Kicking LEs butt!! Exercise & Self Care Log
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back from sinus surgery, not bad but lots of rules to follow for the next 2 weeks...no gym for 2 weeks! not nice but not supposed to get the heart rate up, no bending over (already forgot but my pal the nurse reminded me so,,,,) sort of doppier than normal so guess will listen to the docs
see you, off to bed! how can I be tired when I did nothing all day? really thirsty so off to guzzle some liquid
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Proud, what a relief that the surgery is behind you. You'll get back on the fitness wagon when it's appropriate for you to do so, so please concentrate on taking care of yourself until then.
Today was a travel day, but I got about 4 miles of walking in--a nice respite after several days of walking 12-15 miles per day. Which is nothing compared to the walking and running that some women in this thread have done to prepare for long races including half marathons. Anyway, my feet thanked me today, for being reasonable. Also yesterday I worked in some strength training, just enough to feel like I'm not losing any ground while away from my regular gym.
mnmbeck, I really cannot say with honesty that my 'normal' is the same that it was before all the surgeries and before LE, but truly I find that I can feel very good about my physical abilities and I can take the new issues in stride. I am sure that my strength training has kept me out of LE trouble in many ways. I teach seminars for a living and that means air travel and suitcases, briefcase, etc. The exercise and particularly strength training mean that I don't have to worry anymore that putting my bag into the trunk of my car and then onto belts, up into bins, etc. will trigger a flare from unaccustomed weight. That's priceless to me! Some women here have tried so hard to return to a good level of fitness and have had their LE bark at them (and worse), which is frustrating, so there are no guarantees. But if you take precautions, it's sure worth trying, hopefully with your LE therapist full on board with a sensible program you can map out together. If you would like some more details about the kind of weight lifting program that is compatible with LE, PM me and I can get that information to you. If cardio is your focus, then the document I linked to earlier can guide you.
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morning all, slept sort of well, had back aches from sleeping on my back but the sinuses did not seem to be much of a problem
did a bit of stretching to ease the back, lordie but is that a huge help. I am very happy with this hospital and doc as they had called to check in with me and that always makes me feel positive.
lets hope sinus stays open
when I started working with a trainer that understood LE, he measured me, and started me on one pound weights and measured me each week. only upped the weight when there was no increase in the arm...good suggestion to folks starting out
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I'm happy to report my lymphedema is relatively stable. It goes "up and down" in swelling but never seems to get more than 1 cm larger than my other arm. My PS told me it usually gets worse over time but I don't accept it! Staying off the alcohol, eating right, exercising, and not wearing tight bras or tight clothes seems to be my winning formula.
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Maria, that's great! Everyone's LE behaves differently, and you seem to have a pretty well behaved case of it (so do I). Your strategies are good ones for all of us to think about.
Proud, are you moving forward without any issues, in your sinus recovery?
I'm headed home today after a glorious week of vacation travel with my wonderful DH. We have logged miles and miles of walking, and I got one strength training session in, but starting tomorrow I need to get back on the cardio-and-weight training wagon. I'm actually looking forward to a return to my exercise routine. My fitbit tells me that I walked 48 miles in the past six days, which just tells me what is possible when on vacation and there are none of the work and daily-life tasks to get in the way of moving my feet! (And consider the umm...vacation eating, it's a darn good thing we were able to walk so much. Hoping the steps canceled out the added calories.)
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Hi all, us folks in the NEast are sitting waiting on the storm, dang the thing.
Carol, just back from follow up visit to ENT, all healing nicely and approval to gently blow my nose! Doesn,t sound like much but it is. Got instructions to stay out of the gym....boo....for a couple of weeks but ok to use the stretch bands and do some mild strength training. Boring!
I was impressed with the hospital that I had told them of the LE and warned no left arm needles, they placed a bright pink warning band on my wrist. I complemented them to the nurse as I am sure I am not the only person with same issue
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Glad to hear of your continued healing, proudtospin. Follow the doctor's orders and you will be back in the gym before too long. We have snow, snow, and more snow here today. Glad that I am still off on Christmas Break from school. Predictions of more on the way Sunday so may have a longer break than planned. I pulled out Tony Horton's Power 90 Strength Circuit today in lieu of being out in the storm. Stay warm everyone.
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I am also happy that my ongoing treatment includes using lots of saline rinses...love using things like that and nose feels good tonight!
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Proudtospin, you sound so positive on your surgery recovery, so yay for that--and you'll be able to catch up on exercise when it's a good idea to do so.
Laural, you are so focused on getting your exercise in! We're lucky northwest of you here in west Michigan, because the snow maxed at about 8" so navigation is not bad at all. It's wicked cold, however, so tomorrow's planned snowshoeing may not happen.
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yeah, after having the level of sinus block that I had and guess I really needed surgery earlier, all feels good now
and the gym is always there, in the midst of snow storm so sort of think my workout would have been at home anyway
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Proudtospin, Oh so happy that you can breathe. IN, OUT, IN OUT, IN OUT doesn't that feel great.
OK, I can't lie. My exercise has slipped abit. Well the odd walk and yadda, yadda but I have been stretching more lately and we all know that dang hip/back of mine is here to stay and so I am heavy into periformis/hammy/calf stretches and the whole basket. I tried to walk today but buckets of rain and no raincoat at work discouraged me. I will weild a proper coat tommorrow and don my rainpants if need be.
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Hey Ladies, I made some big decisions this week and I wanted to come thank you for helping me with them. You ladies have been such an inspiration to me. Carol, your words really made a difference and I am starting with a trainer on Saturday to get in shape so I can not only help my lymphedema but also because I have decided to do the diep flap surgery. I have a phone consult with Dr. Massey on Sunday and I am really excited about it. I am hoping to be a regular on this thread and really get into the exercising. I sent the trainer the handout and she was happy to read it. Thx!!
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Bet, that's so exciting! Dr. M is legendary for her compassion and care of patients, so I'm sure you're going to have a good experience if you have her do a diep for you. Working out in anticipation of diep is incredibly helpful. It made a huge difference for me to do strength training for 11 weeks before my diep. My nurses were astonished at how easily I was able to get out of the bed on the day after the surgery, and it was because I could recruit every single muscle surrounding the abs to help move my tush out of that bed. Working with a trainer will help you maximize your progress before surgery, and especially if you are candid with the trainer and explain exactly what the surgery is about. Good for you!
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Maybe I should report that I actually had a great exercise day today! Went to the gym and worked out with the trainer for an hour, and he put me through some serious paces. We focus always on strength training and abs and flexibility, and I'm up to about 50 lbs on a bench press now. I also got two good cardio sessions in, about 30 minutes each. Then, for work I had to watch a very long online presentation. I work from home, and I work standing up, so I literally jogged in place through the whole 90-minute (boring) experience. Not fast, but continuous, so I got lots of miles today! It's hard to get all of this in most days, so I'm feeling very elated tonight.
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Bet. hooray too! let us know what is going on with DIEP and exercise. I would love to do DIEP but am scared that it will affect my LE. I am just a big chicken. I am still trying to work up the courage to fly with LE.
Carol. 50lbs...wow ...You are sure to keep up with lifting the grandkids. Way to go. Did you do a Leslie sansone kind of a step while watching your presentation.
Well... I said I was going to get the raingear out today and so to my horror.... I left my raincoat at home. Because I committed to you wonderful folks I was determined to follow thru so I went in a vest and long tee and my rainpants. Well I was so fortunate because I didn't get a drop on me.The rain held off. I have 40 minutes to report. YUP.I DID IT! You can to!!
Lebed opening and stretches also. Almost got shinsplints but I stretched out my calfs during walk and that helped. I will wait till Monday to give shins a rest.
It is hard to get me out but once there I LOVE the outdoors!
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Hugz, good, good, good for you! You're back on the exercise wagon!
I literally did a slow jog in place at my computer all that time. Same today. Sometimes I have to stand still for a moment or two to click and sometimes to type a quick comment, but watching online course presentations is more watching than anything else, so lends itself to moving the feet. I'll get 4 miles in that way before I quit for the evening tonight. Painless exercise. The ultimate in multi-tasking!
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Thanks, How on earth were you able to keep your eyes on the presentation. I can see a treadmill and reading doable but jogging in place! Wow you are an inspiration and a master multitasker.
I just read in some health journal on line today that we are suppose to stand for a minute or two for every hour sitting so I better do that now. I don't want to be call extra sedentary on the job! I have a workstation that I can raise to use my keyboard so I will do that immediately. Reminds me of Beckysharp and her ellipitcal while she works. Remember she would fly on that thing every 15min - half hour or so for a quick burst for minute or two.
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thanks Carol & Hugz! I was chicken too Hugz, I just kept going for consults and they keep telling me I shouldn't use an implant because of the radiation and that I should do the diep. I am flying for the first time next week and I am a nervous wreck about that too, I will wear my glove and sleeve but I just pray nothing gets worse, we are going to disney so its a test of alot of things...we shall see, I may have to get one of the go cart type chairs if I can't keep up. I can't believe how motivating you ladies are! The trainer called me back to tell me she read the handout and said that she thought I should do a half hour session at first, she seemed to really absorb all of what she read, she talked to me for a while about it. We are gonna start Tuesday instead of this weekend.
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Bet, my thoughts on flying strategy are to try to walk--not necessarily for cardio benefits, just keep moving--when you're in the airport during any waiting time. Muscle movement helps move lymph, and the flight itself of necessity makes us rather immobile, so movement at other times seems intelligent. Drink tons, which will help you with movement because you'll need to walk to the restroom often. And it supposedly thins the lymph to help it keep moving. Drink water, of course. Avoid salty foods, put the arm up in the air and pump the fist 20 or so times, and do this once per hour.
Flying (in my opinion; studies are not able to say conclusively) stresses the arm because cabin pressure is less than on the ground, and I find that one big stress in a day is all I can get away with. I learned this the hard way, early after starting to fly again after surgical recovery. I flew across country and changed into my workout clothes on arriving at my hotel, and then did an hour of serious cardio work with tons of arm pumping. Bad idea!!! I swelled up, including truncal areas that were tender and burning for days afterward, despite all my MLD and other efforts. So now, I walk a lot on flight days while in airports, fast enough to realize my heart rate is slightly elevated, but not with pumping arms and not breaking a sweat. The next day I try to get back to some real cardio work.
Oh, and avoid double stress from both flying AND hefting a lot of cumbersome suitcases and bags. I have a very small rolling bag that weighs only about 3 lbs empty and although it's only a 16" bag, I can get three days of clothing in it when traveling for work, plus I hang from it a small brief bag with my work papers, laptop, and my minuscule purse. I don't check a bag if I can avoid it, so what I carry is really tiny and lightweight--usually the packed bag weighs less than ten lbs. Most empty roller bags are about 6 lbs for starters.
It takes some planning, but you can put the odds in your favor for a no-LE-problems flying experience.
Most of all....have fun on that trip! Disney properties are the best playgrounds in the world. What a great place to rejuvenate the morale after it's been beat down by having to deal with LE!
Carol
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Good day Ladies, My surgery was 2 years ago. In 2012 I had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction. I had 5 lymph nodes removed. I needed no further treatment.I've gone back to my normal activities. I really haven't thought about lymphodema until now. I've done several 5Ks last year and have been asked to do a mud run. Do I run the risk of LE crawling through mud or am I looking for an excuse to stay out of the muck?
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MLP, that's a hysterical way to phrase the question ('am I looking for an excuse')! I'd guess that with your 5K experiences without triggering LE trouble, your lymphatic system takes in stride the rise in core body temp and the repetitive arm movement that come with running. Resistance work brings added challenge, if the arm with nodes out is doing the resistance, and I can't begin to imagine what a mud run means for that! For some information that might help you puzzle through your question, take a look here: http://stepup-speakout.org/Trainer%20doc%20for%20...
I had bilateral mx with 5 nodes removed on one side, and I do have LE, so I can say from experience that the risk is there. There's a lot published from studies about the benefits of exercise with LE, so my view is to try to find ways to do it without mortifying my lymphatics. I'll bet you've done just that without even thinking about it, but of course, there are no guarantees.
Let us know what you decide!
Carol
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Carol, I guess ignorance is bliss, at least in my case. I did my first 5K in 90 degree weather. I figured my heart must be in better shape than I thought because I lived through it. Thanks for the link, it was very informative. I had no idea of the risks. I just dove back into my life without thinking about it. I've been very lucky.
Here's the link to the fun.
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well I do know that a few members of my gym did one of these a while back. all said they loved it and would do it again...sorry but not planning on joining them!
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MLP, being the worry wart that I am.........I'd be worried about the 'mud' part. Dirt, bacteria......
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yeah, pals that did one said the shower/bath was very....important at the end
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MLP, that looks like fun!!! Dirt and bacteria might pose a problem, like Proud suggests. But honestly, you gotta live in this life, and if that's what you want to do, go for it! Just know that you'll be super attentive to any signs of skin breach and infection for a week or so afterward. I kayak and camp under super not-clean conditions each summer, and I abuse my arm for days on end with the paddling. But I'm aware of my risks and am prepared to deal with them if something nasty surfaces.
Scaling those walls implies some upper body and arm strength, so maybe do some slowly progressive resistance work for a while, as you read about in the exercise document.
I wish I were fit enough to do (with grace and speed) what women in that video are doing. So inspiring!
If you do the mud run, you really must post a photo. Of course you can obscure your identity with a mud facial if you don't want to go fully public!
Carol
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That mud run looks like a gas. If I was not feeling like I was 100 years old from all that chemo garbage left circulating in my body I would want to do this type of run. You should go for it....... I see a lot of arm use ....so it would be advisable to slowly train up arm strength for this so you don't trigger LE. Keep us posted if you do it. It will motivate us also to keep up our exercise.
I am proud to say I walked, breathed and stretched today.
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Hugz, good for you on walking, breathing and stretching! I've been pretty good about walking and getting cardio in, and I had a great gym weight training session a few days ago. Now I'm traveling this week for work so real exercise is hit or miss, but I can sure get 4 miles worth of walking in each day, so I'll commit to that.
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Any recommendations and tips on a treadmill? Tomorrow, all going well, when I go into the city I intend to go to a fitness place where they sell them. Been thinking of getting one for a long time but its just been put off for one reason or other. Now Im ready to do serious. Im looking at American brands in particular because they offer the best warranties here in NZ. Thx.0
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musical, I have a treadmill but mine is on its last legs. If you can get one with a tv that is wonderful, otherwise make sure you can see a tv or watch a show on your iPad. It makes time fly. One with a wide belt and a long belt is good. If it is wide enough, then you can Nordic pole walk on it. You tube has some demos on that.
The dog walked me today and I did stretches. Just got to bang off my lebed opening.
Carol, 4 miles of walking a day is fabulous. Just under 30 miles a week.....yah kick LE real hard In the butt gal!
My shack is calling me to go clean up. Must go do the 52 pickup in the house. Catch you later girls.
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