I have fibromyalgia, and that means excerise=PAIN. I used to love to work out before I got this sh!t, Bikram hot yoga, weights, the whole thing. NOW I can barely walk around a Super Walmart without ending up in bed with a heating pad the next day!

So is there anybody out there on this journey who also has chronic pain, especially chronic pain aggravated by exercise? How do you push through?

I have Patella Femoral Syndrome which basically means that my knee "pops" out of the naturally occuring crevice and causes pain - this happens especially with a downstep on the stairs. When it pops out, my hamstring pulls which causes my hips to pull which causes pain all the way up to my shoulder. So, I have to be really careful about exercise, or I end up on pain meds or clutching my heating pad as well.

Before being diagnosed, I spent a couple thousand dollars on an eliptical machine that was supposed to be "knee friendly". Guess what, it's good for the knees for most things, but not my disease. So, my husband uses it.

I've been trying to find low impact items such as walking on a flat surface or strength training that does not involve my knee. I also did the Wii Fit Plus last night. Since the step isn't that high, I was able to do the step routines without pain (at least not yet.)

All that to say ... just keep looking for things that you can do that cause the least irritation. Hopefully, as you build back your strength, you will be able to do more.

I have spinal stenosis and arthritis up and down by spine. I cannot exercise right now, buuuttt, I hope to have my back fused in June. That's been part of my plan. Lose the weight, then get the back surgery. I am mostly bed ridden right now, due to the pain. Even with with pain pills. I can go out for a couple of hours a few times a week, but that's it.

Swimming is great. I swam often in the local sound last summer, oddly enough when I had the appearance of a beached whale! Now that I have slimmed down believe it or not I'm afraid to go into the water!! What... did this surgery strip me of my courage too?

bless your heart Lan2K, I'm so sorry to hear that. . . i love to swim, haven't done it in a while, but love it. . . it's going to be interesting to see if i'll be brave enough to go into the ocean this fall. . . (been watching too many shark movies) heehehehe. . .

I need to have a knee replacement and while my weight loss has helped the situation I still suffer quite a bit after exercise. About six weeks after my surgery I started walking in the pool at the gym. I also use an eliptical machine that seems to be easier on my knees then walking or riding the bike. I think the key is to keep trying different things until you find something you like and something that does not put you in to much pain after you are done. It's hard enough to maintain an exercise routine with out cronic pain.