Exercise and well being during chemo and radiation

Italychick

Ksusan and littleblue, ain't that the truth. Three things my MO stressed post treatment. Aspirin, exercise and monitoring vitamin d levels. She routinely orders that test for me. I found white willow bark which is what aspirin is derived from, trying that plus a baby aspirin. Really weird, after I take the white willow bark every ache and pain in my body subsides and I have this general sense of well being. Placebo or not, I will take the effect. She said in order of ranking, exercise is the most important. But I also love (hate) riding my bike. Nothing in Southern California is flat, and there is almost always some form of wind. But not complaining, just glad I am able to do the exercise.

pboi

Feeling so blah today...I think it's the rain, been raining all day. I exercise just about every day and was going to take a break today, plus I feel like I'm getting a cold! Now after seeing all this I'm afraid not to! Getting my butt off the couch now and heading towards the treadmill...

I routinely have my vitamin D checked but haven't been taking the aspirin. How much do you take? I'll check with my MO too when I go in next month.

Kids asked hubby to buy bagels and cream cheese while he was out today, and now it's in the house! Thought of the discussion here...lol...think I can resist eating them though.

PB

Italychick

I take a baby aspirin, I think it's like 91 mg or 81 or something like that? I got the cherry one because, you know, a girl has to have treats rofl

ksusan

Stephenson, Mieville, absolutely. Neil Gaiman, Ursula K. Le Guin, Vernor Vinge, Ann Leckie, Jo Walton at the moment. Suzanne Collins for YA.

Moondust

Theresa, what is the purpose of the aspirin? Just as a blood thinner? Why is that important?

Thanks!

littleblueflowers

Hey T! I do baby aspirin too...and white willow. And turmeric. Usually a baby aspirin per day, and when I actually have pain I do white willow. It keeps me mobile, I'm convinced. One of the double handful of supplements I have been taking is being disagree able though- giving me an upset stomach and mouth sores. Better not be the turmeric!

Well, today I did an hour and a half of stairmaster, and weights up to 15 lbs. My bad arm is annoyed but no swelling, so yay! Made 2 dozen gluten free paleo friendly banana muffins for healthy breakfasts. Still suffering the bagle side effects....

Italychick

the way I understand it, the importance is to reduce systemic inflammation and to modulate the immune system response. And reducing inflammation is a good thing. I didn't ask the MO why she recommends it, other than to have her say I should take it. And since it's cheap, I figured why not add it. I will ask her more questions the next time I see her and report back.

Sorry I don't have more data.

ksusan

A low steps day, though I've been carrying stacks of books and shelves around the place.

Italychick

78 miles on bike in 24 hour period with 2800 feet of climbing and 2900 calories. Which will mean absolutely nothing in terms of weight loss The quads are burned. But it's a good burn.

ksusan

Awesome! I sit here on my butt grading papers. Not the kind you can grade on a treadmill, either. But soon I'll be done!

azrescue

Thanks for all of the great ideas on exercise equipment.

My husband bought us a cycleops trainer today. I think it will work well, since I can just slide my mountain bike in & it will also adjust to fit my son's bike. I thought it would be good riding my own mountain bike as we are training to ride the Katy Trail next summer. Can't wait

Italychick

azrescue, those trainers are nice! I have one, but haven't used it since I splurged and bought the Keiser spin bike. But before I got the Keiser, I used mine all the time. Hope you enjoy it!

octogirl

No walking yesterday as the rain just came coming, but I went to the gym and swam for an hour...then soaked in the hot tub and even spent a few minutes in the sauna. Heavenly!

Saturday's walk was about three miles, so not long enough to suit me, but it was a beautiful walk at our local wildlife refuge...where I managed to snap this shot of a Great Egret just as he caught some small rodent....

Jackbirdie

Octo- love the egret! Glad you had a good weekend. Hope it helps you prepare for battle ths week!

Hugs to everyone this morning! 💗💞🙋😍

ksusan

Nice photo!

Moondust

Octo, great shot! It shows how big of an animal those egrets can kill! Pretty amazing. I have some in my field now and then. One scared the krap out of me when it took off from a eucalyptus tree I was walking under.

Hugs back to you, Katy! And to everyone. Keep moving!

Jonsey22

Hi ladies. New to this thread but am thinking about my fitness and health goals during treatment. I used to exercise on and off for weight loss doing things like boot camp etc. I was never very good at keeping it up, frequently falling off the wagon and getting back on again. I am 40 lbs overweight at least and am really afraid of gaining more during treatment.

After surgery, I began walking on the treadmill rather than doing boot camp videos etc. I have found that I can walk outside or on the treadmill (in Canada do weather isn't that nice yet) for 45 minutes a day and it is enjoyable and therapeutic. I guess my dilemma right now (I just did first chemo treatment) is do I return to do more strength training things, or do I keep walking 45 minutes a day for wellness? Do I add in a couple days of strength? I also thought about signing up for a 10k in June and training for that, but I think then I would only be training every other day and need a rest day in between. Plus there is always the chance of injury and being completely sidetracked (and off the wagon again).

Any thoughts about what has worked for you? Any advice?

Candy

ksusan

Hi, Jonsey. Welcome! It's great you're walking. Before any strength training, I'd suggest talking with a physical therapist with lymphedema training (not the BS or MO--they tend to have out of date info). S/he can help you develop a plan for monitoring for LE and gradually increasing resistance training. With a sentinel node plus radiation, you're at higher risk for developing LE, so it's well worth at least a consultation.

Italychick

Yes, welcome Jonesy! Honestly for me, whatever you will stick to is what works during chemo. And our motto on this forum is everything counts! Consistency is the most important, and if you believe you will stick with walking, then go for it. I am still afraid of weights. I've done them a few times, but super, super light on my surgery arm

pboi

Welcome Jonesy! I had a rough time with chemo so I agree that stick to whatever exercise you can commit to. For me initially that was just walking short distances at first. With rads I felt better and really started walking more consistently and longer distances and exercise I think really helped lessen the fatigue of rads. I agree with ksusan, do consult with PT to help prevent lymphedema.

PB

ksusan

I've planted 6 organic broccoli and 6 organic cauliflower starts. Possibly too close together, but we'll see.

Jackbirdie

it want obvious to me, but I just read that if you thin your plants as late as possible you can get some delish baby veg this way the thinnings can be put on salads Etc. just a thought!

ksusan

Good idea. I'm more likely to eat cauliflower and its leaves small.

Moondust

Hi Jonsey! My motto is: A little, often, over the long haul. I agree with all advice already given, including learning how to monitor yourself for LE before starting to do resistance training. But I think some resistance training is definitely worth doing! It will reduce your chances of developing LE later on. Also, the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn, which will help your weight loss goal. I do only moderate exercise - no boot camp for me! But I faithfully do my walking every day and I am building up to the weight training I used to do. I weight train at home 2-3 times a week for about 10-20 minutes each time. I do ab exercises several times a week, but only one set. If you feel lousy some days, you can just do a little walking and one set of very light weight exercises, just to reinforce a good habit. Keep going and come here often for accountability and motivation!!

Ksusan, how exciting about your baby plants! I have some babies too, but mine are kale, chard, and romaine. Hopefully some arugula will be popping up soon. Let's post photos!

ksusan

Photos sounds great. We planted arugula, kale, and carrots from seed, plus potatoes and scallions, a couple of weeks ago.

Jonsey22

Thanks for the advice. I will find a personal trainer who has experience with lymphedema to consult with. I think I will stick to the walking for now. It is good mental therapy as well as physical therapy. I have managed to only miss 2 days I think since 2 weeks after my surgery. One was my first infusion.

ksusan

PT = physical therapist, sorry to be unclear.

Jonsey22

Yeah I figured that out later. I read quite a bit today and think I will keep up the walking and lower body and abdominal strength exercises. I don't need lymphedema. I don't even need to be worried about lymphedema. Keep it simple stupid I think

Italychick

25 mile bike ride tonight, crazy amount of climbing, my butt is beat.

ksusan

Good stuff, T. I'm a bit constrained by construction guys remodeling the bathroom for a few weeks, which means I don't get out until they're gone for the day. It also means no bathtub

I had a dream this morning where I had veils of weird flesh hanging off my IDC side. Woke up and thought, "Time to shift my diet for a couple of weeks," so here I go. I need to hit the store for a big bag of apples.

Breakfast: Coffee with unsweetened coconut creamer, water with magnesium citrate, 1/2 c slow oatmeal with cinnamon, 1 egg, 1 strip turkey bacon; smoothie with unsweetened coconut water, organic berries, half a small banana, kale, Greek yogurt, and protein powder.