Day 3

Hi everyone,

I introduced myself on a 'Day 1' a couple of days ago. I have fibromyalgia and have a very small walking capacity at the moment. People have been very welcoming and encouraging and I really appreciate it. But now I'm on Day 3 and have already come across what feels to me a huge problem.

Day 3 work asks you to make a commitment to do three things you used to love doing. I wrote them down, and was totally unable to pick a date to do those things again. I'd be picking a date out of the air, because I feel I may as well be committing myself to fly to the moon.

For example, one of those things is going back to dancing class. I used to go twice a week and dance for 2 hours. Right now, I wouldn't even be able to walk from the car to the venue. How can I possibly pick a date when I'll dance the way I used to again? On the other hand, I do sometimes dance by myself at home for a minute or so. Should my commitment be to dance a certain amount of time at home? I feel totally bamboozled and extremely discouraged.

 

What program is this? Going from fibro/TMS to dancing seems like a VERY ambitious goal you picked if you can't even walk. There's a big depression component to overcome to even begin to enjoy thinking about doing anything.

I would pick a more realistic activity like a little longer walk or working on a scrap-book, or watering the plants. Personally I think pool work is great for TMS'ers to gain and maintain an aerboic threshold.

Because I'm a TMS/hippy, I can't run on tennis courts anymore, although I did thirteen marathons in the good ol' day. I now run in the pool with a flotation belt for thirty minutes and sometimes more if I have the time. I listen to a cheap waterproof FM radio while doing it.

There's also a hot-tub to "meditate" in before and aft. If you have access to a pool, this may be a good activity for you since the water helps a lot to make movement easier, exercises the top half of your body and just feels good! You can also walk in the shallow end with less stress then on land.

I remember years ago sitting in a hot-tub with a lady who had obvious physical issues just getting in. I asked her what was the matter and she said "fibro". I suggested reading Sarno and she said she couldn't turn a page. I suggested having her husband do it for her or hiring a high school kid to do it. Now she could have listened to a talking book. I've wondered what ever happened to her???

Cheers,
tt

 

HI, Porpoise and Tom. I agree that returning to dance class might be too much of a stretch at this time,
but dancing at home for as long as you can would be a gradual way of getting back to a class.
Don't be discouraged. Just do what dancing at home that you can.

Walking in a pool would be great. If you have one or are near one. Otherwise, just walking as much as you can,
even in the house, can help.

 

Hi tt,

I'm referring to the 'Structured Educational Program' attached to this Wiki. Now that I've had the chance to think about this a bit, I think that it's worded in a rather unfortunate way. If it had said 'pick an activity you love but can't do now and choose a goal relating to it by a given date', it would have been fine. Instead, you're asked to list something you used to love, and then to give yourself a date to do it, just like that. I interpreted this to mean something I actually used to do and love, not a modest, scaled-down version of it. I think it needs to be worded much more carefully, because I'd be surprised if I were the first person to be freaked out.

My issue isn't that I can't walk at all but I suffer from delayed and cumulative pain and fatigue, so I can never know when I've done too much. Thanks for your suggestion about water exercises - I've tried it and I get the same post-activity pain afterwards as I do after ordinary walking, unfortunately!

Thanks very much for your reply!

 

Hi Walt,

Thanks for your reply and your encouragement!

 

Hi Porpoise,

I had fibromyalgia for twenty years, and I am now free of all those symptoms after using TMS healing techniques for a year. So I understand about the symptom referred to as post-exertional malaise (or something like that), and how hard it is to know how much you can do. I stopped doing much of anything, and got very out of shape. But now I can do as much as I want, with only my lack of aerobic fitness limiting me. This symptom went away along with the other fibromyalgia symptoms. If I can do it, you can get symptom free and back to doing the things you want too.

I think it is important when working any TMS program to not get too bogged down in the details, or let aspects that don't seem to work for you or make sense to you serve as roadblocks. I didn't do many of the things exactly as prescribed, but still healed. The important thing is to work to understand the intent of any basic activity, and adapt it for your individual needs. There are as many ways to have TMS as there are people, so no program will meet everybody's needs at a given time. Learning about yourself and what will work for you or not is part of the process of healing. TMS healing takes lots of persistence, patience, and flexibility. Don't get discouraged, Porpoise! Make goals for yourself that you can feel positive about. I started very slowly with exercise when I started working on my TMS--like 5 minutes of walking on the treadmill, and I stayed with that till I felt I could go to 6 minutes, etc. Go easy on yourself and take it one day at a time.

Wishing you the best.....

 

Ellen gave good advice, as Walt Stack said "Start slowly--and taper off." When muscles haven't been used for a while or years they atrophy. The good news is they quickly can be built back up again, they don't go anywhere they are still there crying out to be used. You can make amazing strides literally and figuratively in two weeks--the mindbody is it's best healer.

Porpoise, it's telling that you feel OK doing an activity, and the pain comes on afterwards. If you were injured you would likely feel the same pain constantly. According to TMS, you are positively distracted while exercising and then the pain is conditioned to return afterwards. TMS recovery requires changing one's mind about the DX--losing the fear that harm is being done by movement--and then the body will follow.

G'luck!

 

I agree with my friends above. You have to get your mind off what you can't do and focus on what you can do, the problem there, you think you can't do much and that's wrong.
Like Ellen said, 5 minutes one day and then 6 minutes the next. You have to believe the DX as Tom said too. Yes we are all different but we all have been through hell with the pain.
You are not unique any more than the majority of us here. You are special to us and we really want to help you but you have to believe what we say or at least believe the TMS certified DRs.
You have to have a desire to heal so if you write I will be back on my feet within the year doing two hours of dancing then that's a great goal, let your heart and desire carry you to the finish line.
You will win, you have to believe that.

 

You and I have almost the same routine. I go to the pool weekly and I don't know where I'd be now if I wasn't able to move about so easily without fighting gravity. I do approximately 340 steps walking in the shallow end with the floatation gizmo under my arms. I also like to float on my back to "release and let go" as if in total trust and relaxation. Entering the building is challenging to those who have difficulty walking and I have to be driven there, but when I miss a week I can tell the difference.
I will have to look for one of those waterproof radios.

 

[QUOTE="Lavender, post: 29140, member: 1654"
I will have to look for one of those waterproof radios.[/QUOTE]

You can get them from SwimOutlet.com on the internet, it's about $39. It's the UWater 7, made by Fitness Technologies. There's also have a lot of MP3 players at the site.

Listening to music also fulfills another of SteveO's recommendations.

Cheers,
tt

 

Hi Ellen,

It's such a relief to find someone who understands post-exertional pain and malaise. Thanks so much for your encouragement!

Mind you, I'd be in heaven if I could walk for 5 minutes at a time! I can't even manage one minute at a time (barely half a minute, actually). However, I am greatly encouraged by what you've said. Although I have such a small walking capacity, I'm managing to work 4 days a week so there are some things I can do that others don't. You're right, everyone with TMS is so different. Thanks again.

 

Hi Tom,

Well, to be honest I do feel diffuse pain a lot of the time, and activity does hurt somewhat at the time and immediately afterwards - it's just that the pain really blossoms worse after some time. But I see your point. If we were looking at structural pain, it couldn't work that way. I am definitely conditioned to experience it this way. It's so hard to lose the fear, though!

I'm not actually afraid that I'm harming myself. Experience tells me that if I move, I will get pain and unwellness later. It's having more and more pain and malaise that I'm afraid of, and also that if I keep on moving I will make the pain progressively worse over time. I guess I have to convince myself that first, it doesn't have to keep happening because it's being generated by my own mind, and second, that if it does, it doesn't have to be a big deal.

Thanks again - appreciate it.

 

I find that after about 20 minutes of playing tennis, walking or running in the pool, my joints are getting warmed up, the bursaes are secreting synovial fluid lubricating them like WD-40 and I'm off to the races. I would think if you're in a fear state that damage is being done by movement, this state of freedom would be hard to obtain because of the O2 deprevation aspect of TMS.