Sunday, January 9, 2011

working out

Really happy to have finally made it into the zone where pushing myself when i'm working out does not mean a setback in my health.

That's a really tough balance when you are struggling with autoimmune diseases- figuring out how hard to push yourself when you're exercising. You want to make progress with your fitness, but if you push too hard, you'll end up flat on your back not only *not* exercising, but not doing much of anything.

Been there, done that, and thanks to 6 months in physical therapy rehabbing my weakened shoulders and back (due to tendinitis and the poor posture I was holding in defense against the pain) and my weak back/ legs (due to inactivity, which was due to the chronic pain from the tendinitis).... well, those 6 months of work have paid off and I am able to push myself and do challenging workouts, just like all those other "earth people" out there who have never had to deal with the challenges of chronic pain and an easily perturbed immune system.

I can't give *all* the credit to PT; I also have changed my diet a lot (gluten free, no artificial sweeteners or MSG, and in general eating a lot more fruits and veggies, no meat and very little dairy). And I take some herbs that were recommended to me by the health counselor at the wellness boutique. They help my energy and my sleep.

I also started drinking nopalea, something I saw on a tv commercial (!) that is supposed ot reduce imflammation. I'll post about that later this week.

Meantime I'm enjoying having muscles that are sore from a good workout. I can enjoy that sort of pain :)
3 cheers for PT!

If you're thinking of getting some PT (and I highly recommend it, especially if you've been injured or laid up for a while), and you're willing to do the exercises at home on the days you don't have appointments... definitely ask around to your neighbors, support group, facebook friends, family, for a recommendation for a great PT facility near you. I went to one that is a sport medicine facility, and it's really inspiring to be surrounded by athletes getting back on their feet.

3 comments:

Wendy said...

Hey, just did some XC skiing with the family this weekend (while visiting in da nort' country of Wisconsin). It was the first time out on skis for me in years. So it was definitely beyond my *perceived* limits. So, a very nice surprise and feeling of satisfaction at having reasonably sore muscles followed by one of those really rare nights of great sleep. Did shortcut out from the pack a little early tho. It's good to test oneself from time to time too, n'est-ce pas? Am only 5 years out on this lupus dx, but impressed how just a minor adjustment--like taking all my Celebrex in the evening (to help sleep) instead of split doses--can still make such a difference! I couldn't have done this before that recent change.

Carla Ulbrich, The Singing Patient said...

that is great! It's good to feel good, indeed, and to get out there and do stuff!
if you think of it, report that back to your doctor about the celebrex change of routine and how it helped. They learn from us (assuming they have an open mind).

Wendy said...

Thanks, you bet I will. Just to clarify, it was his idea to change the Celebrex routine. He's pretty intense so I tend to answer concisely but this last appt I got brave and elaborated a bit when asked to rate my pain from 1-10, saying even though I understood he wanted an 'average,' I'd surely be giving him a higher "average" if it were evening, my pain being negligible in the AM, much worse by evening and sleep-disrupting at night. He acknowledged this is typical in connective tissue illness, then came up with the suggestion of taking all my Celebrex in the evening. Pays to speak up!