Exercise

[MooseMom]

Have any of you had discussions with your doctor about exercise?  Do any of you have a specific exercise program that helps to improve your general health?  Or do you just try to keep as physically active as you can?

Thank you.

[Amanda From OZ]

Everyone is different and it all depends on your fitness level. My doctor thinks it great the amount of exercise i do, but the only issue is that the more exercises you do the higher your urea will be.

I do ALOT of exercise. I train at the gym at least 5 day a week , i usually go straight after dialysis to the gym and usually spend 3 hrs there, i do weights and cardio with my own personal trainer (boyfriend) 

Everyone is very different, and i wouldn't feel bad if you are too tired to do much, my sister and father could not do any exercise while they were on dialysis.

Just try walking slowly then build it up from there.

Good luck 

[Rerun]

Ummmmm unlike Amanda... I don't have a regular exercise program.  I have two dogs that want to go for a walk all the time and they get me out about every other day.  My doctor wants me to join a water aerobics class!  Yeah Right!   

[angela515]

I think on dialysis its basically up to how much you feel like doing. My dr used to tell me to do what I could and eventually I could do more... Now after transplant im trying to build up my strength again and such I started on he treadmill today 10 mins no incline 1mph, not much but somgthing for starters. Good luck

[goofynina]

Exercise?? what the hell is exercise??    

[mrhecht]

I do ALOT of exercise. I train at the gym at least 5 day a week , i usually go straight after dialysis to the gym and usually spend 3 hrs there, i do weights and cardio with my own personal trainer (boyfriend) 

Wow! I exercise by walking but I can't imagine being able to go straight from dialysis? I have to admit that I used to feel much better after dialysis than I do now after all these years (which is another reason I'm finally on "the list"), but I am fascinated that you are able to exercise right after dialysis. How long have you been on?

[Amanda From OZ]

I have been on dialysis for nearly 3 years. Yes i know even my doctors are amazed. Everyone always tells me i do to much. But it makes me feel better about  myself.

Everyone handles dialysis differently. There is no way i would of been able to do this when i first started dialysis as my body was still getting use to the process.

My mother thinks I'm "nuts" ha ha sometimes i even go on the treadmill at midnight if i was unable to go to the gym because i was out all day. Its not about being a fitness freak, i don't run......r i take my time and just do as much as i can but i make sure i fit in thsoe days

[tamara]

unlike Amanda... I don't have a regular exercise program.  I have two dogs that want to go for a walk all the time and they get me out about every other day.  My doctor wants me to join a water aerobics class!  Yeah Right!   

Hey guess where I just come from...................................Water Aerobics! 

It's easy, and you just don't realize what you do in the water.

[MooseMom]

I used to go to the gym most days to work out.  When I moved back to the US, I continued exercising.  I'm not a real exercise queen or anything; I just like moving.  Then, when I went to the neph and he sandbagged me with the news that my renal function was only 30% and that I should go through the pre-transplant program, I was so shocked.  That's when he put me on all of these meds.  I honestly think that the meds affect me more than the actual fsgs.  My numbers have all improved, but I am more tired.  I walk every day, and I swim during the summer.

Sometimes I suspect that my fatigue is more psychological than physical.  I "think tired".  There is no real reason why I should have less energy than I did before I started my meds unless it is the meds themselves that cause fatigue.  But if my numbers are so much better, then I should be healthier, and so I should have more energy, right?

I'm not on dialysis yet, but I was curious to see how others were advised about exercise.

[BigSky]

Here are a few of the threads on exercise you might want to check out MooseMom

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=148.0

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1961.0

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1773.0

http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=415.0

[Andy55]

Andy here.....my situation is similar to Moosemom's. My kidney function is closer to 20%, not yet on dialysis. Up until 6 months ago fairly active, scuba, etc. Now incredibly fatigued all the time with flank pain (PKD)...I know meds make me tired...but currently crazy tired. Forget diving, too short of breath. I still need to work...but it is getting very hard....any advice from the group? Is it better to press on with exercise and hope for an energy breakthrough that will buy time (so I can work)...I am not sure how to even think about applying for disability (or even if I should at this point).....

[jbeany]

Andy, what are your hemoglobin levels?  Are you on epo shots already?  What you are describing sounds like anemia symptoms.  You can start taking epo before you get on dialysis.  I started the epo shots 10 years before I needed to start dialysis.

[MooseMom]

Big Sky, thanks for those links.  Very informative!

I have a workout bench with weights here at home (which I should use more often), but my main mode of exercise is walking.  I walk at least 1 1/4 mile every day, even on days like today when the windchill factor makes it feel well below 0 degrees.  There is something about the fresh air that is really beneficial to me.

While I was walking the other day, I was thinking about my emotional state and CKD.  I've tried all kinds of coping mechanisms; I've tried counselling, hypnotherapy and biofeedback.  I have an acquaintance who is a dialysis nurse, and she has told me that many of her patients are on anti-depressants.  I didn't want to go that route mainly because I already take so many meds, and I was concerned about drug interactions becoming an issue, so that's about the only thing I didn't try.   But I realized that the one thing that helped me the most was getting outside and walking.  I've read posts in the other threads from people who were saying the same thing.

[angela515]

I love walking. However I do mine on a treadmill during the winter. Too much snow on the ground and I can't stand the cold weather. Right now it's 12 degrees and very windy. Tomorrow is supposed to be alot colder, ugh! LOl Cmon summer! 

[MooseMom]

I love walking. However I do mine on a treadmill during the winter. Too much snow on the ground and I can't stand the cold weather. Right now it's 12 degrees and very windy. Tomorrow is supposed to be alot colder, ugh! LOl Cmon summer!

Oh, I know!  It's just going to get colder and colder as the days go by for the foreseeable future.  I donned my outdoor gear and even put a ski mask on, but my glasses don't fit on my face when I have the mask on, plus, it squeezed my nose and makes it hard for me to breath.  I end up out of breath and dizzy from not being able to see!  I lasted only 10 minutes today.  I don't have a treadmill or anything like that, so perhaps I'll just have to go up and down the stairs a lot today.

I usually walk in all weathers, and I don't mind the cold, but this is a bit much, really.

[Sluff]

Andy here.....my situation is similar to Moosemom's. My kidney function is closer to 20%, not yet on dialysis. Up until 6 months ago fairly active, scuba, etc. Now incredibly fatigued all the time with flank pain (PKD)...I know meds make me tired...but currently crazy tired. Forget diving, too short of breath. I still need to work...but it is getting very hard....any advice from the group? Is it better to press on with exercise and hope for an energy breakthrough that will buy time (so I can work)...I am not sure how to even think about applying for disability (or even if I should at this point).....

I totally understand the fatique, I just try to keep pushing forward. I don't think you can get disability until you go on dialysis. At least in the State of Wisconsin thats the way it is.
 
Here are some links where this has been discussed before.

  http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=586.0

 http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=1607.0
                   
 http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=257.0

[MooseMom]

Andy, sometimes it is hard to know when to just press on and when to listen to your body if it tells you to "slow down".  Perhaps what you need is a different kind of exercise if what you had done in the past is now virtually impossible because of fatigue.  The right kind of exercise is supposed to energize you.

Has anyone ever spoken to a personal trainer?  It has occurred to me that it would be great to find someone who was licenced in such a way that he/she could look at my labs, look at my meds, talk to me about what I want and could then create a personalized exercise program.  Maybe someone who works in physical therapy or rehab as opposed to the usual kind of personal trainer.  Or is that a really stupid idea?  I don't even know if such a person exists!

[Andy55]

Thanks Sluff for those disability links/threads....I think it is the same in Indiana...must be on D to get SS bennies....I do have a disability policy with my employer (60%) of pay...but it prob mirrors the SS criteria...anyway I want to work as long as possible...MooseMom may have something about doing a different kind of exercise...I think that's my next step.....do you think the 84 year old gentleman in St Louis who just won $254M is in the mood to adopt another kid (me!)?

[MooseMom]

It's a really hard thing to have to admit to yourself that your body is not as fit as before and that past activities may no longer be right for you.  Meds, dialysis and just plain getting older makes us rethink our exercise options.  But that doesn't have to be a bad thing.  The whole idea is to work WITH your body, not against it.

[nextnoel]

.....do you think the 84 year old gentleman in St Louis who just won $254M is in the mood to adopt another kid (me!)?

I hadn't heard about this guy.  Never mind adoption, Is he married?

[Zach]

Amanda, can you give us your exercise routine?


Here's an article about exercising during treatment:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060515100138.htm

[BigSky]

As to exercise capacity I read a study that said dialysis patients only need to achieve a heart rate of 60% of MHR to achieve cardio benefits.  MHR being 220-age

[MooseMom]

I just love this whole idea of exercising while on dialysis!  After reading the article, it makes sense, doesn't it!  Have any of you been given the opportunity to exercise while on the machine? 

[jbeany]

My unit has a fit if you even want to put your feet down and sit up right.  I'm not sure how the exercise concept would go over!

[BigSky]

I just love this whole idea of exercising while on dialysis!  After reading the article, it makes sense, doesn't it!  Have any of you been given the opportunity to exercise while on the machine? 

Not here.  But I have found if I walk/jog for half and hour right before getting ready to go to dialysis the fluid seems to pull a lot easier and I do not feel washed out so much.