Re: Progression? MUSCLE PROBLEMS YEECK!

[Guest guest]

IN RESPONSE TO CLAUDETTE:

I agree to the downward spiral

so many many times I was going along

doing my routine, feeling good, and one little hang-up

and I am doomed. It stops everything, sets u back and when and

if u can resume, your back to the begining, the only GOOD feeling

is you have not given up! I though found PT not to work and the Dr's

agreed, if not helping, no since to continue and just do exercise at home

My PT was pushing past the good, and they found I had neuropathy when

it was agreed that hot and cold would be good,but I was unable to feel the

temp

on areas, they stopped it. Your right, they do suggest take pain meds.

before going

or at home before doing something using painfull body parts, but I found

myself

taking the med, feeling better, so I pushed on doing too much, and then

the down for

the count again!, I am still learning, which is my real discouragement, I

can't do much

but baby steps, with rests, in between, so maddening. You also said you

had surgery.

did your Rhuemo Dr. tell you that each time we have a surgery, it gets the

fibro started

in a flare-up? I have had a knee, and 2 shoulders, done and she worried

when I went

for the second shoulder, as it was only a yr. later, and my pain was not

in control from

just whatever had got this whole downward spiral I am in started. I have

not had much up

time, and begining to wonder if I will, I am a fighter though, but have

had to approach that

fight in a different way then I had in the past. I have to have rest,

breaks alot, which

where not in my vocabulary before. Good luck with your little steps and

sounds like

you have got some relief from your surgery, hopefull u will get more as

time goes on.

Sharon

> I think it is true that when we dont keep up the activity the

> muscles decondition.I know thats what has happened to me, my last

> pain doctor told me my muscles were deconditioned from not using

> them, but I think that we get that way because something has

> started the downward spiral from not feeling at all good from the

> start. We start out feeling crappy, then thats when the whole life

> gets rearranged and then the activity level decreases. I have done

> more this year than any year combined and have had improvements,

> but still at the same time have noticed new pain and sometimes the

> physical exertion can make a muscle worse if it is overused or

> stretched beyond its limit, but I still feel excersize has been a

> great thing and feel that I am doing some good.

I think it's helpful for a person who has been inactive for a long

time to have a doctor prescribe a course of physical therapy. The

phys. therp. can work on developing a set of exercises that the

person can do at home. Going to a gym, even with a trainer, is not

the same. The phys. therp. can take into account how badly out of

shape we get, and have us start really, really gently. Once we have

the instructions, and the sheets of exercises, the phys. therp. can

give instructions on how to gently increase the level of exercise

over time. But the exercise should be so gentle that we don't hurt

ourselves, and done under a doctor's care. That was the problem

every time I tried to start exercising when I was super morbidly

obese - I'd hurt something. And those " little " injuries were always

triggering flares.

The other thing is that when I was doing phys therp. early on after

my knee replacment, they always told me to take my pain meds before

doing it. Otherwise, it just hurt too badly. For those who take

pain meds for acute times, after we take the pain meds might be a

good time to do some moving around.

It's easy to say " get moving " ; the reality is certainly a lot

harder. I hope people talk to the doctor about this. It's so

terribly different, but I've been working on it (between surgeries)

for the past 2.5 years and it's really beginning to pay off. I'm in

a lot better shape and can do a lot more than I could.

In a sense, I've spent the past 2.5 years trying to clear all of the

explainable, fixable pain out of my life, between the weight loss

surgery and the knee replacements. I've worked very hard on building

strength, so I don't have the back and neck and arm pain that I've

had for years (I still have it sometimes anyway). I still have the

fibromyalgia pain. That hasn't changed. But it's not as complicated

by the other aches and pains and injuries from being so terribly out

of shape.

Again, the strength that I have is pitiful compared to a normal

person. Witness my " teaspoon at a time " approach to building my

French drain. But three years ago I couldn't have dreamed of doing

anything like that. Now, it costs me, but I can do it.

Z