I had a really great appointment with my GP last week. I have only been seeing her for a short while so we are still getting to know each other, and it was great to feel that my hunch that she is really great seems to be ringing true.
She spent a long time with me, and she does not rush me when I am trying to explain things which really helps me to concentrate and not forget important things, as well as it being less exhausting. She really listens and her response to things I suggest is usually positive, such as “yes, that is certainly something we can try” or “I will speak to a colleague/look that up and get back to you”. It really is a breath of fresh air after my last GP surgery.
This time was really a drug review and a review of symptoms to find what combinations might work best. I have come away with plans to make several changes in my own time, one at a time and to experiment with what works best for me. She really treats me like and intelligent adult and is not patronising at all. It is so great.
(Has anyone tried Clonazepam and do you take it in the day for muscle tension/pain or sensory overload/neurological symptoms? I have started taking it at night and sleep better but my symptoms remain…)
I also asked her about stretching and gentle exercise to maintain what function I have over the long-term. This was also related to the risk of osteoporosis of being indoors so much and not being physically active. She said that any movement is better than none, however small. I have been told before that stretching is pointless unless you can hold it for 20 seconds, and that doing exercises is also pointless unless you keep increasing the amount you do (like graded exercise therapy). My GP says she will ask a physio friend of hers about the best way to stretch very weak and trembly muscles, and how to build strength gently. She said I won’t be able to tell any difference for a long time as things will be so slow, which is a good attitude I think, rather than the pressured approach of people I have met before. I am willing to give it a try. I told her that I have a heart rate monitor and would wear it to be sure I was not stressing my body too much, and in order to keep my heart rate low I will have to do most of it lying down. She said that was excellent. I have dug out the exercise sheets given to me in the past by physios and the CFS management team, which I failed to do regularly before as the approach was not tailored to my severity. I just need to work out what I can actually do and also which things it is most important to focus my energy on, as I won’t be able to do anything on days where I am in recovery from doing something, or having a flare up: I need to choose wisely which stretches/movements will have most all-round benefit. She did say that even stretching would probably cause increased pain initially but not to worry about it if being very gentle. I hope that longer term I can reduce my pain levels through being a bit stronger and my muscles being less tense. I do think that there are various causes for muscle problems in ME and that it is just not possible to exercise all the issues away, especially nerve related issues. I can only see how my body reacts. I don’t think anyone should try to exercise unless they feel up to it, and I certainly will only be doing a little bit during my best time of day and on better days… I use the word “exercise” very loosely!
It’s worth a try, even though there are other things I would rather be doing with my time and energy! I will be starting with just a few minutes so will just have to discipline myself… again. Maybe some stretching then a treat!
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September 15, 2011 at 3:24 pm
alvason
Hi Ashy, glad to hear you had such a positive meeting with your GP.
Like you, I have been looking for some exercise/activity/mobility/flexibility regime and today I wondered about Tai Chi. I think this would be good for me but I was SO disappointed to see that sessions/classes cost about $10 each, not too good as we are pretty broke at the moment. This is like everything else, if you knew it would improve your quality of life it would be worth $10 per week and more but you don’t know, do you?
I’m having a review with my GP next week, am going to ask him for advice/an exercise program/things to look out for when exercising, things to do and not to do. But I’ve lost a bit of faith in him as he is not listening any more, just wants to (a) give you a prescription or (b) shunt you off to a specialist. Very production line stuff.
Let’s know how you get on with your “exercise”/mobility etc. Take care now!
September 23, 2011 at 4:35 pm
ashy
Hi Alvason, you should have a search on youtube for tai chi moves to try out. It is not as good as a class but you would get an idea of whether you would like it and be able to do it, perhaps? I tried some seated tai chi for a while, it felt good. I have not been able to try any expercises yet as the last two weeks we have had builders/electricians in and life has been chaos. I will have to wait until things calm down and I have some energy and space (non-dusty and filled with furniture which should be in other rooms) to try it out. I am trying to go with the flow!
September 24, 2011 at 1:00 am
alvason
Ashy! Good thinking! I’ll go and check that out. Just seems like it would be a good way of getting some flexibility and some muscle tone …
October 12, 2011 at 9:00 pm
upnorth
How has the gentle exercise & stretching been going? I’ve been wondering about the usefulness of this….I want to try to do a little but have trouble getting inspired. But you’re right about the Osteo etc.
October 13, 2011 at 8:57 am
ashy
Hi Upnorth, thanks for asking. I have been trying to do these exercises every day to start with as my neck, shoulders and upper back are very tense and sore and trigger headaches http://getwellfromme.com/2011/muscle-stretching-exercises-part-1/
I started doing them and it was fine. A few days later I started to increase the dose of a drug I am on for POTS and had about ten days of really bad headaches that came every afternoon and got worse and worse as the evening went on. While this is not a new thing for me, I have not had them for so many days in a row for a long time and they were really intense. I think it was the drug but I did stop the exercises after about a week of headaches, just in case. The headaches have eased and I have now restarted cautiously and it all seems ok again. I am doing them very gently and have decided to skip no’s. 6 and 8 as my shoulders seem to be too bendy/dislocate a bit and I cannot feel any pull on no8 where I think I should and on no.6 I am not sure I am stretching right as it feels to me like there are two ways to do it. Also one side feels too much of a pull. SO I am being very careful and barely even feeling a stretch on the neck exercises but I will gradually hold for longer once I am more confident.
They do feel good to do and I think were helping a bit during the week I did them, but it was hard to tell with all the headaches and painkillers I was having to take.
Once I have tested this shoulder area I will move onto other parts of the body, I have not been back to my GP yet but am trying to get an appointment for the end of the month, so I will see what she suggests then. I am just aiming to keep some flexibility, blood flow and hopefully reduce some pain and tension – it’s going to be a long process before I can see much of a result I think. gently gently.