Cardio happens!

I bought a new workout DVD on Friday. (I have a bathing suit that fits now, but since I don't know where I'll be working in relation to where classes are geographically speaking, I hesitate to join a gym or pool yet--and walking just plain hurts too much. I haven't found any affordable membership that isn't specific to the workout facility where one joins.) The DVD I got is a Dancing With the Stars thing called "Retro and Latin Mix". (I don't watch the show, but it sounded fun.) There is a lot of hip action with any Latin dancing, and I have bursitis in mine, so it's a challenge--but I really like this workout (despite the perky thin people on it--I've learned to accept that I am of a different species, besides being middle-aged, so who cares?). I did the Latin/Retro warm-up part and the Retro/Disco part and worked up a good sweat--I feel great and so far, my ankle doesn't hurt. (We'll see how it feels tonight! Maybe a carpeted floor makes all the difference.) I've always wanted to learn to salsa dance and really want to try it someday when I lose more weight. (I'm only waiting to lose more weight before I try it because it moves quickly and I'm still not as light on my feet as I'd like to be, even while doing this workout. Besides, I can fit into slinkier dresses if I wait a bit, but I'm still and always wearing flats. The athletes and acrobats can have the heels.)

This is how I feel: if I keep moving, cardio happens. I currently have two complementary mottos: "At least I'm doing something" and "Doing something is better than doing nothing." I think of it as the Good Enough For Me Method of Living a Healthier Life.

Pain level off the charts

Yesterday--the day after the exercise physiologist appointment--I was a bit sore, particularly in the hips. It was what felt like a "normal" level of pain the day after after working out like I did.

So today, I wake up and my pain level is off. the. charts. Hips, shoulders, my entire spine, my neck. I get up and soak in a hot bath, thinking maybe I'll try exercising later in the day. The way I feel now post-bath, and I'm supposed to do all this cardio today? Bitch, please. The t'ai chi would probably be about all I could take.

I used to take neurontin for pain management (prescribed by a shrink) and it was somewhat effective. After a couple of years, I didn't feel that it helped enough to warrant the dosage (I was taking 3600 mg/day) and expense, plus I didn't like what I was hearing about the drug. So I stopped taking it a couple of years ago. I haven't been on anything continually for pain since. I try to get by with the occasional Advil, Tylenol, and if it's really bad, a muscle relaxer called Robaxin/Methocarbomol that is an "as needed" prescription. Our progressive Canadian friends have made it over the counter up there, bless their hearts; wish we weren't consistently so far behind when it comes to OTC drugs.

I have wondered for about 15 years if I had fibromyalgia or some other chronic pain issue, but with lack of insurance and/or all the other health problems I've had, checking it out thoroughly has always been on the back burner. I also know how doctors are; most see I'm fat and stop listening. (My thin friends with similar physical challenges have been treated verrrrry differently.) Now, of course, I hope that weight loss surgery is going to help by giving me a tool to help lose the weight and not put so much stress on my body. I think I can do cardio three times a week, but I may have to work up to it.