Exercise Makes SFN Worse
 

Every article and post I have read claims that exercise helps SFN.
My case is just the opposite and I'm curious if anyone else has the same problem.

I definitely have SFN verified by the skin punch test. I have tried many times using an exercise bike and/or walking. I start out very slowly, but every day gets worse and I end up in so much pain after a week or so that I end up going to bed for a day or 2.

I've given up on doctors and pain meds and am wondering if there is anything that goes hand-in-hand with SFN (and Graves) that might cause this. I'm at my wits end and don't know where else to turn.

Thanks :)

I've had the very same problem. Exercise sets off all my sensory symptoms - buzzing, stinging, and burning.

My approach has been to scale back on everything. Try something easy and wait a few days to see how my body responds. My symptoms have a delay to them sometimes. I might experience the pain either later that same day or up to 72 hours after the stimulus. Keeping a journal has been very useful to track this.

Guess I am not the only one. Sorry you're in the same boat as I am.
My only option has been not to exercise at all. The more I rest, the better I feel. The more I rest, the better I sleep at night.
But according to my doctors, I MUST exercise. They just don't realize how painful it is.

Is there a chance that something else could be causing this rather than the SFN? I've seen a neurologist and a rheumatologist. They both say there are a lot of tests are "off", but nothing really stands out as extreme. That's all the farther it goes.

Thanks,

LM

Look at this issue in a different way.

Exercise is helpful to prevent blood glucose problems which can lead to diabetic neuropathy.

Exercise keeps muscles and the heart strong.

Exercise improves circulation in the body, and for those with poor blood flow (and hence neuropathy developments), it can help in the long run.

BUT.... People who have something in their blood like some drug or toxin, or heavy metals, or autoimmune disease, will
have MORE blood delivered to those nerves who will react more.

If a person has an inflammatory problem, arthritis or some other inflammatory issue, then exercise may inflame that process. Stress increases inflammatory cytokines (Cox-2 family).

If a person has some problem not recognized in the feet and legs, some compression issues, tight shoes, broken sesamoid bones, spurs on the ankle, psoriatic arthritis, neuromas, then surely the feet will hurt more with exercise. For these people swimming is often a good compromise.

But just having shoes laced too tightly can cause all sorts of grief in the feet... so having a really good podiatrist evaluate your feet is a good way to screen for the negatives.

I exercise a lot and am very fit. Unless I can't walk or am disabled I'm going to continue to exercise. Exercise relieves my symptoms although thankfully at this point they aren't that bad and getting a little better.


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Yes, exercise makes mine worse. Lying down makes mine worse. Sorry that
it is this way.
Some yoga has helped me the tiniest bit.
Walking in a warm pool also helps.
If I exercise like I did prior to my symptoms I pay heavily for it.

This all is such a challenging paradox.
:eek:

Yes, exercise makes mine worse. Even the slightest exercise like doing stretches for carpal tunnel. my arms sets off burning. Lying down also makes mine worse. That's when the stinging, tightening and heaviness really come on.

I stand up paddle surf, in the surf (ie, in waves, not flatwater), almost every day, for 2 hrs at a time, if not a little more. The Dr does not want me to do this, and I suspect I know why: at the end of those two hrs, I go straight to bed and/or mope around the house the rest of the day, too exhausted to move.
But, it's how I choose to deal with my disease. Surfing is what makes me happy -- and happy beyond words -- so why would I want to cut down on it, knowing that my disease is going to make me stop at some point anyway?
And, yes, there are times, usually at the end of the day, when my feet are burning to high hell and are prickly numb like no one's business and I swear that I'll take it easy and not surf the next day. But then the next day arrives, my feet seem somewhat better, so off I go, without fail, to catch waves.

(Here is a story I wrote about my case of CIDP and addiction to surfing: http://www.outsideonline.com/1922561...ithout-feeling )

One thing surfing has not done is increase my muscle mass. Due to CIDP, my leg muscles are almost entirely atrophied and my arms are skinny as toothpicks. That said, I have to feel that without surfing I might be even worse off than I am.

So, those are my thoughts, for what they're worth.

This is somewhat the way I feel. I loved to hike and walking in the woods makes me happy so I try to do as much as I can. I know I won't be doing it much longer. At the end of a walk my husband has to lift my feet into the car.
It is basically impossible to increase muscle mass with the disorders that cause atrophy. Mine is hereditary. Exercise may slow the rate of progression down a little

No one here is saying that you shouldn't exercise if it causes no ill effects, just that it may not be the panacea that it has come to be regarded as by doctors and the popular press.

Awesome story!! Glad you are getting out there.