I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: Transplant Discussion => Topic started by: cariad on August 20, 2010, 04:10:11 PM
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OK, so I had my transplant in March - no activity restrictions as far as I've ever known.
A few months ago I bought a Groupon for Gwyn and me to try out Bikram yoga - they were selling 5 classes for the price of one. So, I figured we had nothing to lose, and Gwyn and I love trying new classes.
We had to take the first class by September 1, so we went this afternoon. For those that do not know, Bikram Yoga is also called Hot Yoga. It is 26 postures in a 105 degree room with 40% humidity. I have not exercised beyond long walks since my transplant. Prograf makes me exceedingly achey, though once I warm up, I can feel almost fine.
I think I lasted through three or four postures before I was essentially done in class. Others struggled as well, but not as early. I felt dizzy and intermittently nauseous., which we were told is normal. It is a silent, 90-minute class, and they ask you not to leave during the class, nor drink until it is between postures. There are no clocks in there, so I had no idea how much time was left at any moment. I reached a point where I was flat on my back, feeling like I could not breathe, and like I could not get comfortable. It frankly felt like kidney failure. So, I finally walked out (to discover that there were only 15 minutes left) and sat down, then tried to get to the bathroom but threw up all over their floor first. Gwyn was with me (thankfully!) and got me a fresh towel and I lay on the floor for a few minutes.
One of the instructors came over and was just so nice, so gracious - saying "please don't think you're not welcome to come back, we would love to have you back." Then the instructor for the class came up to me in the locker room and said essentially the same thing, and added "Next time your goal is just not to get to that point!" So sweet.
Do you think I should have asked my surgeon before I did this? I used to love, love, love heat, but Prograf has turned everything on its ear. I also got those painful prickly sensations that I get these days all over while in the room.
Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks so much for reading.
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a new kidney and new medications change things in your body. It could be that the heat you loved before now hates you. You probably should have checked with a doctor to make sure that the extreme heat wouldn't affect you, because of the medications you are on. Feeling faint and sick might be normal for first timers who are healthy, but those of us with illnesses will be affected differently than most. If I puked all over the floor, I don't think I'd go back
Since we never know how our bodies are going to react, I don't think it was idiotic, I'd say that it was an educational experience for you, though..
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Cariad,
Wouldn't dehydration explain those symptoms or did you get plenty of water between postures.. If you did then maybe mild heat stroke? I've seen those symptoms both ways in people who overdress or don't drink enough fluid on hot summer days on my charter boat in Alaska(I know, hot and Alaska seem like contradictory words but it does happen).
Ed
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:cuddle; Poor cariad! Sounds dreadful.
Dehydration is something that is always a danger for people with one kidney - so maybe drinking more the day before and day of might have helped. I would not have thought about checking with the doctor beforehand, but it seems like a good idea now. You are still pretty "young" as far as transplant goes, and you'll probably be more aware of warning signs as you go along, and your body will probably change over time. Good luck - maybe yoga without the heat is an option!
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Thanks for your comments, everyone.
Riki, I think you've hit upon the mistake I made. I thought since this was my second transplant, it would be just like old times. Of course, I am on all those new meds (I still hate you, Prograf!) so don't know why it did not dawn on me that this could be an issue. Heat does indeed hate me these days. (The fickle bastard!) :laugh:
Ed, I thought I drank enough beforehand, but I'm not expert at these things, so probably did not. Once we were in the room, everything was about silence and not doing anything the least bit disruptive. When I was sitting on the floor trying to keep calm, I started drinking water and a bit later she requested that we only drink between postures. However, the postures had no real break between them, so that was confusing and I was not thinking too sharply in there. There was one official water break the whole time, and she said that we should only need a tiny sip if we had hydrated correctly. I think once I felt guilty for drinking, I was doomed! I don't remember drinking much in there, but after I threw up, there was almost no water left in my quart bottle, so I must have had a great deal. (Mother is from Alaska - Juneau. I've never been, but I certainly do not remember her using the word 'heat' very often in reference to her childhood! She'll be amused by your story.)
Exactly, Karol! I did not give it a second thought before the class, then once I was in there, it certainly seemed like the best idea in the world to have my surgeon say "No way!" Gwyn said he enjoyed it and wants to go back, at least to use up his Groupon, but completely understands that I do not think I should try this again any time soon. I do so want to try yoga, though. I've been reading more about Bikram and discovering that many exercise experts think it is dangerous - kidney damage was mentioned. They are certainly not the only yoga studio in town, so I think I will try learning what I will now call Cool Yoga first, and if I get really in to it, make my triumphant return to Bikram in the distant future.
Thanks again, all!
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I was thinking dehydration while reading your post, too. I think they would allow the acception of you drinking whenever you need to if you return. You don't want to put a strain on your new kidney. I hate the heat and I have always hated the heat. I hate to sweat, too. You may be thinking Texas isn't the best place for me to live. :rofl;
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When I was a limber strong fit slender young thing, jogging and swimming and doing all those other ridiculous things that fit people do, I used to be into Bikram. I remember it took quite a long while to get used to so that I could actually get from one end of the class to the other. And then I stopped for over a year (too expensive!). Went back one day with a group of friends. And developed a cracking headache. Crawled out on my hands and knees (metaphorically speaking). Bikram is full on and hard core. I really do think you should check with your renal people and also talk to the Bikram people, because there are some postures in there, towards the last third of the practice, which purposefully scrunch the abdomen and squeeze the organs. You have more kidneys in there than most people, I presume, or even if you don't, red light red light, be aware of the abdomen squeezing ones.
Whatever kind of yoga you do, I'd suggest you mention you have a transplant to the teacher. They expect people to mention spinal injuries and other kinds of issues as there are some exercises which need to be avoided there too... or taken in a more gentle fashion. There are ways of doing many poses which are more gentle or more extreme, depending on what you can manage.
I think Bikram needs to be approached very slowly and carefully. People get very gung ho in there, and kind of competitive, which isnt' what yoga is about, its meant to be about becoming very aware of your body, not in competition with your body and with all the other sweaty bodies around about. Maybe it was the Sydneysiders all getting crazy. Sydney is a bit like that, after all, a bit competitive and up itself.
My rambling two :twocents; worth.
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definitely dehydration. If you decide to go back maybe go to the very back of the class/room and explain beforehand your situation. I'd take a sports drink too like poweraide or something(if that stuff is OK by the neph/transplant folks) to replace those salts and stuff - you probably sweated out more than you thought and that contributed to things. If you tell them your needs, stay at the back then if you need to drink well bloody well drink. Obviously your health is the #1 priority. I'd try something like that anyway.
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:rofl; Oh, Kelly, you poor thing. A heat-intolerant Texan. Of course, I am a cold-intolerant Wisconsinite, and it's a struggle. Of course you hate the heat - it killed your poor, innocent decomposers.
Oh, Nat, I am so glad to hear that Bikram is considered "full on and hard core" because I felt so pitiful. When Gwyn and I were nervously waiting for class to begin, the instructor actually said "It's a beginners class - you'll be fine!" Not sure what made it a beginners class, since it was all levels in there, and some were really good. I did write on the sheet "Recent kidney and stem-cell transplant. Take many meds" and the instructor asked me if my doctor said it was OK. Perhaps that should have been my first clue? I said I had no activity restrictions, and she was satisfied with that, so off we went. It's funny that you mention certain poses not being good for transplants, because as we were doing some stretch she mentioned that it does something or other for the kidneys - and it was a lower back stretch, I believe where we were fully bent over, and I was thinking "I don't have kidneys back there - I somehow doubt this is helping mine." I read an article on Bikram himself, and his class is certainly very competitive, and very mean-spirited from what the journalist was reporting. This class was nothing like that, so I give her credit for that. She said something about the mirrors being "there for reflection, not for judgment" which I think was a nice touch. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
Thanks for the advice, Richard. I wish I had posted a "should I even do this" thread before going. I hate to think that I committed the cardinal sin of post-transplant - getting dehydrated - and for no good reason. If I were to go back, I think I would definitely have to pull her aside and say "look, I have to do these things - I'm not trying to be disrespectful." They also ask that you not leave the class before it is over, and i really struggled with whether I really, really needed to leave. I think had I not been so afraid of coming off as the local boor, I would have left a good half hour earlier. I'm not used to being the one causing the scene. (That's usually my younger child!)
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Remember that YOUR HEALTH is the most important thing here. Not if you offend someone in a class or whatever.
Yeah to be honest I would have not gone to something that obviously would put you at serious risk of dehyation without checking it out with the transplant team. Given we all know how serious of a risk that is it's not something *I* would risk, but each to their own. Like I said before if you do it again I would definitely discuss it with them and explain your unique requirements (eg: fluids, possibly leaving etc) and try and work something out that causes minimum disruption.
:grouphug; :grouphug; :grouphug; :grouphug; :grouphug;