EXERCISE

[Bajanne]

What do you guys do about exercise?  I have a membership in a gym, but hadn't been going for a while because I didn't have my car.  Now that I have a vehicle again, I am going to go back to the gym.
My problem is that I am losing weight and parts of my body are seeming so stretchy. YUK!
Do any of you exercise regularly?  Would you exercise the morning before you had HD or would you do it on the day you didn't go?
What kind of exercise do you do?
I tend to stick to the treadmill and an ab machine.  I will probably also do a leg machine.

[susie q]

I barely have the energy to do basic housework.. let alone exersize.. lol.. 

[Sara]

I've been trying to get Joe to go walking with me in the evenings.  Neither one of us is in marathon shape, so I figure that's a good start, plus it's FREE. 

[calypso]

I use this thing called powerbase. Basically it is tubular rubber resistance bands from 5 to 300 lb of resistance and I do arm curls, squats, skull crushers (triceps) and I hope to strengthen my very weak muscles from years of no appetite, vomiting and headache before I ever knew I had renal failure. And I also hope to strengthen bones. Does strength training help your bones or am I just mistaken? I think I read somewhere that it does. Well I don' tknow if I willl stave off osteoporosis with weigh lifiting but I guess we shall see.

 Of course I take phosphate binders (renagel) and vitamin D (calcitriol) and the PTH thing (sensipar) also as prescribed to me to help out the bones. Anyone else take those meds? I used to take phoslo but they switched me to renagel for some reason. I think my blood calcium was too high back then. Well I better shudup before I go off on too much of a tangent.

Thing is sometimes I find I'm too weak to be able to lift as much as the time before (I try to work out every other day) But I keep trying anyway.

[Bajanne]

I noticed that no one has addressed one of the questions that I posed in the beginning of this thread.
Would you exercise the morning of dialysis or the days that you don't go?

[Rerun]

If there is no posts, then we probably don't exercise.   

I take my dogs for a walk and that is it.  I hate to exercise, but I know I should.  SO.... if I did exercise, I would do it on non-dialysis days and probably in the morning.   

[calypso]

I noticed that no one has addressed one of the questions that I posed in the beginning of this thread.
Would you exercise the morning of dialysis or the days that you don't go?

Well for me that's cause I'm not on HD. I'm on PD so there are no days I don't get dailysis.

[Bear]

O.K. Baj' - I, for one, could not possibly consider any form of exercise coming off dx. I am just totally stuffed.
As I mentioned in another post, I ran up 2 flights of stairs to meet a friend the other evening, but that was
more than 12 hours after coming off dx. Being an over-niter now, there's not really a non-dx day, but the
nearest equiv. is the daytime _before_ I go on in the evening. That's when I'm at my best....unfortunately
they happen to be workdays mostly, as my dialysis _is_ scheduled on those evenings, so I can go to bed
on my non-work days (Tue/Thu/Sat) to catch up the sleep I don't get on nocturnal (well, I get some,
but only about 3-4 hours)
I _am- hoping either to sleep better while on, and/or re-schedule somehow, so I can feel good on days off,
so I can get back in the sea!!

[kitkatz]

Exercise? Isn't enough exercise getting to the center for dialysis on time, then being told to wait half an hour?  I get enough exercise jumping to conclusions! 
Anyway, I walk around a school campus all day long, when I get home all I want to do is relax and get off the aching feet.  On dialysis days it feels good to rock back in that chair and relax a little off the feet.  I often fall asleep for an hour or hour and a half. Lordy I hope I don't snore.

I was going to a gym for the beginning of all of this, but most of the machines seem dangerous to me as a dialysis patient and I did not want to accidentally hurt myself.
Walking seems the best idea I have seen or heard yet.  It is hard to lose weight on dialysis.  I have tried.,  Lost almost 30 pounds but had to do it a lot mentally.

Katherine

[hyperlite]

I work out twice a week, once on the weekend, and once usually tuesday or thursday. I always start with a little cardio (bike or rowing machine) and then I use the weight-machines. I try not to do too much, especially with my left arm (fistula arm), but enough to work up a sweat and lose some of that extra fluid!

[roybear]

In answer to your question.  I would TRY to exercise in the mornings before the treatment. 
I am thinking about re-joining a gym....was a member for a while but got sidetracked when I got
sick.  I say in the mornings before the treatments because with me, I am always feeling very
"yucky" after the treatments and sometimes that feeling stays all the following day.  I usually feel
pretty good the day of the treatments, BUT, then the cycle starts all over again.  I also try to
get on the treadmill most nights for at least a few minutes.

[Bajanne]

I have finally started on my exercise regimen.   I go early mornings - M, T, F - my dialysis days.  I do 25 mins treadmill; 5 x 8 reps - ad machine; 5 x 12 reps - leg lift and 3 x 12 reps leg press. Then 5 mins arc trainer (I hate this), then 25 mins treadmill.
I plan on going on Tuesday and Thursday also, but just to do the treadmill.
Top class body, here I come!!

[Rerun]

I got tired just reading about it! 

You go girl!   

[susie q]

That sounds like an awful lot!!  You have way more energy than I do.. for sure.. 

[Stacy Without An E]

Two months ago I was tired of my entire body being frail and skinny while my 30ish belly was starting to expand, so I reupped my membership at my health club and started a program that works for me.  I only workout on non-Dialysis days because I'm so sick before and so weak afterward.

On non-Dialysis days I do 30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minutes on the cross trainer, six upper body weight machines, six lower body machines and then the ab machine.  I've only been at it for two months and I'm fitting back into my jeans again.  I also notice that I'm not carrying as much fluid when I got back for treatment, making Dialysis much easier to endure.

I still have a strange problem though.  My body likes to place the fluid it gains in certain parts of my body.  So three days a week, I usually wear long shirts or sweatshirts and have to unbutton the top bottom of my jeans because all the fluid goes to my waist!  I believe this is from my past immunosuppressive use from my transplants, because when I was on does of Prednisone, all the fat in my body would go to my face and abdomen.  It still continues like this, even though I'm off the meds and on Dialysis.  Strange!

I implore everyone to use exercise to fight Dialysis.  Even if it's just walking the dog or around the block, it all helps defeat the rigors of Dialysis.

Good luck.

Stacy Without an E
http://stacywithoutane.blogspot.com

[BigSky]

Personally I exercise just so I can drink more fluid. 

I tried to some light stuff after dialysis but I just cannot recover enough for my main exercises on my off days.

Dialysis on T,T,S

Do my main bulk exercises on S,M,W,F

Usually start out with 30-40 minutes on the eliptical.

Then go outdoors down to the trails and ride my bike for 75 minutes.  Average about 15 miles.  Before bed I do core work and large muscle weight lifting exercises. (abs, Squat, Bench)

Depending on fluid gain I wear wrestling plastics to help lose the fluid faster when riding the bike. 

[kevno]

On CAPD a lot of exercise swim, long walks, run, bike rides, squash and football(UK style) used to be really fit and well. But on haemo found it hard to do exercise. Even had a heart attack while just walking. Maybe time on dialysis is catching up with me. Plus the trouble I am having with my leg as slowed me down a lot. Not bad for losing weight, now lost 9kg. Not a recommended way of losing weight. Had the dietitian moaning at me. lost 10% of my body mass now.

[jdat]

I do a minimum of one hour a day of speed walking( but usually not on the weekend ).

Otherwise bike rides and running but these two have been very difficult for me for some reason ( I am told it's due to an enlarged heart limiting my body the capacity to adapt to effort ).

So yeah mostly walk but really fierce walking 
I miss the days when I was the best runner in my school 

[kevno]

Yeah! I was a good runner at school. Had to be to get away from the teachers like kitkatz, but not with big stick. They had painful canes. OUCH! Can not count how many times I got Caned at school. Most of the time it was not my fault

[angieskidney]

I find that since I got so sick with Peritonitis and went from 140 lbs to 112lbs in one month that I lost all my muscle and really should work out but seem to really lack energy even though my hemoglobin finally got up to normal. I don't know why this is. I don't know if it is because my pulse is always so high or what or because my bp is always so low ... but I really need to try to get some exercise.

Speaking of that .. what is the best way to make a fistula stronger?

Or should I make a new post in the fistula section??

[kitkatz]

I would start out easy.  Walk your apartment complex or walk your block.  Then twice another day.  I would take it easy until the BP and stuff come back towards normal.
Exercising might help it , too.

[angieskidney]

I would start out easy.  Walk your apartment complex or walk your block.  Then twice another day.  I would take it easy until the BP and stuff come back towards normal.
Exercising might help it , too.

Thx cuz I know I really have to get stronger! Then maybe I will feel better again!

[kitkatz]

Me too. I am thinking of joining Curves, which is an exercise place for women. There is one a few blocks from my work.  Maybe if I schedule exercise the way I schedule dialysis, I will do it twice a week.

[angieskidney]

Me too. I am thinking of joining Curves, which is an exercise place for women. There is one a few blocks from my work.  Maybe if I schedule exercise the way I schedule dialysis, I will do it twice a week.

Oh ya I think there is one right near me as well!!

[Panda_9]

I dont have much energy either, just doing the vaccuming or washing is enough to wear me out for the day. I do walk to the bus stop if I need to get to the bus, some days its ok, but some days I huff and puff all the way. I would love to join a gym, but cant afford it.