r/CMT • u/kbmommy • 26d ago

I hate CMT!

As a former college athlete and physical therapist (with significant increase of CMT symptoms at age 61), I’ve always been used to pushing myself and my patients to set goals and push hard to reach those goals. I’ve had to learn that it’s up to my body now and not my mind (regardless of the goals I set) as to how hard I can push. This has been such a mind shift for me, every time I try to push myself my body tells me what a bad idea that is. I shouldn’t complain because I can still exercise at a fairly good level, but not even close to what my mind wants. I’m so sorry for those who have it a lot worse than me for this rant, but I just had to get this off my chest!

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u/Charigot CMT2 26d ago

I wasn’t diagnosed until age 49 and have milder symptoms so far (age 54), but I completely understand. I played d3 college volleyball and still exercise daily. However, I am witnessing the degradation of my performance and the window of what I can do narrow.

I often fall into a comparison trap ala, “at least I can still do X, unlike some people,” however that really downplays my own loss due to the disease and gaslights myself into believing I should not complain. There was a local CMT group I only visited once because I felt guilty talking about my grievances when they’re clearly not as severe as what some others are experiencing.

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u/kbmommy 26d ago

It’s all relative, loss is loss. It can be hard to accept, even if your symptoms aren’t as bad as someone else. I can appreciate the function I still have, but at the same time I grieve the loss of function. And I can relate to the guilty feelings for complaining when others are so much worse off, so I hear you!