Advise me on the right kind of exercise or therapy

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have fibromyalgia. I have muscles that will contract and will not let go - for nothing. I regularly wake up after an hour or so in bed with my muscles locked and in pain. I will have to stretch them and get in a new position. I'll wake up again in an hour and have to go through the same routine again. I get injured easily because my muscles will not release. I have gone to massage therapists. I have been seriously injured by two of them - to the point that I needed therapy to recover from the massages. One very good massage therapist worked for an hour on one muscle - he could not get it to relax. (I know he was good because not only did he not injure me but he did help me somewhat. He also got rave reviews from other normal people who he treated.) I go often to the chiropractor. He says that it is my tight muscles that pull my bones out of joint. I am often in pain because my muscles are so tight. I do take numerous supplements for my muscles and do take epsom salt baths which help.

 

I seriously need to lose weight (50 pounds). I walk 45 min. daily. I have tried stretching exercises. Maybe I need to do them longer but I really think that unless I were to stretch for a whole hour, it wouldn't do much good. I'm at the point where I'm willing to spend money for someone to help me with exercise or some kind of therapy to get in shape.

 

I've been googling different therapies and exercises for the last hour. I've looked at Feldenkrais somatic therapy, tai chi, yoga, and pilates. What would you suggest for someone like me? Why? What would you tell me to avoid?

[Lovedtodeath]

I had a book about Fibromyalgia that talked a great deal about trigger point therapy. Trigger points are a certain spot in the muscle that makes the whole thing release. I had it prescribed by a pain doctor, but I never went. I ended up with a different physical therapist.

 

I would also recommend that you get on a whole bunch of magnesium, if you haven't looked into that already. (I know you have looked into other things that I would normally suggest.) Quite a few fibro patients have also had success with this type of thing by going on guaifenesin therapy. It releases a toxin from the myofascia.

 

I am sorry that you are still having this. :(

[Jean in Newcastle]

Hmm. trigger point therapy? One of the massage therapists who hurt me badly decided to show me where my trigger points were. Bad idea. She almost put me in traction, I was in so much pain. I'll have to look this up since I doubt it was what she did!

 

Yes, I take magnesium orally. Epsom salt baths are also magnesium. Your body absorbs it through your skin.

 

Yes, I took guaiafenisen for about a year. It did help me for a period of time. But then it stopped working. Every now and then I try it again but I haven't had the same relief that I had for that year. (I have no idea why.)

[Lovedtodeath]

My doc prescribed transdermal magnesium oil from international health. I'll see if I can find the name of that book. Here it is: Fibromyalgia Advocate: Getting the Support You Need to Cope With Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome It has a lot of details about trigger point therapy in it, including self-help.

 

I would also try something brain-related. Biofeedback, emotional freedom technique, or.. (I have something else in mind, but I am so tired I can't think of the word, lol.)

Edited September 6, 2009 by Lovedtodeath

[Cera]

Have you tried acupuncture? I was skeptical but it actually seemed to help after a bad back injury.

[s.z.ichigo]

Don't know if it will help but my husband swears by tonic water for muscle cramps that he gets all winter.

[Cera]

Don't know if it will help but my husband swears by tonic water for muscle cramps that he gets all winter.

 

This reminds me of my FIL and his insistence that an unwrapped bar of Ivory soap between the sheets at the foot of the bed will cure muscle cramps.

[DawnL]

Well, to hit an idea out to left field for you......Have you been tested for Celiac? Celiac is a person's body's inability to process gluten. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, etc. I know it sounds odd, that something you eat could cause fibromylagia, but, that is just one of the many different symptoms. It's something like 1 in 133 people have Celiac, and 97% of those people go undiagnosed.

 

You can find out more at www.celiac.org

[Pamela H in Texas]

I think checking out the celiac diet idea is a good idea....Getting tested would even be better. My doc tested me for similar symptoms (and dxes). I didn't have it. Though it would have stunk to have it, it would have been nice to have a way to eat to fix the issue.

 

*I* started the mitochondrial disease supplement cocktail several weeks ago and the difference is unbelievable. I mean, I'm not 100%, but I can function a lot longer than I used to. I was just telling Carmen yesterday that I've only had one really bad back day and now I've had a few bad hip days, but compared to EVERY day.... Also, I can walk to the end of the street and back without being out of life the whole rest of the day. I'm not even limping significantly more by the time I get home than I am when I leave! I am able to homeschool the 6yo til 2:30 each day which I couldn't even imagine doing before. Honestly, I never would have imagined I would do so well.

 

Just letting you know that even with YEARS of real issues, there still is hope. You'll find the right combination and feel a little better. Hopefully one of the ideas someone gave will be the one for you. BTW, I found MY answer on these boards!

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, I've been tested for celiac. It was negative.

 

And yes, this board is wonderful. I am actually much better than I was even a year ago because I was tested for a vitamin D deficiency and was found to have a severe one. I used to have acid-like pain coursing through my bones. High doses of vitamin D has cured that.