Posted by Bob on February 3, 2005, at 15:55:54
In reply to Re: Excercise Backfire. » Minnie-Haha, posted by CareBear04 on February 3, 2005, at 13:26:59
> hi there! i don't know much about fibromyalgia, but do you know if there's a stimga attached to it? my sister is a 4th year med student, and she was telling me that each specialty has a dreaded problem case. in internal medicine, it's apparently fibromyalgia. i think i've read that there are specific physical criteria required for the diagnosis, so i don't understand why it's not taken more seriously or why it's attached somehow to psychiatric conditions and somatization. i think some physical symptoms originate or are made worse by the head and obsessions, but there are real physical implications and suffering. i don't see any point in obsessing on pain of psychological or medication-induced origin versus "pure' physical illness. suffering is suffering no matter what the cause.
> anyway, the times i've made myself exericse, i've had the usual response of feeling tired but better-- physically refreshed and mentally feeling better about myself for having summoned the motivation to get out. if you're feeling worse and worse from exercise, it sounds like that's something serious that should be taken seriously by your doctor. have you seen anyone and had tests run and stuff? maybe thyroid tests and a CBC to check for anemia, exercise tolerance, etc. also, exercise is always hard to start at first. when i first started running again a few years ago, i was so tired and miserable and sore for the first week. soon after, though, when i made myself run every other day or a few times a week, i started to catch a second wind, and it became less miserable and tiring to exercise. i know it's hard to motivate yourself when exercise makes you feel worse, but maybe if you can find some incentive or a friend who will keep you accountable, you will soon get used to exercise and find it more enjoyable and less exhausting? just a thought.
> wishing you the best!+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think that med professionals are made to feel somewhat helpless by disorders that are not cut and dry. Ideally, there would be some sort of "litmus" test, e.g. a blood test, so that people can confidently say, "yup, you got it". Otherwise, the chance of a misdiagnosis goes way up, with all the collateral implications that brings with it. I've heard more than one doc proclaim that they liked surgery because it produces very concrete results, and there is visual proof you are helping someone.
I have to play it by ear with the exercise. It's somewhat hard to know whether todays physical exertion will end up being too much tomorrow, but once tomorrow comes, if it gets bad enough, the exercise doesn't continue.
poster:Bob
thread:446790
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050202/msgs/452526.html