Keeping Active with Fibromyalgia

It is very important to keep body and mind active when you have Fibromyalgia. That is often easier said than done and what one person can do another may find impossible. I can only share my own experiences in the hope that others will benefit.

Normal exercise is not an option for me but I get a lot of benefits from Aqua Fit. For nearly 3 years I went 3 days per week and built up muscle that I had never had before even prior to Fibro. It also helped to stabilise my weight and increased my flexibility. Unfortunately over the last 12 months I have had a lot of un-fibro-related illness, primarily Ross River Virus and so my Aqua Fit routine has been very random. I am trying to get into a twice a week regular routine as I am feeling more pain these days and  I think it may be due to lack of Aqua Fit exercise.

It really is a matter of finding that balance between getting the exercise that improves stamina, strength and flexibility and having the time and energy to get day to day tasks done. I only work a few hours a week to earn enough money to top up my pension so I can afford the Aqua Fit and my natural supplements. I can only manage those few hours but if I didn't exercise and take those supplements I would have an extremely poor quality of life that would then bring me down into depression and once down in that deep dark hole it is very hard to get out.

I keep my mind active with reading and Facebook activities and the work I do is more mental than physical. Magnesium not only helps with muscle pain but also helps keep the Fibro Fog at bay. I need more than that for the Fibro Fog though and I have found through experimentation that for me taking 1 multi B vitamin plus 250mg of B1 and 250mg of B5 gives me almost my pre-fibro mental clarity back. It allows me to be mentally functional. I would not be writing this Blog without it.

I also paint which is probably more mental than physical although I can only seem to do it in blocks of about an hour whereas years ago when I first got into painting I could do it for hours at a stretch. Most things now have to be done in small chunks but at least things do get done and I get to feel like I can still accomplish things.