Hi all, Have had computer problems and been off line since forever(except for a few moments at a time) Hopefully everything is fixed now.
Anne, You better beleive i rest a long time in between doing anything. I literally can't breathe if i don't. DD takes cymbalta and she swears by it. She also takes methodone and hydrocodone at times as her back pain is severe. sometimes. She is just starting to try hypnosis to see if that will help to get her away from the strong drugs.

I dearly love my outside chairs. my little hide away seems to help everything else too.
vickie

I make sure there is always a place to sit even it is on a 5 gallon bucket. I have chronic fatigue syndrome along with fibromyalgia so I know exactly how you feel. I always think the key is to have a comfortable place to rest outside - somewhere in view of the area of the garden you are working on. That way, as you sit, you can also be thinking about your next move and devise a plan of action rather than jump from place to place trying to get everything done. Sometimes I think gardening is more about using your brain than your body.

Dx fibromyalgia 13 months ago. Suggestions: (1) several chairs, all over the yard (2) take a large thermos jug of cold drink outside & put it, a snack & a glass by the chair you use the most (3) keep a cell phone with you in case you need help (I fell outside last summer & didn't have the strength to get myself up) (4) use an appointment book to schedule tasks each day & then stick to the plan. You will soon learn how much is too much & what is realistic. (5) Flower beds: mulch, mulch & more mulch. It really minimizes weeds & watering. (6)veggies: raised beds filled with lasagne. No more shoveling, raking or weeding. My veggie beds are 15" high & I can sit on the edge if I want to. (7) get rid of all "fussy" plants. Anything prone to fungus or insects or falling over is GONE! Anything that needs to be dug up every fall, stored & then replanted every spring is GONE! (8) get as much help as you can

Thanks for the lawnchair idea! I usually use a 5 gal. bucket or collapse in the dirt - DUH... When I over-do, I've been hoping I can make it to the house to collapse, or at least the front porch. Stationing lawn chairs is a great idea.

When we first moved to Florida, I would overdo it in the garden and get close to heat stroke. Now, with my back problems, I've learned to sit and take it easy in between tasks and drink gatorade. I put a swing in the yard that faces the garden, so while I rest in the shade, I can see what I've done and what still needs to be done. It's good to sit back and see what still needs to be pruned.

I'm a really hyper person, who has had to learn to slow it down. Gardening is supposed to be enjoyable, not a marathon. Over on the Fla. forum, a lot of people suggest only doing so much and then sit in the afternoon and have a nice glass of wine or a frozen drink! We do have to take it easy with the heat and with the longer gardening season. Nothing like a cold glass of sangria after a day of gardening!
Julie

Julie I can understand the heat thing. I can no longer work out in the heat of the day due to High blood pressure. I can't even stand out in the sun without feeling the effects of the sun. It never bothered me before and after talking to my dad he said the same thing happened to him. I now only work outside in the early morning and late evening's.

I was like you. a really hyper person not really realizing that I was cause I lived with it, but I was never ever still, family members would ask me can't you just sit for awhile LOL. Not if I didn't have to.
Having to slow down just kills me. My mind races with what I wish or want to do but can't cause of inability to do them.
I had a Risotomy done last Monday and it is showing effects that can happen when they burn the nerves, this is the only way I get relief from the pain. While making a sandwich for lunch I was holding the bread spreading may-o on it and my hand started shaking bad, enough so that I had to put the bread down or end up having it fall on the counter.
Risotomy's can also lead to seizures. I have three more to go through and hope nothing happens. The bad part of it is that it only last for maybe a year and have to go through it all over again.
I am scared of what's to come and what type of life I will have. I don't know how I will handle being in a wheel chair and depended on people to do thing's for me. I'm not that type of person to ask for help in this way.
My grandfather was like that he'd do thing's he shouldn't have done risking his health. It's so hard to realize that we have to sit back and do only what our bodies allow us.

Are you people with nerve conditions taking enough magnesium? I first read where a doctor who was a neurologist had come to the conclusion that most nerve problems were caused by a chronic lack of magnesium. Many soils are lacking in magnesium, so it isn't in the foods that would be the natural sources.

Then I was talking to two people who have fibromyalgia, and they both said their doctors have them on magnesium. So maybe you should speak to your doctor about it if he doesn't already have you on it.

But don't just start taking the full dose if you're new to it, as it acts as a laxative. Start low and gradually increase.

Sue

Fibromyalgia is not a nerve condition.It is arthritis of the soft tissue.I have had it for over 12 years,and it is very painful.I take cymbalta and lyrica and I still can fill the pain.People just doesnt understand how anyone can hurt 24-7.Vitamins helps and so does heat and exercise and just about anything that you can think ,but only for a while.The the cymbalta and the lyrica helps a lot.Paulette