March Well-Trained Bodies

[Ali in OR]

Didn't see a new thread yet.

We ended up with school cancelled again yesterday. Cancelled after I had already driven to school. Most of the math department ended up working at school anyway. I'll do some kind of walking video workout here in a few minutes. 

[YaelAldrich]

Been doing Caroline Girvan workouts 6/7 days a week in addition to my 20-30 minutes cardio (elliptical or running). Sometimes as short as 12 minutes (deadbugs) and as long as 30 minutes. I see definite changes in my body that are encouraging. My arms don't seem to be becoming guns though. Lost weight as well. I was supposed to start one of the new weight loss drugs but I haven't heard anything from them. I guess this is what I needed to start losing weight and gaining muscle. 

[Brittany1116]

I wanted to be consistently working out 5 days a week in March. I am still at 4. I decided that instead of beating myself up for that like I did for years when I wanted to work out but didn't prioritize it, I'll keep being consistent with 4 days until 5 days becomes attainable. 

[lynn]

Good morning.  This month starts my fitness with just walking and stretching for a couple more days.  Depending on how the next few mornings go I'm waiting at least 2 more days before adding weight training back.   

[73349]

I dropped off my exercise streak in early February, with bleak weather and too many other things to do. (I did instead do some healthy meal planning, which I could accomplish from the couch.) My daily steps are looking even lower because I've been using YouTube for a playlist while doing meal prep, cleaning, etc., & not having the phone in my pocket. (I can fix that by using my laptop for music at home and eventually buying mp3s for the phone.)

In March, I want as much as possible to combine exercise with other things so it doesn't feel like an Extra Thing To Do. DS resumes tennis, so I will resume walking around the track while he's there. (It's too far away for me to go home during the 1-hour class.) There's definitely yard work and house work I can do every day. I want to invite friends to walk in the park with me at least once (and will also see if we can do a camp-chair coffee once).

Intentional living room workouts can be a fallback for rainy days, but otherwise, I want physical activity to be primarily integrated into what already needs doing.

[Laura Corin]

Thank-you @Ali in OR for starting the new thread.

Today - brisk errands on foot. Then I  spent the whole afternoon in the attic of the Victorian building where I work sorting and sending for shredding old student records. It was surprisingly physical work, so I'm feeling well exercised. I hope to do the same tomorrow  - I only got to about a third of the records.

March - just carrying on. Getting back to weights and stretches plus yoga, as well as walks.

Happy with my new eating programme.

[Harriet Vane]

I was at the gym this morning strength training. I think I will be sore tomorrow--I pushed hard today. It's so gorgeous out I'm also hoping to take a walk on the lane to get some sunshine.

[Eos]

Did all of it today - morning routine, pilates, a hike, and a walk.  Tomorrow I drive for 16 hours so had to stockpile some today!

[Toocrazy!!]

Hmm, I’ll have to think if I want a new March goal. 
I went to visit a friend this weekend and I didn’t exercise, but we did walk everywhere and to our meals, so I got my steps in. 
Today I added some slow “running” to my long walk. That felt good. I haven’t been getting a lot of cardio without pickleball so I’ll try this a couple times to get my heart rate up. 
I also did my weight /resistance training and lots of stretching. 

[wintermom]

I got in a really nice, long walk in the woods with two friends. We haven't walked together in over a month, so there was a lot to catch up on. I also walked the dogs in the neighbourhood. No tennis today, but tomorrow is the start to a three-day streak of mixed doubles scheduled!! 

[Elfknitter.#]

8 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Thank-you @Ali in OR for starting the new thread.

Today - brisk errands on foot. Then I  spent the whole afternoon in the attic of the Victorian building where I work sorting and sending for shredding old student records. It was surprisingly physical work, so I'm feeling well exercised. I hope to do the same tomorrow  - I only got to about a third of the records.

March - just carrying on. Getting back to weights and stretches plus yoga, as well as walks.

Happy with my new eating programme.

Maybe I missed it but what new eating program are you trying?

[Laura Corin]

4 hours ago, Elfknitter.# said:

Maybe I missed it but what new eating program are you trying?

I'm  doing the Zoe programme.  Full disclosure,  I recently made a small investment in the company.

https://joinzoe.com/

 

 

[Ali in OR]

Need to get off the computer and go do a dumbbell workout. At this point I think I will try to find the shorter one I did a few weeks ago which was a good workout.

[Soror]

Still hanging in there.

Lots of pain this week and not great mobility. Yesterday morning was better but yesterday evening was bad, bad, bad. I had back pain for the first time- she said that's a good sign because we know the problem is originating in the back and the first goal is to get the problem back to the source. IDK My back was randomly twingy yesterday while doing nothing. I've not done anything that should bother it. I'm not lifting anything of any weight and anything I do pick up I have to bend at my knees to get it because I cannot bend over. I'm not exercising besides the PT. Nothing fun, as I told the PT. I'm scheduled for an xray tomorrow. I don't know how much it will cost but at this point, it doesn't matter. I'm back to nearly as bad as it was weeks ago this week and I'm so tired of this. I think it is 6 or 7 weeks this coming Saturday of not being able to do any exercise. In that time, I've done a handful of slow walks but dropped those again this week after the relapse. 

 

movement: twice a day PT (about 30 min each time except on days I go to appointments- those are an hour)

My goal for the month is the same as February be able to exercise!

Edited March 2, 2023 by Soror

[lynn]

3 hours ago, Soror said:

Still hanging in there.

Lots of pain this week and not great mobility. Yesterday morning was better but yesterday evening was bad, bad, bad. I had back pain for the first time- she said that's a good sign because we know the problem is originating in the back and the first goal is to get the problem back to the source. IDK My back was randomly twingy yesterday while doing nothing. I've not done anything that should bother it. I'm not lifting anything of any weight and anything I do pick up I have to bend at my knees to get it because I cannot bend over. I'm not exercising besides the PT. Nothing fun, as I told the PT. I'm scheduled for an xray tomorrow. I don't know how much it will cost but at this point, it doesn't matter. I'm back to nearly as bad as it was weeks ago this week and I'm so tired of this. I think it is 6 or 7 weeks this coming Saturday of not being able to do any exercise. In that time, I've done a handful of slow walks but dropped those again this week after the relapse. 

 

movement: twice a day PT (about 30 min each time except on days I go to appointments- those are an hour)

My goal for the month is the same as February be able to exercise!

Sorry you are going through this, hope you find relief soon.  I don't think my issue is from the workouts alone, I've been helping dh with garage stuff and ended up aggravating an on going back issue that happened years ago.  So it's been only walking and stretching. I may add in very light weights this weekend.

[Soror]

18 hours ago, lynn said:

Sorry you are going through this, hope you find relief soon.  I don't think my issue is from the workouts alone, I've been helping dh with garage stuff and ended up aggravating an on going back issue that happened years ago.  So it's been only walking and stretching. I may add in very light weights this weekend.

Thanks, sorry to hear you are struggling as well. I hope your flare clears quickly. 

I've not had any issue with my back previously. I've only had very mild issue with my hip before - sometimes brought on by workouts and sometimes too much sitting (teaching and long flight). Then this hit at a far more severe level than anything previous. I'm at a loss. So PT says no exercise for me. Last year when I had the comparatively minor issue with my hip she says it kept popping up because I didn't rest enough so I'm being very good about it because I need this to go away.  I really, really want to exercise. 

Yesterday was a rough day with pain. Hoping for a better day today. 

[knitgrl]

This is my last week of radiation. Actually, today is my last day. I haven't exercised the past few days because my sister is here to help out. (She lives 4 hours away.) Yesterday, I was just completely exhausted -- it was a two nap day. Plus, I had a migraine. My prescription helped with that so that I wasn't incapacitated, but it's still going on in the background, iykwim. Anyhow, since I hadn't exercised in two days, I made myself do some weight training. I was surprised by how 3lb weights start to feel like doing something vs. the 2lb weights I had been using.

[Harriet Vane]

23 hours ago, Soror said:

Still hanging in there.

Lots of pain this week and not great mobility. Yesterday morning was better but yesterday evening was bad, bad, bad. I had back pain for the first time- she said that's a good sign because we know the problem is originating in the back and the first goal is to get the problem back to the source. IDK My back was randomly twingy yesterday while doing nothing. I've not done anything that should bother it. I'm not lifting anything of any weight and anything I do pick up I have to bend at my knees to get it because I cannot bend over. I'm not exercising besides the PT. Nothing fun, as I told the PT. I'm scheduled for an xray tomorrow. I don't know how much it will cost but at this point, it doesn't matter. I'm back to nearly as bad as it was weeks ago this week and I'm so tired of this. I think it is 6 or 7 weeks this coming Saturday of not being able to do any exercise. In that time, I've done a handful of slow walks but dropped those again this week after the relapse. 

 

movement: twice a day PT (about 30 min each time except on days I go to appointments- those are an hour)

My goal for the month is the same as February be able to exercise!

@Soror I'm so sorry you are suffering! If the xray doesn't show anything, consider pushing right away for an MRI. The approach may change if they know what specifically is causing your pain. 

What you describe sounds similar to my husband's issues a few years ago. I had to forcefully insist on an MRI rather than drugs and guesswork because his pain was just awful. He had a herniated disc--in other words, the disc was squished until it blew open, and in his case, a disc fragment was compressing nerve. One doctor recommended surgery immediately, another said PT for 6 weeks and then consider surgery, and another said just PT. Dh opted to try PT and pray that the fragment would be reabsorbed. His pain did diminish, but it was long and slow. It took a couple months to get to a more manageable level, and the nerve effects (down his left leg) took about two years to resolve. The PT had had another client with a similar timeline and progression, which helped to know. 

I really do hope you are feeling better soon. When I see your posts, I always pray for you. 

[Harriet Vane]

Gyrotonics yesterday. She's really putting me through my paces, and it's exciting to see gains in strength and honestly (weirdly) feeling more knit-together. Is that even a thing? I kind of wonder if that's how people feel with regular yoga. These sessions just seem to tug and pull everything into place. I was also encouraged as we have been working on ab strength as a focus for some time, and a movement that was impossible for me several months ago was possible yesterday, in a modified sort of way. I was able to do it on a stool, and the goal is to be able to do it on the floor. 

[Laura Corin]

22 hours ago, lynn said:

Sorry you are going through this, hope you find relief soon.  I don't think my issue is from the workouts alone, I've been helping dh with garage stuff and ended up aggravating an on going back issue that happened years ago.  So it's been only walking and stretching. I may add in very light weights this weekend.

I hope the walking and stretching help.

4 hours ago, Soror said:

Thanks, sorry to hear you are struggling as well. I hope your flare clears quickly. 

I've not had any issue with my back previously. I've only had very mild issue with my hip before - sometimes brought on by workouts and sometimes too much sitting (teaching and long flight). Then this hit at a far more severe level than anything previous. I'm at a loss. So PT says no exercise for me. Last year when I had the comparatively minor issue with my hip she says it kept popping up because I didn't rest enough so I'm being very good about it because I need this to go away.  I really, really want to exercise. 

Yesterday was a rough day with pain. Hoping for a better day today. 

It's so rough when you are used to being so active.

2 hours ago, knitgrl said:

This is my last week of radiation. Actually, today is my last day.

Congratulations!  What is the next step in your treatment?

Yesterday was another brisk errand lunch hour and an afternoon spent in the attic at work heaving files about.  I could feel it in my shoulders this morning, so I'm skipping weights today.  Lovely walk along a field track at lunchtime - the sky is clear blue.  I must check whether we are likely to have the Northern Lights - there was a good display a few days ago that I missed.

Tomorrow, we are driving into the Highlands for a six-mile walk followed by a good lunch.  Husband is going away for a week starting next Wednesday, so it will be nice to have that day before he goes. 

In other news, the job I am interested in - from which my walking friend is retiring - has now been advertised, so I'm working on my CV before diving into the application form.  If I am called for interview, it will be during the week when we are due to go to Orkney, so that might not happen or might be shortened.  Worth it if I get the job though.  We booked the holiday thinking the job wouldn't be advertised until April, but they want more of an overlap before my friend leaves.

So far I have thought about/ordered clothes, and booked a teeth cleaning and a hair cut.  Apart from actually writing the application and thinking through the interview (if I'm lucky enough to be called) is there anything else?  I don't do manicures, and academia is not a dressy environment.

[Toocrazy!!]

@Laura Corin how exciting about your new job opportunity. Good luck! A good haircut is always key for me to feeling good about myself. 

@Soror I am sorry you are still in so much pain. I hope you can find out a path forward. I know you must be so frustrated not being able to do your real workouts. You do become almost addicted to how they make you feel. 
 

@knitgrlcongrats on making it through this step! Don’t feel bad resting and napping. Your body is working hard. 
 

@Harriet Vanei don’t even know what gyrotecnics is. I’m going to look it up! Sounds wonderful. 
 

I had my personal training session this morning. I did not want to go, but of course felt great after. She has such good energy. I came home and did my rebounding cardio, some additional arm and core work and lots and lots of stretching! 

[Hilltopmom]

I too am getting frustrated with back pain popping up from little everyday movements and then needing several days to a week of rest before I feel like I can “chance it” again with exercise other than walking and water fitness. I feel much too young to resign myself to just aqua classes for the rest of my days 😞

my brain wants to be dancing, hiking, and biking! 
 

[knitgrl]

4 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Congratulations!  What is the next step in your treatment?

I trust that my oncologist knows what she is doing, but she is not always an effective communicator. I left her office a few weeks ago with the impression that I would be taking one pill for up to 10 years and another one for two years. She mostly talked about how effective they were in extending survivability by a significant amount. This week, I learned from the specialty pharmacy that will be supplying one of these prescriptions (the 2yr one) is that it is essentially chemo at home. Which neither me nor my dh had understood at the time of the dr. visit. So that is a bit of a mental shift, and overall anticlimactic, because according to what I was told from the specialty pharmacy, I might still have issues with low white cell counts, some fatigue, and diarrhea. Which apparently is guaranteed, since I get complimentary anti-diarrhea meds with the chemo pills. I guess it is fortuitous that I got on the fermenting bandwagon several years ago. So I can start making sauerkraut and kimchi to offset the effects of this last leg of treatment.

[Laura Corin]

8 hours ago, knitgrl said:

I trust that my oncologist knows what she is doing, but she is not always an effective communicator. I left her office a few weeks ago with the impression that I would be taking one pill for up to 10 years and another one for two years. She mostly talked about how effective they were in extending survivability by a significant amount. This week, I learned from the specialty pharmacy that will be supplying one of these prescriptions (the 2yr one) is that it is essentially chemo at home. Which neither me nor my dh had understood at the time of the dr. visit. So that is a bit of a mental shift, and overall anticlimactic, because according to what I was told from the specialty pharmacy, I might still have issues with low white cell counts, some fatigue, and diarrhea. Which apparently is guaranteed, since I get complimentary anti-diarrhea meds with the chemo pills. I guess it is fortuitous that I got on the fermenting bandwagon several years ago. So I can start making sauerkraut and kimchi to offset the effects of this last leg of treatment.

I'm sorry.  That's hard. Doctors aren't always the greatest at working out whether the patient wants reassurance or would prefer to find their way through full knowledge.  I'm a 'give me the facts' person. 

I've been making yoghurt for ages. I've had kombucha going for the past couple of months and am really enjoying it.  Our favourite had a bottle fermentation with fresh ginger and lime. My first batch of sauerkraut is going very slowly.  I think the house is too cool and the kombucha is in the only warm spot. Oh well.

[Eos]

16 hours ago, Toocrazy!! said:

i don’t even know what gyrotecnics is. I’m going to look it up!

Same here. In my mind I see hips rotating until the owner flies up into the sky but I'm pretty sure that's not it.

Oh wait, I'm not wrong!  Maybe not the sky...

[Soror]

On 3/1/2023 at 11:28 AM, Laura Corin said:

Thank-you @Ali in OR for starting the new thread.

Today - brisk errands on foot. Then I  spent the whole afternoon in the attic of the Victorian building where I work sorting and sending for shredding old student records. It was surprisingly physical work, so I'm feeling well exercised. I hope to do the same tomorrow  - I only got to about a third of the records.

March - just carrying on. Getting back to weights and stretches plus yoga, as well as walks.

Happy with my new eating programme.

I'd love to hear about your experience with the eating programme if you care to post or message me ( of course when you have time). I looked into it some and it sounds intriguing and something I might consider when I have more funds.

On 3/3/2023 at 8:56 AM, knitgrl said:

This is my last week of radiation. Actually, today is my last day. I haven't exercised the past few days because my sister is here to help out. (She lives 4 hours away.) Yesterday, I was just completely exhausted -- it was a two nap day. Plus, I had a migraine. My prescription helped with that so that I wasn't incapacitated, but it's still going on in the background, iykwim. Anyhow, since I hadn't exercised in two days, I made myself do some weight training. I was surprised by how 3lb weights start to feel like doing something vs. the 2lb weights I had been using.

Ya for finishing radiation. Prayers for some energy for you and the headache to lift.

On 3/3/2023 at 9:03 AM, Harriet Vane said:

@Soror I'm so sorry you are suffering! If the xray doesn't show anything, consider pushing right away for an MRI. The approach may change if they know what specifically is causing your pain. 

What you describe sounds similar to my husband's issues a few years ago. I had to forcefully insist on an MRI rather than drugs and guesswork because his pain was just awful. He had a herniated disc--in other words, the disc was squished until it blew open, and in his case, a disc fragment was compressing nerve. One doctor recommended surgery immediately, another said PT for 6 weeks and then consider surgery, and another said just PT. Dh opted to try PT and pray that the fragment would be reabsorbed. His pain did diminish, but it was long and slow. It took a couple months to get to a more manageable level, and the nerve effects (down his left leg) took about two years to resolve. The PT had had another client with a similar timeline and progression, which helped to know. 

I really do hope you are feeling better soon. When I see your posts, I always pray for you. 

I so appreciate your prayers, thoughts, and information.

PT already told me there is a good chance the x-ray will show nothing and we'll have to do an MRI so I don't think I'll have to fight them on that. I hope they send it back soon because at this point I'm ready to get the MRI scheduled if I need it. I have PT scheduled Monday morning so I'll be asking them straight away if they have the results.

You give me hope. Did your hubby do steroids? I just did a 6 day pack and it def helped. I was wondering yesterday if things just got worse again because the effects of the steroids have now entirely worn off. PT had mentioned the possibility that there is a fragment and that it could just reabsorb. Obviously, surgery is not my preferred option. 

I'm kicking myself now I didn't get the xray sooner. I was stressed about the cost and there was a whole thing with trying to find a provider. One place had told me it would be 700. Anyway, I go yesterday and it was $45 at this place. If I'd known that I'd already done it but I hadn't been able to find that out, ,although I did ask before. 

I'm anxious to see the scans so we know what we're actually dealing with [ and tbh I've had this paranoia that I have a tumor or something pushing on things and I'll be glad to have confirmation that I don't]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:09 AM, Harriet Vane said:

Gyrotonics yesterday. She's really putting me through my paces, and it's exciting to see gains in strength and honestly (weirdly) feeling more knit-together. Is that even a thing? I kind of wonder if that's how people feel with regular yoga. These sessions just seem to tug and pull everything into place. I was also encouraged as we have been working on ab strength as a focus for some time, and a movement that was impossible for me several months ago was possible yesterday, in a modified sort of way. I was able to do it on a stool, and the goal is to be able to do it on the floor. 

That is great progress. It is wonderful to feel our strength improve.

22 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I hope the walking and stretching help.

It's so rough when you are used to being so active.

Congratulations!  What is the next step in your treatment?

Yesterday was another brisk errand lunch hour and an afternoon spent in the attic at work heaving files about.  I could feel it in my shoulders this morning, so I'm skipping weights today.  Lovely walk along a field track at lunchtime - the sky is clear blue.  I must check whether we are likely to have the Northern Lights - there was a good display a few days ago that I missed.

Tomorrow, we are driving into the Highlands for a six-mile walk followed by a good lunch.  Husband is going away for a week starting next Wednesday, so it will be nice to have that day before he goes. 

In other news, the job I am interested in - from which my walking friend is retiring - has now been advertised, so I'm working on my CV before diving into the application form.  If I am called for interview, it will be during the week when we are due to go to Orkney, so that might not happen or might be shortened.  Worth it if I get the job though.  We booked the holiday thinking the job wouldn't be advertised until April, but they want more of an overlap before my friend leaves.

So far I have thought about/ordered clothes, and booked a teeth cleaning and a hair cut.  Apart from actually writing the application and thinking through the interview (if I'm lucky enough to be called) is there anything else?  I don't do manicures, and academia is not a dressy environment.

Lucky duck on seeing Highlands and the northern lights, gorgeous.

I'm not an expert on interviews. It sounds like you got it covered to me. I'd be asking the friend for more info but I'm sure you've already did that.

18 hours ago, Hilltopmom said:

I too am getting frustrated with back pain popping up from little everyday movements and then needing several days to a week of rest before I feel like I can “chance it” again with exercise other than walking and water fitness. I feel much too young to resign myself to just aqua classes for the rest of my days 😞

my brain wants to be dancing, hiking, and biking! 
 

I hear you. I'm not giving up yet either. Nope! But I am doing my best to be careful for the time being in the interest of this not dragging out any longer than it has to.

17 hours ago, knitgrl said:

I trust that my oncologist knows what she is doing, but she is not always an effective communicator. I left her office a few weeks ago with the impression that I would be taking one pill for up to 10 years and another one for two years. She mostly talked about how effective they were in extending survivability by a significant amount. This week, I learned from the specialty pharmacy that will be supplying one of these prescriptions (the 2yr one) is that it is essentially chemo at home. Which neither me nor my dh had understood at the time of the dr. visit. So that is a bit of a mental shift, and overall anticlimactic, because according to what I was told from the specialty pharmacy, I might still have issues with low white cell counts, some fatigue, and diarrhea. Which apparently is guaranteed, since I get complimentary anti-diarrhea meds with the chemo pills. I guess it is fortuitous that I got on the fermenting bandwagon several years ago. So I can start making sauerkraut and kimchi to offset the effects of this last leg of treatment.

I'm sorry that the dr is not communicating well and recovery is not going to be as easy as you'd hope. That would be a huge mental shift!

[Soror]

I did not do PT yesterday. Way too much pain I knew that getting up and down off the floor would have been way too hard for me. I finally took a pain pill before bed (still fighting the grogginess). I took entirely too much tylenol and ibuprofen to make it through the day. I'm considering whether or not I need to ask for a higher dose of the gabapentin. I know it is very not good for me to take so much Tylenol and ibuprofen. Sigh. Anyway, I woke up hurting pretty badly but just took 3 ibuprofen and it's bearable now. That's a big step up from yesterday.

[Jenny in Florida]

Thanks for starting the new month, @Ali in OR. The last week has been pretty hectic for me, between PT for the vertigo and starting the new job (which required carpooling with my husband, since I am still deemed not safe to drive) and school stuff . . . I haven't managed much time or energy to exercise, let alone the time and energy to check in here.

All I've been doing daily is walking and/or stationary biking for at least a few minutes in the mornings and evenings. The last couple of days have been better, but sometimes my "walk" has been as little as .5K slowly around the block. I have not approached my usual 15,000-step goal for at least two weeks, and it was spotty for the two weeks prior to that. For this last week, I also have not done any additional exercise/yoga/strength and stretching. 

I do feel better and steadier today--3.5K walk--so I am hoping to start easing back into something more like my usual routine this coming week. It will be a challenge because the second week of onboarding for the new job requires me to be on-site earlier than I had gotten into the habit of settling into my desk at home, which makes for very early mornings if I stick to my usual full walk+exercise+pet care+showering and dressing to leave the house schedule. So, it may take me a couple of weeks to find the groove (assuming I don't hit another vertigo-related setback).

I did go buy new walking shoes today, and they are purple. That should provide a fun incentive to get up and out the door in the morning.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 438.7 of 500K
Activity Streak: 16

[knitgrl]

12 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

I'm sorry.  That's hard. Doctors aren't always the greatest at working out whether the patient wants reassurance or would prefer to find their way through full knowledge.  I'm a 'give me the facts' person. 

I've been making yoghurt for ages. I've had kombucha going for the past couple of months and am really enjoying it.  Our favourite had a bottle fermentation with fresh ginger and lime. My first batch of sauerkraut is going very slowly.  I think the house is too cool and the kombucha is in the only warm spot. Oh well.

I would prefer if doctors just gave it to me straight, too. It's why I chose my surgeon; she doesn't dish out b.s., and I'm pretty sure she doesn't take it, either.

Our house is warm enough to do sauerkraut, but there's no place warm enough for kombucha. I did some research and found this gadget for keeping it at the proper temperature, in case I get the motivation to attempt that someday. (Because your ginger lime combination sounds delicious!)

[Harriet Vane]

@Soror To answer your question about steroids--

My husband did not take steroid pills or gabapentin. He did have a cortizone shot as he just could not move at all. I think it was the right call to make.

Steroids have a magnificent anti-inflammatory effect, which is why they are so popular. At this point, doctors tend to throw steroids at virtually anything and everything, hoping that reducing the inflammation will allow the body to clear the original problem either on its own or through the patient engaging in a therapy such as PT. This can be effective--for example, thank God for steroids in covid treatment. And I also thank God for the steroid shot that reduced my husband's agony when his disc blew.

The problem with steroids is twofold. First, steroids don't actually heal anything--they reduce inflammation. Second and more importantly, steroids are very, very destructive to connective tissue. Repeated cortizone shots in one spot actually exacerbate the damage and shorten the timeline to the next step in medical management (such as surgery). It's quite common for people to do twice a year cortizone shots in a bad knee, for example, until the knee is too far gone and then the next step is knee replacement.

So the concern with any repeated steroid therapy is that it will either mask the true problem without healing it or could make the problem worse in the long run because of the negative effect on connective tissue.

In my husband's case, I believe the steroid shot is what enabled him to be able to participate in any level of physical therapy, so that was the right call to make. He went from not-walking to walking. Thank God.

But since the MRI showed not only the herniated disc but also other spots with disc compression, repeated or continued steroids would make another herniation more likely. If my husband had said he could not cope with therapy or regular movement without more steroids (after initial injection), it's likely we would have chosen surgery--the steroids would never, ever lift the disc fragment off his nerve and they will just make the connective tissue brittle, potentially leading to more problems.

 

So bottom line--consider pushing hard for the MRI since the PT and steroids have had only a short-term effect. You are someone who works very hard at fitness and health, so if those modalities are not working, there is a reason and it's in your best interest to find the reason. (IMHO)

 

You're likely already on top of this, but I'll say it just in case--while you're in process with that, consider taking ibuprofen on a regular schedule to keep inflammation at bay. Using ice on a schedule can also keep inflammation at bay, but it can be counterproductive if it brings more muscle tension, in which case heat may be what you need. My messed-up digestion does not tolerate long-term ibuprofen well, so I have learned to rely on ice 3-4x per day instead on achy joints or heat if the problem is muscle tension. That said, long-term ibuprofen is quite effective at keeping inflammation at bay--it's a gentler modality than steroids imho.

Hope this helps.

[Ali in OR]

I did Day 29 yoga this morning and will try to make myself do Day 30 tomorrow to finish off the 30 Days of Yoga.

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, knitgrl said:

I would prefer if doctors just gave it to me straight, too. It's why I chose my surgeon; she doesn't dish out b.s., and I'm pretty sure she doesn't take it, either.

Our house is warm enough to do sauerkraut, but there's no place warm enough for kombucha. I did some research and found this gadget for keeping it at the proper temperature, in case I get the motivation to attempt that someday. (Because your ginger lime combination sounds delicious!)

I have an electric mat that my kombucha sits on. I bought it to germinate seeds.

[Eos]

Morning routine, pilates, then a 2+ miles walk in the snow for some heavy shoveling for a friend who is off in the tropics this week.  We got about a foot of snow, I'm in heaven!

[Lady Florida.]

The last two weeks of February were a wash. I managed to get in a few things here and there - usually a short walk or yoga video. 

 

My first March exercise was a walk yesterday at our nearby wetlands. It wasn't a cardio walk because when we go there we're looking for wildlife (mostly winter snowbirds) but at least it got me moving.

 

I'm leaving Thursday for a week and a half in Greece to visit a friend. She said we'll be doing some hiking but I don't know if I'll be using MMW because I want to conserve my international data while there. I might just log it after I get back to a place where there's wifi.

 

On 3/1/2023 at 10:25 AM, Brittany1116 said:

I wanted to be consistently working out 5 days a week in March. I am still at 4. I decided that instead of beating myself up for that like I did for years when I wanted to work out but didn't prioritize it, I'll keep being consistent with 4 days until 5 days becomes attainable. 

 

I keep setting my goals a bit high too but like you I decided not to beat myself up when I don't meet them. I just tell myself some exercise is better than none and then work on adding more once I consistently get meet a lower goal.

[knitgrl]

1 hour ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm leaving Thursday for a week and a half in Greece to visit a friend. She said we'll be doing some hiking but I don't know if I'll be using MMW because I want to conserve my international data while there. I might just log it after I get back to a place where there's wifi.

That sounds just lovely right now. Hope you have a wonderful time!

[Toocrazy!!]

I slept horribly last night, which led to bad food choices today, but I did manage to walk about 4 miles before crashing for the evening. 

[Harriet Vane]

@Eos and @Toocrazy!!

I got a chuckle reading your puzzlement about gyrotonics. 😊

Gyrotonics was developed by a ballet dancer who was badly injured and trying to put himself back together. The core of gyrotonics is the action of lengthening and bending/curving/arching the spine, but there are also movements that cover all the other joints in the body as well. It's also fabulous for core strength. There is a pulley tower and a bench. For part of the session, I straddle the bench and push some handles around while either arching or curling my spine. For part of the session I lay on the bench with my feet in the weighted pulleys and I do various leg motions in the air. That part looks like synchronized swimming, lol. There are also options to put my hands or feet in the pulleys, either standing or sitting, to do various stretches and motions (kinda like tai chi???). 

I started doing gyrotonics because a friend became certified to teach it and I was trying to be supportive. I thought it was kinda weird and I didn't really want to go do this at first. Within just a few sessions I came to love it wholeheartedly because of how much it helps with my chronic back pain and other various aches and pains. I've been doing this for about a year now? Might be slightly more. Last semester, when I was struggling with a severe pinched nerve in my neck, gyrotonics was absolutely wonderful in helping iron out the terrible pain in my back. Because it was so helpful, I scheduled extra sessions for a little while. 

I do gyrotonics once a week, and I do normal strength training 2-4 times a week. In between, I take long walks or ride the recumbent bike indoors. This spring I'm trying to add in bicycle riding as well, just for the variety.

[Laura Corin]

Just a quick photo from our walk yesterday. 

Today - yoga and upper body weights. Housework.  I  sorted out, with Husband's help, some things relating to my mum's estate, so I'm doing better.

[Soror]

15 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

The last two weeks of February were a wash. I managed to get in a few things here and there - usually a short walk or yoga video. 

My first March exercise was a walk yesterday at our nearby wetlands. It wasn't a cardio walk because when we go there we're looking for wildlife (mostly winter snowbirds) but at least it got me moving.

I'm leaving Thursday for a week and a half in Greece to visit a friend. She said we'll be doing some hiking but I don't know if I'll be using MMW because I want to conserve my international data while there. I might just log it after I get back to a place where there's wifi.

I keep setting my goals a bit high too but like you I decided not to beat myself up when I don't meet them. I just tell myself some exercise is better than none and then work on adding more once I consistently get meet a lower goal.

Enjoy your visit to Greece!

1 hour ago, Laura Corin said:

Just a quick photo from our walk yesterday. 

Today - yoga and upper body weights. Housework.  I  sorted out, with Husband's help, some things relating to my mum's estate, so I'm doing better.

Thank you for the lovely picture. I'm so glad to hear that your dh could help you settle some of the paperwork.

17 hours ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Thanks for starting the new month, @Ali in OR. The last week has been pretty hectic for me, between PT for the vertigo and starting the new job (which required carpooling with my husband, since I am still deemed not safe to drive) and school stuff . . . I haven't managed much time or energy to exercise, let alone the time and energy to check in here.

All I've been doing daily is walking and/or stationary biking for at least a few minutes in the mornings and evenings. The last couple of days have been better, but sometimes my "walk" has been as little as .5K slowly around the block. I have not approached my usual 15,000-step goal for at least two weeks, and it was spotty for the two weeks prior to that. For this last week, I also have not done any additional exercise/yoga/strength and stretching. 

I do feel better and steadier today--3.5K walk--so I am hoping to start easing back into something more like my usual routine this coming week. It will be a challenge because the second week of onboarding for the new job requires me to be on-site earlier than I had gotten into the habit of settling into my desk at home, which makes for very early mornings if I stick to my usual full walk+exercise+pet care+showering and dressing to leave the house schedule. So, it may take me a couple of weeks to find the groove (assuming I don't hit another vertigo-related setback).

I did go buy new walking shoes today, and they are purple. That should provide a fun incentive to get up and out the door in the morning.

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 438.7 of 500K
Activity Streak: 16

Ya for new shoes. DD got some hokas for Christmas and loves them. I hope you continue to have improvement.

16 hours ago, Harriet Vane said:

@Soror To answer your question about steroids--

My husband did not take steroid pills or gabapentin. He did have a cortizone shot as he just could not move at all. I think it was the right call to make.

Steroids have a magnificent anti-inflammatory effect, which is why they are so popular. At this point, doctors tend to throw steroids at virtually anything and everything, hoping that reducing the inflammation will allow the body to clear the original problem either on its own or through the patient engaging in a therapy such as PT. This can be effective--for example, thank God for steroids in covid treatment. And I also thank God for the steroid shot that reduced my husband's agony when his disc blew.

The problem with steroids is twofold. First, steroids don't actually heal anything--they reduce inflammation. Second and more importantly, steroids are very, very destructive to connective tissue. Repeated cortizone shots in one spot actually exacerbate the damage and shorten the timeline to the next step in medical management (such as surgery). It's quite common for people to do twice a year cortizone shots in a bad knee, for example, until the knee is too far gone and then the next step is knee replacement.

So the concern with any repeated steroid therapy is that it will either mask the true problem without healing it or could make the problem worse in the long run because of the negative effect on connective tissue.

In my husband's case, I believe the steroid shot is what enabled him to be able to participate in any level of physical therapy, so that was the right call to make. He went from not-walking to walking. Thank God.

But since the MRI showed not only the herniated disc but also other spots with disc compression, repeated or continued steroids would make another herniation more likely. If my husband had said he could not cope with therapy or regular movement without more steroids (after initial injection), it's likely we would have chosen surgery--the steroids would never, ever lift the disc fragment off his nerve and they will just make the connective tissue brittle, potentially leading to more problems.

 

So bottom line--consider pushing hard for the MRI since the PT and steroids have had only a short-term effect. You are someone who works very hard at fitness and health, so if those modalities are not working, there is a reason and it's in your best interest to find the reason. (IMHO)

 

You're likely already on top of this, but I'll say it just in case--while you're in process with that, consider taking ibuprofen on a regular schedule to keep inflammation at bay. Using ice on a schedule can also keep inflammation at bay, but it can be counterproductive if it brings more muscle tension, in which case heat may be what you need. My messed-up digestion does not tolerate long-term ibuprofen well, so I have learned to rely on ice 3-4x per day instead on achy joints or heat if the problem is muscle tension. That said, long-term ibuprofen is quite effective at keeping inflammation at bay--it's a gentler modality than steroids imho.

Hope this helps.

Again thank you for the details. This is all new to me. I've been taking ibuprofen regularly for a few weeks, maybe a month now as both you and PT encouraged me to do that. I've been doing 600 mg 3 times a day but was thinking maybe I should switch that to 400 x 4 times a day. I would be taking less overall but getting it more often. I tried the ice at first but think the heat feels better. On the really bad days, I've done 800 mg ibuprofen + 1000 tylenol- I've done that maybe 3-4 times and taken a low dose of hydro twice.

I can move, so I'm not that bad off. My range of motion is however limited- most anything bending over I cannot do- well it hurts too much so I don't do it. Walking is ok most of the time- just slight pain but sometimes it is rough. I try to keep walking to slow, small steps and rambling. The big things are still transitions- getting out of a car. Laying down and getting off the floor. I have had improvement from the worst of it, it's been very slow going, and now I'm wondering if I'll lose more if all the improvement I had was because of steroids. I don't know. It is better but I'm so far from normal right now.

[Laura Corin]

13 minutes ago, Soror said:

Enjoy your visit to Greece!

Thank you for the lovely picture. I'm so glad to hear that your dh could help you settle some of the paperwork.

Ya for new shoes. DD got some hokas for Christmas and loves them. I hope you continue to have improvement.

Again thank you for the details. This is all new to me. I've been taking ibuprofen regularly for a few weeks, maybe a month now as both you and PT encouraged me to do that. I've been doing 600 mg 3 times a day but was thinking maybe I should switch that to 400 x 4 times a day. I would be taking less overall but getting it more often. I tried the ice at first but think the heat feels better. On the really bad days, I've done 800 mg ibuprofen + 1000 tylenol- I've done that maybe 3-4 times and taken a low dose of hydro twice.

I can move, so I'm not that bad off. My range of motion is however limited- most anything bending over I cannot do- well it hurts too much so I don't do it. Walking is ok most of the time- just slight pain but sometimes it is rough. I try to keep walking to slow, small steps and rambling. The big things are still transitions- getting out of a car. Laying down and getting off the floor. I have had improvement from the worst of it, it's been very slow going, and now I'm wondering if I'll lose more if all the improvement I had was because of steroids. I don't know. It is better but I'm so far from normal right now.

If you are finding a particular painkiller isn't helpful, by the way, it may just be that it doesn't work for you.  I was astonished to learn recently how individual this is and that some just don't work at all for some people.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/09/26/140705557/when-it-comes-to-pain-relief-one-size-doesnt-fit-all

[Soror]

32 minutes ago, Laura Corin said:

If you are finding a particular painkiller isn't helpful, by the way, it may just be that it doesn't work for you.  I was astonished to learn recently how individual this is and that some just don't work at all for some people.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/09/26/140705557/when-it-comes-to-pain-relief-one-size-doesnt-fit-all

Thank you for the article. The ibuprofen has worked the best of what I have tried. The tylenol alone didn't do much (nor did the Aleve but it gave me wicked heartburn). Tylenol with the Ibuprofen seems to increase the effectiveness of the ibuprofen when it's not enough- but perhaps that is in my head? Honestly, the two times the pain has gotten really bad and I've taken the hydros I've not noticed that it really helps the pain so much as it knocks me out so I'm not feeling it. It is obviously not a choice for regular relief. I've got no clue how much the gabapentin is helping. I take it at night, except for one night when I was on the steroids I still have pain all night, every night. I have one more week of my gabapentin scrip. 

Last night was really bad. I could hardly get into bed at all (like I eventually crawled onto bed and then flattened on my belly and rolled over and that still yet hurt but was bearable) but then this morning I woke up and it wasn't bad at all. Better than it has been in a week. I don't understand it.

[Jenny in Florida]

Went out and did some errands with my husband yesterday, then spent the rest of the day doing laundry, cooking and packing up lunches for the coming week and finishing off the week's school assignments. By the time I checked all of those off the list, it was 9:30 and I was fried. So, no additional walking, biking or exercising.

I felt pretty good this morning, so started with a little over 4K of walking, followed by about 15 minutes of highly casual, slow-paced lifting of dumbbells in no particular sequence while I chatted with my husband. 

More cooking today, because our son came over for lunch. The bonus is that I had enough leftovers to send our son home with a couple of servings of pasta and pack up one lunch-sized portion for each of us to stow in the freezer. Combined with the meals I made yesterday, that gives us almost enough lunches to see us through two weeks. 

But I am now tired and planning to plant myself on the lounge on the patio and do nothing worthwhile for at least a couple of hours.

Maybe more walking and/or biking later?

 

Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 442.8 of 500K
Activity Streak: 17

[Eos]

7 hours ago, Soror said:

Last night was really bad. I could hardly get into bed at all (like I eventually crawled onto bed and then flattened on my belly and rolled over and that still yet hurt but was bearable) but then this morning I woke up and it wasn't bad at all. Better than it has been in a week. I don't understand it.

I'm so sorry.  

[Ali in OR]

All right, I've finished off Adriene's 30 Days of Yoga. And it took me about twice that long.

[mommyoffive]

On 3/4/2023 at 3:29 PM, Lady Florida. said:

The last two weeks of February were a wash. I managed to get in a few things here and there - usually a short walk or yoga video. 

 

My first March exercise was a walk yesterday at our nearby wetlands. It wasn't a cardio walk because when we go there we're looking for wildlife (mostly winter snowbirds) but at least it got me moving.

 

I'm leaving Thursday for a week and a half in Greece to visit a friend. She said we'll be doing some hiking but I don't know if I'll be using MMW because I want to conserve my international data while there. I might just log it after I get back to a place where there's wifi.

 

 

I keep setting my goals a bit high too but like you I decided not to beat myself up when I don't meet them. I just tell myself some exercise is better than none and then work on adding more once I consistently get meet a lower goal.

Have a great time.  Where in Greece are you going?  We were there before Covid and it is so beautiful.  Someday I hope to go back.

[Toocrazy!!]

I did my 4 mile walk and some at home strength training. I actually like working with weights a lot more than I thought I would. I’m considering joining a gym so I can “lift heavy things” 🙂 I might be past my current home dumbbell workout.  I’m sure there are other good workouts I can learn to do at home too. I’d like to work towards a pull-up. But I can’t even hang yet. It hurts my shoulder and I’m too weak. So, lots of room for improvement. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Toocrazy!!

[wintermom]

@Soror I'm so sorry that your pain is affecting your life and sleep so much. I really hope the xray and/or MRI provides some answers to help you heal.

@Laura Corin Beautiful photo! Thanks for sharing. I think there is some snow missing from the scenery, though. I can send you some from here, as there are snow banks 6 - 10 feet high along the streets. It's crazy the amount of snow we've had recently!

I survived my 8 hours of tennis in 3 days streak. I'm never going to do that again. Yesterday I played from 3-5 pm and then 6-8pm. My calf muscles started cramping at 7:45, but I managed to finish the match. Fortunately, my tennis elbow pain hasn't come back, and it's just my legs that are sore. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by wintermom

[Harriet Vane]

I took a walk on the lane next to the house and then followed up with a half an hour on the recumbent bike.

[Laura Corin]

5 hours ago, wintermom said:

@Soror I'm so sorry that your pain is affecting your life and sleep so much. I really hope the xray and/or MRI provides some answers to help you heal.

@Laura Corin Beautiful photo! Thanks for sharing. I think there is some snow missing from the scenery, though. I can send you some from here, as there are snow banks 6 - 10 feet high along the streets. It's crazy the amount of snow we've had recently!

I survived my 8 hours of tennis in 3 days streak. I'm never going to do that again. Yesterday I played from 3-5 pm and then 6-8pm. My calf muscles started cramping at 7:45, but I managed to finish the match. Fortunately, my tennis elbow pain hasn't come back, and it's just my legs that are sore. 

There was a wee bit of snow on the top of one peak. We are due for a little more at sea level this week.

[Eos]

Morning routine and a 6 mile walk in glorious sunshine.  I saw otter slides going down a steep hill then disappearing into a culvert, reappearing on the other side of the road and continuing on in the snow.  Otters living their best lives!