Stop looking in the past and look to the future. We're all getting old and atrophy / entropy means we're getting weaker and weaker. You have to hit the weights just to keep up or you'll be old and frail. That is just the reality.
It's not my reality. As I said...I've tried the weights with a personal trainer and felt worse. But, I'm not the typical person. I think most people really have a lack of understanding of what IBS/Fibromyalgia/CFS is.
I remember what it was like before all of this, so I can try and make people understand. For some reason if you have either Fibro/IBS/CFS, you're like to have one of the other too. Except me...I hit the lotto: I have all 3! So I'll try an explain it to give some understanding.
Fibromyalgia: Imagine the hardest weightlifting or physical activity you've ever done...in your life. Now remember how wrecked your muscles/body felt the next morning. That's how you feel with Fibro. Every. Day. It's often so painful that even just
touching the body in areas causes pain. Wearing a heavy garment can cause pain. They actually use a series of touches on points on the body to help make the diagnosis.
IBS: Imagine having mild-moderate food poisoning. The cramps, malaise, nausea and the gastro "issues" that cause you to ride the porcelain. This is problematic, because to help maintain health, you need to eat properly. Especially so if you're working out, as you need to feed the body properly for that type of activity. This is obviously quite difficult to do when everything passes through you. There are generally 2 types of IBS: IBS-C (constipation) and IBS-D (diarrhea) I have IBS-D. Fortunately (for me), this isn't every single day. But it's still non-specific to any type of food. I keep a food diary. Some things that have never given me issue....suddenly just decide to give me issue. It's a roll of the dice, really.
CFS: Imagine the longest day you've ever had. Maybe it was a marathon day at work, maybe you climbed Mount Everest, maybe you partied for 24 hours straight. Think of how exhausted you were. Fortunately, you were able to sleep for the next 18 hours straight and get back to normal. With CFS, you feel that type of exhaustion....except when you wake up regardless of how long you slept, you feel as though you've slept for 1-2 hours. This extreme exhaustion can go on for week..or months. Going to bed absolutely exhausted...and waking up the same.
Now add ALL THREE together. And you have my daily life. That is my reality. Plus I have thyroid..but if I'm honest I don't feel any effect from what I can tell..apart from difficulty in losing weight. It was actually discovered by accident and not by symptom, so I'd say if doesn't bother me in the least. But I sorta LOL when people say "Hit the gym/weights and everything will be good!" I tried for several months...under professional guidance...and felt significantly worse. I dunno....go to the gym the next time your body is wrecked from extreme physical activity, you haven't slept for 24 hours and you have food poisoning and see if it makes you feel better.
LOL I know they are trying to be helpful, but without experiencing it, it hard to fathom how bad it can be. And to be fair, some doctors seem to not understand. I went to one doctor and he said my life must be difficult with all of the symptoms. I agreed. His solution? He wanted me to take anti-depression and anti-anxiety meds. I asked if I was showing symptoms of either. He said "no", but those drugs might help get me through my day. I politely declined.
There are some days where it takes every ounce of physical and mental determination just to get out of bed and go to work. And I'm fine with that. I'm not upset or angry. I'm happy. I take it as an "it is what it is" type of thing and just keep going. In particular, IQ's job gives me immense perspective and makes me realize how lucky I am despite these issues. Oddly, I'm about as happy as I've ever been in my life if I'm honest. I think a large part of that is daily meditation. I'm a true believer now, whereas before I'd have written it off as some hippie bullsh*t. Like John mentions, I do light resistance....very light....plain old stretches, some yoga-type poses/stretches and some Swiss ball exercises. For me, this has been far, far more helpful than gym training with weights in how I feel. I also have 1-2 "wellness" days a week at my place. On those days, I'll go for massage, soak in a salt bath or take a sauna. Then hydrate and just chill. It does me very good both physically and mentally I feel. And as I said...I'm quite happy and content with my life.
Sorry so long winded...just trying to give a bit of clarity to my situation.
