Sore legs when walking a few blocks

Hi All, Happy Chinese New Year (I wrote books about such things) After the installation of my pacemaker, my cardiologist told me to hold off on exercise. Nothing strenuous and above all don't lift heavy things.

Before the AFib and Pacemaker, I was at the gym 3 times a week with a trainer. Now I am a blob. During the Afib I was in hospital for 6 months trying different meds to slow my heart. As a result my muscles have melted. Now it hurts to walk.

Has anyone had a similar experience and come out the other side with more stamina? I wonder about a treadmill or some other mild exercise to get started.
Thanks, Suzanne White

2 Comments

Been there, done that

by Theknotguy - 2016-02-08 08:02:37

You can read the messy details by using the search function on the site and finding my first post if you want to. So, yep, been there, done that. Got the t-shirt and the hat.

It took two people to help me stand up after I got moved out of ICU onto a regular floor. Maximum walking distance was 30 feet at first. Major accomplishment when I could walk 100 feet. Finally was able to do 300 feet and they let me go to the rest home. Spent the next six weeks in rehab only to have a major relapse. Back in hospital. Then they let me go home.

Would do 800 feet in the AM. Take an hour nap. 800 feet in PM, take an hour nap. Go upstairs once at night. Go downstairs once in the morning. Gradually worked myself up to a mile. I had a month and was able to do over a mile at the end of the month.

If at all possible, see if your doctor and your health insurance will let you take cardio rehab. It was prescribed for me by my doctor(s) so the medical insurance went along with it. At cardio rehab you're under the watchful eye of trained nurses. They monitor you, make sure you don't do something stupid, and encourage you to expand your horizons. After cardio rehab I took another stress test and attained the level of "typical fit adult". It was a good starting point. I was also able to take some physical rehab during that time too.

Time from initial entry into hospital to "typically fit" was about five months. It was another two months before I was able to start back doing "normal" activities. Time from initial entry into hospital to when I felt 100% to 100%plus was two years. I put two dates on my calendar. One at the one year mark, another at the two year mark. If I had a setback (and there were some) I'd just look at the calendar, shrug, and say, "It hasn't been a year yet." After the first year it was,"It hasn't been two years yet." The number of times I had to say it was a lot less in the second year.

Afib is tricky. The rehab nurses and I had a "running" argument about cardio. You have to get your heart above 120 BPM for cardio to kick in. They had me on so many afib drugs that I could only get my heart rate up to 120 but not over. It boiled down to, "you should do cardio", "no I can't". So I settled on taking the dogs out for long walks. Finally reached the point where I'd wear out the dogs.

The biggest thing was getting my afib under control. Finally had a pacemaker fine tune up two weeks ago. Up to that time it was a back and forth issue with my afib kicking off at random times. There was adjustment of meds during that time too.

The biggest thing I can suggest is to mark your calendar at the one year mark after you got out of the hospital and another at the two year mark. Don't get upset if you don't make some goal. Your body heals at its own rate not because you think you should be at a certain level at a certain time.

I also did some time with a psychologist and with therapy dogs. You can't beat a cold nose and a warm heart.

Post two years and I can do anything I want. I'm better than 100% of what I was before the pacemaker. Mainly because I've got a good, strong heartbeat instead of the wacko stuff I had.

The other thing I can suggest is to just hang in there. Things come back gradually and eventually you will get there. If you have detailed questions about afib, you can contact me via the private messages on the forum. But don't mentally beat yourself just because you haven't reached some arbitrary goal. It doesn't do you any good and it wasn't going to happen anyway.

I wish you the best and hope things get better for you.

cardiac rehab

by Tracey_E - 2016-02-08 09:02:08

Ask about cardiac rehab. They can help you get started under medical supervision.

Did your doc mean no exercise forever, or just until you healed? Usually after 6-8 weeks, we can do pretty much what we want.

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