Exercise - Working Back to it After or During Treatment
Hey, all: I was thinking of joining the daily exercise thread but realized I felt intimidated. I am nowhere near where those folks are, although I am envious.
I have had to slowly work my way back after my latest treatment and am still working on it. I am still stiff from chemo and dealing with upper body muscle issues created by my reconstruction.
Thought it would help to create a thread for those of us baby stepping back. A place where we can post any little effort we make in moving, even if it's just going up one flight of stairs. Hope this can help others. I sure hope it will help me. Maybe someday I can be up to a level where I can post on the daily exercise thread, but until then, I am here.
Comments
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Hi grit girl,
I USED to be active, then surgery.
I was given the clearance to start walking...but before I could get my sneakers on I had two ingrown toenails to deal with! (And I HATE sandals, they always cut my feet!)
Today I got clearance to wear my sneakers, but can't go out in the sun, because the dermatologist is treating me with chemo cream, my face is awful and the sun will make it worse. I will try and get out for a walk when the sun is going down, but the kids are home by then and it's a madhouse! Lol. Still no excuse though!
So, I am sort of In The same boat?
Next week I should get clearance from plastic surgeon to start exercise, then I will start chemo in 5 days.
after chemo is done the DIEP surgeon wants me in shape to do my masectomy and reconstruction within 4 weeks!
I think I am seeing a pattern here! Don't know exactly when I will be "in shape", but every little bit helps.
I have not checked on the daily exercise thread, but don't be intimated by them. I'm sure they can give you some great info. Just like any other board, take what you can get out of it and ignore the rest. One day someone will be envious of you!
Baby steps for now. Big steps soon!
Wishing you all the best in your endeavor.
Pat -
Pat: Yeah, it's a challenge to stay active while you're in treatment. That's where the baby steps came in. Do you have a treadmill? Maybe you can do that? Or mall walking would be good. When I was on chemo, I got out walking about 3 times a week, and even with that, I lost a lot of strength. Keep at it. Tonight I need to stop by my eye doctor and so I'll be walking about a mile to get home. Ain't no speed walking, but it's walking.
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gritgirl - I started attending a program at the YMCA that is run on a grant from Livestrong - it is a "baby-stepping" exercise program specifically for people who have, or have had, cancer of all different types. I have stopped and started this program twice - I started it during chemo but swelled like balloon and developed severe axillary web syndrome and lymphedema, so had to stop. I received PT and got that under control, so I went back and they restarted my clock, which was very nice of them. I started back, then had fat-grafting surgery was was caught by surprise when my PS said no exercise except for walking for 8 weeks. So this time I just paused, and then returned. This is a completely free 12-week program, with full access to the Y. I looked to see if there is a program in the D.C. area, but it seems there is not one near you. Basically what the trainer does is set up stations and we rotate through them. She is working on stregthening all body parts, but a lot of what we do could be done at home with a set of steps, an exercise ball, some light hand weights and some stretchy bands. I went to Play It Again Sports (gently used sports equipment) and picked up some things to use at home, and got the stretchy bands from my LE therapist. The big exercise balls are usually pretty cheap at places like TJ Maxx or Marshalls. We spend about a minute rotating through a variety of stations such as bicep curls with the light hand weights, then looping the stretchy band around a pole and pulling toward yourself, jumping back and forth over a broomstick, stepping onto a stair and back down, alternating legs, sitting on the ball and lifting the handweights over our heads - you get the idea. As long as the duration is short and the weights are light we can all get through it pretty well. Does this sound like something good for you?
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SpecialK, that sounds fabulous. I should see if there's another exercise program like that around here. I'm avoiding upper body exercise at this point to avoid tightening my pectoral muscles (that was a nightmare after the reconstruction). I am looking at starting gentle yoga at this point and stay out of upper body work for now. I sure could use lower body work though. Squats, etc would be great.
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gritgirl - I feel you on the upper body work - you can see from my sig line that I have had a lot of surgery - and I do have LE in the right (dominant) arm. Weirdly, my left is the challenged one as 7 out of 8 surgeries were on that side. I use very light weight, like 2 lbs., more as a stretching function as I am very tight across the chest and my arms are like noodles, lol! - ditto on the stretchy bands - more stretching, and possibly toning, than that much muscle stregthening at this point. They also do a gentle yoga (or chair yoga I believe they call it) in conjunction with Livestrong. Nice because it really does stretch without having to put your body weight on your arms. Maybe one of your local yoga studios has a program for recovery that is similar? For the lower body we have done squats using the big exercise ball by putting it between yourself and the wall at your back and rolling it up and down the wall, definitely felt it in my legs the next day. Also, standing and bringing your knee up to waist height and holding it while balancing on the other leg - hold for counts of ten, alternating until you reach a minute. Today we did controlled donkey kicks while stabilizing by holding a rail. Low intensity, but with consistency, seems to be the key to making progress and not becoming frustrated. I have received PT at Moffitt Cancer Center here and I know they have a free yoga class, maybe Lombardi or GW has one? I am doing a Her2+ vaccine trial in D.C. at Sibley, don't know if the oncology department there has anything, or if the nurse coordinator knows of anything - I can shoot her an email if you would like me to ask.
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Special. There is a great yoga studio near me and the instructor is willing to work with. Those sound like great lower body exercises. A great stretch my PT gave me was stack two pillows then put your butt on the lower end and hang shoulders and head off top end. Stretch arms to the side and breathe deeply to expand ribs. Great for stretching then front. So grateful I found this PT. She does deep tissue and myofascial release. Every muscle connected to my pecs were spasmed and I was in intense pain. Are you coming to DC?
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Today I actually walked the dogs (first time since diagnosed). And I did some stretches. That was a big deal for me.
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gritgirl - excellent on the dog walking! I did a stretch when I was in PT for lymphedema that sounds very simiar to what you described - they put a foam cylinder on the mat and I laid on top of the cylinder so that my hands went lower than my shoulders - it really opened up the chest and gave an excellent stretch. I will be coming up to D.C. in June and July for the vaccine booster appointments - end of June, then mid-July.
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Specialk, sounds like the trip is coming up soon. Today was a baby step day for me. I had my Herceptin and that usually tires me out. So I did a little less walking today, but I did do some yoga stretches. It really helps me to post here about even the smallest amount a physical exercise that I do, and I appreciate but this is a baby step group. :-)
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Gritgirl, please don't be intimidated by the exercise thread. We applaud any effort big or small and understand that everyone is at different levels.
You are always welcome.... -
gritgirl - my philosophy is that anything is something, right? I spent the day being x-rayed - looking at the possibility of some knee surgery - yay! I am not even sure how I hurt it but I am totally aggravated that my baby steps may be having a set-back, lol! I need to book a plane ticket for the June trip, it will be here before I know it. I enjoy coming up - still have a lot of friends in the area and my son lives in Loudon County. I moved down to Florida 7 years ago so I miss everyone up there!
odie - that is so nice - encouragement is sometimes needed!
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I second Odie's invite. The daily exercise thread has ladies of all fitness levels and exercise goals. It's all about support, fun, and an occasional push out the door. During and post-treatment, walking around the block everyday can take just as much of a commitment (and be just as hard) as running in a race......or so they say.... I don't run!!
Hope you will give it a try. Ruth
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Hi Gritgirl and others! I too was intimidated by other thread so thanks so much for starting this one!
Up until recently (last week had exchange surgery), I was just getting into exercising: my cancer center offers free wellness yoga/Pilates (very gentle) on Fridays and so I scheduled my PT sessions right after. Doing well with PT exercises, one of the last sessions they started me with weights (only 1 pound) but that was killer). Also, very lucky a local yoga center offers free restorative/wellness yoga classes weekly, have a stationary bicycle in the house, and live in a hilly area so I can walk with varying degrees of incline. Right now, not up to much, still recovering and Percocet leaves me too dizzy to venture far from my recliner. Will appreciate encouragement once my PS says I can return to physical activity. -
Odie and Ruth, thank you for the invite. Me being intimidated is just my weird thing. :-)
Specialk, I am so sorry about the knee. That sucks.
2nd time, welcome. Sounds like you've got some good stuff going on. Today I did 30 minutes of the Wii game Just Dance. I don't jump or move that much, but it's something. The game is actually good at stretching my muscles, which is desperately need after the boob job. If I had known my muscles would spasm so badly, I would have gone just for the mastectomy. Ugh. -
i wentback to gym thursday. got on the eliptical for two ten min sessions. and did some
stretching. -
Good for you, Fran. Takes much to make me move my body, but feels good when I do. :-)
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Hey, all. It's so good to post here. I really appreciate our baby step group. Did 30 minutes again of the game just dance. I take it very, very easy. After 30 minutes my hands and feet get more numb (neuropathy), but it helps the muscle problems from taxol and the reconstruction. Very slow going but so much better than I was a year ago where getting up the steps was hell--i was still in chemo. Thank you all for posting.
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Well, just as I was getting started again with mild exercise and now the knee situation seems to be officially not good. Had a doc appt. Fri - some static x-rays, need an MRI and have a consult to the ortho. NP thinks it is a torn meniscus, only fix is surgery. Argghhh! I am going to my Livestrong class tomorrow even if I have to sit to do upper body stuff only. I am so frustrated! I ran errands today, in and out of the car hurts and too much walking around, so tonight I am icing. Other parts are starting to hurt because I am walking off-kilter, lol!
gritgirl - did you develop neuropathy on Taxol, or after? Has it improved or stayed the same?
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Dang, specialk, I am so sorry. That sucks. I'll send good energy that things are OK.
I know how you feel. Just as I was starting to get my strength back chemo, I fell down my front steps and badly sprained my ankle. I was laid up for a while, and was ticked as hell.
The fall was thanks to my neuropathy caused by taxol. I was pounded with taxol for 5 months, which saved my life, but then began to diminish my life. After I was so weak, bending over to pick something up was a big deal. The neuropathy is better and I've got a lot of my strength back, but have a while to go. Have to deal with the after affects of chemo and reconstruction. No chin ups for me. :-)
Hope the doctor appointment goes OK. Let us know. -
gritgirl - Thanks! I just got a call that the consult with the ortho is scheduled for May 6, so not too long a wait. My DD is graduating from the U of S. FL on Friday afternoon, have family coming in and a big party Sat. night - I am trying to be careful and not hurt it worse this week with so much going on. I will not be wearing heels at any point! It actually feels OK as long as I don't move laterally too quickly. I am wrapping it, icing, etc. The biggest problem is timing - I am wary about doing the surgery prior to July because we have a trip planned (and paid for - nonrefundable) but not sure if the knee will hold out that long.
My mom had severe neuropathy from two years of Metotrexate for a degenerative neuromuscular disease. I was very afraid of it while on Taxotere because I had seen how hard it was for her. I took L-Glutamine, B-6, and Acetyl L-Carnitine during chemo and my mild neuropathy resolved PFC for the most part. I don't now if any of those supplements are helpful after the fact, but dealing with it is such a bummer, I am sorry that you have to put up with it!
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Specialk. I'm so sorry about the knee. I hope you get some decent news from the ortho.
I took a mix of vitamin b's during chemo, but didn't know about glutamine. Sucks.
Yesterday didn't do much. Today did more walking. May do some Wii dance. We'll see.
Have fun on Friday. Sounds like fun. -
Remember, those who have had any nodes removed, even one node, are at an increase risk for lymphedema. Be sure to check out these guidelines for getting back into exercise safely: http://stepup-speakout.org/Handout%20doc%20for%20SUSO-040113.pdf
If you take a yoga, Pilates, or other fitness class, here's a handout you can give the instructor so they know that you may avoid or modify certain upper body moves: http://stepup-speakout.org/Trainer%20doc%20for%20SUSO-040113.pdf
And please do NOT feel intimidated by the exercise thread! Five years ago, I was one of those that was so debilitated by chemo that it was all I could do to drag myself to work and back each day - I could do zero exercise. But two weeks after chemo was done, I got on an elliptical. I managed to stay on it all of 5 minutes before being completely exhausted, and even then I was going so slowly that the machine kept blipping off! But I kept at it, increasing by a few minutes every week. I also joined a gentle yoga class. Again, for those first weeks I could only do some of the gentlest stretching moves before having to stop with exhaustion - I spent a lot of time in child's pose! Everyone of us on that exercise thread has a similar story - we get it completely about "baby steps" because we've all been there.
Another fun way to get back into fitness is if you have access to a Wii Fit. There are some fun moves and exercises - it's more like a game than exercise. I used my Wii Fit after chemo and after all my surgeries as a starting point with getting back into exercise.
I'm so glad to see all of you getting out there to the best of your ability. I can remember the days when a daily walk to the corner and back took more out of me than a 6 mile run does for me today. Stick with it and it will get better!
You go ladies!!!
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Went to the ortho yesterday for the consult, had static x-rays done last week. They want to take a cautious approach (yay!) so we started with a cortisone injection into the knee. Reminded me of a saline fill to the expander but I could feel it a lot more! They also injected lidocaine internally so at least the pain has stopped. I can resume some mild exercise at the end of the week - walking, etc. - but the docs (yes, two of them!) said make friends with the elliptical machine and no running. They also said that they can inject a lubricant into the knee if it stays pain-free but feels a little crunchy - those were not their exact words, they used doctor-speak, lol! So, I am happy that they did not want to rush into the OR to fix this. I had a chance to look at my bones and was pretty happy - a little arthritis on the kneecaps, but the joints looked good. I was fearful that this was being exacerbated by Arimidex, but that does not appear to be the case. I need to stay on an AI due to a 96% ER+, so that was also good news. But get this, I have a trigger toe in addition to my trigger thumb and finger!
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SpecialK, that is good news. What is a trigger finger?
Natsfan, one of the perks of having the bmx after being diagnosed with mets, is that I didn't have to have any lymph nodes taken out. It's a small benefit, but it's something. My main issue with yoga, and other exercise for the upper body, is tightening the pectoral muscles, which can lead to big pain for me. So I do Wii Just Dance and stay away from push ups or chin ups. :-)
I appreciate the invite, Natsfan. I still remain intimidated. Every time I see something about someone going for a 2 mile run, I just feel like shutting up. I know. I'm screwed up. I freely admit that.
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Grit - after reading your post, I looked over some of my recent posts in the Exercise thread, and do you know what? I realize that 5 years ago I would have been horribly intimidated by my own posts!
Geez, who is that woman, I would have wondered. I never would have thought it was possible for me to ever do things like that. So after thinking about it, I get what you're saying - I would have been way too intimidated to post about my little 5 minutes on the elliptical, even though everyone there would have understood and cheered me on.
So do keep lurking on the thread, and whenever you're ready to post, we'll be there and waiting to cheer you on!!
Special K - hopefully the cortisone helps do the trick. Did they send you to any physical therapy to learn exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee to help take the pressure off of it? Several years ago I had horrible knee pain, and was sure I was off to surgery. The surgeon I saw said let's start conservative, and sent me for PT. The PT was great and gave me some simple exercises to do and they were magic. They really helped and I haven't needed surgery yet.
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gritgirl - thanks! Trigger finger (and apparently toes!) are when you bend and try to straighten the finger and it gets stuck in the bent position for a brief moment, or longer, and then pops free and straightens. It produces a fairly intense burning feeling for me, and a residual milder burning feeling for a minutes or so after it straightens. My first one came on during Femara and it was the thumb on my dominant hand. It made writing or holding a knife to cook with problematic, and it happened almost every time I bent the finger. I used that stretchy wrap that sticks to itself to immobilize it. I switched to Arimidex and it improved, but now after a year on it I have another, less severe, one on my wedding ring finger, and now my wedding ring toe (lol!) on the right. It may be due to normally occuring arthritis and my age, or it may be that exacerbated by the AI, or just the AI - no way to know. It is an annoyance at most. My spot of good news is that in my first doc appt. with my primary care yesterday I am able to come off Lipitor, which I had been on pre-BC due to high cholesterol, which developed after my hyst/ooph 13 years ago. I have changed my eating habits, and had changed my exercise habits prior to BC (now struggling to re-establish some fitness as we all are!) and so I asked to wean off at lower doses to see if I could come off. I had some concerns about statins and muscle and joint pain, as well as other long-term SEs. They checked my lipid panel at just 10mg and my numbers were stellar, so that is one less pill to put in my mouth! They will check me in 90 days to see if I am holding my own. So glad I asked to do it!
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congrats on that special k. that is big news.
i weaned off anti depressant several months ago, and with the wave of depression that hit me once that cr*p stopped hitting the fan, i was afraid i'd have to go back on. been suing exercise to help with this and it does seem to be helping. so there you go. another benefit of moving b*tt. :-)
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I may try a walk this evening, when the sun is not so high - it is already warm here in FL. I have been having a very red face due to the cortisone, and yesterday did not feel so great! Took DD to an early morning appointment and spent most of the rest of the day doing pretty much nothing! Today seems to be better but I am alternating between feeling like a hot flash with prickly feelings on my face, then chills - interesting, but not as bad as yesterday. This happened to me during chemo too so it is just the medication. I think it should be gone by the weekend - my DSIL is a nurse in a pain management interventional surgery center and said this is pretty normal, encouraged me to take it easy for at least 72 hours.
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SpecialK, sounds like a plan, to take it easy. Know how frustrating that is.
I've continued my efforts to be physically active and have been doing the Wii Just Dance.
I know how you feel. A couple months out of chemo, I fell and sprained my ankle. I was just getting my strength back, so it was very frustrating to have to stop walking. But that's what I had to do. I had sprained my ankle several years ago and hadn't taken the rest, and that made it much worse.
I hope you take the break you need so you can get back to being active sooner. :-)
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gritgirl - yes, it is FRUSTRATING! It is sometimes a challenge to keep motivated during setbacks, but that is the name of the game, right? Hope things are going well - my DSIL does a bunch of Wii stuff - she is a nurse also, but in addition is a certified personal trainer, specializing in geriatric exercise (which I sometimes feel like, lol!). She walks and does the Wii and looks good, so keep up the good work!
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