Exercise

Hi Shannon

Its really great that you are looking to get back into exercise, but you do need to take it easy.

I was diagnosed with large PE's in both lungs in November and have been advised by consultant to try and do a little walk or somethng but to listen to your body.

It takes time to recover and everybody is different.

Maybe it would be good if you spoke to your doctor or consultant and see what they advise, also see if your GP can do you a referral to a gym for supervised exercise.

 

I am suprised your consultant said you can exercise I think it's a case of listening to your body. Since pulmonary embolisms I cannot exercise I struggle with my breathing just walking in house. I am on a high dose of warfarin it makes me tied. I want to lose weight I use exante ( they have a website) bar and shakes to replace meals. I do have one cooked meal a day sticking to the weight watcher plan. This is working for me I do try to move more but I find my body aches it's a matter of not giving in. Keeping an eye on my food intake helps me. I hope this helps you Belinda

Hello Shannon. I was told by the cardiologist to start exercise but take it one step at a time. Before I went back to work I would walk between 1.5 and 3.5 miles a day and I also do 30 mins on an exercise bike a day. I have good days and bad days regards not so much pain but twitching in my legs so take it easier on the days when the twitching is more prominent. Now I'm working again in what is a fairly active job but I restrict myself on what I lift and in between work and general stuff at home I rest my leg and have it up on the sofa at all times. I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong in all this but again I find a lot of blank faces when I ask medical people for advice almost as if they are scared to say the wrong thing to me. I've also been told weight loss will help my situation so I am also watching what I eat and having smaller portions for meals to help with that. Every day I hope I'm that little bit better and heading towards the all clear and as I've said before this site gives me so much information and belief in that we can all get better.

I was referred for pulmonary rehabilitation after my PEs. It's fabulous. I don't know if it available where you live but it is a series of gentle exercises that you do completely at your own pace that target the large muscles in your thighs - the quadriceps - that use huge amounts of oxygen. Strengthening them decreases the amount of oxygen you require and makes it easier to do any other kind of exercise. It also targets the intercostal muscles - the small muscles between your ribs - which helps to make it easier to breathe. It's sponsored here by the British Lung Foundation so if you live in another country, you could possibly contact whatever lung charities you have there and inquire. If you can be referred to a pulmonary specialist physiotherapist, they should help you to work out a routine to do at home, in lieu of an organised class. Good luck!

Hi all,

The clots/PEs in your body have:

1. grown insitue and likely to detach, or

2. in the process of detaching, or

3. growing in suspension

You should have an understanding of what that means.

With hindsight I would allow good diet and plenty of time for your clot/s to settle down and refrain from doing any impact or strenuous exercises. It's nearly three years since my first DVT, PE, (May '14) and subsequent clot relapses, massive PE (Oct '14), chronic PE (Jun '15) and very scary heart wobbling moments, as recent as summer '16.  

I've been gently cycling frequently 30-45mins 3-5 times a week since spring '16.

I joined a gym about a month ago, as I felt ready to do anerobic exercises and perspire. The old twinges/sensations in my left arm and chest came back and then cleared after about two weeks.

Shannon,

i gained 25 lbs when i was on medication for PE. I would start by identifying what your calories you intaking and then reduce them by 25%. Anything you purchase...make sure it has less than 5 mg of sugar. There is a protein drink out there called "Premier" in chocolate and vannilla, (chocolate is better ). Premier only has 1mg of sugar and 30mg of protein, only 160 calories! Sugar retains fat. Caffeine retained water, drink decaf coffee/tea. Water 1/2 to 1 gal a day.

You will lose 10 lbs in one month.

Vince

I was diagnosed last December with bilateral pulmonary embolism.  I now take Aqua Ai Chi. It is like Tai Chi with slow movements but is in a warm pool (ours is 93 degrees). You concentrate on breathing and balance in about neck deep water. I feel like a million bucks when I leave class.