Exercise intolerance

[Lisadee8800]

Can someone describe what there exercise intolerance feels like please.

 

[Kcmanby]

I was diagnosed in 2015. The downward spiral was years before that. What I have found since then is my tolerance to exercise practically go to zero. I used to go to the gym but over time my body took longer and longer to recover from simple tread mill or lifting weights. Took 2-3 days of lying in bed to recover. I have now accepted this. I do gentle walks, before I would walk really fast then suffer afterwards for a day. I feel happy that I have accepted where I am now and I know I don't need to push myself to be healthy. Just eat well, no red meat (made a huge difference to my pain) and try and sleep as well. I try to do things in the day but I pace myself now and stop when I feel even slightly tired because I know I will pay for it if I don't. Hope this helps.

 

[Lisadee8800]

Thank you for your reply… my tolerance has been terrible as well. Always bad but do much worse as I get older .
My skipped heart beats are another problem when I am in a flare . I also never sleep . Maybe 4 hours a night if I am lucky.

 

[SBee]

Hi @Lisadee8800 I agree with @Kcmanby ( hello and welcome!) Pushing myself too far means hours or days of rest,even if I wall too far let alone attempting more formal types of exercise. And I still get days when I am frustrated not being able to do as much as I want, and really pay for it.
Going gently, pacing is the key for sure. But not enough movement can make stiffness worse. So its a tricky balance. Maybe try some more gentle forms of exercise, like yoga or tai chi? Also if I know I have a busy day ( because life stuff still needs doing) I try to plan to have a couple of very quiet days after to recover.

As for th heart palpitations,I suggest a visit to your Dr to check this. Could be something as 'simple ' as stress or anaemia, but better to check this out.

 

[Lisadee8800]

Ty
Have had all the tests and am going tomorrow for another stress echo all have been normal and stress and no sleep are a big part of my life . Maybe it’s that
Ty
Lisa

 

[sunkacola]

@Kcmanby and @Lisadee8800 welcome to the forum.

As Kcmanby says, it is important to accept where you are and not push yourself to do more or be more than you can. While it is imperativ e to keep your body moving, because inactivity will make things worse for your overall health as well as increasing fibromyalgia symptoms, overdoing exercise or doing the wrong kinds for your particular situation will do the same. So gentle experimentation into various forms of exercise is needed. Try out things you have never tried before, even if they seem too gentle to do any good, because they might be just right for you.

And, equally important, remember to give yourself credit for everything that you do for yourself. We often tend not to do enough of that, especially if we are doing less than we used to do in our lives, but it's important to encourage ourselves and tell ourselves that we are doing a good job.

Lisa, if you are not getting enough good sleep that is definitely contributing to your difficulty. I assume you have tried all of the many and various things that people recommend to do to help you sleep?
You might want to consider taking medication for sleeping. I don't mean OTC, but something prescribed by your doctor. This might not be the right thing for you, I don't know. But I was chronically sleep deprived until I started taking a medication that allows me to sleep, and I know how important it is. Just a thought...

 

[Lisadee8800]

Ty
I am a caregiver to my 91 year old mother and have not slept a night thru in 2 years
I try to go to bed at 7:30 because I only sleep thru 2 straight hours then up and down . Then I am up for the day at 3 am
It’s very hard and definitely taken a toll on my health .
Thank you F or your kind words
Lisa

 

[sunkacola]

@Lisadee8800 I sympathize with your situation. Remember that it is good to make taking care of yourself a priority because if your own health fails too much you will not be able to take care of anyone else. Kind of like how on an airplane they always say if you have a child, put the oxygen mask on yourself first, then on the kid. I know it's hard, especially if you are the kind of person who has always taken care of others.......but try to keep this in mind and make time to do what you need for yourself. We ae here to support you any way we can.

 

[Lisadee8800]

Thank you

 

[thparker13]

Recently I’ve lost 65 lbs from the gastric sleeve and started going to the gym, 4 to 5 days a week. However in the last 3 weeks, I was sick and in more pain than usual. When I have gone to the gym, it has taken me several days afterwards to feel up to going again. I’m so disappointed and wondering what it will take to get back to my usual schedule. I feel like I’ve been having a long flare up along with my everyday in general pain. My areas that hurt the most, hurt more, so it’s been difficult to continue my same routine.
I’m wondering if this is what you are experiencing as well. I’m hoping that I can start back up to one day a week, to two and so on until I get back to 5 days again and hopefully no extra flare ups that are to this degree. Although they do happen to me, I hope I can get them back under control as much as possible.

 

[SusieB]

I have begun building in a day of rest after any attempt at any kind of activity. I am learning to recognize and accept, even embrace, my limitations

 

[sunkacola]

I have begun building in a day of rest after any attempt at any kind of activity. I am learning to recognize and accept, even embrace, my limitations

Good for you! This is challenging for most of us, so you are doing a hard thing and I hope you are giving yourself a lot of credit for this. Please let us know how it is going.