I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2004, but I didn’t really believe it. Over the last 20 years many things in my body are resolved by surgery and total joint replacements in my spine and my hips. When I can exercise, I can reduce the pain. About nine months ago I started having horrid sciatic/IT band/outside the knee/shin or peroneal pain/top of the foot/big toe along one leg, pain. I stopped sleeping and was exhausted. We did locate where this pain emanates and it’s from my spine. The Cortizone shot worked for one month 100% and then that was it. The sleepless nights started back with all the pain. My spine surgeon said I was too early For another surgery in my lumbar spine where the nerve pains are the worst my neck and shoulder pains, back and arms was reduced after I had cervical spine surgery-two of them. What I’m trying to say is that my fibromyalgia was due to my spine, degenerating and causing nerve pain Throughout the rest of my body. I’m at a point where exercise was the only thing that helped. First day I recommitted myself to exercise was for five minutes. The next day it was 30 minutes the next day it was 60 minutes and somewhere within that first week I got to 90 minutes on my stationary bike. Today three months later I’m at 100 minutes. Then I walk twice a day to take the dog out. The key for me was an exercise program and being committed to it. In 2004 when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, what became clear was that it was a lack of adequate breathing, bringing oxygen to all my muscles and nerves to bring pain relief. I started doing things like acupuncture and yoga and it really helped. I am 68 now and what I found over 2025 years of having this condition is that it always comes back to things that are a pain in the ass, but they work so if I want to stay off nerve medications and opioids For the most part, I have to have a strong exercise program in place. The doctors don’t beat you over the head with exercise. They hand out medication because people don’t wanna do the exercise. I’ve been on low-dose opioid for 25 years.
What I know from all these years of having fibromyalgia is that even when I do simple deep breathing exercises if that’s all I can do if I do them in a disciplined way, they relieve the pain. You have to be able to do any kind of exercise in a safe and stable manner. I have a garage filled with canes and walkers and all kinds of stabilizers that I’ve needed at one point or the other to do something called exercise even if it’s breathing and gracefully moving my arms around it helps my fibromyalgia. Good luck.