Topic: Cardiologist Says Exercise Key to TBI Remission - Solely
seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I recently saw a cardiologist who seemed to know of and acknowledge TBIs.
He was extremely nice and compassionate. I went there for blood pressure help as my numbers run an average of 150/90-95 and I've spiked higher readings of 170/100 when moving. Basically all hell breaks loose often when I move around. He said that's due to weight issues and said no POTS for sure. Hmmmm.. My pulse doesn't move a whole lot. It's just BP-related.
What surprised me the most is what he said about Lyme/Babesia.
He said he could 'cure' my issues with one thing. He said if I commit to an exercise program, I will beat TBIs w/o any other treatments basically. He said do SOME cardio exercise daily for 3 months and see him. Even if it's little as walking 100 ft. He said when I'm exhausted, lay down, rest and then when recovered, try again.
He said it'll bring my immune system back and it will destroy Lyme/Babesia. He said w/o this I'll basically live a miserable life and never win.
He was not supportive of pharmaceuticals and said they are bad for us. He's a conventional heart doctor so I was surprised.
Any thoughts? No new meds for my blood pressure, no beta blockers. Basically lose weight and your issues will disappear.
Didn't Dr. B say patients did put it into remission with just this? However, I don't know if they had WA-1 too!
From a personal side, he may have been the nicest physician I've come across in years. Nice doesn't mean the right treatment though. That's my concern. For some reason, I sure have a hard time getting docs to address my BP numbers. lol.
[ 03-06-2011, 10:49 AM: Message edited by: seekhelp ]
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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BoxerMom
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posted
I'm glad he was nice, and at least he believed you had TBIs.
I do think exercise is key to attaining and sustaining remission. But for any doc to say that exercise alone will get rid of these infections is ignorant and misleading at best and incompetent and cruel at worst.
A very expensive study from the UK has just concluded that exercise and coping mechanisms are the keys to managing ME/CFS/XMRV. The XMRV patients are up in arms!
Their tax dollars paid for this ridiculous study, and the presence of multiple confounding infections was completely ignored. Just another example of "blame the victim" medicine. "If you would just exercise and practice coping strategies, you would recover." What a lot of cr*p!
To make matters worse, in the case of XMRV, exercise is contraindicated. The hallmark of XMRV is post-exertional malaise. Exercise ruins these people.
Now doctors have another misguided, outdated and arrogant research study to pull out when they dismiss and infantalize their patients!
The "lose weight" BS is pulled on women all the time. You could show up with a broken arm, and you would be told that all your problems would go away if you lost weight. It is lazy and sexist. (I know you're a guy. I'm just sayin'.)
All of these stealth infections, their symptoms and their abilities to persist in spite of aggressive treatment are well-documented. The most experienced Lyme docs all point to multi-faceted treatment protocols as the way to regain health. Most protocols involve treating the infections, correcting imbalances, supporting the body, and following diet and exercise regimens.
So, any doc who would say that all patients can get well with exercise alone is misinformed, not current on research, and blaming patients for their inabilities to recover.
Don't buy it.
You will need to exercise regularly at some point, but any heart doc should know you need to get your BP under control first.
BoxerMom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 25251
posted
As far as anecdotal cases in which people recovered with exercise alone, I totally believe in them.
I think there is an example on Better Health Guy.
I know several natural medicine providers who have treated their own cancers with herbs, supps, diet and exercise. They change their entire body terrains. They often employ mind/body techniques, as well.
But these are unique cases in which people were able to fully comply with radical lifestyle changes. I also think the mind/body connection is very strong here, because these patients BELIEVE that their approaches will work. Plus, they have the energy to commit to them.
I think if I won a million dollars, I would have a better chance of attaining remission this way. It would take 100% of my attention. My reality is that I don't have 100% of my attention to put to my own recovery.
posted
Sorry guys & gals, I need a glossary to understand this:
Is there a glossary on this site?
POTS? TBI (traumatic brain injury?
MRXV?
Posts: 81 | From Rhode Island | Registered: Nov 2010
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gwb
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posted
Coming from a cardiologist I find what he says pretty impressive. Not saying he's 100% right, but exercise is a key part of getting better. Dr. B (I believe) says without exercise we will not get better.
sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
If only the answer could be so simple, exercise and eat right.
These things are important, our diet and activity does impact our health and well being. But so does heredity, infections, and environmental toxins.
I have skinny physically fit relatives with heart disease, some that have even died young because of this (my 52yr old uncle died unexpectedly last week from a heart attack). I also have obese relatives with no heart disease, some that are alive well into their 90's.
Seek, your symptoms may be worsened by your weight and lack of physical activity but I'm doubtful that they are the root cause. From what I can tell, it sounds like you want to do things, to be more active with your family but your symptoms are holding you back.
Would your cardiologist or PCP give you a referral for physical therapy? If you are not used to exercising it might be good to have a professional help you in the beginning. Also be aware that pushing your body too hard while you are sick can suppress your immune system and exacerbate heart problems. So be gentle with yourself, safe, and smart. Work to strengthen your body but don't ignore your heart symptoms.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
I wish that were true too.. Coming from a guy who was in the gym regularly 3-4 times a week. Even through all this, I'm still in decent shape, coming down from 190lbs with a body fat under 12%.
Posts: 829 | From MD | Registered: Dec 2009
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TerryK
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posted
If it were true, I would not be sick now. I had lyme for years but I didn't know it. When I had the big relapse that took me into disability I was exercising 3-4 X's a week (aerobics for an hour) and I had a very good diet and was at a great weight. I couldn't believe it when I got so sick and others who had horrible habits were seemingly healthy.
Many of us are very deconditioned and in addition we have post exertional malaise so exercising till you drop is a very bad idea. Then there are those of us with orthostatic hypotension. One can have a very hard time when stressing the autonomic nervous system. The symptoms can be very hard to bear when exacerbated with too much exercise.
It is the illness that causes the weight gain for most of us, not the other way around. According to one book I read, 80% of lyme patients are overweight or obese. For some of us it can be nearly impossible to lose weight with untreated lyme and co-infections.
If this guy had lyme himself, he would quickly realize that his advice is harmful.
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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gwb
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posted
I think the doctor obviously doesn't have a good understanding of this disease. However, he isn't far off on his point about exercising, and that's something I think we should not disregard out of hand.
Dr Burrascano writes:
"Despite antibiotic treatments, patients will NOT return to normal unless they exercise! This is because in most cases the chronic Lyme patient is deconditioned. More importantly, a properly executed exercise program becomes part of the treatment, as it can actually go beyond the antibiotics in helping to clear the symptoms and to maintain a remission."
Obviously there are exceptions to this, but many people here, me included, can say that exercise helped them to get better.
posted
Honestly, he may have been nice, but he doesn't seem like he helped at all.
He didn't give you meds to control your bp and he thinks exercise will solve your problem.
I don't doubt exercise can be helpful for some people. Personally, I couldn't stand watching my daughter collapse when she tried and didn't have the heart or courage to insist she keep on, when she said she couldn't. She had very low blood pressure at the time and tachycardia. She could barely walk. I was told by doctors in the hospital that lack of exercise was her problem, too. She is thin and before she got sick was athletic and active.
Even without exercising or addressing her POTS, her heart rate has come down, probably due to abx. She is also able to get up and move around a lot more now. She probably could and should do some exercise now.
It sounds like he thinks he is addressing the cause of the symptom but why doesn't he at least give you something to control your symptoms while you exercise?
I understand why it is hard to get Lyme treatment, but I can't understand why it is so hard for you to get meds for high blood pressure. It seems like even mainstream doctors would think that is negligent.
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nefferdun
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There simply is no simple cure. This is not diabetes. We can't just exercise, lose weight, eat healthy and expect to be cured.
There are things I have to do everyday which require some exercise. It is good for me but it is not going to cure me.
There were times I was nearly in remission and I exercised a lot. I relapsed anyway.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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posted
So is it just lyme that responds to this kind of "treatment," or does he think all infectious diseases will miraculously go away with diet and exercise regimes? AIDS? TB?
How about cancer, heart disease, etc, etc?
If this is true, why do we need doctors?
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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seekhelp
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posted
Don't know Lou. I didn't ask him those questions.
I believe there is truth to some of it, but what bothers me is this illness FLOORED me at the time of my life I was in peak condition. Exercise didn't stop it.
I challenge anyone to deal with these symptoms daily and pull away all pharmaceutical/herbal help and say just exercise. 99.99% of people would fall into a black hole. It's too powerful. Furthermore, I challenge them to try to hold their career down while suffering and then tell me this logic will work.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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Jamers
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posted
gwb--What type of exercise are you doing. Burrascano says no cardio. So do you just lift weights, do squats, push ups ect...
-------------------- Diagnosed Pos. Lyme Nov. 17, 2010, Igx. Pos. Babesia Duncani March 2011, Igx. Clinical diagnosis for Bartonella Posts: 1127 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2010
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posted
I spent the last 4 summers exercising in my yard...digging, planting, mulching, sweating...and though I do believe I feel better in the summer than I do in the winter (when I'm less active), I'm hardly cured. Wish I could give this cardiologist this bug for a month so that he'd eat his words.
-------------------- Urge Congress on EMF Safety, FCC Must Change Exposure Guidelines for Microwave Radiation Exposure: http://tinyurl.com/2cjq54y Halt Universal Broadband, A Public Health Hazard: http://tinyurl.com/3x7xrmq Posts: 495 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2010
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jackie51
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Reminds me of the way they used to treat depression. Telling people to "snap out of it."
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randibear
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posted
hmm, don't think i agree with him. last summer i was walking over a mile a day.
sure it helped with sleeping at night and keeping my weight down but lyme symptoms? nope...
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Haley
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posted
I have always noticed that exercise makes me feel so much better. I personally believe it has to do with the intake of oxygen. My experience with exercise almost lead me to do HBOT as HBOT will increase your oxygen by about 20% or more. Oxygen kills the bug.
I do not think that exercise alone will cure Lyme. I tend to exercise after I take my meds. I try to get out at least 30 minutes a day and take in deep breaths and get the blood pumping as much as possible.
This is my theory from personal experience.
Posts: 2232 | From USA | Registered: Aug 2009
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posted
Without a doubt this discussion has had an impact on me.
I am in terrible physical condition after being a lifelong athlete, always in shape, to being up 35 lbs, at least, and usually too lethargic to exercise.
But this reminds me of something the novelist Joyce Carol Oats said about writing every day: to paraphrase, You just got to make yourself get up and do it every day, even on the days you don't feel like it and especially on the days you don't feel like it because you will have many reasons not to do it. You must have a "no excuses accepted" attitude and be brutal with yourself when it come to keeping to your discipline.
As our most prolific living novelist, as Oates is and has been, I guess she takes her own advice
But for exercise, the big thing is to begin slowly and don't hurt yourself, for then it's very hard to heal with the set-back and begin again.
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sixgoofykids
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11141
posted
It *can* be true and certainly has been true for me until I got more infections with a new bite about 8 years ago.
Up until 8 years ago, I kept myself healthy with exercise and diet even though I had Lyme and probably bartonella at the time. The illness had disabled me with fatigue and fibromyalgia to the point where I could not work (three times it did this and it lasted months), and I kept myself healthy with exercise and diet. Also SUNSHINE!!
When I got bitten again I was working out 4-8 hours per week. I was in good shape and eating healthy ... juicing, lots of raw foods, very healthy diet.
As you know, that bite made me REALLY sick.
I do not think I would have recovered as I did without exercise though. No way. It was a HUGE part of my "treatment." Even when I was "bedridden", my husband would push me to exercise. Sometimes it was a short walk. Sometimes I'd get dressed, go to the gym, walk up the stairs at the gym, lift weights for 10 minutes, then go home.
I increased what I did as I got better, never adding cardio until my stamina allowed.
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Razzle
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posted
Magnesium supplements, Garlic, and Cayenne pepper can all help manage blood pressure, without the side-effects of the rx meds.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4167 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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Lymeorsomething
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posted
I've always forced myself to keep to my exercise schedule even at my sickest but i'm still not well yet. That's only one puzzle piece.
However, I will say that being in shape from the get-go lessened the effects of this disease in my estimation. It could have been much worse. I don't think that I could have kept my job had I not been such an exerciser from the beginning.
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Nice doesn't mean the right treatment though. That's my concern. For some reason, I sure have a hard time getting docs to address my BP numbers. lol.
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