Exercise - Working Back to it After or During Treatment

Gritgirl.. Your walk sounds like fun! Great job! I'll claim my senior status (especially when it come with discounts and perks!)



Hi Ladies! Been afraid to post, more that I didn't want to be accountable. It took me 2 weeks to feel well enough to get off the pain meds, then wasn't too steady to get out walking by myself. My DD lives about 30 miles away going to school full-time and working 25-30 hrs a week, a lot for a 19-yr old, usually comes home Friday (her only day off) and leaves Saturday. We have a park at the bottom of the street, she goes walking all the time. Used to ask if I could go too, always told, no mom. 2 weeks after exchange surgery, she asked me to go walking. First time, only once around, took us 20 minutes. Didn't feel well enough to go by myself, but I did venture to restorative yoga that week - didn't do much, hurt like hell. Following weekend DD got me out shopping and walking. That week I ventured out to buy produce by myself, didn't see a puddle, slipped, holding onto cart, it went forward as I fell, hurt my arm, shoulder, chest doing so. Giant step back to the way I felt after surgery. Spent a week not walking, yoga was worse that time. My DD took me out again, went twice what I had done. Tonight we went out 45 minutes, 3 times the first try. (We live on slight hills so its tiring)



The important thing I realized tonight though is that I beat myself up for not getting out, when I should be happy with the accomplishments, however small. Am I alone here?

natsfan - your Metro escalator comment made me laugh!  Actually finding a non-broken Metro escalator would be the exception, wouldn't it?  In all the years I lived there I never had one stop while I was on it though - scary!  I realized that I ignored your question about my knee - I have not been referred to PT, but could be if I asked.  The advice of the ortho docs was no running, but to work the elliptical - my guess is to stregthen my quads to better support the knee.  I walked about 3 miles on Sunday morning - slowly, have been to the Y Monday and today, so far, so good!

gritgirl - yay on the walking and stairs!  I have used those meditation techniques prior to surgery, when I am quietly freaking out, lol!  Also, when I fly, and am also quietly freaking out!  When I first had surgery for BC I also used Lamaze childbirth breathing techniques for pain control, which are very similar.  I don't do well with pain meds, so was resorting to whatever came to mind, lol!

@gritgirl, what is the name of that scale and where did you get it? My total weight is about right for my height, but like you I need to increase my muscle percentage.

I think this will be a good thread for me to join. I was always pretty sedentary before BC but have been even more so during treatment. I went from working full time to half time, from working at a downtown office (and walking to/from the bus every day) to telecommuting from home, from living in a townhouse with two flights of stairs to living mostly on the ground floor (I've been staying with my mom during treatment). There's a bus route that comes close to her house and a recent change to that one made it much less convenient, so now I drive to places that in the past I might have taken the bus to. The next nearer bus is a mile or so from the house. Then I got really sick toward the end of my chemo and was in the hospital for a week. That was a few months ago, and I feel so much better since the chemo drugs are mostly out of my system, but I have practically no stamina any more. I flew out of town for a graduation last month, was on the go pretty constantly for four days, caught a cold and was sick for a week. It took me much longer to shake it than it would have in the past.

At one recent appointment they took my heart rate and it was 80 beats per minute sitting in a chair. That was a wakeup call for me even though I am an exercise-refuser from way back. So recently I have been trying to be more active, doing things like walking back from the bus stop (about a mile) instead of getting my mom to come pick me up, and I find I am much more tired than I would have been if I'd done the same thing last year before dx & treatment. I recently retired and have bought a little house to live in. It has a big yard and needs lots of work. I am having some remodeling done inside so I haven't moved in yet. My baby step yesterday was to take my bike to the shop to get it serviced (it's been in storage for a year and sitting unused in the garage for a long time before that). I deliberately chose a house that is within a short flat bike ride of many conveniences like the bank, grocery store, etc. Once I have moved in I plan to start biking more. I hardly ever rode while living in Seattle, it's too hilly for me here.

gritgirl... would like the name of the scale too, Sounds really interesting.

Curveball.. definitely relate to your story. Have been doing so little exercise it's been scary. Not that I had been really physically active prior to bc, maybe that an issue I need to look into. Too little left at the end of the day after working, family... Now, I too need to make it more of a priority in my life. 

Hi Gritgirl, have you gotten results back from your scan? Hoping the results make you happy! I do understand about loss of energy during chemo, didnt mean to imply anything negative. I had my hands full going thru treatment, do housework and keeping up with a 3 yo daughter and 14 yo stepson. Some days I could hardly get out of bed let alone taking care of them. That was all the energy I could muster.

Gritgirl, oh no! ER? Will you remain in the hospital after or do you get to go home? So thinking of you now! Sending healing hugs your way!

Wow, Gritgirl, that is a very long day, and night! Especially with the time difference.

How are you holding up?

Gritgirl, hoping you get to go home soon and get some sleep! With all the stress, hoping you're not so exhausted you get home and in bed safely. Let me know how you're doing later today, okay? Nighty-night! ((Hugs))

gritgirl - Oh no!  So glad on the good scan news, but blood clot near the port - boo!  Hoping that you have made some progress on handling this and are now resting.  Is the fix blood thinners or will they attempt to remove the clot?  I still have my port so I am interested in how this will be handled - but also very concerned for you!

sharon - good for you on the exercise!  I have heard that rads fatigue is no joke, I was fortunate not to have it, so you ae doing well to be increasing your minutes on the treadmill!  Keep it up!

Are they giving you warfarin?

There is a member here locally that I talked to a while back when she was newly diagnosed and she did the lovenox for a clotting disorder prior to BC.  I am not sure I could do self-administered either...  I was happy when I was able to have Neulasta in the MO's office!  Seems like they could give you Coumadin, it is an oral med.

@gritgirl,

I looked up the scale on Amazon and might get one. The one piece of info I haven't found yet, is the country of origin. Where are they made?