I haven't had anyone to compare symptoms with and such weird things happen I want to know if it is just me!! Has anyone had pain (sometimes severe) after normal activities like holding up a cell phone for awhile or sitting in a hard chair and typing (or any typing for that matter!)? Also everything I read says that exercise is supposed to help Fibro. Stretching and yoga made me worse and after walking which I try to do several times a week, I am in pain for sometimes a couple of days. It usually doesn't hurt that day though but it depends. I also have noticed that I hurt badly after carrying anything heavy that no one else would consider heavy like a bag of groceries or several.
Thanks for any input. I am beginning to feel like some kind of freak! And I usually just pretend it isn't happening but that doesn't work so well anymore.
If your a freak then I am too. LOL. I am at a computer all day and am still trying to hold down an 8 hour/day job. When I get up from the chair it takes probably about 20 seconds before I can stand fully upright. My hands get tired of typing or scrolling with the mouse. Today just had them cramp up on me and had to wait a minute before I could start working again. I feel like if I stay in one position too long I become very stiff all over.
Also it hurts to hold up cell phone to my ears and my arm will actually go numb after about 15 minutes so I have started putting people on speaker. Also when I am reading this forum at night I change positions half a dozen times because my neck gets tired of holding up my head, hands holding up the computer, knees holding up the computer, leaning over etcetera.
It is hard to accept that some days I have to take it easy on myself and not do things that I used to normally be able to do in order to take care of myself.
So I am here to say no you are not a freak and I am sure many others have stories to share.
Do you see a Chiropractor, they are trained in PT, and can usually give you the best type of stretches or exercises that will best fit what bothers you. They are the masters of the human frame.
Hi Energy, I so totally understand what you are saying, I feel the same things, for example, went into grocery store for 3 items, so I didn’t get a cart, eggs, cheese, bread, and I think I had a small can of dog food, all folded up in one arm, problem was line was a few min wait, by the time I got to set the items on belt, I could hardly straiten my arm… the clerk asked if my arm was ok, I felt like saying oh ya no problem it was broke and I just got my cast off, and I should have got a cart… Lol ! Holding the cell is hard, I should just start putting it on speaker , but many times I have had to say I have to go this is hurting my arms.
Stretching in bed before I get up helps, and mild, start out slow exercise has helped. If it hurts to much the next day it’s to much, I bought a recumbent bike, and started out 5 min 2x day, I’m up 2 , 7 min 2 x, I was up to 10 min 3x day, with no additional pain from it, but as soon as I miss a day I have to drop back down.
Your not a freak !!! I no longer carry anything but my water bottle
Hugs & blessings
dee
Thanks Dee! I was in a bad emotional space when I wrote all that! I have always been overly sensitive to everything including sounds and lights etc. and my nervous system has never integrated input too well so I get on overload easily. Also VERY LOW threshold for pain and night is the worse after working all day and doing activities. Walking helps and being outside.
You nailed it!! I work with intensive need children, if I can still be up and moving after work I am proud of myself. Some days it really is ridiculous! I am 41 and feel 61 most of the time. Some of my best medicine, watch Ellen, always makes me smile :)
I am a therapist although not working as one at the moment ( working as a consultant Behavior Specialist) and there is very little to do all day so I read on the computer and type. It is difficult but luckily I get to take walks. Once I have a job better suited to me I will feel better because I won't be bored which is hard on the body as is all that sitting although I take frequent breaks. I have a friend I email every night and we make each other laugh which helps enormously! And since he is dealing with his own chronic illness, the more I attempt to cheer him up the better I feel too! I used to teach Special Ed so I know it is a challenge.
I definitely hurt like crazy if I've carried something "heavy" (heavy to me, fairly light to anyone else.) Sitting in a hard chair will also kill me, though not the typing. And yeah, doing PT always made me feel HORRIBLE for a long time afterwards. Someone out there keeps saying that exercise will make us feel better but...oh man, just NO.
So, in other words, I'm in complete agreement with you. I feel like I'm falling apart physically. Exercise does NOT feel good, does NOT help me feel better. This fibro business is for the birds.
That’s my go-to show when I get home too! I love Ellen and it sure does help to laugh after a long painful day at work. Give me my heated blanket and a large glass of water and I’m set for about 15 minutes when I have to move around or I’ll be one mess of a cramp!
I have trouble just signing my name, especially on those little electronic boards, it's the way they are positoned that is the big problem, I think. Penmanship is out the window! ha!
Yeah what is it that makes people say exercise will make us feel better? If anything I feel so much worse afterwards. I'm supposed to do some half body sit-ups because I have a bulging disc but the pain they cause in my arms and elbows is so much more than what they're supposed to be fixing! Go figure!
Yes it is but I still intend to keep getting better and better every day and I use positive affirmations daily because there is plenty of research that we can physically change our brains by changing our thinking! (Neuroplasticity of the brain). I was the Queen of the Victims (with plenty of past history to cause it) but that was a fast train heading for a disaster and doesn't serve my greatest good so I have changed tremendously and am very careful what I eat, what I drink, who I let into my life and what I read and watch because is is all energy and all effects us as we effect it! :-)
Hi SK - my penmanship is awful! I used to win awards in school for my writing abilities - but not anymore! I have Essential Tremors and have had them for many years. They come and go and when I sign something, sometimes it is just atrocious. I, too, have trouble with the electronic boards. It is definitely they way they are positioned. I used to love writing letters and personal notes to friends and family. But now I have to type them - but I always add a little decoration or personal touch to them. Laurie
Me too, although I cannot draw as well as my 3 year old grandson, between the stationery and other adornments, including beautiful flamboyant handwriting the letters and notes were always a kind of gift unto themselves!
Oh well Laurie, at least we did it while we could, and that is what counts, my dear!
I love my job and am having a difficult time accepting that it may be time to move on and find something better suited to what my body now needs. This I think is one of the most frustrating aspects of this diagnosis. My job may wipe me out but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I am making a difference. I worry that if I do something else I won't feel fulfilled. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, lol!
HI Susan - everything you mentioned sounds like me. I, too, have heard that stretching and mild exercise will help my Fibro - but I just can't do it. I pay the price in the end. I have tried to walk a little bit around the block and such - but within minutes, both hips start to hurt and I am limping my way back to my apartment. If I am on the phone for a while, my arm starts to hurt and my hand cramps as well. Same thing when I am writing - which is atrocious right now because I have essential tremors in both hands. Carrying groceries - well forget it! LOL I still have to get them to my apartment, but I find I have to take breaks after a few steps and rest. I am not out of breath, but the familiar aches set in and I am done.
When I get up in the morning, I try to stretch VERY gently, but sometimes even doing this, I will pull a muscle in my lower back. I can't win, can I?? What DOES loosen me up is a hot shower and moving around carefully after I get up in the morning. Eventually, I start to feel a little better. Feel better! Hugs! Laurie