Kicking LEs butt!! Exercise & Self Care Log
Comments
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I swear I am lifting weights tonight, and if I don't come back to report such, please send an exercise guru to my place to poke me with a sharp stick!
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Tina, I'm sending really cute guy with mega muscles and a sharp stick in advance just so you don't even think about not exercising. Come on gal, put some good tunes on an slug those weights!
Natsfan, Oh man, did you have to remind me what it is like to go back to work when a person is still sick! I wish I could give you a cozy blanket, a hot water bottle, tuck you in and go do your job for you.
Oh and provide you with a man size box of kleenex for that cough which no doubt comes with sneezes.0 -
Mary, ick, being that sick is horrid. Here's hoping you are back to your regular self and routine soon!
Tina, I will look for your report as a necessary reminder to stay focused myself!
Today is a long day for me, teaching all day and then travel all evening to land in a few more hours in Las Vegas, to step in tomorrow for a sick colleague. So I got my airport concourse steps in, but I am kinda beat and will not be doing Lebeds on arrival! (No slot machines either...straight to bed!) I will finish today with at least 4 miles and call it a day.0 -
Thanks for the good wishes - I actually felt week enough to do a bit of MLD and the Lebeds this morning. The Lebeds felt wonderful after being in bed for most of a week - I could feel all the joints in my arms, neck and shoulders cracking and loosening as I went through the ranges of motion, and the side stretches felt wonderful. I think that even if I were magically cured of all LE, I'd still do the Lebeds a couple of times a week just to keep the joints loose and keep my range of motion.
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All I can say is OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!! He was cute, hugz, but that stick was sharp and rightfully deserved!! Carol, I am sorry if you were relying on me for inspiration. Phooey!!
I will try this again: Today I am going to lift weights.
Natsfan, I hope you are feeling better.
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Tina, your funny! Got in a wonderful autumn walk thru the maple leaves for 40 min. Deep breathing and fist pumping during my walk. Now I will pat myself on the back
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Carol,
Sorry about your upcoming revision surgery. Just give yourself the time and rest you need to get better. With your positive attitude and commitment, no doubt you'll be back on your feet faster than you think.
We are all just a "post" away. Warm healing wishes
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Nitocris, thank you. It's in a few more days (Thursday), so I still have time to work out my frustration by walking! And it's very minor work, just means no jiggling and bouncing for a while, so I imagine I'll restart my exercise after a few days using an elliptical machine, which in truth I detest. I always feel like a gerbil when I use machines for cardio work.
This past week, I was traveling and had some late night flights and early morning / long day work, so I think I wore down my batteries. Slept in today and it felt wonderful. I was able to get at least 10,000 steps in each day, but I did not take time for Lebeds except once. I agree with NatsFan that the stretches that are in Lebed really do add to general well being, so it's on my radar for today. Because if exercise machines make me feel like a gerbil, airline travel makes me feel like a pretzel, and I want to untwist myself and stretch those cramped muscles and joints today! Plus get the lymph moving, of course.
Carol
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LOL Carol! You have a great sense of humor. I am literally LOL at the gerbil comment. I can't believe how many people tell me they hate using the cardio machines, that they're boring. I don't know why, but to me, it's no more boring than going out and running on the street. I really wish I could do the streets, but I just can't manage any hills, and we are rolling in them here. (LOL, you get the pun?) I think it is the 2 cardiac meds I am on thanks to Herceptin. I hope my heart function improves and I'll be able to get off them at some point. I still can only do the elyptical or the bike, can't do the treadmill for more than about 5 minutes.
Walked to the local pizza joint for pizza last night (2 miles round trip), so that was good. I forget who mentioned tring to get exercise with some purpose, but I know what you mean. It seems crazy to go to the gym and do some miles on the elyptical or treadmill, and then come home and drive a mile to go to dinner, yet I do it, though not as often as I used to. This morning, took the two dogs for a three mile walk, so off to a good start today. Enjoy your Sunday everyone!
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Whew - just finished a week on the road in San Francisco. Happy to report I got in a lot of steps (for me). Always more than 6,000 with 9,300 one day! That's not too bad considering I sit behind a desk at least 8 hours a day. Fortunately, I was at Fisherman's Wharf where it is flat - my knees and hills do not go together. All in all - I think it was a successful week step-wise. Just not sure why I gained 3 lbs.! Oh - that's right - probably the bread.
First day in town was the Nike Women's Leukemia and Lymphoma marathon. More then 35,000 women walking/running the streets of San Francisco. I was at the Wharf watching the race until most all runners when by - then I headed out walking to Pier 39. About 3-4 blocks behind the last walker/runner was a lady ambling painfully behind a walker. She was 'older' and had her husband/son with her. That lady was a testimony in motion that we have the strength we need to win the race. I don't know if she ever crossed the finish line but she won the race in my book. Yes, I cried.
Today, I'm motivated to keep up the steps, drink more water, and lose my San Fran pounds. Look out treadmill, here I come.
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JO-5. Aultman started a lymphedema program. I hear there is also an LE therapist at White Pond (Summa).
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My excercise is ususally at my gym I confess. A pal said that was because I liked to talk! So what? I do more minutes on any of the machines if someone distracts me! Never could do stuff at home. I have funkie feet so staying on the treadmill for 25 minutes is major for me.
I got some good news yesterday. My brother and I have been estranged ever since my diagnosis. He has Hodgkins and had not been responding to his treatments. Well he e mailed me yesterday to say that they had found a donor for the stem cell transplant that is considered a great match. I am glad for him, and also that we have tossed the towel in and now communicating again. We have agreed that we both said things we should not have said and have agreed to forgive and forget. He still needs to build strength for his transplant but it is a good step. He even asked me how I was doing....that is the first time he has done that.
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proudtospin - that's wonderful! (((((Hugs))))))
carol57 - I too am laughing at the gerbil comment.
The only way I can do cardio for more than 20minutes at the gym is watch something on the Tv's there (post season baseball!) and switch it up...10 min on elliptical, 10 on incumbent bike, 10 on treadmill, 10 on regular bike, etc,. Get bored out of my mind otherwise.
Ohio - Good for you on the steps. Three pounds is nothin' ... You'll get it. What a champion you saw in that race.0 -
I've been doing a lot of hiking and walking outside. The weather is beautiful right now.
I need your advice, though. I was at a new church this morning and fell down some stairs. I caught the railing with my right arm...which of course was a big pull on my arm...and then I'm not exactly sure what happened...but I ended up on the floor...I think I caught myself on my left hand (of course my LE hand). I didn't break anything...but my left thumb really hurts. Is it ok to ice our LE hand/fingers/arm? It hurts and I am pretty swollen, which isn't that abnormal for a Sunday...but I'm worried.
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Dawne - Oh no! Hope the thumb looks better. I have no idea about the ice but it's probably too late for that now anyway. Proud - good news on you and your brother - that has to ease your mind. Ohio - I can imagine getting in a lot of steps in SF - it's such a walkable city, and those hills give you a workout!
Finally starting to feel better. Had a 5K scheduled for Sunday I had to bail on as I wasn't up to it, but did take a 4 mile walk in the park. For LE I did MLD and used the Flexitouch, but no Lebeds - bad Mary! This morning I did MLD, 30 minutes core/weights, and the Lebeds. Getting back on track.
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Oh Dawn - I just saw what happened - when I fell, I was told that I could use ice but keep it under 15 minutes and use a towel between it and the thumb.. Hope it is better soon!
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I woke up with a huge need to move, because yesterday, I did almost nothing but catch up on paperwork all day. So, I started my day quite early with an hour of Leslie Sansone (5-mile fat-burning walk!), and then I did Lebed opening. Went to the gym in the afternoon for an hour of flexibility/weights, with a ten minute treadmill warmup before starting. I'm up to 6.6 miles and may just walk to and fro in my house as I watch and listen to the presidential debate tonight. Then, I'll crash!
Dawne, how is the thumb? And Mary/NatsFan, wow...that's quite a comeback after being ill! Are you exhausted this evening?
Carol
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No exercise for me this morning - you're right, Carol - I was tired after yesterday! But I did my MLD and Lebeds, and have my yoga class tonight, so the day isn't a complete waste.
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Question: No ledbeds or exercise until my hole is completely closed??? Probably so
this is too frustrating for me - but as always.. this to shall pass - Have a great day all..0 -
Gma, healing is hard work, yes?! You might want to walk a bit for exercise. Outside, if it's a nice day. Not a lot, though. Good books? Funny movies? Get the Christmas cards addressed early? Time goes mighty slow when we're not doing what we love!
Get well quick! Big hugs,
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GmaFoley, when I had a huge, non-healing wound after skin died in my reconstruction, I did hours and hours of research trying to see if I could find evidence of nutrition or other strategies to promote healing. It was making me absolutely crazy, and all the icky dressings and constant bandage changes were wearing down my usual glass-half-full outlook.
I didn't find a magic elixir, but I did find a few studies concluding that aerobic exercise speeds up wound healing. Now, that does not mean that it's appropriate to do jumping jacks or punch-the-air cardio, but I think it does mean that as Binney suggests, there's a good argument for doing some walking. Walking at even a moderate pace raises your heart rate, and that's what kick-starts the aerobic benefit. You should be able to find a way to move your legs without a lot of jiggling of your torso, to prevent stress on the wound itself as you breathe in an extra quotient of oxygen.
You will triumph over that leak!
Carol
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Just did my first Leslie Sansone one mile walk that I was promising myself that I would try for a long time. You know that was work! I think it is better than just walking forward though. How on earth do you gals do 5 miles of her. I am sweating!
Gma, The girls have some fabulous suggestions! Are you up for it today!0 -
Unfortunately I'm in the middle of rain storms here but I am going out after work and see a friend from church.. you never know what will happen... I also have a problem with walking I am taking pain meds but am still in pain... and when I get active I leak pretty bad... I have to find a way to bind but not hurt first.. :-(
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Wow, gmafoley, this is really complicated for you. Frustration must be very, very high. I am so very sorry that you are feeling so limited in what you can do. There's simply nothing more stressful than feeling you have no control over what's going on. Hang in there!
Hugz, the Leslie DVDs are something, aren't they? Their beauty is that you can put your all into them and really pump up your heart rate, or you can keep the movements slower, building over weeks or months to full-out mode. I used these when I was recovering from my diep reconstruction, as soon as I got a green light for cardio. At first I was using no arms, and I was not lifting legs or knees, to avoid straining the abs and other tender parts. Over time, and as I continued to heal, I added the other movements in. You are right that this can be more strenuous that walking in a line, because you are using lots of big muscles at a pretty good pace.
Someone mentioned a while back that her pedometer was not accurate when using the Sansone workout, and I was thinking about that the other day. I get about 4.2 miles on a 'five mile' walk. It's because when you lift a knee or a leg, or do a tap out or some other moves, you are taking two beats instead of one. She calibrates the mileage to the number of beats per minute of the music, so if you lift your knee and the round trip consumes two beats, a pedometer will count only one step, not two. But wow...the extra fitness boost you get from that knee-up is well worth 'missing' a step.
When I travel, I try to get a ground floor hotel room, so I won't feel bad about walking with Leslie at 5:30 am. I just love that you need hardly any room at all to do it.
Final thought (in my random musings) about Leslie Sansone videos is that if anyone in the LE forum is thinking of trying it for the first time, be sure to read some detailed descriptions, such as on Amazon, before buying a DVD. Some of them come with resistance bands (she calls them 'stretchies') and the routine incorporates upper body work with the bands. That's not a good idea for our LE arms and trunks, because we cannot measure the amount of resistance to know that we're adding resistance slowly and in small increments. I have two of these DVDs from before my surgery and LE, and I find that the footwork pace is not enough to keep me moving adequately if I'm just stepping when the DVD is paced for the resistance work. Better to get a DVD that does not use the bands.
Today was full of desk work and then errands, so I started the day jogging 2 miles (in the house, where I can do a loop from one end to the other and back, over and over and over...I'm quite sure my dog thinks I'm a little odd when I do that.). I wanted to listen to analysis of last night's debate while exercising, so jogged instead of doing a Sansone walk. Then I was able to get another 2.4 miles by parking distant to my various stops throughout the afternoon. Lebed is still on my agenda a bit later tonight.
Carol
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Carol, thanks for all the Leslie S advice. MY DVD has 1&2 mile walks with bands but I don't have to worry about using the bands because the simple steps are enough of a workout. I am thinking I might take the DVD to work as I have a 20 min break and I could bang off a mile there then do my 40 min walk during lunch. Since I found this new good chiro things are on the upswing for me. That said, I reported that I hill walked and he said it is still the flats for me. Oh well...I will keep chugging along.
Carol, I will be thinking of you and how you have looked after you body so well that you will surely sail thru your revision surgery. All the best!
Gma, Awe Hon. I feel for yah! You are such a trooper though!0 -
Hugz, that guy with the stick finally left!! He noticed I no longer needed poking to get moving. I have done my weights twice, wearing garments day/night, MLD almost daily, and drinking lots of water.
Have not done much cardio, but I've been running around the house working on an organizing/decorating project I haven't been inspired to finish since my last surgery. When my mom moved from her apt at the retirement community into assisted living, a lot of her furniture had to go back to my parents' old place. Combined with the things we had bought to replace what she had taken when she left, the place was packed. We brought our things home, which created another round of chaos inside our own place. We consigned and sold furniture I had bought over the years when I was on my own. It has been hard to choose what to keep and what to let go.
I have always loved making our tiny old house feel homey, did a lot of renovations myself over the past 15 yrs. The recon pain and LE really put a stop to much of that, and I was grateful I had done everything I had. One small room still needs attention - I was replastering the walls up until the day before my first surgery but couldn't finish. Today I finally decided what remains in and what leaves that room and dragged things downstairs. This, naturally, initiated moving things around in a couple other rooms as well. Brought the extra from those rooms downstairs, too. I worked in shifts, making sure I stopped to take breaks and drink water.
Tonight my husband carried down a few pieces of furniture, and now we have another bunch of things to consign. I am seeing empty corners in rooms and cannot tell you how good this feels. Having all this stuff around has made me feel a little nutty and disorganized. It will be so much easier to clean.
Anyway, this is what I have been doing and hope to have complete soon. Curtains and plaster repair are on the horizon. However, I definitely want to stay on track with exercise and self care and will continue to check in here.0 -
Thumb is blue turning that nasty shade of green. Didn't wear compression yesterday and when I put on my gloves today it hurt.
Have some kind of little knot on the palm and pinky side of my hand...right where it meets my wrist?! Don't know what that is ...but it hurts. Didn't put ice on my thumb bc was afraid of rebound swelling. Will definitely use ice in the future rebound swelling or not.
NatsFan - thank you for your sweet pm. Will respond tmrw when more awake.
The sisterhood here is so sweet.0 -
Dawne, it sounds like you have some wicked bruising. May be too late for icing, but how about taking Bromelain or Wobenzyme? They were both prescribed by my primary before and after surgeries, but she also had me take when I broke my foot. Both seem to help reduce inflammation and speed healing. Sorry you had such a nasty fall!
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Have been out of town and mostly doing only MLD, MLD exercises and a lot of steps. Getting ready to get on elliptical for 45 min then off to early vote!
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RE: LEG problem.
Hi ladies,
I started exercising recently ( Basically fast walk type ) and I had an old knee injury that seems to have flared. ( I'm hoping thats all it is !) In any case, I havent been walking in 3 days and it just wont go away.
I am tempted to put on my old Futoro knee band and just start walking, but something tells me that might bot be good idea now that I have LE (arm and breast) Sure dont want to *cause* any risk into the leg (?)
Any advice ?
It would compress the knee/ leg area ?
???
Many thanks!0
