If you've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, chances are your doctor has told you that you need to exercise more. Hell, even your friends and family have probably wondered out loud why you don't get up and move around more.
Having been diagnosed myself, I can't figure out how it's okay for doctors to know next to nothing about fibromyalgia yet unequivocally proclaim that exercise is what you need.
Some doctors will even berate you for being honest about your inability to exercise. Because that's what every patient needs, right? A doctor who makes them feel worthless and undeserving.
I'm here to tell you that there are days I cannot move from the couch to the toilet. It's not about pushing through pain—I'm brilliant at that. It's that my fatigue gets so severe during a flare that I can't hold my head up on my own. My muscles have zero strength.
I learned the hard way that my body's signals were more important than my doctor's expectations. I went from walking and physical therapy exercises to stationary biking to rocking in a rocking chair in order to prove to my doctor that I wasn't lazy. But I did not build up endurance or feel better after exercising.
In fact, I felt exactly the opposite. And after three days in a row doing just ten minutes of the lowest exertion exercise I could manage, I would spiral into a horrible flare that lasted days or weeks. It's like I have a fixed amount of energy left for the rest of my life, and when I exercise I'm stealing from the future and SHORTENING MY LIFE!
I'm not telling you to ignore your doctor, of course. But I am telling you that people who don't get it think exercise and losing weight are the answer to everything. Many won't even acknowledge the possibility that your weight gain and immobility followed the onset of your chronic pain and other symptoms.
It sucks, and you are not alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment