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I just returned to exercise last month after a long illness. It’s been a hard road back despite taking a cautious approach. What is super easy one day, on another day might cause extreme fatigue afterwards or even muscle pain. I’ve built up exercise tolerance before, so I know super slow and steady is the key. <font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>MG News recently reported on a study that found incremental exercise can </font>build<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> stamina in MG patients, which I’ve personally found to be true with time, patience and caution.</font>
<font face=”inherit”>I see both a physical therapist and a personal trainer (both 2Xwk) who take a slow, low intensity approach given my MG and tell me to listen to my body. </font>My personal trainer focuses on balance, fall prevention, strength training and weight bearing exercises, and my physiotherapist focuses on flexibility and reducing inflammation.
<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>My worst MG symptom is that I trip easily so I walk on a treadmill, not outside. I’m up to 15 min cardio every second day on my treadmill 3 times/week and do a dynamic warm up and very light exercise program 10 minutes per day. I take mycophenolate (immune suppressant) so infections/viruses often set me back. Both professionals ask me what exercises the other has assigned and dial my program back on days I’m tired. </font><font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>I have insomnia on the days I’ve been to the gym, which means I’m exhausted the day after so we call that my recovery day off. </font>
My current goal is to build up my strength and stamina for a family trip to Disneyland and the San Diego Zoo in 5 months. The MG Foundation of America has a great free webinar on preventing fatigue – Use Your Spoons Wisely – available anytime at https://myasthenia.org/MGFA-Events-Webinars/Webinars/Wellness-Series<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>.</font><font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> Airports are a huge challenge for me but, after listening to this webinar, I’ve decided to request transport </font>to<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> the gate from now on rather than tire myself out walking across an airport at the start of my vacation. And at the park and zoo, I’ll rent a scooter/</font>ECV (Electronic Conveyance Vehicle) to prevent getting overtired from the inevitable walking and standing<font face=”inherit” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>. I’ve found useful tips in travel blogs for families (e.g., the Undercover Tourist) for these and many other amusement parks. The tips to prevent kiddos from getting hot and </font>tired can also apply to MG!
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