Do You Exercise When You Are Sick, So You Don't Lose What You've Gained?

[looneymom]

It has been over a year since my son has been diagnoised with POTS. He was bedridden for several months and has been up and down since. The last 3 months of last year, he was able to walk and get around to take care of basic needs. However, when I would try to take him out for a day of fun, he might be able to walk for 10 minutes and then would need to use a wheel chair beecause he legs would start to shake. The wheel chair he has is manual. However, he could only push himself for two or three minutes before he wore himself out.

In January, he went through two rounds of flu and is not able to walk. He can use his wheel chair but when he stands up, he just shakes. The first flu he had was flu B and then he had Flu A. Flu A was much harder to deal with because it affects the lung and chest. When people have POTS, do they still have to do cardio exercise to maintain upper core muscle strength? Does this mean you need to ride a stationary bike, when your chest is inflammed and you are coughing your head off? For those that have had POTS for many years, Does this go away with continued exercise and do you have to exercise when you are sick with an upper respitory illness?

I am in the process with insurance to get a power assist wheel chair for him. Our physical therapist and cardioligist think this may be the best option for him since we don't know how long his body is going to keep growing. I also realize,that because of his age (12 going on 13 soon) this is also playing with POTS. I'm really trying to figure out how far to push the exercise duing a major illness. It's frustrating to see my son lose the ability to stand/walk and not be able to maintain upper core body strength after an illness. How far do you push your exercise during illness?

[badhbt]

I believe upper core body strength does not come from doing cardio. It is more from weight lifting or core exercises. Personall,y I don't think it is a good idea to push your already comprimised body with cardio. Doing cardio can actually be a stressor on the body, and if your immune system is already busy fighting a respitory infection...then not good.

Can he do light weight exercises? Like dumbell curls, over head presses..etc? He could also do leg exercises to keep those muscles strong too.

[lejones1]

I was only diagnosed with POTS a few months ago, so I don't have a lot of experience with this, but I have weak lungs and have had lots of bronchitis, so I do know a bit about respiratory infections! And I really don't think your son should be exercising if he's still sick. I stubbornly tried this a few times and it never went well - the closest I've ever come to passing out was not from POTS but from trying to jog while I had bronchitis.

I agree with badhdt, cardio could suppress his immune system and slow his recovery. Even in a healthy person, it can take the lungs a few weeks to fully recover after the flu. I think the risk of making him worse is greater than the risk of him losing progress.

It sounds like gentle strength training might be his best bet, if he can handle that right now.

[Kellysavedbygrace]

I do keep exercising when I am symptomatic but I slow it down a bit unless I'm in a bad crash and can't get out of bed and then I just miss a workout. Keeping up the routine of intense exercise 3/4x a week has been key for my improvement this year- although I crash often so it is not without problems.

I suspect you are asking something different- as in sick, fighting a respiratory infection. I would not try to exercise through that if it were me. But this might be something to ask your doctor or exercise therapist about.

[AussieOI]

That is a tough situation as you are having to gauge how excercise someone else ie your son should do and I am sure you want to get the balance just right. I would get advice from the doctors & the physical therapist. Maybe he could do really simple stuff like stretching excercises, leg raises etc lying on the floor etc

Cardio could be too much but maybe some gentle type stuff could be helpful. Swimming is another excercise that is good. I am not suggesting he do loads of laps but even playing in the water is quite relaxing and he can do some stretching there - I suppose though it depends on the weather in your area - this might be a summer activity when he is a bit stronger.

It's really good that you are on this forum and seeking answers/advice looneymom - I hope your son sees some improvement soon.