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Lazy or scared? Exercise....yes or no?

Posted , 8 users are following.

FlipDover_Aust
FlipDover_Aust

Hi there....I'm feeling so much better lately that I've been thinking about exercising....but I just can't bring myself to start doing anything. I don't know if I'm just being lazy or I'm too scared to try....just walking has been difficult (and can still be if I'm tired) and I don't want to make the PMR worse.... I know everyone talks about how we should exercise, but honestly the whole idea of it sends me into a panic.

The year before I was diagnosed I was regularly running up to 10km three times a week and had been doing triathlons.... I know how much hard work it is to get fitness up!!  

I'm on MXT and down to 7.5mg as of this week - just when the adrenals will need to start kicking back in - is it a bad idea to push my body now?

I'm just so sick of be "fat, sick and nearly dead"

1 like, 23 replies

23 Replies

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  • karenjaninaz
    karenjaninaz FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    Any exercise is better than nothing. Everyone here says take it slow. I do feel much better after a little walk or my TaiChi class.
  • iellen32
    iellen32 FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    Yes, we all need to exercise, to keep moving . Each one of us has a different strenght. I do my workout daily - 30 min maximum walking briskly, than weight bearing and stretching on the floor.

    Try to do just a little, move doing the best you can - try it though without forcing your body more than it can do.

    Do you take some Vitamin B12?

    Take care

    🌸

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust iellen32

      Posted

      I can walk for hours as long as it's at a very slow pace (like shopping!)

      I'm not comfortable on the floor - I'm too fat. lol  Thinking about getting in the pool and testing the waters so to speak lol

    • iellen32
      iellen32 FlipDover_Aust

      Posted

      Whatever you do in terms of moving is great!

      So aboud to exercises on the floor, do just what is possible,

      🌸

    • iellen32
      iellen32

      Posted

      Please, read 'avoid'. Thank you.
  • Anhaga
    Anhaga FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    It's never a bad idea to exercise.  Just look at the human body - we were meant to lope across the veldt forever!  However, carry on with your little walks, Maybe get a pedometer to keep track and encourage yourself to gradually build up, and for sure have a walk every day.  Tai chi as Karenjaninaz suggests here is an excellent idea and in fact it is encouraged for older people or those with health issues.
  • julian.
    julian. FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    neither lazy nor scared.

    there was a time when doing anything was a struggle. I simply didn't feel like it, and didn't have the energy. And if I pushed myself and got started I didn't last long. I didn't get fat but 10kg went on.

    And then came a time when I felt like doing things but it was a struggle for a different reason. I wasn't used to it. Cautious (not scared) lest I have a flare.

    So I did two things. One was banish the chocolate biscuits (tim-tams) from the house and use a smaller plate. Two was a stationary bicycle - I hate the things but it seemed like a good idea. Easy as when I got tired I could simply stop - not have to worry about how to get back home if the wheels fell off (so to speak).

    The weight came off at 207gm/week. I weighed myself every day, same time, and ever so slowly my weight came down. Time on the horrible contraption increased and I could pedal faster. Though it may be quite a whle before I'm ready for the Olympics.

    Don't underestimate how hard the choccy biscuit withdrawal is.

    Then fate came to my rescue. Would you believe a couple of tests, a coronary stent, and the all important, absolutely magic, rehab. The rehab involved more confounded gym machines. But with supervision. Took it steadily so as not to provoke a flare. Always easier when there's someone at one's side saying "that's much better than yesterday" though it was fairly obvious to blind Freddie. All good.

    My energy levels are nearly "normal". Steep hills not an obstacle.

    What am I trying to say ...... it sounds to me like you are at that point where the pmr has begun to fade into the background and feels under control, the pred has been reduced sufficiently it just does its job, and there's a sense that its time to throw off the shackles of pollywhatsit.

    At which point the only advice I have is "do it". You'll soon know if its too early. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust julian.

      Posted

      Ah Julian, ever the voice of reason.  

      I believe it's time or I wouldn't be asking the question. 

      Tim tams are long banished....I'm on a 'worse than paleo' full elimination diet.  Just meat, fruit and most veggies. The weight is slowly starting to shift, but whether that's the food or the pred reduction I will never know. 

    • julian.
      julian. FlipDover_Aust

      Posted

      if you like I can send you a photo of a tim-tam .............

      perhaps not! :-)

    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust julian.

      Posted

      Don't bother with the photo my friend......there are more shops close by than the local which has banned me for licking the packets in the biscuit aisle. 
  • nick67069
    nick67069 FlipDover_Aust

    Posted

    If you were active just before PMR, then it is much easier to restart as long as you did not wait too long. I see that you were doing triathlons before, so I would try swimming and biking over running ( too much impact).  Start slow, and add distance at first.  If you have HR meter, use it to moderate your intensity to 60-70% of your HR Max. 

    And don't be afraid. Every time you increase exercise, your muscles will "complain" and you will have some pain, but the pain is different from PMR pain more dull, tired muscle pain. You should recover from it in 2-3 days; if it lasts longer, then you have increased the load too much. PMR pain( for me ) was sharp pain, like someone put a knife in the muscle. 

     

    • julian.
      julian. nick67069

      Posted

      yup, very different pain,

      after polly whatsit the exercise pain can be quite pleasant, and a relief.

    • Anhaga
      Anhaga nick67069

      Posted

      Nick, on the contrary, for me PMR feels like muscles that have seriously over-exercised, only the pain never goes away.  Very like the dull, tired pain you describe only an order of magnitude more severe.  Nothing "sharp" about it at all.  Losing range of motion was a real problem for me because it hurt too much to move limbs far, but the pain wasn't "sharp".
    • nick67069
      nick67069 Anhaga

      Posted

      The sharp pain is what I had at the beginning of PMR. The pain was so sharp it literally felt as I was stabbed.  Since I started pred and exercise most of the symptoms were gone...Once in awhile I have reminder that things are not normal; like yesterday I was doing some yard work for couple of hours, trimming bushes and cleaning leaves, etc. and today I can feel some dull pain in my shoulders. I presume it is tired muscle, but it could be also weak muscle due to PMR. Who knows?
    • Anhaga
      Anhaga nick67069

      Posted

      That's interesting.  When I've had pain like that I'd say it was nothing to do with PMR - used to get, and still do sometimes a frightful crick in my neck which brings me to a standstill and tears to my eyes, but it vanishes quickly.  Hardly ever happens since I got physio for it years ago but occasionally get a reminder.  Told it was a muscle spasm, I thought it was a pinched nerve but apparently not.  It's like lightning, PMR for me is more like thunder.
    • FlipDover_Aust
      FlipDover_Aust Anhaga

      Posted

      it's the same for me, I feel like I've already done a triathlon. 
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