Dear Friends

[iheartcats]

I'm so happy for you, Ernie. Such wonderful news.

[corina]

i've tried rehab too and was so very excited to start it. i couldn't do the cardiac but did walking exercises, "swimming", riding my wheelchair (wheeling it myself) and muscle exercises (while flat on bed). i was able to build up walking from 40 secs with 10 secs per week (exercising 3 times a day) to 6 or 7 minutes (can't remember exactly). the wheeling my wheelchair wasn't succesful so i swapped my scooter for an electric wheelchair (which made me REALLY happy ) and "swimming" was floating around in the pool with floaters. as soon as i tried to swim using my legs i got bad pain on my chest and bradycardia which kept me in bed for some time. also, i fainted every thime my legs got down in the water, which was very scaring but made me very aware not EVER to get into a pool on my own.

all in all it was very much worth trying eventhough it didn't bring me what i had hoped for (and to be honest: i really thought i would do better), what i gained was lots more insight in how to live my dysautonomia life to the fullest.

knowing my limitations and dealing with them (and yes i do keep pushing myself), finding solutions for what i really want/need gave me lots more confidence and more peace with my (dysautonomia) self.

who ever has the possibility to join a rehab program: do give it a try it's very much worth it!!! i'm sure that i'll try again in a few years time (IF given the opportunity!), i'll NEVER give up!!!

glad it helped you to get where you are now ernie, wishing you lots of love and a bright future!!!

corina

[Ernie]

Hi,

I forgot to say that when I started rehab I took depo provera for 18 months to stop my periods and it gave me a better chance to improve myself.

[carinara]

such wonderful news .Thanks for sharing.

[mkoven]

just wanted to add that those who are interested in cardiac rehab should do a search, as there have been posts about this. I was in bad shape two years ago and was rxed rehab. At first I freaked everyone out, as my bp would plummet when I'd exert, leading everyone to suspect some serious heart disease. After getting cleared for that, I started rehab again. It was trial and error. I learned that I can't bike, without dropping my bp, but I can walk on an incline. The extra squeezing in my calves is key--something I don't get on the bike. If it's a bad day, I wear extra compression (40-50, plus a corset). My exercise tolerance and ans symptoms have really improved and I think rehab helped. (I also take florinef and wear a neck brace). For now (no jinxing!), the ans symptoms really only bother me around my period. I'm not normal, by any account, but stable and relatively functional. I know we are all different, with different underlying mechanisms, and it would sure be nice to see more published research on this. I had to teach the rehab people, as they'd never had anyone like me before with something other than plain vanilla heart disease.

[Rachel]

It is good to hear from you, Ernie. Thanks for coming back to give us an update. I'm glad that you are doing well!

Rachel

[Ernie]

Hi,

Thank you all for your nice comments and support.

I will keep you posted once in a while.

I am very busy because we are renovating the whole house to sell it and I still have 2 dancing classes per week.

Love