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Woo hoo, 30 minutes of exercise!

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Posted 10/14/2009 3:36 PM (GMT 0)
Today I went to the gym for the first time sine the June, when my flare began. Although I have been riding my bike slowly in the neighborhood, and taking turns about the park close to my house, it has been slow and only about 15 minutes at a time--so no real exercise.

Ahh but today I rode the bike hard for 15 minutes, ran for 9 minutes and walked quickly for 6 minutes. Man I sure lost fitness so quickly when my exercise came to a screeching halt. I wanted to run longer, but the nine minutes exhausted me and I was dripping sweat. It felt so good to be active--I look forward to getting stronger. I was so happy that I didn't have any UC issues while running and made it 30 minutes in public, in a gym!

Then I got in the car, went to buy shampoo, and on the way home farted and lost last night's enema in my pants and had to race to get home to the toilet. That just made me laugh at life a bit, I am so happy to have gotten to run for 9 minutes that I really don't care. I can tell I am slowly getting better because a couple of months ago this incident would have made me worry, but honestly it made me chuckle. Ahh what an absence of blood in your poo can do for a more positive head space!
Posted 10/14/2009 3:41 PM (GMT 0)
Yay! What a great story!
Posted 10/14/2009 3:43 PM (GMT 0)
Good for you! I know the feeling exactly. I felt the same way... lost all my conditioning during my flare and felt so weak when I started exercising again. But take it slow and steady and you will get there before you know it!
Posted 10/14/2009 4:13 PM (GMT 0)
That cracked me up!!! I was in such good shape before my flares began (in fact, used to be a personal trainer) ... now I can barely make it up the stairs without being out of breath. UC really took it's toll on me with this last flare, hospitalizing me and putting me out of commission for several months. It's taken me a long time to get my groove back. My joints are still SHOT from the pred and the 6MP, so we are joining the YMCA and I'm going to start swimming classes.
Posted 10/14/2009 4:30 PM (GMT 0)
It's good to know that your workout went well...and I'm surprised you managed to hold the enema in throughout that workout!

My symptoms seem to get slightly worse when I exercise hard, so I've been doing yoga for a while. But I decided to get a change too and went for a run two days ago. It felt good to do that after a long time.

P.S. I think we need to find a word for a fart followed by an enema, along the same lines as a shart....enefart?

I think the trick to passing gas without letting go of an enema is to 'play your wind instrument'/'practice anal acoustics' while lying down (...and definitely not while driving).
Posted 10/14/2009 4:32 PM (GMT 0)
entoot?
Posted 10/14/2009 4:33 PM (GMT 0)
ene bomb?

breezy with a chance of rain?
Posted 10/14/2009 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
Rain? More like a mud slide.
Posted 10/14/2009 4:41 PM (GMT 0)
Maybe "breezy with a chance of spattered showers"!
Posted 10/14/2009 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
you people are freakin me out. was the u/c always that bad that you were out of commission for months and couldn't excercise or go up stairs. how many different stages of u/c are there. i am taking enemas at night to get rid of the blood in stool. it seems to be working. i go to the bathroom maybe three time a day. when i go home from work and smoke a cigarette, that is when i have to go and it is always diarea.

can u/c get worse with age. please let me know.

Posted 10/14/2009 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
I found that buying an exercise bike was a really good investment when I was first getting off my ass and started working out. Even while I was flaring I could get on the bike for 15mins at home without the constant worry of having no restroom nearby. Over time that 15mins increased to an hour and that eventually lead to buying an entire gym system for the garage.

For me the exercising helps keep me out of flares since mine are somewhat anxiety driven. Im glad to hear exercise is helping you out as well.
Posted 10/14/2009 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
tinacatalano...Don't get freaked out. A lot of people work out. And I think it actually helps your body handle UC better. I just don't do very strenuous work outs as I want to give my body a chance to recover and not get over-exerted for now.

It's good that the enemas are working well for you.

As for your question about UC getting worse with age...I don't think age is a factor in how severe your symptoms are or how severe they will become.
Posted 10/14/2009 5:06 PM (GMT 0)

Maybe you would know how many stages of U/C are there. I need information because my doctor is litterally anal.

i try to ask him questions. i think i found my website. i was diagnosed at 38 when i was two weeks pregnant. they say my body went into shock and that is why i got it. i haven't had a symptom in five years (but took nine pills a day). now all of a sudden (five years later) i am having bloody mucus stool. sometimes i have to got to the toilet real bad (usually at home after i have had a cigarette).

one article told me cigs were good for u/c and then i read they are not. do you know?

i excercise everyday for about half an hour. sometimes my joints hurt but i do it anyways.

Posted 10/14/2009 6:42 PM (GMT 0)
Regular exercise is great...I do it at least 4X/week with cardio and weights, it's been helpful for my overall health including getting rid of my depression/anxiety issues that I had a few yrs ago...it's also great with aiding normal bowel function. I do fairly strenuous workouts because I've been exercising for quite a few yrs now, but it's always good to tone things down (but still try and continue exercising) when a flare gets worse.

:)
Posted 10/14/2009 7:31 PM (GMT 0)

how can you possibly have 30 bowel movements a day. don't you work. i am so happy you have figured it out and food and excercise is a big part of it.

I don't eat crap as well. But sometimes i can, like a piece of b-day cake or some bacon. do you know anything about smoking. i don't smoke during the day, but i drink and smoke at night.

do you drink. it doesn't affect me at all.

Posted 10/14/2009 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
     Tina, a lot of us here are former smokers.  I smoked years ago, but like you, only a few cigarettes a day.  I quit about twenty years ago because I had heart palpitations while climbing a hill.  The first thing the doctor said was.."You don't smoke, do you?"  I had to tell him but thought since it was only a few cigarettes a day he wouldn't mind.  He said that is two cigarettes too many.  I quit right there and then.  I didn't develop UC until about eight years later, but I always had irritable bowel, even as a kid.  I didn't get diagnosed with UC until I was 52 yrs old.  I am 63 now.  In my own personal case....yes the UC is getting worse.  My flares are more frequent and last longer.  I often wonder why I even take the 6MP.  My UC is in the rectum, therefore it actually is UP...ulcerative proctitis.  No, I do not drink alcohol at all, maybe rarely a glass of Arbor Mist Strawberry wine.
Posted 10/14/2009 8:02 PM (GMT 0)
After all the steroids, I have to stick to very low-impact activities. I use the Nu-Step, the recumbant bike and the elliptical trainer for my cardio. I remember the first day I could do a full 30 minute cardio workout, it was like a miracle to me!
Posted 10/14/2009 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
what i seem to be reading is people are on a lot of meds and they are still in really bad shape. the meds range so drastically.

i thought i was a pill popper (10 Pentasa a day) and the enemas at night have really shot at my self esteem. I feel like a loser.....an enema every night. come one. i was always the sexy girl...what is this crap.

 

Posted 10/14/2009 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
     LOL...sexy girl taking an enema.  My husband still thinks I am sexy at 63 and he's 71!!!  The old goat still has it.  I have to chase him out of the room because he wants to give me the enema....not a chance. tongue
Posted 10/14/2009 8:14 PM (GMT 0)

tinacatalano said...

how can you possibly have 30 bowel movements a day. don't you work. i am so happy you have figured it out and food and excercise is a big part of it.

I don't eat crap as well. But sometimes i can, like a piece of b-day cake or some bacon. do you know anything about smoking. i don't smoke during the day, but i drink and smoke at night.

do you drink. it doesn't affect me at all. .


I'm not sure if you were responding to me (what I had written in my sig about 30+ BM's/day), but if you were, then yes, it is possible, keep in mind many of those were just mucous only, and most of my BM's produced very little stool each time I had to go to the bathroom...30 or more a day can definitely happen when the flare is severe enough, I can vouch for it cuz I lived through it a few times over the 18 yrs I've had IBD...and that included it waking me up through the night quite often through each and every night so it's actually pretty easy to "go" 30 or more times...I was quite bathroom-bound at that time.

I quit smoking for 3yrs and that's when my flare got severe (30+ BM's/day) when I started again (only smoke 6/day) then things improved, when I added the supplements (listed in my sig) and added regular daily exercise and altered my diet that combination of all those things is what has brought me to where I am now (average of 5/day) but normal for me is one/day and I still have severe urgency issues.  Alcohol doesn't bother me either but I don't often drink anyway.

:)

Posted 10/14/2009 8:17 PM (GMT 0)
BTW tinacatalano, IBD doesn't care if you're sexy or not, pretty or ugly, young or old, black or white, male or female, it's not bias, it will affect anyone that it's set up to affect.

:)
Posted 10/14/2009 8:35 PM (GMT 0)

That is so cute Christine. My husband used to give them to me at first. And that led to other things....therefore I learnt to do it myself and go to sleep.

Can you go on long term disability if you have 30 bowel movements a day. I don't think you can work like that.

Christine1946 said...
     LOL...sexy girl taking an enema.  My husband still thinks I am sexy at 63 and he's 71!!!  The old goat still has it.  I have to chase him out of the room because he wants to give me the enema....not a chance. tongue

Posted 10/14/2009 8:37 PM (GMT 0)
I don't work, I'm a housewife, but many people are on disability for their IBD.

:)
Posted 10/14/2009 8:42 PM (GMT 0)

so you are saying that smoking helps you. i thought it did at first too. but now i find it makes me want to go to the bathroom as soon as i light it. i have read that it is good for U/C and i have read that it is bad for U/C.

my dad died of colon cancer and my  mom has the chron's. so i figure i got the better disease.

sometimes i even think it is good that i am going to the bathroom a few times a day, this way i can lose a few pounds. sick isn't it.

this disease forces to me to be really good with my diet as well. excercise was always part of my life and now that i am older is must continue.

i hope my little ones don't inherit it.

pb4 said...

tinacatalano said...

how can you possibly have 30 bowel movements a day. don't you work. i am so happy you have figured it out and food and excercise is a big part of it.

I don't eat crap as well. But sometimes i can, like a piece of b-day cake or some bacon. do you know anything about smoking. i don't smoke during the day, but i drink and smoke at night.

do you drink. it doesn't affect me at all. .


I'm not sure if you were responding to me (what I had written in my sig about 30+ BM's/day), but if you were, then yes, it is possible, keep in mind many of those were just mucous only, and most of my BM's produced very little stool each time I had to go to the bathroom...30 or more a day can definitely happen when the flare is severe enough, I can vouch for it cuz I lived through it a few times over the 18 yrs I've had IBD...and that included it waking me up through the night quite often through each and every night so it's actually pretty easy to "go" 30 or more times...I was quite bathroom-bound at that time.

I quit smoking for 3yrs and that's when my flare got severe (30+ BM's/day) when I started again (only smoke 6/day) then things improved, when I added the supplements (listed in my sig) and added regular daily exercise and altered my diet that combination of all those things is what has brought me to where I am now (average of 5/day) but normal for me is one/day and I still have severe urgency issues.  Alcohol doesn't bother me either but I don't often drink anyway.

:)

Posted 10/14/2009 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
tinacatalano,

Yes smoking can aid with UC but is suppose to be bad for crohn's...the interesting thing is that I have crohn's colitis (CD affecting the colon where UC typically hangs out) but maybe I'm an odd duck cuz although I have crohn's and not UC (my mom has UC though) because my CD is in my colon maybe that's why it's helping some...all I know is I do much better smoking than not smoking from what I've experianced.  Here's a link regarding carbon monoxide from smoking shutting down inflammation in the colon....

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/35173.php

Funny thing about pooping alot and losing weight, it doesn't always happen that way for everyone, there are some overweight IBDers even while they're flaring, it's a bizzar disease to say the least.

I'm glad you're exercising regularly and eating very healthy, IBD or not, it's a good idea to make both part of your lifestyle.

I hope my kids (I have 2) don't get it either, but my daughter has been getting tested (colonoscopy, endoscopy, blood work, ect) cuz she's been having some gut issues but so far they haven't found UC or CD or celiacs either.

It's estimated that if one parent has an IBD (either CD or UC) there is a 10- to 15-fold increased risk of their offsring developing an IBD compared with those who do not have a parent with IBD. I hope that neither of my kids develop this horrid nighmare of a disease.

:)

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