Does anyone else feel that cooking with fibromyalgia is nearly impossible? The other night, I was preparing dinner, and by the time I finished chopping vegetables, my body was in agony. The following day, I had a delivery that required me to go up and down the stairs several times, and by that evening, I couldn’t manage going downstairs again. I spent the entire night in bed because, after two days of pushing myself beyond my limits, my body clearly said, “enough is enough.”

I know there are ways to increase my endurance, but it can be excruciating. Exercising reduced my pain to the point where I felt almost normal, as long as I kept up the routine. I had been working out for thirty minutes daily, about three days a week.

Has anyone else faced their pain and tried exercising to see if it helps? I do best with low-impact exercises, like riding a bike or doing water aerobics.

Today, I had to ask my partner which activity he wanted me to do because I only had the energy for one task. Going to the grocery store or swimming in the pool this afternoon felt overwhelming, and before my health declined, neither task would have been too much for me. Managing energy is a regular part of living with a chronic illness, and I know some people find relief with electronic gadgets. I tried one; however, it didn’t work as well as I had hoped. Still, it did help me better understand the difference between my pain from arthritis and fibromyalgia.

My partner convinced me to start walking because we found out that I was diabetic. Adding that to everything else was frustrating, especially since I was in pain and sweating. It’s aggravating not to be able to walk half a mile when I used to run five miles regularly.