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If you exercise, how does it leave you feeling?
Hi,
I'm not technically in limbo-land, as I have a diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease. But I'm interested in thoughts from people to see if they experience what I do after I work out.
As I'm sure many can relate, I sometimes doubt myself about having many many symptoms. I've been treating my LD for more than a year and a half, and while I've made slow, steady improvement, I still am a bit of a mess.
At times, I wonder if I just need to "try harder" to push through this. But when I make such attempts, I often feel worse than before.
Some days I do not feel well enough to exercise, which troubles me since I am obese and it is difficult to control my weight through diet alone, since I'm so low energy.
When I do exercise, I don't seem to get that "endorphin rush" of which people speak. To the contrary, I often feel awful during and especially after exercise. My paresthesias act up (tingling/burning, esp. in face, hands, feet), my arms and esp. my legs feel unnaturally heavy, and I feel lethargic and woozy. Often a hour after a workout, I struggle to lift my feet enough to walk properly. It can also make my brain fog much worse, and as such I only exercise after work or after other obligations that require any mental sharpness.
I will say that exercise does help with my joints, and can make me feel temporarily more flexible.
I admit that up until a few years ago when I started to become obviously sick, I didn't work out much at all. So I lack a good healthy reference point.
I was wondering how others feel about exercise. If you are able to work out, does it overall seem to help? If it makes you feel lousy, how do you stay motivated? I feel like it is important for me to exercise when I can, I just wish that I could feel better about it. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated!
I'm not technically in limbo-land, as I have a diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease. But I'm interested in thoughts from people to see if they experience what I do after I work out.
As I'm sure many can relate, I sometimes doubt myself about having many many symptoms. I've been treating my LD for more than a year and a half, and while I've made slow, steady improvement, I still am a bit of a mess.
At times, I wonder if I just need to "try harder" to push through this. But when I make such attempts, I often feel worse than before.
Some days I do not feel well enough to exercise, which troubles me since I am obese and it is difficult to control my weight through diet alone, since I'm so low energy.
When I do exercise, I don't seem to get that "endorphin rush" of which people speak. To the contrary, I often feel awful during and especially after exercise. My paresthesias act up (tingling/burning, esp. in face, hands, feet), my arms and esp. my legs feel unnaturally heavy, and I feel lethargic and woozy. Often a hour after a workout, I struggle to lift my feet enough to walk properly. It can also make my brain fog much worse, and as such I only exercise after work or after other obligations that require any mental sharpness.
I will say that exercise does help with my joints, and can make me feel temporarily more flexible.
I admit that up until a few years ago when I started to become obviously sick, I didn't work out much at all. So I lack a good healthy reference point.
I was wondering how others feel about exercise. If you are able to work out, does it overall seem to help? If it makes you feel lousy, how do you stay motivated? I feel like it is important for me to exercise when I can, I just wish that I could feel better about it. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated!
Hi wonko
what a good question. I'm totally on board with the concept of exercise to help the body produce all the right chemicals to improve health and strength and get all the muscles toned etc.
But it's sooo hard to do sometimes. I just listen to my body. When it says 'enough!' then it's enough. But my problems aren't systemic in that I have a crumbling c-spine and a loopy vasculature - I might be doing the exercise right but all it takes is one 'wrong' move and things get blocked, blood flow impeded, nerves trapped.
What I often do is a bit of the tai chi I learnt from the classes I used to go to years ago - all that gentle swinging and regular gentle movement is excellent. I also found that my physical sx were alleviated a lot when I lost weight - it's hard when you can't exercise and have to reduce calories severely, but I found it well worth the struggle!
So...good luck to you with that calorie reduction! and have a look at tai chi classes near you - see what you think? I always found the tai chi crowd really lovely people, gentle and friendly and supportive.
bestest
sammxxx
what a good question. I'm totally on board with the concept of exercise to help the body produce all the right chemicals to improve health and strength and get all the muscles toned etc.
But it's sooo hard to do sometimes. I just listen to my body. When it says 'enough!' then it's enough. But my problems aren't systemic in that I have a crumbling c-spine and a loopy vasculature - I might be doing the exercise right but all it takes is one 'wrong' move and things get blocked, blood flow impeded, nerves trapped.
What I often do is a bit of the tai chi I learnt from the classes I used to go to years ago - all that gentle swinging and regular gentle movement is excellent. I also found that my physical sx were alleviated a lot when I lost weight - it's hard when you can't exercise and have to reduce calories severely, but I found it well worth the struggle!
So...good luck to you with that calorie reduction! and have a look at tai chi classes near you - see what you think? I always found the tai chi crowd really lovely people, gentle and friendly and supportive.
bestest
sammxxx
hi wonko,
nice to hear from you--i hope things are going well with your move, etc.
re: exercise--the end result of nearly any activity is nearly always variable for me. there are some days when i can go for a short walk and come home and actually feel pretty good; however, most days are very much like what you described above. i feel worse, my numbness and tingling are kicked into high gear, and i sometimes feel so ill afterward that i feel afraid i am not going to bounce back.
all of my doctors keep stressing how important it is for me to exercise and keep up my strength, but like you said, it's just not easy. admittedly, there have been stretches of time during my illness where i haven't done more than shuffle between my bed and the bathroom, so in order to avoid adding to my existing constellation of health issues, i am really motivated to find something that will work for me. i do try to stretch on a regular basis to stay limber which feels good and doesn't result in fatigue. there was just an article in our local paper a few weeks ago about the benefits of gentle yoga for individuals with chronic illness, so i am thinking that might be the way to go at this point.
take good care,
binx
nice to hear from you--i hope things are going well with your move, etc.
re: exercise--the end result of nearly any activity is nearly always variable for me. there are some days when i can go for a short walk and come home and actually feel pretty good; however, most days are very much like what you described above. i feel worse, my numbness and tingling are kicked into high gear, and i sometimes feel so ill afterward that i feel afraid i am not going to bounce back.
all of my doctors keep stressing how important it is for me to exercise and keep up my strength, but like you said, it's just not easy. admittedly, there have been stretches of time during my illness where i haven't done more than shuffle between my bed and the bathroom, so in order to avoid adding to my existing constellation of health issues, i am really motivated to find something that will work for me. i do try to stretch on a regular basis to stay limber which feels good and doesn't result in fatigue. there was just an article in our local paper a few weeks ago about the benefits of gentle yoga for individuals with chronic illness, so i am thinking that might be the way to go at this point.
take good care,
binx
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