Kicking LEs butt!! Exercise & Self Care Log
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Hugz, I will post there when I am home later, and can type on a keyboard instead of my phone. Thank you for keeping our UA shirt hopes in mind.
Today for me: a couple of airports, and I will have more than 5 miles before I complete my journey tonight. I got in some very speedy walking today, so got my heart pumping. Three different airport people offered me a ride to a gate!
Carol0 -
Three different airport people offered me a ride to a gate!
hahahahah!
I love it - what a funny day this has been !0 -
Good to hear that carol is chugging away.
Anyone know how Tina and her sidekick dam walker is? I think they are together today still?
Did Leslie Samson's 1 mile. That sure didn't seem like a mile. I just can't get the same energy burn as when I walk outside. Does it equal the same calorie consumption?
Stretched and got 2 more tai chi breathers to go then done. I may feel extra energetic and wrap for practice tonight. My fun hobbies have gone out the window since Le.0 -
I may feel extra energetic and wrap for practice tonight. My fun hobbies have gone out the window since Le.
Hmmm...is this what I have to look forward to for fun?!
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Hugz, with the Sansone routines, you can increase the cardio effect by exaggerating the movements. Higher kicks, higher knees, punchier punches, deeper squats with side steps, etc. I have used a heart rate monitor to verify I can get my heart pumping and to calculate calories burned, but definitely you can be conservative in the movements for a less taxing workout. I really love those DVDs exactly for that reason. When I was first restarting my exercise after bmx/recon, I walked the routines with small steps, no arm movements, tiny kicks, etc., and worked up very gradually.
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NatsFan - hope your surgery went well. Prayers for a non-eventful recovery and no flares for the truncal LE.
I've found that running gets the fluid out of my fingers better than any singular cardio exercise I've tried. Congratulations on finishing a 8k! That's awesome!
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hugz
Have you tried any Denise Austin or Jilliam Michaels DVDs ?
I used to do Denise before all this. Jillian was a challenge for my lungs , but she is very good.
OH...Great news here . I found the best of the best therapists ( with Kira's help )I have an appt next week with Kathy Fleming ( you can google ). She does not accept INS., but her price is reasonable . I can't believe I am finally going to get REAL assessment and REAL tx I can trust . woohoo!
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Hugz--only saw Tina that one day. She returned back to Philly yesterday. It turned wintery Monday night so no dam walking for awhile!
Had to work yesterday grading finals all day. Managed to get 10,000 steps in the hallways. Plus a lot of good food out for us so did not do too well in food dept. Have to go back in today. I WILL take my own lunch and stay away from food table! MLD and MLD exercises done for the day.
Dawne--I sent you a PM.0 -
How do you ladies do it??? I work 46 hours a week and I barely get up on time for work at 4am and by the time I'm done with work at 12:30, go to stupid doc appts. and get dinner done, its time for me to be in bed.. I have Lebed dvd but not sure when to do it, MLD I manage at bed time but now with the new CPAP set up it takes more time out of my day
. I don't want excuses, just time to do what I need to do and still keep my roof over my head.. Need to straighten out my priorities... I give you all kudos for making everything fit in your lives!0 -
GmaFoley - I can't speak for anyone else, but for me... It doesn't all fit. As much as I'd like to do all the things I did before BC, it's just not going to happen. So yeah. It's all about priorities. Keeping the pay check coming in and the roof over all our heads is job one. Keeping sound enough (mentally and physically) to not break down is job two. Getting everyone fed, at least once a day, job three. And so on. Some of the things I used to do on the regular just don't happen now. I haven't been to a craft fair this season. I missed the local dog show for the first time in decades (I usually work all 3 days) I gave up a the trial secretaries job that I was doing for our local obedience club...
And right now I'm just meh about all that stuff.
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Thanks for the good wishes. Surgery went well - the surgeon found and removed the rogue stitch and even checked around before stitching me up to make sure there weren't any other ones. Stitches come out Monday, and maybe the darn thing will finally heal.
I need some advice - I do the MLD that involves the abdominal "scooping" and I'm skipping that for now. I'm also thinking I shouldn't use my flexitouch or my tribute vest, but I am wearing an underarmour compression shirt to try to keep some swelling down. I'm putting in a call to my LET, but wanted to get advice from our resident experts as well. The surgeon said I had no restrictions, but I think I'll avoid ab work at least till the stitches come out.
BTW, it was very weird to be awake during surgery, chatting and joking with the doctor and the OR nurses. But since it was local anesthesia I didn't need an IV - hooray! I was teasing them in OR that I didn't mind being awake, but I missed the fun of getting midazolam anesthesia - one shot of that stuff and I feel like I'm sitting on a Carbbean beach with an adult beverage in hand!
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NatsFan - Great news for you!!! Now to get on with the healing... My LE T always tells me to try the sleeves/ compression garments - he tells me my body will tell me if they aren't right - I wore all my garments after my breast surgery.. Surgeon just didn't want me to have MLD in that quadrant for a week or three... He had no qualms about working the other quadrants though... Of course, my surgeon isn't up to date on LE so I always ask my LE T instead.
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Nats, wow! Joking around during the procedure--good for you!
Your plan sounds solid. No abdominal work until healed makes sense to me, and no Flexi. Not sure about the Tribute--depends how long it is. That kind of compression is a bit gentler than other forms so it might work. If you try it, stay awake and see how it feels before sleeping in it. Let us know what your therapist says. Rest up! Eat chocolate! Get well quick!
Hugs,
Binney0 -
Nats, good for you that the surgery's behind you! How thoughtful that your surgeon checked for more sneaky, wayward stitches.
Gma and Cindy, I agree that it's impossible to do all the LE care and do enough exercise and have a work like and have a real life. Impossible! In my case, I have let go of a lot of my recreational pastimes, with regret. I do not have the liberty of not working, so that commands most of my day, every day, and I have developed a huge fear of falling off the exercise wagon, so that somehow has worked it's way near the top of the daily priority list. Do not ask me if my house is as clean as it once used to be; if my gardens are as groomed and pretty; if my dog has been brushed lately; if my sewing machine has been used for anything but emergency repair work. With some help from Binney, I have become quite involved in LE advocacy work this past year, and THAT has consumed so much time that I realize it's what I do in my free time instead of reading--and I love to read! And TV? What TV?
Despite this crazy alteration of priorities, I am glad that I have re-focused on exercise and healthy eating, even if it took the scare of my life to get me there. I have found that working on LE advocacy projects is rewarding in ways I never would have imagined, in addition to helping me learn so much about LE and what I need to do personally to manage mine. But I think it's totally normal that all of us would long for the days when LE care and exercise and just plain worrying about LE were not on the daily radar screen. Add in the holidays and well...can we have a 30-hour day, please?
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Am a naughty girl,
NO breathing or areobic exercise. So I will ease my guilt and go do the lebed opening before you all fire me!Carol, Thank you so much for adjusting your life to include LE advocacy. That is a true give of love for us girls and all the girls that will be running into LE down the road. A big sloppy kiss for you
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Yes carol,
Many thanks for all that you do!
I know it has made a difference for me .
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hmmm I didn't do MLD last night and woke up to sternum pains again - doc says its a spasm where I have costochondritis (rad damage).. Wondering now, could the pain be caused from the swelling in my trunk when I don't stay on top of the self - MLD???
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Could be. I know I feel it when I backslide.
I'd like to add my thanks to the advocates. I'd know nothing about LE if it wasn't for this group. Well maybe I would because I suspect I'd be in far worse shape than I am know if I hadn't asked about the first very early signs after reading warnings here.
I'd also like to thank all of you who post questions, solutions, etc., we learn so much from each others experiences.
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Did five miles with Leslie Sansone today. So far I have logged 13101 steps. I hope to get in better shape. Taking a cruise next month to get away from cold and damp.
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PTDreamers, All as I can say is WOW
. Yes I did the Sansone video the other day and said it was easy. Turns out Carol told me I wasn't "giving it" quite enough. So that is the trick I need to try! No wonder I could watch tv at the same time.No walkies today but tai chi and did Lebed this morn. Will stretch later.
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PT, I'll add a double wow! Bring on the cruise! You'll be ready for it!
I'm right at 4 miles today, after not feeling well yesterday and sleeping much of the day, so totally inactive. But today I felt great, got in some great jog/walk intervals on a treadmill at the gym (breathing hard!!), and then an hour with the trainer working with weights and on abs and flexibility. I just need to bookend my day with some MLD, which I hereby commit to doing before sleeping!
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You all are my inspiration. I normally feel like such a slug compared to you.
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I know what you mean ptdreamers. Went to the gym and did 10 minutes on the treadmill (2/3 of a mile) and then the thirty minute circuit. I was sweating pretty well. Would be quite pleased with myself if it didn't pale in comparison to the rest of you. Wore my sleeve all day and will put on my tribute tonight.
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Kay - you should be pleased with yourself! We aren't competing with each other, just trying to be stronger than we were yesterday.
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Kay, all that matters here is that we're a group of women who want to push ourselves. Not against each other, but just to move forward in our fitness and LE-care goals. It's incredibly helpful to know that we're in a group with shared goals...even if we're at different fitness levels, the mutual goal is the same: keep moving! You most certainly should be pleased with yourself. A thirty-minute circuit on top of 2/3 mile is a lot!
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Agreed that we all should be proud of ourselves for whatever we do! Just think no matter what you do any day, you've done much more than everyone else who never left the couch that day.
And during chemo, there were many days where just getting out of bed was a major accomplishment, and I was darned proud of myself when I managed it.
BTW, my LET pretty much confirmed the consensus here about what to do after my suture abscess surgery - clear the nodes but don't do full MLD on the abdomen, skip the flexitouch for now, and if I want to use the Tribute vest she suggested I wear it while awake for a while to make sure it's not irritating the surgical area. She also said Lebeds were OK if I monitored the stretching parts and to stop if I felt anything. So I'm being careful and just did node clearing and Lebeds this morning. Stitches are scheduled to be removed Monday, so we'll see how I'm doing after that.
PT - a cruise! Oooooooooo - sounds delightful.
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...and a cruise is by definition at sea level....no LE altitude woes!
Nats, good plan to let things heal before MLD and flexi. Doesn't it just make you crazy, though? My last little surgical intervention tested my patience, big time.
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OK, so I have been running crazy the last few days and on top of my own " Christmas stuff" , I make a party every yr for 50 ppl. It inolves a LOT and is very hectic... I have afew more days .
In any case, I wasnt feeling well yesterday or today and this AM and by the time I got my act together, I was running late for work and no MLD.
I brought my sleeve and glove- which hadnt been washed, in the car. (Dont ask me why )
So, did not wear my sleeve at all today.
(I have had 3 calls in to my fitter with no reply as I cannot keep up this single sleeve stuff either)
Anyway, after missing the MLD, IF the sleeve had bene clean should I have worn it ?
I am thinking if I am going to be to work on time this may well happen again where I jsut miss the MLD. What is the ' best ' way to handle it ? ( To sleeve or not to sleeve?!)
Any advice ?
THX0 -
If you are asking if you should wear a sleeve even if you did not do MLD the answer is yes. I don't even do MLD and pop the sleeve on. I do tai chi breather thru out the day, and try to squeeze in lebeds once a day. I walk at least 3-5 times a week also. I also step out of the office for a few deep breaths twice a day. Daily stretches for reconstruction scar tissue stuff and back/hip stretches. I realize I am doing the bare minimum but it seems to be working for me. I would like to increase my walking and try weight training.
As for the sleeve and if I was stuck I would wear it used rather than no sleeve. I have only been caught doing this once in a while. It is great now that I have 4 sleeves and 3 gloves because I hated being tied to the washing machine.
Today I did my lebed opener during my break. a 45 min brisk walk and I am working on my tai chi breather. Also been stretching throughout the day. Only 2 more tai chi breathers to go and then I am set for the evening. yeah!
I thought I may have to don raingear but when I looked out the glorious sun shone with blue sky. That never happens on the west coast so I beetled out and did my walk. It was cold though and we may get a slight bit of snow which doesn't happen often either. The stuff that falls from the sky here is RAIN! I thought of Becky dam walking when I was outside, She really gives it!
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Crazy week. Worked out Monday and today with my trainer but haven't done much exercise other than that.
I had an appt in the city on Tuesday and I can't believe I did this but I put on gloves but forgot sleeves!
Two hours up, shopping (carrying bags around), 2 hr drive home. Not wise, I know. I've done OK but I gotta do better. Been pitiful on my water today ... so plan is drink tonight, Lebed and try to get some sleep. Sleep has been alluding me lately.0
