibromyalgia onset. I started working out to combat it before I even knew what “it” was. I was feeling helpless and distraught, part way into a three month wait for an MRI to help diagnose the serious and scary symptoms I had been experiencing, when it struck me that I could do something about it NOW…I didn’t have to wait helplessly…I could go into my self-described “combat mode” that I had used to fight endometriosis years earlier.
In a nutshell, my “combat mode” consisted of “doing anything I could do to feel as healthy as possible in every other way” and a big part of that for me was working out. But…doctors were saying I likely had MS and I was devastated thinking (based on a close family member’s experience with the disease) that I likely would no longer be able to work out…until…I became inspired by someone.
At the time, there was a popular talk show host who had MS for years and he was clearly a super fit person that I could see must keep up a regular workout regimen. So that told me…IT’S POSSIBLE! And that was all I needed to know…I stepped up my working out again. I was going to work out no matter what it took!
Okay…and now here comes the shocker (for me, anyways)!
I’ll set the stage first…I was just wanting to keep fit, I hoped that maybe it would help me combat fibromyalgia in some roundabout way if I was healthier overall. I was just trying to feel as healthy as possible, to possibly…hopefully…minimize the discomforts and help keep me healthier in the long run.
So I remember it clearly…feeling really crappy…lethargic, almost immovable really, kind of numb in some areas, my head didn’t feel right, almost dizzy…I climbed on my treadmill, doggedly determined to get through the running work out in the name of my long term health.
Well, to my total shock, it actually made me feel better… IMMEDIATELY!!!
Shortly into the run (and I only ran for maybe half an hour, three quarters of an hour at the most) I started to get energized to do the run, and by the time I stepped off the treadmill when I was done…I felt (oh, the joy!) totally NORMAL!!
That was over thirteen years ago and to this day, for the most part, working out still works that way for me. Sure, it’s not a cure all. The symptoms come back here and there and sometimes fairly quickly…because working out is not the only thing in the mix. Other factors certainly affect my fibromyalgia symptoms. But I’ve thought a lot about it over the years, through all my trial and error living with fibromyalgia and I truly think it’s a major factor…from the immediate benefits of often getting rid of current symptoms to the longer term benefits of being overall healthier, to say nothing of the benefits I am getting from the boost in serotonin levels and endorphins!
I truly believe exercise has been (and continues to be) crucial for me.
And it certainly hasn’t hurt me…I mean…how many ways is exercise beneficial!?! (AND…I’m gradually improving over the years…) I’ve had to work to find that right balance for me though. I’ve overdone it for awhile and started to feel burnt out, so I’ve then cut it back…and I’ve let up on it too much and started to get more fibromyalgia symptoms so I’ve had to work to step it up again. And yes, as anyone with fibromyalgia knows, working out with fibromyalgia can often be a lot easier said than done, so in my next blog post I’m going to talk more about my specific experiences working out, although everyone should develop their OWN exercise plan depending on their OWN capabilities and what they CAN MANAGE at the time.
So because I was such a die-hard for working out and because early on I accepted that I had something to deal with from then on AND I decided I was still going to keep doing things, with pain and exhaustion and whatever other weird symptoms came with it…I kept working out. Right from the start I decided I’d rather do things like that than not do them at all.
So as I persisted in working out, over time (and as a result of what I experienced from working out), I came to the realization that I don’t believe the pain and other symptoms I was having from fibromyalgia are symptoms of anything ACTUALLY wrong with my body that would be a viable reason why I couldn’t keep working out. Does that make sense? I mean…I don’t think the symptoms are an indicator of anything physically wrong with my body, but more an indicator of something mentally, emotionally or lifestyle being temporarily “off”, so THOSE are the things I need to work on…and guess what helps me with respect to those things?…exercise!
So basically, for the most part…I ignore the pain and other symptoms…and keep working out…and I keep experiencing the benefits!
Besides, if I let fibromyalgia take something this important (my workouts) away from me, I would for sure feel more helplessness in the face of fibromyalgia (no…I control it!). I feel powerful and strong physically from working out and this makes me feel powerful and strong mentally, which is a huge help in fighting fibromyalgia.
I can sometimes feel pretty “down” getting on my treadmill early in the morning with a stiff aching body and tired…I often have to force myself down to my basement to get started, and sometimes, on really tough days, force myself through the whole thing…but I always get off feeling GROUNDED, UPBEAT, CONFIDENT and READY TO FACE THE WORLD (and blissfully “normal” feeling, physically!)!
And what I know is real is that I am NEVER EVER sorry I worked out. By now, I look at it like brushing my teeth; it’s just a necessary “given” that I have to fit into my routine each weekday because overall it’s better for me.
Yes…because I was such a diehard for keeping fit and persisted when not many likely would, I feel extremely lucky to have stumbled onto this important connection for me (and maybe you too) between exercise and fibromyalgia in the first place…but now that I know…I definitely won’t be stopping!
