Exercise and possible Fibromyalgia

[Sablewings]

I might have worked out the reason for my lifelong endurance issues - I was on another internet board the other day commenting on exercise and muscle/joint reactions to it  and someone with Fibromyalgia asked me if I had it. All I can say is that it sounds kind of familiar...   Alongside having a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome (yep, I'm female too) I have always noticed other stuff - particularly tactile hypersensitivity to hot and cold, and random skin and muscle twinges, jabs, itches, random prickling feelings that come and go, but never thought too much about them...

http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/fibromyalgia.aspx
http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/understanding-fibromyalgia-symptoms
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/u/ua/whatisfibromyalgia/fibromyalgiapain.htm

Has anyone else here got it? I would say mine must be a mild case, as in I go to work, and go through daily life without too much issue, though I'm a natural fidgeter. I can sleep okay, but I will usually wake up with aching joints which need to be stretched. Occasionally, some days, every single joint and muscle aches all through the day, like I've just done a few rounds with Tyson. That's even when I've done no more strenuous exercise but walking.

One thing it causes big trouble with is prolonged exercise - when the aches get going, they really do get going.  I was training for the 5k run a few years back, I managed to get about 5 weeks into my programme of running 1 mile 3 times a week, and wasn't feeling too bad, then I hit a wall of exhaustion and aches and couldn't exercise for the next fortnight. I probably did too much. The same happened with pushing my cycling limits - I did a 14k cycle ride one day and by the evening I had painful, aching flu-symptom like joint pain. That put me off trying cycling so far again....  

Even back at school when I was at my lifetime fittest I remember days when walking the one mile back and forward to school left me with achy 'heavy legs' and even cycling a few miles was tiring. At this point I was cycling or walking to school every single day, plus doing P.E at school so my fitness level wasn't too bad at all.

From reading about it, it seems to me that it's entirely neurological, and probably has nothing to do with the actual physical state of the muscles or joints at all - the pain the nerves are reporting is not actually there, or if it is, it's not a fraction so bad, so technically should I be able to have a mind-over-matter response to it?

At the moment though I think, "oh I won't exercise today because I'm too achy or weary," because perhaps the nerve endings are oversensitive, yet I could exercise because my muscles are probably fine. And exercise is one thing that's said to often be beneficial for Fibromyalgia if its regular. So I'm going to try hard to stick to a routine whether I'm aching or not - I'm going for a walk every single day of at least half a mile. (I usually do a mile, at the weekends it's two or three miles)  I've been going for a light jog followed by a 250m sprint every five days, and swimming once a week. I'm also doing some core muscle exercises.

If this is what it really is.....stupid nervous system....     I have a tub of Epsom salts I use occasionally in the bath, usually they help, but apparently you can't use them too often...

Any knowedge or tips on building up exercise tolerance and treating these kind of neuro- aches would be appreciated. I've always liked some physical activity, but the aches have been a bugger and a deterrent, it has to be said. Now I know they are probably misleading I could perhaps reach some kind of breakthrough if I can find a good approach.

Barefoot shoes have already helped because they've helped me to enjoy regular walking and light jogging where I didn't before, so there's a good start, just got to get further and progress a bit now.

[DanaRe]

My partner has fibromyalgia, and has found that a combination of cardio and weight training has helped to control the symptoms. Like you, her symptoms are mild, which also helps. She said that, if you are not currently doing any weight training, start VERY slowly ... just a few reps at low weight levels. The key seems to be consistency while not overdoing it. And, to the extent you can, continue to try to dosome form of physical activity every day - in the long run, that keeps the symtoms at bay.

[nowster]

It's interesting that you mentioned AS. I recently completed one of those (unreliable) online questionnaires for it, and came out with the scary score of 43/50 which is "very high (most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 35)". Eek!

[Sablewings]

She said that, if you are not currently doing any weight training, start VERY slowly ... just a few reps at low weight levels. The key seems to be consistency while not overdoing it. And, to the extent you can, continue to try to dosome form of physical activity every day - in the long run, that keeps the symtoms at bay.

Sounds hopeful, thank you. I have some small 1k or 2k dumbells which I bought some years ago, but haven't used much, perhaps they'd be a good start. If this is the kind of weight training that's best, or perhaps better to use slightly more weight than this?

(most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 35)". Eek!

I scored 35.   The best one to take is Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen's (Absolutely not to be confused with Sacha, a.k.a. the creator of Borat & Ali G...!)  AQ test - this is the general one as invented by him -

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

If this one comes out high as well then it's probably worth investigating further! The best book out there is Tony Attwood's "Complete Guide to Asperger Syndrome."  I was diagnosed at the age of 30... or rather, November just last year, though I suspected it about 4 years before this. Explains a lot about my life...

It's the pesky add-ons to AS that bug me most - the sensitivities and the excessive anxiety, if they'd all give me a bit of a break I'd be able to get on a lot better!

Sometimes my interests can also be a pain if they are not a topic of interest I can discuss with people I know on a daily basis without them getting bored stiff of hearing about it.... Hence why I've ended up on this forum where I can read about barefoot shoes and barefoot running as much as I damn well please....

[nowster]

(most people with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism score about 35)". Eek!

I scored 35.   The best one to take is Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen's (Absolutely not to be confused with Sacha, a.k.a. the creator of Borat & Ali G...!)  AQ test - this is the general one as invented by him -

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html

If this one comes out high as well then it's probably worth investigating further! The best book out there is Tony Attwood's "Complete Guide to Asperger Syndrome."  I was diagnosed at the age of 30... or rather, November just last year, though I suspected it about 4 years before this. Explains a lot about my life...

That (under a different cover) was the one I took. I took it a year ago as well and scored 40. I did see a psychologist about problems about 20 years ago and was left (undiagnosed) with a bad feeling about the experience. What happened to make you get yourself checked out? (Please feel free to continue in PM if you feel it necessary... or even tell me to mind my own business.)

It's the pesky add-ons to AS that bug me most - the sensitivities and the excessive anxiety, if they'd all give me a bit of a break I'd be able to get on a lot better!

Agreed. One example: my parents thought I'd grow out of my finicky food preferences, but I didn't.

Sometimes my interests can also be a pain if they are not a topic of interest I can discuss with people I know on a daily basis without them getting bored stiff of hearing about it.... Hence why I've ended up on this forum where I can read about barefoot shoes and barefoot running as much as I damn well please....

Guilty as charged! Deep interest in a few subjects. Once you've latched onto something, the interest borders on the obsessive.

Incidentally, your suggesting a group walk up Snowdon is not what I'd have thought to be typical AS behaviour.

[Sablewings]

Incidentally, your suggesting a group walk up Snowdon is not what I'd have thought to be typical AS behaviour.

LOL! No....that was just a Death Wish.  The mountain only bothers me because I was thwarted on a Snowdonia camping trip in 2008, (I was there in loyal support of my old school friend, not for the love of canvas and tinned food, I hasten to add... A Force ten gale caused me to be taken off our camp in the hills with mild hypothermia....   I was the novice in the camp so trusted the others - but these 'pro' trekkers I went with obviously failed to check the weather forecast....)

In general anything that I've mucked up in the past I want to try and challenge again - hence also my interest in barefoot shoes and wanting to run, because as a teenager I hated running, and it thwarted me, and also going on walks always made me ache, and my feet hurt etc. Things I was petrified of as a kid, I've since challenged and won against, like fear of trains, public transport, the London Underground, flying, swimming....

Anyways. I wanted to get checked out ever since I met up with an online friend who had AS, about 4 or 5 years ago. I didn't really think anything of it at all until meeting her in person and straightway noticed her social behaviour & mannerisms was like...looking into a mirror...   I decided to get diagnosed because there's a real lack of diagnosed women with AS, and it's certainly not because there's far less of us - it's more due to them not being spotted, or just misdiagnosed with some kind of anxiety / agoraphobia / OCD or some other disorder, (Which my GP initially assumed I had) Women with AS are generally a little bit more social, and also manage to mask some of the behaviours that makes males with AS stand out more.

I did see a psychologist about problems about 20 years ago and was left (undiagnosed) with a bad feeling about the experience.

Sorry to hear this. 20 years ago was quite the dark ages when it comes to Asperger's awareness,    hence why I toiled through school with no support.  GP's are a bit better informed now, but I had to have a bit of a tussle with mine to get referred to a Psychiatrist. When I finally did get a referral, the psychiatrist was in no doubt I had AS. (Fortunately for me he'd had a colleague who specialised in ASD's so he actually understood them!)

I find regular exercise definitely helps my anxiety, and my fascination with barefoot shoes has helped me take more exercise (unlike my teenage obsession with computer games which....didn't) and also spot Morton's which has been key in sorting out my foot pain.  If I can now just figure out a way to manage all these joint and muscle issues through exercise, I'll be doing well, I think!

Agreed. One example: my parents thought I'd grow out of my finicky food preferences, but I didn't.

Bananas, mashed potato and raw tomato often cause offence... for me it was no exception.

[nowster]

Bananas, mashed potato and raw tomato often cause offence... for me it was no exception.

It's a texture thing more than flavour, right?

PS. You used "less" instead of "fewer" in an earlier paragraph.

[Sablewings]

Bananas, mashed potato and raw tomato often cause offence... for me it was no exception.

It's a texture thing more than flavour, right?

Yep. Though it can also depend on the smell...

PS. You used "less" instead of "fewer" in an earlier paragraph.

I must've left my proofreader skills in Snowdonia.