To Exercise Or Not To Exercise?...

[Brye]

My new cardiologist had me take a stress test last week. It was on a stationary bike. As long as there was no resistance my hr increased to 125, but as soon as it upped the resistence it shot to 198. He told me that it came down like a normal heart and he feels I should be able to start using our stationary bike, but with no resistence. I asked him about doing some muscle building exercises and he told me no. That it would probably cause adrenaline surges and make my POTs worse. Has anyone tried muscle building exercies with adverse reactions?

Absolutely is my vote on the exercise. Not sure it's helped my POTS symptoms but I'm so much stronger than I was. It wears me out but I now have an easier time climbing stairs and carrying my kids around.

I'm in a cardiac rehab maintenance program. I do a stationary bike and my HR jumps as well with Increased resistance on the recumbant bike. I definitely do muscle building exercises, especially leg ones. It's supposed to improve blood flow back to the heart if you can get your muscles stronger. That's the theory I'm going with anyway. Doesn't give me adrenaline surges. Maybe because I'm too tired from the rest of my workouts!!

Brye

[comfortzone]

I exercise just to keep life interesting lOL.... I have the worst labile blood pressure of anyone I've read about here so far - and meds only make issues worse..... I've this week taken Bystolic 2.5mg, plus dyazide, plus 320mg of Diovan to bring my pressure down from 160's over the 110's..... Then dutifully I crash where tonight it's 83/53 with a heart rate in the low 50's. My normal hr is avg. of 100. So the meds and the lability of the blood pressure have left me with exercise and fluids to try to help.

Standing for 4 hours at work - has me compelled to lie down or else I'll faint and puke - today I almost had to pull off the road driving home... So I layed down and rather than get depressed I did just what I did yesterday and that was to exercise in spite of how low my b/p was because exercise seems to be about the only thing to bring it back up. I skipped the dyazide today and tomorrow will stop the Bystolic again until I get high b/p again and the head ache that goes with it -- and we will begin again -- Isn't that crazy?

Anyway - I get super painful toes and feet from neuropathy of unknown origin and my body pain episodes come after exercise not during.....so I just do my hour long walk and then hit the bed with a couple pain pills. Or I'll do the recumbent bike for an hour at a health club. Or do my physical therapy routine for an hour and a half and then lay down. It's a rather poor quality of life truly to have to be made to do activity and then lay in bed alternately every single day of your life......But things could be so much worse I know.

So in the end I choose exercise because I get too frightened not too - it makes me feel alive. It causes pain - sure - but I must lose weight to gain any health advantage I can so I just endure it. I think they say it helps your mind too - and I've got a horrible memory etc... It helps mood too they say but I'd be hard pressed to say how lol....

I hope Mayo clinic can figure out what the heck is going on with me next week - and give me some treatment options. I have to have an MRI tomorrow in the morning of my brain with and without contrast to confirm or rule out an old lacunar stroke....

They say for every hour you exercise you (theoretically at least) add two hours of life or longevity to your life........ So maybe that's why I deal with the discomfort as well....

At least I'm not as tachy as I was before the bystolic --- I used to get this bounding heart rate that pounded for hours and hours -- sometimes if I could sleep a bit I'd wake up and have things lock back into a normal rhythm and force of beating........so sweet! Anyway that's all I know about exercise - it helps me lose weight, helps health, makes me miserable, but raises my blood pressure when it's too low.

[TXPOTS]

[i have had no adverse effects to adding weight resistance, though I was very, very weak at first and started with light weights. I also started slowly on the recumbent bike and progressed to cross training and jogging. I have found the rowing machine very comfortable, probably because I am in a seated position. I should have graduated from the recumbent bike to the rower rather than going straight to jogging.

[nmorgen]

We also have a rowing machine, so if the bike gets too easy I might try using it. I'm only starting with 10 min 3x a week. I also have to walk everywhere(grocery store, train station, etc..) so I don't want to over due it at first.

nowwhat!, I also have very labile blood pressure. My systolic doesn't get as high as yours but my diastolic goes nuts(115-75). When I'm watching college football my diastolic has jumped to 120.

[Tuesday]

I try to go to the gym a lot, and do a lot of sports. But, sometimes it makes me feel better, and sometimes it makes me feel worse.

I think it's all just up in the air. There is no way to tell when I'm going to feel good and when I'm going to feel bad.

In the end I try to exercise when I can, and rest when I feel like I need to. I don't stress about not pushing myself.

[erik]

Ditto, Tuesday! Same body response, pretty much unpredictable (and it is lousy to be so unreliable).

If I go very "deconditioned" then overall things get worse and this lasts a long time, so I do what I can and take the hit in order to prevent a total slide. At the same time, exercise can (sometimes) bring on aggravated symptoms but these are usually relatively short term. So my best guess conclusion is that keeping up something is better overall even though it never goes smoothly.

[ladyt]

Hi to u all

i so miss really exersising. But its been many many years ago, not in this century actually. Last time did some real exersising was 1999. THat year I really did my best, and during the year my conditon ust declined, even when working out several times a week, bicking and walking every day etc etc..

Since then I have tryed to do my best. At times I have been more og less bedridden, and most of the time recliner chair ridden. I think of all movement as exersising now, to build my selfesteem .. I wish i had a more fitt bodie, like i once had. I am all gely now. Cant say I like it. But worst of all is having this bodie that doesnt work.

But I have a recumbent bike. when I can I do a min or two on it. More than 3 min I gett sick, so no piont then. Cause if I have to lay down for a day or tre well that getts less movment. And I am ust starting once a week in the heated pool. I wish I could go more regulary, but its a long waiting list. But now i have a few times.

I cant really swim or any thing much whit out getting really ill (fainting and stuff). But its better than nothing i gess. I dont know why my exersis intoleranse is so bad, i really wish i did so I could fix it.

But thats why I have taken the every movement is exersise route... I ust whish i could move some more than I am abel to

best of luck to u all...

[ramakentesh]

In my experience exercise did not effect my propensity to relapse and when i relapsed because I was already fit I found it harder to recondition if you get me.