Hello everyone

Vicky67
Vicky67 Member Posts: 2
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:06 in Living with arthritis

I am Vicky, I live in Birmingham with my husband. I have inflammatory arthritis, fibromyalgia and relapsing Polychondritis. I used to be active when I was younger, at 53, I ache. I have to keep reminding myself, that I can still move, maybe not as much as I used to when I would run, swim and go to the gym 4 times a week. I have always been more motivated when I have someone with me, sadly my husband isn’t really bothered about fitness. I find his attitude rubbing off on me, however, I find myself giving myself a hard time mentally for just following his lead when I understand I need to improve my fitness to manage my health and well-being. Often though, especially walking, I don’t feel safe. I live near the Lickey Hills in Birmingham/Worcestershire but won’t walk there on my own.

I what to find my focus again, to feel better physically and mentally.

Comments

  • Brynmor
    Brynmor Member Posts: 1,755

    Hi @Vicky67 welcome to the Online Community, lovely to have you here.

    Finding motivation to keep fit and active can be quite hard especially with the added arthritis and other accompanying diseases conspire to make things even more difficult. Finding a walking partner who is nearby sounds an ideal solution.

    You may well be interested in joining the Let's Move With Leon - a programme which has been created for people with Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions who want more movement in their lives.

    Do have a read through some of the posts in our Let's Move Category where I am sure you will find other members who will be very willing to help out.

    Please do join in across the Community, ask questions and give advice, or call in for a chat to say how you are getting on.

    All best wishes

    Brynmor

  • Rina
    Rina Member Posts: 85

    Hi @Vicky67,

    You are so right that activity improves health and well being, but oh my goodness I know how hard it is to start or return. I had a bad flare up of RA a few years ago and stopped exercising completely. The less I exercised, the more pain I felt; the more pain, the less I wanted to exercise - a very vicious circle! I managed to find a fitness class in my local YMCA - it was mainly for people who had had a stroke so the exercises were very gentle but got me moving. I made friends there too and I started meeting up with them regularly for park walks ( followed by a coffee of course!) I honestly haven’t looked back since and now exercise has become an important part of my life.

    Do you have any local clubs you could join? I’m not talking about gyms ( unless you’re confident enough of course - I wasn’t) but just local classes in church halls, community centres or the YMCA? Perhaps even a gentle tai chi or yoga class? Or maybe there is a rambler’s club you could join. It takes a bit of courage to go alone but I’ve always found that most people are really friendly. You could just start something once a week and if you don’t feel comfortable move on to something else.

    Good luck - let us know how you are getting on.

    Love Anna