Hi Fred,
I think I've had fibromyalgia my whole life or very close to it. I've only been diagnosed for about 4 years but after years of being told it was either all in my head or the doctors ruling out every other ailment( and I do have others),the symptoms they used to diagnose the fibromyalgia are the same ones I've had my whole life. Weird, same symptoms, only now they believe me and give it a name.
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Anyway,since it does run in my family and I suspected all along that I had it, I've been able to do lots of research.A small silver lining. I also have a scientific/medical background.I'm not a doctor I'm a veterinary technologist. Animals are not people I know but the body systems for both are very similar and at least I understand the medical mimbo-jumbo and big words the doctors like to use. lol It really throws them off when you can understand them and talk at their level. Hee,Hee
I'm telling you this so you will not think I am just blowing smoke when I share a few things with you. I hope you don't mind the information about me or the sharing?
I too have the same problem with exercise and always have had. I always recovered a lot slower than friends in school. I would be extremely tired and sore -always told I needed to do more and just suck it up. Yah right. It sometimes will make me feel physically sick,have diarrhea afterwards, be in pain for days,run a fever etc the list goes on and on. A few things I have discoved :1. I have reactive hypoglycemia-blood sugar drops and rises more than normal based on what I eat. I also noticed it drops rapidly when I exercise. Could this be part of your problem as well? It does contribute to being extremely tired.
2. I am hypothyroid and have Hashimoto's thyroiditis-also make you tired and sore-some symptoms also associated with fibromyalgia and will make your fibromyalgia worse if not treated. Have you had your thyroid tested? 3.Lyrica is my new best friend. Have you tried it? I can give you a list of meds I'm on that help me if you are interested? 4.Don't dismiss alternative treatments. By this I mean I also have massage, go for something called IMS and see an osteopath all on a 2 week rotation. Love all of them, they have all been as or more helpful than all the doctors and drugs combined.
I have a theory about why exercise hurts us so much. Fibromyalgia is a central nervous system disorder.( this is now known) Exercise is a type of stress. Fibromyalgia and stress of any kind do not go well together. Exercise registers in the brain as stress and the brain sends out signals to the body to react to the stress( threat).Your body produces a sudden burst of cortisol, the "fight or flight" hormone.This hormone is not bad.However, I think in people with fibromyalgia it is already present in higher levels than in normal people so when we get stressed and have another burst of it ,it produces extreme symptoms in us. It is the hormone that is partially responsible for ,proper glucose metabolism,regulation of blood pressure,insulin release for blood sugar maintanence,immune function,inflammatory response, to name a few. I think it's role in inflammatory response is partly why we hurt more when we exercise. I also think that because it is present in higher levels in us( my opinion-have not found any research on this yet) that it takes the body longer than normal to return to some level of homeostasis.Which is why we hurt for days and not hours. Also since fibromyalgia is a central nervous system disorder people with it feel pain more intensely than a normal person( known). Our central nervous systems are more highly charged and react more intensely and longer to pain. Pain = stress= more cortisol = inflammation=more pain=more stress= ......., you get the idea. Again it takes us longer for our nerves to calm down,cortisol to clear out and our body to return to a level of homeostisis.
Anyway there is more I could share but you are probably sick of reading by now. I will say in closing that I am now 41 yrs old.I am still able to work full time ,have a family and pets, I look after a garden( 2 acres worth), jog 5 km 3-4 times/week,do yoga and the eliptical. I get up every day sore and tired and I go to bed every night sore and tired. I have extreme trouble sleeping and never feel rested. I miss days of work due to pain and fatigue. I miss family time because sometimes my body just shuts down and I fall asleep no matter where I am. I forget things and have a lousey memory. I get discouraged,depressed and angry. I get sick of having to justify myself and my ailment to others who don't get it because on the outside I look normal. Then I think to myself it could be worse. Yes I am all of the above but I also have a lot to be greatful and happy for. I'm not perfect but I am alive ...beats the alternative ,don't you think.
With you in fibromyalgia,
k9helper