Just beginning

...anew as I am not 100% , and I am gaining weight ...158, 75 years and 5 ' 5" ... and two months post PM op .
last week on the exercise bicycle, I pedaled for 60 seconds before quitting ..
this week ..90 seconds .. its an Giant brand , using air resistance..
I detest exercising , I'd rather work , but work today burns calories NOT ..
This morn ... 172/60/60 .. this BP is too high ...

10 Comments

Start embracing exercise

by Grateful Heart - 2015-10-03 02:10:34


Make it a challenge...next week go for 120 seconds. You can make it a game and make it fun earthworm. You have to change your way of thinking first.

Make it FUN! You have this 2nd chance.

Baby steps.

Grateful Heart

This works for me

by Artist - 2015-10-03 06:10:11

I am 74 and joined a "heart healthy" seniors exercise group that meets M-F and costs only $15 year. I then got a membership in the small gym where the seniors group meets. It is wonderful to develop friendships with the participants and that helps to prevent slacking off on days that I am not that motivated. The members encourage and support each other and if you do not show up, they want to know why. It has gotten to the point that we let people know when we won't be able to attend a class so they won't worry. There is plenty of laughter and joking around.
Since I also joined the gym, I work out on the treadmill and other equipment for 25-40 minutes before class. It is a matter of pride and competition with the other seniors on the equipment to do well and not quit. The bottom line is, try to get on a program and associate with others who will encourage you and take an interest in your progress. It helps to establish healthy routines that get you out of the house. A group of seniors can be open-hearted, blunt and just plain funny. We love to tease the instructor. It's too difficult to just rely on dieting to lose weight. There needs to be a combination of diet and activity that will also be heart healthy and promote some deep breathing and improve oxygen levels.

4Oct15

by oldearthworm - 2015-10-04 02:10:28

120 seconds on the Giant bike at 55 mph
I survived .. Next week .. 180 seconds ! and I will have to try and measure the pulse and BP ..directly after dismounting and huffing / puffing .. in the basement , I have NO chair . it may take me another 5 years to be organized !

Thank you all for the love !

by oldearthworm - 2015-10-04 03:10:19

Many excellent reads .. the key word .. LOVE ..
I'll try to reciprocate .
This PM , St Jude, may just allow me to live and hit the century mark .. Its either Alzheimer's or Parkinson's that did in my father at age 75, and I am sure that his medical care was good ..
Being in such a huge nation , being so spread out ...

Excercise is the PITS...

by donr - 2015-10-04 03:10:37

...unless you are doing it with someone else!

Especially when you are starting out at 60 seconds at a crack.

I am now 79 (by just a few days). Two yrs ago I felt really wrung out - like I couldn't do anything. In reality, I couldn't. Not because I was in bad shape - that was part of it - but because mentally I had deteriorated to the point that I didn't THINK I could do anything.

Way back in about 1806 Napoleon Bonaparte said "In battle the mental is to the physical as three is to one." What he did not realize it was that the same is true for recovering/living w/ a PM/ICD!

I discussed the situation w/ my cardio & he arranged for me to get into a Stage III cardiac rehab program at the local hosp.

The nice part is that there are other folks chugging along w/ me every time I go in. There is a group of RN's who monitor your progress & watch out during the sessions.

You can proceed at your own pace, whatever that is.

I started out like you at 60 seconds on a machine - they had a choice of 5 machines. By the time I was finished, some months later, I was up to over 30 min on a recumbent bike.

At one point, one of the therapists was nagging me because I was not progressing any faster. I told her that I was 77 yrs old, was not training to run a marathon & I had the rest of my life to get where I was going & I was not yet sure of where that was.

There were always people around to talk to & the exercise time was a big social event for all of us. Turned out to be fun!

Donr

I discussed it

You can do it

by rewired - 2015-10-04 08:10:51

oldearthworm. It is difficult to restart, renew, reinvent anything in life, but your pm gives you that chance.
I am 60, obviously too stupid to recognise, despite tachycardia from birth, that fainting (8 times Jan - end May 2015), constant exhaustion for at least 18 mths, continuous dizzy spells, general weakness and lethargy were signs of a heart problem. I blamed everything else (ate too much, too lazy, vertigo, the new house is on a hill and therefore biking is now too much work etc etc). Till the final collapse in a public bathroom in mid June '15 and arrival in ER sirens blaring all the way. A slow but steady reduction of physical mobility, less and less biking, walking, no more running for the bus or walks across town. And a slow weight gain, only 5 kilos, but a constant increase. All these were signs that I was too thick to recognise.
NOW - every day I am grateful that for my second chance, and I try very hard to move something somewhere. The suggestion above that you find a partner or group is one of the best - I have re-contacted the young girl in my building with whom I went walking in the park in one of my past attempts to be active. Getting back into lycra is difficult, but I find that wearing the gear, turning on the stepcounter, these are important steps in pushing myself further. Look the part, play the part. My beautiful, modern, mainly unused elliptical has been repositioned in front of the computer screen, so that I can watch youtube while walking SLOWLY, no more racing. I stopped using it two years ago because I was puffed after racing along for 10 minutes. I no longer want to get there faster and more efficiently than anyone else, I just want to arrive. I am trying to eat more fruit and legumes and less white stuff. Try the colour diet! Is it white? Was it white? Off the list! If I don't think "Damn, no pasta" (I am Italian and live in Rome), and switch to "White plate, coloured food" as the rule, it gets a little easier, and the plate gets prettier.
Dear Oldearthwom and all the others who write or read this site, I thank you ALL for your contributions, the last few months have offered some difficult moments. I live here and my beloved daughter and fabulous granddaughter live in the US I get to see them once or twice a year for a few months, not enough for my hungry soul. The contributors to this site have helped me to accept what I initially saw as a second life-limiting burden, a wonky heart. Old earthworm, we can do it, we can keep healthy and live long and interesting lives. A pity you are so far away - we could start walking round the block together. 60, then 90, then 3 minutes, then one day, 30.
Good luck, and let us know about the weight loss.
e

7Oct15

by oldearthworm - 2015-10-07 03:10:47

No exercise (on the bike) , today , too much back pain. I must recover for a week or so as I have in the past....
wish I knew how to fix bodies and computers ..
otherwise, I feel good, despite high numbers in BP and BG ..

Slower maybe?

by rewired - 2015-10-08 08:10:20

Dear Old earthworm, perhaps you should start slower and aim for endurance rather than racing along. I had a shock when you wrote "120 seconds on the Giant bike at 55 mph". I did a quick calculation and this was fast by my reckoning! I was doing only approx. 35 mph when I was pedalling my mountain bike hard a few years ago and I seemed to keep up with others on the same trail.
I am glad you feel good, the brain is the first organ to take care of and if it is happy, the rest seems to be easier to control/accept!
This evening, having been blocked by rain and tachycardia, I am finally going walking with my young friend. She is 25 and more than a bit ditzy, her world consists of loving parents and a patient long-time boyfriend, a drama is not being able to get into her favourite pizzeria. So I don't know if I walk fast to keep up or run away! But it stops me thinking of aches and pains and makes me laugh, and I know that when I get home I will be tired and content. Content has become a very important word in my vocabulary.
Keep it up Old earthworm! We are spread out but very close to you!

PM CHat

by LeeT - 2015-10-20 06:10:47

Yes its too high should be 120/80 p 70. Diet, exercise NOW, go easy at first one day easy the next a bit harder... be consistent . That's it, now do it or... you know the other choice.
Good Luck

Rate response and Optimization

by vincep - 2015-11-27 04:11:22

Six months ago, I did 12 laps around my favorite 1/2 mile pond pre PM. After PM last week I could not do even 1, they turned Rate response and Optimization on and today I did 3 laps, not great, but better. Maybe you need that, or maybe you need to stay the course with small increments of improvement. You NEED to ask your doctor where you are at with the adjustments and tell him what you are trying to do. Dont' assume anything, there are no dumb questions except the one you didn't ask. Good luck dear! V

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