I was told by most on here that NO ONE SHOULD DO AEROBICS WHEN THEY HAVE LYME. . .
Doctor P in CT, said that is very false and that it is quite the opposite.
Also, how long will I have to take ANTIOBIOS, will I ever be cured? Or, is this lifelong?
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Dr. B recommends in his guidelines not to do aerobics during Lyme treatment. Not all doctors or patients agree with everything Dr. B says. But that is where it comes from.
I personally think exercise of some form is important, and it varies for each person which type is best.
As for your other question, there isn't an easy answer. Everybody responds differently to antibiotics. Many believe that after chronic Lyme you can't be cured, but you can go into remission. Others believe you can be cured.
Maybe if we had more research...
Posted by mbroderick (Member # 5220) on :
Aniek is right! Exercise adds oxygen to your blood and tissues. Lyme hates that! We need to do everything possible to make those buggers uncomfortable!
I would think that strengthening exercise would also be helpful. My arms and legs have lost so much strength but I'm just not too inclined to do anything about it because it always hurts too much. Walking fast, if you can, should be a good thing to do.
Posted by Carol B (Member # 9110) on :
I was told by my LLMD to do light walking-on a daily basis-nothing strenuous at this point. Problem is "light walking" feels strenuous sometimes. Guess it's all relative.Heck I flunked adaptive Yoga, not that you can flunk Yoga, I just didn't do very well.
I'm happy keeping with the light walking though because I have a heart condition that caused me a trip to the ER where they had to flat line me to get it back to norm, and I was still conscious! I don't feel like repeating it. Although I felt very Euphoric afterwards.
Thankful for a Beating heart in Balto, Carol
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I think LIGHT aerobics are OK for those able to do so. Light walking is great!!
I've been off abx since last Sept and I was treated for 4 1/2 yrs after being ill off and on for 42 yrs prior. Dxd 6 yrs ago. Confused? Me too! Posted by AP (Member # 8430) on :
Obviously something that varies patient to patient and doctor to doctor.
I, personally, was not allowed to do anything but walk. Even now that I'm off antibiotics, I am only allowed to be up and around for 2-3 hours a day.
Posted by psano (Member # 7785) on :
As you get better, you can increase your activity. I'm now up to very light aerobics for very short periods while I'm exercising. Last August I was barely able to walk from my bedroom to the kitchen and back.
Patti
Posted by lymednva (Member # 9098) on :
I have bad post-exertional malaise, that sometimes doesn't show up for two days after I do something.
Until that improves I have to avoid anything that approaches aerobic. I can't even walk too far or I am in bed for days. Posted by I Have Lyme Etc (Member # 7439) on :
Years ago when my fight with this just started my LLMD at the time advised me to do some light excersize to which I always said I was too tired and it hurt too much when I tried so I didn't...15 yrs later looking back now, I wish I had pushed myself to do a little something instead of "thinking I would wait until I was all better" cause now i can't excersize at all and my muscles are pretty much wasted at this point.. So my advice, and I'm not a doctor would be too do something if you can, no matter how small it may be...
Posted by lymie tony z (Member # 5130) on :
I personally would use my bicycle for exercise...due to really bad and now prosthetic knees...
I believe that aerobics is not recommended for that reason...too much stress on the joints, especially the knees.
I also have the fatigue and am working on trying to get something other than provigil cuz that only made my mind more awake.
I also have a LOT of pain whenever I do stuff...
Now that I have been sedentary for over a year and a half I developed diabetesII.
THAT is the most insidious thing about this disease...it only wants you alive to feed off of you...
and keeping you sedantary prevents your cells from utilizing insulin efficiently. In this way I believe it perpetuates its debilitating affects on all we chonic lymies.
Fat cells are way worse than muscle cells...and it may well be the lyme likes fat/high glucose cells better than muscle cells...
That's why it gives us fatiguue...and pain whenever we excercise.
So I am going to strongly request SOMETHING to get me off my dead a$$.
even if it hurts...
I would bike for half hour then sit in hot tub for half an hour. This was either on or off abx...mostly on. I belive it helped.
I'm still chronically infected however and have been many years... Will you be cured? Only time will tell... Not enough research is the main bugaboo here.
The jigsaw coinfection synergy of TBD's I believe is the culprit. The way to treat we chronic lymies has not been adequately proven...
I hypothesized to myself a few years ago that a tri-cross approach would be beneficial...
That is...an abx/anti-viral/anti-fungal regimen would be the way to go... Possibly with the aid of HBOT...and possibly the introduction of the intra cellular hyperthermial approach...
Geez...SOMETHING has to work....
But who knows...I can't convince ANY doctor YET that this approach may be efficatious.
zman
Posted by timaca (Member # 6911) on :
I force myself to exercise...but I can only do a mere shawdow of what I used to do. I used to hike over 13,000 ft mountain passes....I can now walk on level ground slowly. But, I do that. I also swim slowly, and do some weights and sit ups. I look very fit. I am not near what I used to be. But, I force myself to do it, even if I am dead tired, which I am most of the time. I think mild exercise is good for you. And swimming, is easiest for I am horizontal, which takes less energy than standing up. Plus, the feeling of water all around me distracts me from all the pain my body feels everywhere.
No one can tell you how long you will need to take antibiotics or if you will ever be cured.
But, you can keep the hope that you can get better. People do.
Blessings to you....Timaca
Posted by davidx (Member # 8326) on :
It seems like it varies from person to person but I would think some sort of exercise is essential to feeling better. Whatever you can do is probably good.
As for how long on antibiotics? Wow..that's the million dollar question and I would love to know the answer to that one. I wish there was a set formula to getting well.
-David
Posted by LostCityAgent (Member # 9050) on :
Thanks friends.
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
The question about aerobics being good or bad -- the answer is it depends on multiple factors.
Don't exactly know the answer to this, but I have read that Babesia likes oxygen and this is why some people say not to do hyperbaric if you have Babesia. Aerobic exercise does increase oxygen -- is it enough to feed Babesia -- I don't really know. Most people with bad cases of Babesia are usually too weak for this to be an issue anyway.
The 2nd issue is how long have you been ill and sedentary? The way Dr B explained it to hubby is that Lyme especially weakens the tissues, and tendons and ligaments and joints. That is why he suggests starting with strengthening exercises first before doing aerobics. He also suggests a cardiac stress test before beginning any exercise regimen.
Unfortunately no one -- probably not even your LLMD -- can really predict how long you will remain sick. Some people recover much more quickly than others. The main clues are probably the strength of your immune system and also the number of infections you have. Of course it is not quite that simple.
Bea Seibert
Posted by LostCityAgent (Member # 9050) on :
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Plus, the feeling of water all around me distracts me from all the pain my body feels everywhere.