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Muscle Weakness ?
One of my major symptoms is muscle weakness. I wish I knew more about what causes muscle weakness, as some days it isn't as bad as others. Anyhow, I don't think that most people understand that fibro & CFS patients can have this symptom. So I thought I would ask others here.... do you also have muscle weakness and if so... where ? I have it in both legs.
oops --- I meant to delete "Both" before I hit the send button. Didn't happen obviously... LOL !
It's strange because I didn't experience the weakness until after this last surgery that I had. Now I have difficulty even opening a bottle of water and have to get hubby to help. Before this, there was the pain and only weakness sometimes. It mainly seems to effect my legs and arms.
The weakness in my arms is getting better... I have it now (now that I'm thinking about it... LOL. It is just like the ringing in the ears... always there but rarely do I think about it).
Many people think of MS when they hear of weakness. My goal here is to let people know that weakness often is a symptom in many fibro and/or CFS patients.
I have weakness in my arms and legs. My hands are almost worthless at times. I have no grip, and opening anything that has a twist top is out. The pharmacy puts Granny caps on all my meds. I told them if I was home alone I couldn't get the tops off my medication, and that is not good. Like Breeze, the weakness started after my third knee surgery. All of my symptoms started after my third knee surgery.
For me, the weakness is more in my mind than my body. Don't take that wrong, there's clearly some actual strength loss, and my legs almost always *feel* jittery and weak. But when I do weight-lifting, at least with my legs, I can lift almost as much as I used to, just nowhere near as long as I used to. My arms were more impacted in terms of strength, though perversely, I don't actually feel weak there any more...I just am.
I found that lifting weights helped significantly with the *feeling* of weakness as long as I did so regularly, but almost not at all in terms of actually strengthening the muscle. And as with all CFS/FMS exercise, I made a point keeping it lighter than I felt I could handle if I pushed. The few times I tried, it usually exacerbated the leg symptoms to full-fledged myalgia (i.e., achiness and stronger feeling of jitteriness) for a couple of days afterwards.
Walking regularly also helped, but again, progress was slow. My entire exercise regime is walking around the neighbourhood every day or two, and normal wandering around the house. The specific walks ranged from 15-25 minutes, with the average creeping up very slowly over the course of about a year. At my best, the 25-minute walks were still tiring. Apart from those, I'm housebound.
I found that lifting weights helped significantly with the *feeling* of weakness as long as I did so regularly, but almost not at all in terms of actually strengthening the muscle. And as with all CFS/FMS exercise, I made a point keeping it lighter than I felt I could handle if I pushed. The few times I tried, it usually exacerbated the leg symptoms to full-fledged myalgia (i.e., achiness and stronger feeling of jitteriness) for a couple of days afterwards.
Walking regularly also helped, but again, progress was slow. My entire exercise regime is walking around the neighbourhood every day or two, and normal wandering around the house. The specific walks ranged from 15-25 minutes, with the average creeping up very slowly over the course of about a year. At my best, the 25-minute walks were still tiring. Apart from those, I'm housebound.
Oh and by "tiring", I mean, drained for an hour or two afterwards at a minimum...if I misjudged my energy level, that same 25-minute walk could leave me fazed out for several hours afterwards, to the point of not understanding what was going on in movies/shows I hadn't seen before, and usually myalgic and generally tired for the next couple of days.
That is a perfect description of how 'tiring' I feel after doing most anything. Even washing a load of dishes. There are some days I do nothing because I don't have the energy...and a few times where i've actually spent two days sleeping (at least semi-asleep).
Sounds like you know your pace and do well for yourself. Take care.
Sounds like you know your pace and do well for yourself. Take care.
My muscles get so stiff and this is a sign of muscle fatigue. When your muscles are fatigued, one would think they would get loose and weak, but they actually stiffen up. It's like having writer's cramp, but it's all over my body. When I try to exercise, it gets worse. Some days I can barely walk or get out of bed. I feel like the tin man before he gets his oil on the Wizard of Oz.
Ree4tu
Ree4tu
the muscle thing mmmm ,i,t,s hard to exercise inpain isn,t it? i have found gentle movements in a swimming pool {or a swim when manageable}helps ,but the cold and getting changed can be daunting , i rarely swim at home but when i went on holiday i was in the pool all the time and felt better for it,{then again that might of been the sun and sangrias lol}
take care all
take care all
I'm guessing you're the other mostly-housebound one in my poll? :)
I find for small outings like walking the dog for 15 minutes, I'm okay. But if I do anything like go to the doctor's or whatever, where it's a "significant" outing, I need to plan on being useless for the rest of the day and usually into the next, and I make a point of not planning any other significant outings the same week.
I find for small outings like walking the dog for 15 minutes, I'm okay. But if I do anything like go to the doctor's or whatever, where it's a "significant" outing, I need to plan on being useless for the rest of the day and usually into the next, and I make a point of not planning any other significant outings the same week.
I also never had any muscle weakness until my surgery in 2004.........I was on steroids and antibiotics for a month long stay in hospital......after the operation I had very little muscle left in my legs and in my arms....I was completely weakened and have not regained back all of the strength I had previous to the operation......
Our situations sound similar, but I would not be able to walk the dog for 15 minutes. There are days at a time that I can't get to the mailbox which is only 50 ft. or so from the house. Many days even dressing is too much for level of pain or fatigue. I am presently in my most severe flair I've ever had and have only been out of the house a few times since Christmas-- and those times were going to the pharmacy drive-thru window. Twice I tried to actually go into a store but just ended up in tears from pain. I feel like I'm losing the battle at present, but know there is usually some relief on the horizon-- there always is.
I too have muscle weakness in the arms and legs. I haven't been able to open a jar or can in years. I thought it was related to when I cut my thumb open. I never related it to this. Thank you to this forum for being so informative and helpful. You are truly a God-send. Thank you!
Just some FYI if anyone is interested. My friend had fibro symptoms for many years. She also had muscle weakness, twitching and all sorts of issues. Long story short, after 7 years she was finally diagnosed with dermatomyositis. This was found on muscle biposy. She is on steroids. Not saying anyone has this but it's one of those diseases that gets missed because it is so rare. All her muscle tests were normal including CPK. It only showed on the biopsy. So normal CPK's aren't reliable. Although from what I have read, the majority of people with this have elevated CPK levels.
Sorry, I think my above post should have been to RobinHood70 rather than to VaBreeze as I posted it. I do get confused !! :)
That's okay, barefooted, I figured it out. Hopefully VaBreeze will as well.
I have to say that as much as I clearly have CFS fairly badly compared to others, I'm thankful that I don't have the pain of FMS along with it. Although having said that, most of the FMS posters I've seen seem to have good and bad periods where my symptoms are fairly constant, usually only fluctuating mildly from day-to-day or within the day. I think I'd probably have an easier time dealing with that overall, but maybe it's a "grass is always greener" thing. :)
I have to say that as much as I clearly have CFS fairly badly compared to others, I'm thankful that I don't have the pain of FMS along with it. Although having said that, most of the FMS posters I've seen seem to have good and bad periods where my symptoms are fairly constant, usually only fluctuating mildly from day-to-day or within the day. I think I'd probably have an easier time dealing with that overall, but maybe it's a "grass is always greener" thing. :)
ARGH! Speaking of confusion...re-reading my own post, the bit in the middle was a bit confusing. If you're having a hard time with it, change "where" to "whereas" and it'll make more sense.
I have weakness in all my extremities, and pain to go along with all that weakness. I get cramps in my hands and feet, too.
yes i have always had week muscles all over. weekest beeing ankles and wrist. been like this since a child.
i have weakness in my right leg from my hip all the way down to the toes. my lumbar region has lost a lot of strength within the past 3 years, too. and yes, some days are worse than others.
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