Share about how much physical activity can you do?

rianne, I'm over five years out and I've never been able to resume weight lifting with anything other than the very lightest of weights.  I can do the day to day stuff, house cleaning, picking up grandkids and be fine, but something about repetitive lifting makes my chest ache.  It also seems as if I feel any ache more intensely than before.  Maybe all of that breast tissue cushioned the muscle?

I had a BMX(bilat BC) no recon 11months ago. I have achieved my presurgery stregth & level of activity. I have an achy left arm. My left arm healed much slower than my right. I swim laps but I no longer do the masters workouts,(afraid to push). I do minimal weights, as before BMX, to try to help with my wimpy upper body. I run, bike & attend various classes(bootcamp & core....) at the gym.

My BS told me that if I didn't keep things stretched out, I would get tight. She made it sound like it would be required forever. My MO asked me if I ever felt like I had a tight band around my chest. I said no & he told me that most women complain about it.

I'm having the left arm ache checked out. I'm going to start with a LE therapist just to hopefully rule that out. Since she's also a PT, maybe she has an idea about what's causing it.....something very minor & short lived I hope.

It seems weird to me also that so much discomfort is associated with our surgeries. No muscle or bone was involved, so I expected to be able to move my arms more freely.....sooner......

rianne   Were your pecs impacted in any way?   Have you had any symptoms of lymphedema?   I hurt after a lot of activity, but it's more of a swelling feeling, rather than a muscle pull.  Truncal lymphedema is common, and may cause some pain.  

I love this thread. Thanks to all for posting.

 I am battling a frozen shoulder. I stretch often throughout the day. I think I wore myself out, I was doing PT with a woman at my hospital. She just kept upping the exercise list, 3xs a day. I got tired! I changed PT's and like this new one alot. I am also relaxing on stretching as often and aiming for a quality stretch with each.

I am limited but I can carry groceries, make the bed-with some struggle, go about my day. 

My scars (double mastectomy) burn each day. I am almost 9 months out of surgery, 6 months from my last radiation.  

I look forward to having ease in my body. 

rianne  You are the first to tell me that you are Hungarian!  We're here for a few years with my husband's job, then will return to the States again - sigh.  Have you visited Budapest?

cinnamon's response in your situation makes sense.  MX is more than removing tissue and fat, there's a network of nerves and fascia that connects in mysterious ways.  I wish that it was easier to move on and get back to the routine, for many it doesn't really work that way.  

MT1  Good luck with the frozen shoulder - ouch!  Sorry that it happened under a PT's care and hope that you have success with the new one!  

I've tried hard to get back into an exercise routine.  I am a pilates teacher and have practiced pilates for 12 years, so worked hard going into surgery to be strong.  After surgery, I did PT exercises and learned lymphedema therapy.  At 4 months out from BMX, I'm comfortable with most everything but extreme upper body exercises.  And when I do too much, my lymphedema crops up and lets me know to slow down.   

I have mild lymphedema on the cancer side and occasional armpit swelling on the other side. As far as I can understand this means that I can do very little with my arms. I wear a sleeve on the affected arm, do massage and exercises. My PT says that I should avoid lifting more than 4-5 pounds, so that pretty much kills most daily activities. 

I do still walk my dogs, but one at a time, and from a belt, rather than from my hand. I do also allow myself to knit, but keep to small projects and stop if the arm feels funky.

It is really quite annoying, because I otherwise feel like I have healed well and could do a lot. 

Joy    I had OT not PT.  It was a good thing because I had an adhesion and they were able to break it loose.  I recovered complete range of motion.  Still need to work on strengthen the arm back to where it was.  

What type of arm exercises are you doing?  Resistance? Weights? (how many pounds?)  I am going to go to the Y here by my house and see if I can get in the "Live Strong" free 12 week program for cancer patients/survivors.  Have any of you tried the Live Strong program?  If so, what did you think of it?

Hi FL warrior, I compete in outrigger canoe racing...right now we are in our sprint season but in the distance season races are 10-15 miles. I got lymphedema during chemo a couple of months ago, but even with LE I have been working with a LE trained sports medicine PT and have been preparing for a race at the end of March. In my case, wearing a sleeve while paddling has actually made my LE MUCH better than when I was relatively inactive (of course it was during chemo so that helps, right ?  I recommend finding a good LE PT and letting them now you want specific exercises to get you back on the water...and see what they think about wearing a sleeve prophylatically..the guys in the NBA do it, why not us? Good luck! anne

I didn't have a mastectomy (but I did have 21 lymph nodes removed), and I do everything I did prior to surgery.  Planning on finally getting out and doing x-country skiing later today (if not raining in the mountains).  Last year, I did 12 miles of backcountry at a go.  This was one year following chemo.

I have been cycling all winter, and I do a weights/crunches routine of lifting 10s free weights.  I am toned and fit.  I never lost range of motion, and I did the weights/crunches all through chemo and radiation.  I think I could benefit from something like Pilates, but this is for general conditioning, not because I had breast cancer.

I always thought that my body would tell me if "too much".  Except for my lazy abs of course.  They are sneaky and pretend thay can't do something.  So they have to be whipped into shape.

Good luck with exercising everyone.  It really does help when our bodies are fit.  I find that my BRAIN works better too.

Plus wonderful to be out in the outdoors with all the spectacular scenery.

I don't have LE, and my take is that if I should develop it, there is help.  I had that discussion with my oncologist back in the fall.  She asked about whether I was concerned about lifting more than 5lb.  I told her that 5s feel like feathers, and that they don't do it in terms of sculpting.  They really don't.

Plus, they wouldn't be enough toning for x-country skiing.  Something about that 3k uphill climb I do, when doing the backcountry trails.  I am doing the weenie trails today, not because of breast surgery, but because I trashed my ankle last summer.  I don't think I can hold a snow plow for 4 miles.

As a funny "arm story", I did get numbness/tingling in the fingers of my left hand earlier this week.  But that is because I was carrying six bottles of wine in a carrier....wine sale at Safeway.  It's just far enough to cut off circulation if you don't switch hands, and I had some groceries in my other hand!

I expect to be sore tomorrow from skiing.  But that is a good thing. - Claire

Skiing was wet (light rain and drizzle), and I could certainly tell the first real ski of the season!  I did the 8 relatively easy miles anyway.  Hurts to sit down today.  Arms are fine though, so working out really does help. 

Harder work in corn snow than in powder.

Only problem was that my sno-park pass fell down, so I now have to challenge the ticket I got   Suspect I will check for this the next time.

Back to cycling today. - Claire

I wiped out today from cycling in the SLEET!   Hit RR tracks and went down.  OUCH!  My arm is fine, but bruised my (already injured) ankle, skinned my knee, and have a lump on my left cheek.  Hobbling around.

I am wondering about the guy who came to my rescue and whose wife picked both of us up?!?!?!

Hmmmmm.

Will still cycle anyway.  Plus do my reps as suspect will be OK balancing on one foot.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  Will be nixing cycling in white-out sleet in the future though.

Coraleliz,

I begged to be allowed to swim during rads, but they really didn't want me to.  A lot of centers do markings without tattoos now, and mine was one of them.  Not only were they were afraid my tape and marks would come off, but they didn't want the combo of chlorine and radiation to my skin.  I was too neutropenic to even think of it during chemo.

Swimming is generally a good exercise if you have lymphedema because the water is kind of like a compression garment. 

Outfield, that makes sense, because my PT suggested swimming, except I can't swim and I am too embarrassed to wear a swimsuit anyway so it is out for me. 

The thing I do not understand is how this fits with the advice to avoid repetitive moevement. Surely a swim stroke is extreme repetitive moevement. The few times I have tried swimming, my arms and shoulder ache and feel heavy after about 20 meters, and that was long before this surgery.

It also says in the LE pamphlets to stop any activity if it is making the arm feel heavy. I find that even chopping a few veggies for dinner or knitting for a half hour can do that, so I am wondering how one can get to the point of being able to exercise properly.