How to get back on track after being sick?

C

Cados

New member
Hey everybody, firstly i would like to let you all know my lung function sits at 50-55% and i have pseudomonas. Recently i became quite unwell for 2 weeks with some form of chest infection/virus. It had my phlegm heavily increased, my appetite disappeared (normally always high), constantly lethargic, tight in the chest and was told not to exercise. Once i felt able to return to work and studies i have noticed that in just the couple of weeks my shortness of breath and tightness in chest has increased, i feel like my exercise tolerance had taken a great fall and possibly my lung function. Due to not being able to stomach much during sickness and low appetite i lost almost 4kg which scares me, i work VERY hard to gain weight... :(

I am struggling to get back into exercise, my diet has since obviously picked up and i hope to regain my weight ASAP, but i am really concerned about my lung function. I am unable to get a sooner appointment to my doctor so while i wait another month i need to really try and get myself back on track. Has anybody had difficulties with this? Have any airway clearance or cardio techniques worked well for you to restore some normality to your lungs? It is very hard to stay motivated in such cold weather at the moment here. I need to find a way to get back up before i get too far down. I lead a very busy life at 20 years of age but understand certain things in life have to be put on hold so i can put my health first. Any tips, techniques, ideas, suggestions, and help is much appreciated.

Thanks Caden
 
W

welshwitch

Guest
Take this as an opportunity to seriously step it up. If you are committed, I would recommend that you sign up for a 5K or half marathon or some sort of goal. Then start training for it. In my opinion, there is no CF treatment like running, and no meds make me feel as alive or well as exercise. Easier said than done, but SOOOO worth it :)
 
S

sdeuber

Guest
set alarms on your phone to do certain steps at certain times during the day! set small goals - walk 10 minutes each day this week, 20 mins next week. You will get there !!!!!
 
D

dbeep

New member
Hi Caden, Something struck me as I read about your situation... I work out regularly and two years ago following one of my typical infections I noticed a huge drop in my exercise tolerance. It was all I could do to keep up in a cardio class where I typically match the pace of my peers. I was pretty freaked out. I began to be aware of tightness in my chest and then found myself becoming short of breath. I thought I was in big trouble. At that time i could not get into a doctor either. It turns out that I had developed ABPA, an allergic reaction to Aspergillus, a fungus not uncommon in CF lungs. I was treated with oral steroids which I am currently tapering and hoping to come off later this month. It took about a week for the steroids to kick in and my symptoms disappeared. (I tried to taper off the steroids about a year ago but quickly ended up with the flare up of symptoms again.) I hope that you can discard this information because hopefully you do not have APPA but I felt I should share my experience... Good luck and hope you get those lung functions turned around! Also, yoga is considered one of the best ways to increase lung function... I love cardio but yoga certainly helps me focus on breathing and expanding specific areas of my lungs!
Dara
 
C

Cados

New member
Thanks for the reply welshwitch! I am starting to feel a little better, i've recently kicked myself into gear and trying to get myself back up to feeling somewhat normal. I think that goals are a great idea, i am currently thinking about what goals i can benefit from. Exercise makes me feel great, i feel exhausted but afterwards i feel satisfied that i've chosen to exercise.

Thanks for the response sdeuber, i didn't think of alarms! I use alarms to wake myself up and remind me when i have important meetings or work shifts, but i never thought to try this to get me exercising. It is definitely something i am going to try and use to my advantage. I very much agree with the small goals approach. Sometime ago if i ever went down i used to try and push myself very, very hard to do what i once could straight away. Which generally got me nowhere. I've decided to try this out on the treadmill by keeping track of how long it takes me to do a km or even 3kms. So i can get an idea if my times are getting quick, if im spending more time running than jogging, etc.

Thanks for the reply dbeep. Sorry to hear that happened to you, at least they were able to work out what was wrong. I too hope i can rule that one out, but it is great that you have shared this experience with me. Yoga is not something i have tried but i have heard good things. I used to do some pilates as a little something extra for core strength and balance, perhaps i should look into these exercises again. Thanks for the well wishes :)
 
B

Boncloe

New member
A gap can disturb the routine which happens to a lot of people,Well i would say that you keep yourself motivated and think like nothing really happened and try to get back into what you used to do.Its important for you to take care of the things which are needed do not go back to the old routine rapildy but slowly.
 
K

kirklittle35

New member
I think do not do strenuous activities, take vitamins to keep your body's immune conditions. I hope you're getting healthy
w.png
 
A

Alan245

Guest
It will always take time to get back after being sick. Yes griffith, we should start with a little walk. Little physical activity also helps. With the passage of time you can start proper workout.
 
T

Twistofchaos

New member
Who told you not to exercise?
Do not ever stop exercise. A virus is no reason to. Pretty wacky advice that is.
Ofcourse with a decent fever long cardiosessions are going to be pretty hard but by all means keep strengthening those muscles.
Also contrary to appetite at the first onset of a cold or worse the flu start eating like a madman. Anything and everything. An energy surplus rather than a shortage same as with recovery from exercise makes a huge difference in severity and recovery because the body then has the reserve to fight it.

Maybe a scare like this can be turned around into propper motivation. Hope so!

Did not know it got cold in Australia. :) Can get pretty windy there though right?
Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top