Taking Control

[KurtPT]

Not really a question, but more of a thought and discussion provoking experience that I would like to share.  I was decompressed in August of last year.  Prior to this I was always active so I know most everyone can relate to how this surgery can throw this into a tail spin.  After the surgery things were good for a while but then progressively started getting worse with a couple hospital stays mixed in.  After the dust cleared from it all, I found myself on seven different prescription medicines to control every aspect of my life that left me in a perpetual numb fog while still having problems.  Finally when the day came that all I could do after work was go home and lie there, I decided to make my own changes.  By this point I could feel what my body needed and it was not what the doctors were saying.  I have a great deal of respect for doctors, but in my opinion, personal knowledge can often trump standard procedure.  I did my research on all the medicine, figured out which ones were safe to stop taking and which ones would need to be weened off of.  I dropped the ones that I could, which luckily were all but one.  At this point it was time for me to take control.  I dropped red meat, caffeine, sweets, sodas as well as processed and artificial items.  Along with this, a documentary I recently watch that stuck in my head, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, was the inspiration to start juicing.  I'm up to around 70oz of juice per day currently.  With all of this, I did extensive research into exercises for people with chiari as well as brain injury (which I fight as well) and began the long journey of building up the active part of myself again.

So why did I just tell you all of this?  For hope.  To show you that there is a light for the days where you do not want to go through the agony anymore.  Believe me, I know how it is.  But when I decided to see what I could do and listen to myself, I am now off of all medications, training for a 5K and back to a full strength training regimen, with  no symptoms whatsoever. Has it been easy, not by a long shot, but that is the challenge and thrill of it.

Now this being said, I know this may be a rare case and will not work for everyone due to the wide ranging effects of this condition.  Was it wise to drop the meds, maybe not, but did I deem it necessary, absolutely.  I would recommend you talk to your doctor who prescribed them. After showing the results, my doctors are actually very intrigued by what I have done.  

Like I said, I want this to be a ray of hope for those who need it right now and will inspire those of you who seem to be at a dead end with doctors and medicine.  Just remember, take each day and make it your own.

[selmaS]

  Yes it does help quite a bit too...I still do the exercises on the chart but was not able to add weights....I know it is my other issues that are being affected by it so I stick to what works....walking and swimming seem to be the ones I can add to,but it is limited to the warmer weather which is not enuff time....


I use to make smoothies and I did well with them, but I did not juice so I want to check it out as it may help me more then  the smoothies....and I too have cut out a lot red meat included....and I did that long b4 surgery.....

Looking forward to checking out the recipes : )

[KurtPT]

Selma- After the 5K I felt the best I have felt in years.  I didn't have any symptoms for almost a week after!  

Here's a site that explains some of the benefits of different fruits and vegetables:

http://rawjuiceguru.com/our-raw-juice/

By far the biggest benefit for me in my juicing journey has been the Juicing Bible:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Juicing-Bible-Pat-Crocker/dp/0778801810

Absolutely an amazing book! For anyone who wants the recipes I use, I have uploaded a picture of them to my profile.  The first one is my breakfast one, typically 16-20oz, and the second one I split between lunch and dinner, around 32-40oz total.  Once again, I have paired this with the changes of no red meat, sweets, soda, no artificial and only whole grain carbs.

As for the exercises, after I progressed to the point where my progress plateaued with just the items from the chart, I incorporated them into various moves with light weights such as the overhead pull down and shoulder shrugs that target the muscles in the area from the decompression.  This was the hardest part to get to a point where I was comfortable to move to other areas of strength training.  I typically do one day a week of self assessment where I increase the weights to a new level and push myself to see how different areas react and if my body can handle it.  I always give myself 2 days of rest after the assessment day to fully gauge where I am at and use this to plan for the next week.

One of the biggest benefits I have seen from this is the ability to go back to sleeping on normal pillows within the past month.  I can feel even more now that the decompression site is slowly building to the point where I don't have quite as many issues when the area is compressed in some manner.

I hope this helps!  I'm looking at starting a blog that will delve deeper into the details of all this.

[ymmat83]

I'm with Selma, can you share your recipes and benefits of each? I plan to start the exercises, watch the movie, and hopefully start juicing some. Thanks for sharing your journey with us!

[selmaS]

  I am wondering if u can expand on the juice recipes.....and what the recipe helps....share a little more I find the juice for different areas interesting....


And I am so glad the chart helped, but I am sure u did a lot more post that, and I wonder what u did exercise wise too....

71 days post op and a 5K...ummmm ouch....I couldn't walk that now let alone at that point post op....I know the feeling of accomplishment was fabulous....just wondering how u really felt?

[KurtPT]

I started everything by doing extensive research into the different juice recipes for everything from migraines and general headaches to insomnia and concentration. I took all of those and made two different juice recipes, one for breakfast and one that I split between lunch and dinner. For the exercises, I got the start thanks to Selma. I used the exercise chart she recommended and slowly added small weights to increase the resistance and build my ability for it. This was definitely the longest and most tedious portion of it that I have been working on for the past couple months. Once I built it up, I move to light strength training with a focus on the neck and shoulder region to help rebuild all that area post surgery. This was when I really had to listen to my body to see where my limits were each day since everyday was different. While doing both the stages, I was steady working in cardio and stamina with bikes and elipticals, which provided the workout but without the impact. From here it was a steady progression on the weight side to get back to my full regimen, but the cardio was the tricky part with the running. I started with walking for a few minutes then a light jog for 30 seconds and called it a day. I gave myself a couple days to see how my brain would react. Sometimes it did good, sometimes not. I was able to slowly do this progression until now I am on the couch to 5k. There are days that I can feel that my brain will not allow the running, but some days, I have to hold myself back from running too much. Each day is all about reading my body. And the biggest aspect to all of this is the extremely clean diet.

Liz- I know exactly what you mean! I actually ran my first 5K 71 days post op. Probably not the brightest thing, but the best feling in the world! I come a long ways since then in learning my limitations, but it has been a great journey!

If anyone needs more info, let me know!

[ZilZil]

     Congratulations on your recovery.  I don't mean to be a party pooper, because what you have done is impressive, but if you were decompressed 7 months ago, please be careful with running.  I understand cutting yourself loose from your doctors, but you need to be very careful with anything that causes impact.  

     I was training for a half-marathon when I had my surgery.  I was very eager to get back out there and my NS was very specific with waiting at least a year before I started running again and even then he advised starting on non-paved surfaces.  I just ran my first 8K last month, a full 25 months post-op.  Everyone is different, and I agree it's best to listen to you body.  I appreciate what you've done and much of your story sounds familiar to me (minus the juicing and the more recent surgery).  Good luck and take care.
Liz

[ymmat83]

Can you give more details about the regimen you have been following? I've been searching like crazy but there is so much conflicting info out there that I'm not sure where to start. Do you have a blog or anywhere that lists the exercises that you started with then advanced to or what about the nutrition plan you're following? Are you juicing fruits and vegetables, organic, non-gmo, etc.? What else have you done or avoided that has made a difference for you? Sorry for all the questions but I'm intrigued and really looking for direction.

[selmaS]

  Wow so inspiring !!

Funny , but I got off red meats and  made my own juice for a while....

And I might add felt best while I was doing so....why have I stopped.  well for me the benefits stopped....as u said we are all different...I still avoid red meats as much as possible and have not taken ne RX med unless I was at my wits end with something...which I can proudly say has happened less then 5 times in 5 yrs...so I am doing well there I also do not  feel meds are the answer.

As for the caffeine and such I avoid them at all costs too , have for yrs as it is not good for those of us with GERD and IBS issues along with Chiari.

And back to exercising., ...I am so glad u were able to get back to ur old work out program...but some of us do have other related conditions that may  prevent us from doing some of what u r, but we should be able to do certain exercises and I have posted some a Dr recommended for those with  limitations and hopefully those limitations will only be once we r starting  and will not continue if we keep at it and slowly work up to it....

Hoping we have some other members able to join u in the 5K.

This was more then a ray, this feels like summer sunshine...so more hope then u can imagine : )