Stage IV MBC Fitness

I tried a short walk yesterday (day after liver biopsy), but turned out it wasn't a good idea. I thought I would only essentially go around the block on nothing but flat sidewalk, and not at all attempt my usual 3 miles with a couple of moderate hills. Well I only went about 3/4 of a mile and by about 1/2 way into it, I knew I'd made a mistake. The biopsy area was feeling sore and getting worse and then I got a little lightheaded and felt generally not good. That "listen to your body" feeling just said "head home now". When I got home I took my vitals and my blood pressure was down to like 98/58 and stayed in a similar spot for about the next 2 hours. I read that it wasn't unusual to get low blood pressure after the procedure and that it's usually temporary. They say that as long it doesn't come with other bad stuff like bleeding, it's not really anything to worry about. My blood pressure didn't come back up until I took time out to just sit up in bed for about half an hour and do nothing but scroll on my phone. I don't think I'll try walking again until the week-end at the earliest, and then I'll only go a little way. This has me frustrated because just hanging around my apartment I get bored, bummed, and tired and achy. Those walks help all of that, but I think I just need to stay in for a few days now. Oh well.

@threetree did they give you any painkillers to take home? They gave me 5 oxycodone which really helped. That pain is weird, I felt it in my right shoulder.

Hi all, just a quick check in since my last visit here…I’ve been pretty consistent with my exercise, not going as hard as I would like to but I’m hanging in there. I’ve been going to the pool in our community a couple times a week. We have some equipment there we can use, I’ve been using the hand buoys as strength training as well as doing a little swimming and water walking and it feels great!

Still using my exercise machine for at least 10 mins just about every day. Not sure if I said it in the other thread but I have a Gazelle Glider, one of those infomercial items that for me turned out to be very useful. It’s similar to an elliptical workout but less stress on the knees for me and zero impact on the feet. Very helpful when I am having a stiff or achy day.

My little 3yo grandson saw me doing wall push-ups in the garage one day and wanted to join, now we are doing walking and calisthenics every day together in the garage. He will ask every afternoon if I want to do wall push-ups! My little personal coach ❤️

Olma61, that's great that your keeping up with your exercise and that you have that little personal coach. I can only wish.

I finally got a good walk in today at 2.5 miles. Weather has been agreeable here.

I am glad to see everyone is keeping up with exercise. I still do weights and cardio 4 xs a week. My daughter's pool is finally repaired. Went swimming today for the first time. Pool needs to warm up. The last few days have been chilly. Hopefully it will be more like summer this week.

@olma61 - I absolutely love the story about your grandson! So sweet. I wish I had something similar in my life. I've never tried machines except for a treadmill once in a blue moon. Your Gazelle Glider sounds interesting and very useful. So do the hand buoys in the water. It's so good that you just really stay on all of this.

@gailmary - So glad to read that you got a good walk in. That's the kind I think are good too, those ones that are a good 2-3 miles.

@tougholdcrow - Thanks so much for the sympathies - they are very appreciated. I think things are finally improving. It will be a week tomorrow since they "did the deed". I tried walking that day after, but it didn't go well at all, so I've stayed in for days. Just yesterday, I did venture over to the grocery store, as it's only 1.5 blocks. That worked out so well yesterday morning that I went back again in the afternoon. I figure it gave me 1/2 mile total for the day 😉. When I get done here with my tea and reading, I am going to go out and try a real walk again. There's an almost totally flat area in the residential neighborhood nearby that makes for a good 1.5 - 2.0 mile loop, and I think I'll give that a go. I normally find it "too easy" and not as long as I like, but it's perfect for times when I'm not feeling quite up to my normal self. If this goes well, I'll try a bit more tomorrow.

So many swimmers here! Good for you. I just can't get myself to go through all the finding a bathing suit, driving to a pool, clothing changes, showers, etc. that seems to go along with a pool visit. I'm glad that it might be unique to me, and that most people aren't bothered by it. I think actually being in the water is great. If I could just snap my fingers and have that part of it, I'd do it too.

It's great that you can get moving so soon after the procedure, @threetree . I'm back from vacation and going about my usual schedule of walking the dog and doing pilates. Nothing very interesting to report.

I swam on Monday, exercise class on Tuesday, mile and a half on Wednesday, and 4 mile walk today. Whew!

@tougholdcrow - Hey, walking the dog and doing pilates is great; doesn't have to be especially interesting (although I think walking the dog could be interesting at least sometimes). Sometimes just routine and "no big deal" is where it's at! Good for you.

@chicagoan - I didn't realize your hip was that bad. You've always sounded so spry to me. Good that the x-ray didn't show anything; maybe just some "overuse". Glad to read that yo got in the pool. I've heard that water exercise can be absolutely the best for stiff and sore muscles. Sounds like it really helped a lot.

@AJ - Wow - you've really been at it. Sounds good and fun.

I am checking out you tube senior shape exercises because overall anything I do is usually indoors. I like all of the videos thus far, still like Leslie Sansone and Paul Eugene senior gold 10 min video which I do while standing.

I used to be in better shape just a few years ago, tripping over stuff outside and falling, being unable to stand up again caused more fear but I have canes and walking sticks from @chicagoan which mean I am less likely to actually fall. I need to put on the big girl pants and get to it. I still want to walk to the mall that is a 5 mile walk roundtrip. For now, need to work inside while housework happens. Overheating was a problem but I do have full protection, neck fan and hip fans as well, evaporative head bands and also water. No real excuse anymore. Those are goals, need to start with small steps first and go about it later. I have to stop telling myself I cannot do it and just do it or start with the indoor stuff first then move to short outdoor walks. Indoor walks are no issue for me as I do it with DB visits and his grocery shopping. I will see how exercise fits in with other activities I do.

@tougholdcrow - I recently read about the "Japanese Walking", and it might be good to do like a gym exercise might be, but I still prefer to just walk the regular old way and take in the sights, sounds, and smells, etc. It does sound interesting as a targeted kind of fitness technique, but to me then, it is different from "walking". I've noticed that there are now all kinds of "walking" methods that are being touted and it seems to be something of a new trend out there for some, e.g. "Japanese walking", "rucking", etc. There are more too. With all these focused walking techniques it seems that you have to take your mind off of the usual sights and sounds of "regular" walking to do things like count, or measure your heart rate, etc. That to me is more like gym exercise and calisthenics, etc.; just maybe done outdoors (which would definitely have an appeal), but I do think it is notably different than just "taking a good old fashioned walk". Please let us know how it goes. I am curious to see just how much people enjoy these new targeted types of walking and just what kind of benefit they see, as compared to regular old walking. Wondering too if people notice or care about the kinds of trade offs I see.

@mara51506 - Great to see you trying to get back to some outdoor walking. I think walking to your mall sounds wonderful. While I always absolutely enjoy just walking for the heck of it with no real purpose other than getting some fresh air and exercise, I do find that a walk with a purpose, e.g. to the store and back; to the cleaners to drop off or pick something up, etc. can motivate me to take a good walk. Sometimes I like taking "the long way" to a nearby store or something, just so I can get a good walk in, but with an end goal like shopping or something. Also, @rlschaller has noted a lot of videos that she likes to do at home, as you are. I should make more of an effort to check out some of those videos too. I think you are smart to start with the small little steps first, but I really hope you do achieve that goal of a nice walk to the mall and back - good luck!

@tougholdcrow - Thanks for sharing the results of your Japanese walking - that sounds wonderful. I think I read a couple of different articles about all these different walking methods, and they most likely came from Yahoo News which pulls in a lot of stories from a lot of different sources (like the Times), so not quite sure of the original source. I usually note the original source at the time I initially read, but rarely remember what those original sources were later on; only if it was interesting or not. I seem to remember the most recent was an article exclusively about the Japanese walking, and then the other one was while back and about a lot of different methods of walking like Forest walking, Rucking, and other things like a "Bimble" (that's probably more what I do, naturally). It's all pretty interesting in its own way.

I went to Enhance Fitness today. It was a hot day in Seattle and I sweated like you know what. Came home, ate lunch and went to get my monthly bloodwork done. The last time I went to oncology I had a nurse practitioner. She ordered a bunch of additional tests, one was a urine test. It showed blood in my urine, protein in my urine, and something else. Probably dehydration. I’d also gotten an iced latte! I have a feeling that they’ll be all concerned and send me for another one. I’ll be sure to drink a lot of water beforehand!

@tougholdcrow I've done yoga for over 40 years on a daily basis so I do a lot of stretching and was a certified Iyengar yoga teacher for many years. The most helpful thing from my recent PT sessions was the advice that I stretch the back of my legs every 2 hours. So I do standing forward bends throughout the day. I still think something is wrong to need to stretch so frequently but it helps. Usually if I stretched once or twice a day my hamstrings and calves stayed supple. I looked into the topical NSAIDS but Voltaren (Diclofenac) specifically says it is not for use on hips or buttocks. I use Tiger Balm which helps a tiny bit.

@chicagoan - Just a thought about your hip: Since nothing showed on the x-ray, do you think it's possible that the weather might have something to do with the extra pain? We're having a bit of a heat wave here in Seattle and I've noticed all sorts of ramped up joint aches. I've been doing some reading too and was surprised to learn that the humidity and dew points, when they get high, can be as bad on joint and muscle aches as the cold and damp. I also second @tougholdcrow 's suggestion re stretching. I had been going to PT, but stopped last spring (long story) and I also think some of my new big aches and pains might be due to the lack of doing those PT stretches. I don't know what your weather is like right now, but my sense of Chicago is that it's pretty hot and humid there in the summers. I hope you find some relief!

@AJ - Boy was "sweaty" ever the word for Seattle yesterday! I'm pretty much back to my old routine walking now after that biopsy, and I experienced a lot of what you did yesterday. I went on my approximately 3 mile route, parts of which were in the baking sun, but I actually loved it, because there was a nice good breeze, and that helped a lot in feeling cool, but not in the sweating department. I had a doctor tell me once too, that a little bit of blood in your urine isn't a big deal and usually suggests dehydration. Hope that iced latte did the trick. I came back from my walk and had a good iced tea.

@tougholdcrow - Like you and @AJ , I too have noticed that the staff at my clinic can get real concerned and then order more tests, etc. if I'm not careful what I present to them. I agree that it's probably good in the long run, but sometimes, I'm just throwing something out there that I've wondered a little bit about and they just pounce. I'm learning to think twice before bringing any new or bothersome symptoms up, because so many of them are really just routine side effects and come and go routinely. I hate the idea of more tests, if I'm just "noticed a little something". If you're having to wait 7 months to see the GI person, I can't believe it's all that serious. Yep, it's the time of year for iced lattes and iced teas. We're supposed to have a little cool down here starting today, and maybe even a little rain this evening.

Happy exercising to all and have a wonderful day!