Hey MS'ers! How the heck are ya!?

I've been on WW for a month now and have been making progress. A healthy total of 12lbs lost just from changing my eating habits. I know, though, that at some point in time I will have to get up off my hind end and do something more physical than type and click.

My troubles are the standard MS complaints: numbness, weakness, heat intolerance (and I live in central Arizona. ha ha!), fatigue, etc etc. Walking around the grocery is at times a workout in itself. I don't dare just "run in" the grocery for a couple things without taking a cart to hold me up and in a somewhat straight line. Wandering around the house doing standard chores is a 10 minutes on / 5 minutes off battle.

At that pace, day to day takes all day! How/where/when am I suppose to exercise!? And even if I scrape up a few minutes, what should I do? I'm scared to go out walking. I never know how much my legs are going to tolerate, and am always just waiting for someone to call the police on the "drunk" lady stumbling through the parking lot.

If any MS'ers have suggestions with things that have worked for you, I'm all ears.

I bought a used exercise bike off an acquaintance today. I'm a little nervous about my balance, even on a stationary bike. Maybe I should put padding on the floor? lol
We'll see.

hi Pixie! I don't have MS, but I wanted to help you brainstorm since no one else has replied yet

It sounds like you're gravitating towards cardio only. Have you thought about non cardio activities, like lifting weights, using your body as resistance (squats, push ups, step ups?) You could do them between 2 chairs for stability if needed.

There's also activities like pilates, yoga (they even have gentle yogas where you sit up in a chair), or using resistance bands. There are lots of DVD to check out. If you have Netflix, they have some exercise videos you can watch instantly, or even order from amazon or somewhere online so you don't have to go to the store because it sounds like a challenge for you. But the reviews at amazon will give you ideas of what people think about the videos

Do you have access to a pool? There's water aerobics that will be gentle on your body in the shallow end if you're still wanting to do the cardio.
Or even air boxing. I've done lots of exercises with my hands that I get a great work out without even using weights.

Have you looked into recent research on MS? It is recommended that you limit your intake of milk products.

Dr. Luther Lindner is involved in clinical MS experiments at Texas A & M University College of Medicine.
Search for "Luther Lindner MS" in the internet.

((After rereading, I realize this gets to the point of sounding rude. That's really not how I intend it. It's matter-of-fact, but don't be put off by my bluntness.)

There's always new research. Always something new I should be eating, should not be eating. Another supplement I should be taking, or should avoid. Another thing I MUST do, or must NEVER do.

I don't pay attention to any of it. Having MS sucks. My body reminds me of my MS every day, at times more so than others. I spent nearly a year completely consumed with every piece of information I could read or watch. I DREAMED about articles/videos. I thought of nothing else, talked of nothing else.

I stopped. I was so concerned with what was going on, what may or may not happen, that I was missing the life right in front of my eyes. I have 3 lovely daughters and a prince-charming boyfriend whom I was leaving behind to wrap myself up in my own little MS world.

So, I thank you for the suggestion, but I won't be Googling it. To be blunt, I don't care. I take all of my meds, I give myself shots 3 times a week, I see my neurologist every month, and that's all the time/effort I will give to MS.

BUT, sometimes MS makes me give it a little more thought than I'm giving effort. My balance sucks, my endurance sucks, but I'm still up and at it. As I said, I bought a used stationary bike. Between two goes, I rode 1.5 miles today. I managed to not fall off, but I did fall onto the couch as I swung off the bike the second time. Prince-charming laughed at me.

Some of those who have MS will understand when I say I had "bugs crawling" on my legs for nearly an hour. Pesky little kritters. But I made it, and I'll give it a go again tomorrow. My challenging time will come with my next relapse, when I'd rather sleep than to get up and back at it.

This is definitely my hope. All this laziness came on slowly, over time. I kept thinking if I just rested awhile longer (day? week? it's turned into years.), I'd bounce back to my normal self. However, my "normal" self is constantly evolving as my disease progresses. I'm hoping I can fight back a bit against this terrible fatigue. It's going to be very hard, as I'm sure initially the fatigue will increase. But I'm all for giving this a go to see where it takes me. On one hand, I think there's not a lot to lose. On the other hand, I know that considering my MS progressions (high) verses my physical disability level (low), I have A LOT to lose. Time to get over it, and start fighting back. Harder.

I totally agree with everything you're saying!
All of my friends and most of my family and my neurologist (I really need to get a new one!!!) think I'm in denial about my MS. I'm not. I just think it's pointless to think about it all the time, or to talk about it. Plus, I'm so SICK of being afraid!!!! I don't know about you but the majority of the time when I have my "attacks" I lose my sight. It's awful! i don't know how vision impaired/ blind people do it! I spent so much time being afraid i was going to lose my vision, that I wasn't really living... I'm still scared but I try not to think of it. It's not worth it.
In relation to the question you asked though, I'd say keep doing what you're doing!
Go to a mall or Costco (I LOVE Costco!!!) (I say mall because they are bigger than your average grocery store) and walk around with a grocery cart for support.
Aquafit!!!! Aquafit is awesome!
I have a treadmill and I force myself to do a 20 Jilliam Michael's iFit workout a day + 20-40 minutes of program #2 on my treadmill. I just started doing this last week and it's already getting easier to stick to the routine! Although I don't know how I'll do tomorrow because I woke up this morning and can't feel my legs and I've already fallen 3 times. I guess I'll have to find something else to do for the next few days! I'll adapt, I always do.
Good LUCK!!!!

way to go on the awesome response pixie sticks regarding reserach. that's a great way to handle it. some day I'll get there. I mostly just roll my eyes and try to explain what it's like to live with ms, while people talk about research about veins/vitamin d/viruses/heavy metals/etc. it can be hard not to become jaded.

Have you ever tried pilates? it's seriously the only activity i did for like six months when i first made a lifestyle change. the great thing about pilates was that it was easy to talk myself from the bed (crazy fatigue) to the floor. Windsor pilates basic moves helped me build enough endurance to try adding more activity. (like i said. six months later) i really liked how, with pilates, i build enough strength to be able to lift myself from the floor without using my hands. at 300+ pounds that's not easy!

i'm much healthier now but i know what you mean about pacing the cleaning and grocery shopping runs. mild exercise gives me an extra spoon or two most days.

even now, when i try to keep up in a zumba class i'm wasted for the next day.

good luck!

HEY VAL~ I missed that you posted in here; I am so glad to see that you dropped by and are still doing so well. Hope you and yours had a great Christmas & New Years; and all the best for the coming year too ...


LADIES ~ May I suggest TAI CHI; this is a very light activity that can give you movement & toning without exhaustion, I think -- I love it; it's very easy. Just google it on-line and you can find pics as well.

New to the site and new to MS... glad to see there is at least a small community here. I don't do research because I think my doctor should and if you don't trust your doctor well find a new one, if only it were that easy. MS can present (and re-present) in wayyy too many ways for us to try to keep up with everything online.

In any case, how is everything going? I'm worried about the fatigue, I hate that I can't just "shake it off" like I used to.

HOBO ~ I'm sorry that this thead hasn't been more active for all the MS'ers out there. I have different physical challenges, but they often have the same effects: fatigue, pain, soreness, etc. I have to be careful not to overdo it or I pay for a the next few days or a week even. I did a bit too much on Wednesday and have been dragging myself around since then. So I will rest up over the weekend and hopefully feel fresh by next week.

We have a fibro thread in this forum that you might like becuz that condition also has similar effects, and I think you could identify with each other big time. Wish you the best ...

Pixie,

While I do not know exactly where you are coming from, I do know someone who does. My mom. She was at around 280 pounds, diagnosed with relapsing and remitting MS, diabetes, and high blood pressure. She knew something had to change. It wasn't easy at first. It still isn't. But she took it baby steps at a time.
Don't over do it. That will only make the symptoms worse. Do what you can, and gradually you can do more. This post is a little old, so I'm sure you're well on your way, but cardio isn't the only thing you can do to work out!! Pilates really helped my mother. She's now under 200 and off blood pressure meds. You can't beat your disease, but you can beat this weight.
I like to think, "it's not like i'm battling aliens, it's pounds, weight. I can do this."
Also, don't worry about what ANYONE thinks of your walking! Walk as long as you can!!!

Hello, just checking in as I have MS too. Rotten stupid disease it is too. I have a wonderful personal trainer who has helped me learn to exercise even when my symptoms are bad. We avoid anything that requires any balance, and work on functional movements.

How are you getting on?

*hugs Rosebud* miss ya woman! do you know anything about purpleorc?

MS sucks! I'm coordinating a local walk in my town next month. If anyone would like to sponsor me, please visit: http://mssoc.convio.net/site/TR/MSWa...nal&fr_id=1560

Hobo - in addition to walking and yoga/meditation to combat fatigue (which is now my biggest MS symptom as opposed to when I first got sick ) I also take amantadine, (first line fatigue drug) or provogil. your results will vary, but talk to your doctor if you are feeling overwhelmed about coping with fatigue

HEY THERE, VAL ~ nice to see ya again -- but no, I haven't heard from PURPLEORC in a very long time. Wish she would drop by just to let us know how she is doin' though. Last I heard she was helping her sister with her 4 daughters after she had back surgery.

Best wishes with your MS CHALLENGE -- awesome of you to do that.


BTW, someone here suggested ISOMETRIC Exercises for those with issues like MS or Fibro. You can google that but it is a a kind of "reflex" & muscle "holding" exercise that I have mentioned here before (you can even do them while lying in bed). Worth looking into, as I do some of those myself and have lost inches from it.

Here's a link to a good article about it; be sure to read the whole thing becuz you'll see what I mean about just flexing muscles ...

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...les.asp?id=972