I’m a convert to this slightly ridiculous form of exercise.
I had my WLE op in Feb in Helsinki where I live. In May I started 3xTax followed by 3xFEC and by the middle of the 2nd FEC I had gained 6 kg, my op-arm & chest wall were showing clear & growing signs of lympho, and I could barely walk down to the post-box (Tax was tough & I spent most of it horizontal). I was good about the exercises but they seemed pretty inadequate & tho’ I was prescribed a sleeve I never went for a fitting because I couldn’t see how it would benefit the chest wall – make it worse, I reckoned.
I’ve always hated exercise for its own sake but a very energetic career as a restaurateur/caterer kept me trimmish until I became a very sedentary academic about 10 years ago, since when 10 kgs have crept onto my 178 cm frame. Overweight/sedentariness are risk factors of sorts, as we know – and reversing BOTH of these seems to offer improvement in future prognosis, from what I have read. FEC wasn’t as tough as Tax and I thought I might try some swimming but it was very discouraging to find myself absolutely exhausted after about 15 minutes. And, quite frankly, it bored me senseless.
My breakthrough came when I noticed people bobbing along in a reserved part of the pool with floaties strapped around their middles, chatting to each other as they bobbed – I laughed that evening with the OH over how silly they looked. He came home the next day with the gear for me & a booklet on usage. Apparently aqua jogging is considered a hot new form of exercise for everyone from convalescents, the clinically obese & the elderly to top athletes.
This was about 8 weeks ago. I started with about 20 minutes of very gentle movement, pausing & floating idly whenever I felt like it. This meant I never had an excuse not to go, because just floating about & waving my arms a bit left me feeling relaxed, even on crappy days. My last chemo was 4 weeks ago & I have now worked up to an hour a day – EVERY DAY. I move steadily all this time with a few 5 minute bursts of harder work. I made the time by cutting into the 2 hours plus per day I used to spend on the net – which is why I haven’t been here for a couple of months. It’s very peaceful, I positively enjoy it & it no longer requires an effort of will to get me there each day. It’s becoming routine. Miraculously.
My lympho symptoms have virtually vanished, apart from slight swelling that comes & goes on my chest wall under my arm. My hand, forearm & upper arm look & feel normal – the IV arm is more painful! I’m cheerier, my energy levels are radically improved & the joint aches (which, with Tamofen, may be here permanently) are eased. The improvements were very noticeable even mid-chemo & have accelerated over the past 10 days or so.
The medics are not particularly surprised, but remind me of what I know already – this is a lifelong commitment – a new life. I have lost 7 kg with barely any dietary change beyond being a bit stricter about no butter & barely any sugar (dark choccy & an occasional treat excepted). I have NEVER lost weight through exercise before, tho’ I’ve tried a lot of diets with very short-term success. This is not a lightning miracle-cure, but even 8 weeks has made such a difference to how I feel & look that I can’t wait to see what the future holds. It’s an area of my life I have taken back under control & it feels good.
A long post – but I feel so strongly that this is something within the reach of everyone & something with such substantial & undeniable benefits that I can’t help a bit of preaching. And hey everyone! aqua jogging is such fun! I, too, chat to people as I bob along – it’s been very good for my Finnish as well!