‘I never thought I’d be well again’
Left feeling exhausted by a debilitating autoimmune condition called Lupus, Lynne Parlett tells us how she got her old life back again
We all have those days when we feel too shattered to emerge from under the duvet. But for Lynne Parlett, back in 2008, she realised that her tiredness was becoming constant, overwhelming and getting in the way of normal life. “I was just so tired all the time, but my dad had recently died and I thought perhaps I was run down and had a virus,” says Lynne. Normally a very active person she suddenly found herself struggling with the simplest of activities. “It was the little things like going on a bike ride with friends, as I often did, and not being able to keep up. Eventually it got to a point where I’d be out walking my dog and would just want to lie down and go to sleep there and then. I really felt like I could go to sleep anywhere – even after a really good night’s sleep. I also got twinges of muscle and joint pain and the odd episode of double vision.” Lynne then developed a rash on her hands and neck and later, all over her body, at which point she decided to visit her GP, who told her the rash was urticarial vasculitis, which is where the blood vessels under the skin are inflamed. Eventually tests proved that this rash, coupled with her tiredness, pointed to the auto-immune disease, Lupus. As it’s common for someone with one autoimmune condition to also have others, she was later diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome, too, which affects the parts of the body that produce fluids like tears and saliva, causing dry eyes, dry skin and further joint pain. Lynne worried that her days of exercising regularly – something she’d always loved to do – might be over. But then she bumped into an old friend who used to do British Military Fitness classes in Edinburgh with her before she became unwell. As they chatted, they decided they’d give the BMF classes another go together and see what happened. British Military Fitness classes are outdoor-based boot camp-style exercises run for all kinds of ages and abilities in parks around the country by ex and currently serving British Forces
personnel. “I was really nervous going to the class as I remembered it being quite challenging and I wasn’t sure if I’d manage with my Lupus. At the first class, I couldn’t do a squat anymore because of the pain in my muscles, but the instructor quietly took me to one side and helped me work on it.” After that first class, Lynne felt on top of the world and began going to classes three days a week. “It’s great fun – we do a traditional work-out such as running and sit-ups as well as a lot of partner work and games like racing each other and crawling through each other’s legs. It always feels like a social outing and I’ve made some brilliant friends,” she says. But best of all, the fitness classes have really helped Lynne with her Lupus symptoms. “Doing all this exercise releases the happy hormones in my brain and that, for me, is a natural painkiller that really eases the inflammatory pain of my Lupus,” says Lynne, who also takes the immunosuppressant drug methotrexate to treat the condition. “BMF classes have helped with my tiredness too as the exercise gives me energy and helps me sleep well. My fitness has also really improved, helping me lose the weight I’d gained from the inflammation caused by Lupus and the steroids I had to take for a while to treat it. “Everyone in the class and the instructors really motivate me to keep going and funnily enough, it’s usually the nights where you really don’t feel like going and it’s raining that make you feel the most amazing and alive afterwards. “Most of my family and friends think I’m a wee bit mad doing this, but they also admire that I’m getting on with things!” Lynne’s next physical challenge is the Rat Race Coast to Coast in September where she’ll cycle, run and kayak from one side of
‘Most of my family and friends think I’m a wee bit mad doing this, but they also admire that I’m getting on with things!’
For more details about British Military Fitness classes, call 020 8996 2220 or visit www.britmilfit.com always check with your GP first before taking up any exercise regime Scotland to the other. As for her health, she’s now feeling the best she’s done in years, thanks largely, she says, to the fitness classes. “I feel as healthy as anyone could ever hope to be and absolutely tremendous compared to how I felt when I was first diagnosed eight years ago.”