Exercise = Most important componant living well w/HCV

This came out of HCV Advocate

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/news/newsLetter/2007/advocate1007.html#6

"In the past couple of years, information about the relationship between many lifestyle conditions such metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, obesity and steatosis, and HCV disease progression and treatment outcome has come to light.  For most people, healthy lifestyle choices, such as like eating nutritious meals and a regular exercise routine can help reverse these conditions and even improve or compensate for the overall negative impact of these conditions on HCV disease progression and treatment outcome.  Exercise has been found to be one of the most important components of staying healthy and living well with hepatitis C. "

I have been a runner all my adult life and feel this has made a contribution,

[moahunter]

Sort of obvious isn't it. I mean, is there anything that regular exercise is not good for? We all know it, just a matter of doing it. I'm looking forward to getting off treatment - my plan is that one of the first things I will do will be to get back on an exercise program. Hopefully I can regain my 50 pounds weight loss in a more healthy way than last time. And like you, I am looking forward to including running :-)

[elm57]

for me i found exercise made the neg post side effects much worse not better. i just couldn't understand why that is? my docs had no answers. they just said to go slow until u build up yr stamina. i can't tell u how wrong she was. still working on the answer.

[wyntre9]

[wyntre9]

I just wish I COULD exercise regularly without feeling like I'm gonna pass out or collapse.

For the past 11 months I have managed to do about 30 minutes per day 5 days a week, mostly stretches, yoga, walking,  but it's getting harder the longer TX goes on and I've still got another 7 months to go.

I finally understand what muscle mass is now that I've gone practically none left.  *LOL*

Plus, the psychological effects of the meds are really dragging me down.  i still try tp exercise but my success rate has been cut drastically.  i did buy a pedometer to try and at least keep track of movement.  On a good day I might manage 3500 steps, which is equivalent to a mile.  

wyntre

[moahunter]

I sort of gave up on exercise while I am on the treatment Wyntre9. The only thing I do is walking, although I did manage to ice skate with my son for an hour yesterday (with frequent breaks to catch my breath). If I exercise too much, I find I pay for it hours later with a long sleep.

I am hopeful that I will be able to rebuild in 3 months time after I finish treatment, but I understand it may not be as quick as I would like. Time will tell I guess.

[susan400]

Wyn, don't be so hard on yourself, 30 min. a day is fine, for a person who is on treatment.  I think you're doing great.  As long as you try to do some walking every day, you'll get your muscle mass back...it might just take some sweating and work at it, but you'll get there, it's not gone forever.

I've got a treadmill in my bedroom that I do actually walk on about 6 days a week.  I do use it for something other than a clothes hanger.  I got one because with being in FL, you can't depend on the weather cooperating to always be depending on being able to work outside.  I found that I was not getting in enough walking time due to rain, heat, etc.  So, I either read while I'm walking on my Trdml, or watch T.V.   I have a T.V. in the bedroom and the Trdml has a book holder that I set my book or magazine in.  On about 5 of the days, I try to do about 40 min. and the other 2 days (like weekends) I only do about 20 min.  I also have my stationary bike in the other room and I do that about 10 min.  I can't do that bike as long because it actually starts hurting in my low back if I try to do it longer.  I have some handweights (not real heavy), but I do some exercises with them for my arms.  I started the weights because it was something that I could do on treatments when I was just sitting around.  I used to go out to a gym, but it was harder for me to drag myself out to a 'place' and get into trafffic and be around all the people (when I was doing the treatments), so I ended up making up my own routine at home.  I also do some floor exercises as part of my exercise thing.  Everybody has to figure out what works best for them.  Some people might enjoy swimming and some people might enjoy tennis or bike riding.  It's whatever you end up being able to handle on a consistent basis that I find is the ticket.  

Susan

[BThompson4]

I walked about 45 minutes a night for the first 50 or so weeks of tx, and really enjoyed it.  But about week 60 my thigh muscles stopped working to the point where I have to walk without flexing my knees and avoid putting extra stress on my thigh muscles.  My anemia isn't that bad (average about 10.5 with no rescue drugs) but albumin has dropped from about 4.5 to 3.5 on average, and anemia and low albumin together have put an end to my exercising.  Only about 20 days to go, though.

[wyntre9]

Reading this post again made me get all teary as i realized just how weak I've become.

And i guess I'm not so optimistic that I'll ever get my strength back the way it was pre-TX.

I'm not used to this so thanks you two for trying to make me feel better.

I was gonna start a 'whine' thread but i'm so darn bored with myself . . . but if you don't mind, I'll continue here and spare the rest of forum my self-pity.

Susan,

I was doing the gazelle trainer for the past 10 months but now that it's getting colder outside and since I moved to the one room cottage there is no room for anything besides me and the flock.

Of course, that's driving me uts - trying to cope - in a way it's probably a good thing coz i get so stir crazy i gotta escape for a couple of hours a day, even if it's just for shopping.

Anyway, the trainer is in my basement but since there are no steps from the cottage to the basement and the ceiling is only 65 inches high, well, i don't get down there much.

i've gotta come up with an exercise DVD for the next 6 months - I'm the kind of person that if I get into a routine i can maintain it but without a schedule, fergeddaboutit . . . .  .

I do about 10 or 15 minutes of yoga and a couple of reps of wimpy weights and if i don't do at least that i feel even worse . . .

All my excess weight (10 pounds) has defied gravity during TX and risen above my waist instead of plunging to my butt . . . .

As deb nevada said so eloquently the other day,  "I just don't love nobody right now,: including myself.  (sigh)

sorry for the moaning . . .

wyn

[wyntre9]

MOA,

forgot to say congrats on skating!  i wouldn't even attempt that in my current condition!

BT,

I didn't have such a hard time maintaining a schedule either for the first 40 weeks but the past month has been rough and i've got 8 more to go.

So sorry your thighs are getting quivery but thanks for posting coz it makes me think this might be a 'normal' progression.

You said you've only got 20 more days  - so you're doing 64 weeks or is it 72.  (I forgot).

wyntre

[BThompson4]

I think its pretty normal to get weaker and weaker as tx progresses.  I'm in week 69 of 72.  Great to be almost done.  Hope we get through this!

[miked]

The article ,and my intent, was not about exercising while on tx.  

Exercise for anyone is obvious.  The articicle states a that routine excersise program can greatly impact the negative effects of HCV.

I went into my first tx fairly ignorant,  At the time I was a distance runner and my plan was to "just run" my way through tx and the side effects would never be felt.  Superman, right?

About Week 3 into tx, I just stopped running.  I was too weak for the same regime.  Susan, it's funny because during my this tx we actualyy did dry clothes on my treadmill.  Instead I began daily walks with my daughter which became her way of helping me through the tx.

Right now I'm very thin; muscle mass at an all time low and just weak all over.  I'll give it a couple weeks to just kind of get back to feeling good and then start excercising and gradually build back to where I was.

I've done a lot of stupid things in my life.  One smart decision that I didn't make until my early 30's was to excercise regulary and rigorously.

Mike

[tiburon]

Good post for me. I try to do a little exercise one in a while: usual a 30-40 min stretch routine.  My cardio is lousy. I hope i can get energy levels back to pre-tx. Plus, i work shifts sometimes and, i just can't believe how tired i can get. I like the fact that i can eat all the time, even if the food doesn't taste that good. So good luck miked. Keep on trucken.

[mremeet]

Well said mike, vigorous aerobic exercise has been my only real salvation from HCV related fatigue for years and years now. There's no doubt in my mind it's better than any supplement or pill for the HCV blues. During tx forget it though.

[JOHNWS]

I truely believe exercise has helped me keep the liver disease at bay. My research nurse told me that because I worked out 4-6 times a week, was probable one of the main reason for only having minimal damage. Can't wait to getting back to working out again, treatment has killed my desire to lift. I still go to the gym 3 times a week, looking more than lifting, just felt like being there as much as possible will help to get me into the swing of things once treatment ends.

[benefitsdonna]

I agree that excersize is a great stress beater.  for years and years I was faithfully excercizing and couldn't understand why i had chronic insomnia, weight gain, underactive thyroid, fatigue, yada, yada.  i also had a constant pain in my right shoulder blade.  Being that I was just recently diagnosed, it all makes sense now.  

I am very hopeful i can continue to do some sort of exercise during treatment, starting real soon.  even if it is just walking a couple of miles, i know it will mentally help.

[benefitsdonna]

i meant exercize....what a dope.....

[Willy50]

I totally agree with the article you posted.  I would also assert that it's important choosing the right parents since I think that part of this is also genetic.  However...... seeing as few of us are able to choose our parents we have to go on to the next thing that we can control; diet and lifestyle is a biggie.

The way I see it many uninfected people end up shortening their lives or decreasing the quality of their lives thru bad choices in this area.  People with HCV simply do not have as much "wriggle room" as the rest of the uninfected population.

I got involved in running about 17 years ago.  As an adjunct to my training I also started focusing on other aspects of my life and began to read up on diet.  I believe that becoming a better runner requires that you do many things correctly.  Only running will not serve you as well as good equipment, proper training, good dietor lifestyle and even proper mindset.  When all things are working in unison you achieve a better result.

And so it goes with HCV.  If you only go to the doctor you are missing the boat.  If you are able to incorporate other beneficial practices into your life and regimen you may find that you can improve your outcomes; either your own specific situation and also perhaps receive better outcomes than the average hepper.

I may be in better shape than most people my age.  Before I got DX'ed I had a double hernia operation and the doctor was amazed at my condition for a (at the time) 47 year old. (I'm 54 now).  I went from not being able to walk to running a 5K race in 6 weeks.  The doctor felt that he was able to do a better hernia repair due to my conditioning.  

If you do excercise, overdoing it can reduce ones immune response and so......moderation in all things.  I believe that walking can be just as beneficial as running and is less damaging.  I have a few hard core runner friends who have shot knees at my age.  Also......very heavy excercise raises ones LFT's.  If you are getting a liver panel you might consider backing off on the excersise before getting your tests.  I'm not certain that as to whether the "weight" of the LFT score could be skewed thru excessive excersise.  I also don't know if most doctors can answer that question uniformly.  Mine didn't even tell me to fast before the tests.  : (

Good topic; I'm a believer.

best,
Willy

[elm57]

i do walk about 1hr and exercise about 15/20 minutes every day and the walk has a up hill grade that kicks butt,  but thats after months and months of being off tx. and for what ever reason when i push for more all the sides like fituge, tunnal vision, brain fog, tendent and muscel pain/aches, depression/anxiety,mood swings night sweats, flu like symptoms,ect... all get in flamed
i never did exercise and only quit smoking near the end of tx ,after 50 years,
maybe to much of a shock to my system at one time. i also eat better now as well, ha
thanks for the link.

[DebInDenver]

I used to weight train before treatment, but now in my 11th week on pegasys/copegus I'm hardly able to walk for very long let alone pump iron.  I was looking forward to losing weight (gotta grab at the positives) but I've only lost 10 lbs so far.