Buteyko and Walking

For the first time since we sold our house in the 'burbs (February) Mike and I went for a long walk. It used to be a twice a week habit that we really enjoyed but we were enjoying the gym here at the condo complex and then I came down with this weird lung condition.

It was my first cardio of any sort since the end of August, my big setback. I practiced my new Buteyko breathing method the whole time (shallow, shallow, shallow), and we walked NICE and SLOW the whole hour, but I managed to be moving for a whole hour. The weather was just incredible (October in Vegas is absolutely beautiful, sun, mid 70's, slight breeze) and it was great to get outside. Been cooped up in this apartment too damn long! After our walk we had a nice drive around town, talking (a stressor for me), even touring a couple of new home models with plenty of stairs.

I've been religiously practicing my Buteyko breathing method and have almost doubled my controlled pause (how long you can comfortably hold your breath after exhaling). Even better though, I got through yesterday without a setback! An hour of walking, an hour of walking through houses, talking the whole time, and I feel ok today. NO setback!! Yeah!!! We're going to try to add a Saturday walk to the weekly routine. I finally feel like I'm really on the road to recovery...finally...and it seems to be thanks to the Buteyko exercises!

p.s. Go Bears!

Intruiging...

Been trying to take it easy this past week. Cancelled Pilates last Thursday and yesterday. Cancelled my pampering day last Friday of facial and manicure/pedicure because talking is such a struggle and my girls and I love to chat. Couldn't see going and not talking, that's half the fun!

Despite resting for the past week I must say I don't feel that much better. I'm trying hard not to get depressed about my little setback, keep my head in a good place so I don't stress out and make myself feel even worse. I've definitely learned that stressing about it makes it worse. So trying to RELAX. Going to my private pilates lesson today, so hopefully that'll stimulate some healing. So that's the current state of affairs.

Here's what's got me intrigued...a new book I ordered called "Asthma-Free Naturally" by Patrick McKeown, on the Buteyko Breathing Method. The theory of the book is that asthma is caused by inadequate levels of carbon dioxide. I've been having trouble talking for the last couple of months and it clearly explained why talking is an stressor, it depletes your carbon dioxide! A light bulb moment. You'd think that an asthma breathing method would involve DEEPER breathing, wouldn't you? Wrong! The Buteyko method is to train yourself to breath LESS. Less breathing increases your levels of carbon dioxide. The more carbon dioxide you have in your body the longer you can hold your breath. According to the book, after exhaling easily (don't expel all the air in your lungs, just naturally breath out) you should be able to hold your breath for 40 seconds (if you're healthy and asthma free). Mind you, that's not 40 seconds and then gasping for air, that's 40 seconds until your first "hunger for air". After that 40 seconds you aren't gasping for air, but only need a breath like the one you took before you held your breath. I can go 15. After doing the breathing exercises in the book I can go 20. The book makes a pretty compelling case I must say.

I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain, so I'm going to do the exercises as prescribed...20-30 minutes 3 times a day. I'm keeping track of my controlled pause (how long you can comfortably hold your breath) in a spreadsheet, so I'll be tracking my progress. Should be interesting!

Mental Control

So a week ago or so I ventured out into my old life. A night on the town with friends. Dinner, a little conversation, and a show. Didn't seem very stressful at the time, but the week before had been pretty full, 3 pilates sessions, some grocery shopping involving heavy lifting, and the night out was the icing on the stressful cake. The next day it was quite clear I'd done too much too soon.

How depressing. And the more depressed I got about my backslide, the worse I felt. By last Wednesday I was back doing nothing but sinking into the couch. Trying not to talk. Not making dinner. Not lifting anything.

Friday I snapped. Or rather my husband snapped and he finally got through to me. Physically I'm going to feel however I'm feeling. But I don't need to make it worse by stressing out. And to be sure, stress makes me feel worse. When I drink wine I'm able to talk better, my chest loosens up. The alcohol isn't doing anything but relaxing me.

So I've been trying to pay attention. When I feel my chest tighten up I take a deep breath and concentrate on letting the tension go. Ahhhh. When I feel my throat start to close from talking too much, I engage my brain and tell myself there is NO reason why it should be that stressful, another deep breath, and my talking is easier, my chest hurts less.

Reactive Airway Dysfunction Syndrome is just that, a dysfunction. The initial irritant to my respiratory system, the forest fire smoke, hasn't been here since July. But my system is stuck in hyper-reactive mode, that's the dysfunction. I need to get my head in the game and realize that while I need to respect the physical limitations imposed by the condition, I can mitigate it with my brain. I can relax. I can impose my will...a little. It's not all in my head, there's definitely a physical reality that needs to be respected, I can't just do what I want, but I don't need to make it WORSE by stressing out over it.

Slowin' It Down

Overdid it a bit last week. Did Pilates 3 times last week, one reformer class, one private where we worked on the reformer and the chair (which is great, but hard!), and one mat class. Only made one grocery run, but it had lots of heavy stuff, a case of water and a case of synergy (flavored kombucha tea). I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but I was feeling worse by Friday than I did on Monday.

My husband's oldest friend was in town this weekend. We took him and his wife to dinner and they took us to see "Love" the new Cirque du Soleil/Beatles show at the Mirage. I talked too much during dinner, which is one of my triggers for my lung condition, mostly about why I couldn't talk too much. I was trying not to, but seriously, how do you get through a whole dinner not talking? The show was magical. Both Mike and I loved it (and he's a pretty tough audience!) and while neither of us were big Beatles fans walking in, we were much bigger Beatles fans walking out. The show wasn't a typical Cirque show, less acrobatics, more dancing, but it was very creative, just plain fun and the sound was absolutely incredible. The music is really the Beatles singing, from original Abbey Road tapes, so you get the real deal, and the theatre has speakers in every seat, so you're surrounded by music. I've had Beatles music running through my head for days now.

Felt GREAT to get out. We haven't been out in 2 months. So it was great fun to get all dolled up, be out on the town with Mike. But I paid the price on Saturday. Chest tightness? back. I canNOT afford a setback, so I rested all weekend. Mike made dinner and waited on me all weekend. Cancelled on my pilates teacher's baby shower on Sunday, cancelled my pilates class today. Resting, resting, resting. I am feeling much better today, my recovery rate is definitely improving. Still...was great to get out!

Stress is a Killer

Discovered something interesting over the weekend.

I've been feeling much better. Good enough to attempt a little video gaming over the weekend. How stressful could killing goblins be? Too stressful as it turns out.

I felt my chest tighten after only a few minutes. Naw...that's not possible. Maybe my heart rate is higher than I think. I put on my heart rate monitor. My resting heart rate is in the 50's. Gaming it was still under 60. Yet my chest tightened right up. I didn't take my blood pressure, but certainly it was a bit elevated. But how much could killing goblins sitting on my couch elevate it?

Enough.

Stress is definitely a factor. There's no question about that in my mind.

After all these years of being basically uptight and focusing on the negative could life be dealing me the ultimate lesson in relaxation and positive thinking?

Relax and be happy or get sick. Those are my choices it seems.

Happy Friday!

Been a big week for me. Finally feel I've turned a corner with my health. Whew! Literally!

And I managed three Pilates workouts this week. Even did a little actual work this week. Boy, I would have been in BIG trouble these past 6 weeks if I'd had to worry about keeping a real job.

Had to tweak my program a bit and run around to our stores and install the update. Prior to this weird lung issue that would have been no big deal, but now it feels like quite an accomplishment that I managed 3 workouts AND lots of running around.

Now's the dangerous time...I FEEL pretty good, but that's only been for the last couple of days so I know I'm not magically all better. This roller coaster with my lungs has been going on since July. I've felt good before but then I'll re-aggravate it doing something that didn't seem like much effort at the time. And each backslide gets a little worse. The last one was a real bitch, so I really need to watch that I don't re-aggravate it again now that I'm finally feeling better. Gotta stick to the program. Pilates only for workouts. Stick with my supplement program. And most of all I need to keep taking it EASY.

Happy Monday!

I can't help it, I just feel like smiling.

I'm feeling the best I have since my setback 5 weeks ago. Still need to take it easy, I've learned that lesson before, just because I FEEL better doesn't mean I AM better, but I can't help but be optimistic! I've got a pretty normal week scheduled.

Adding another Pilates workout to my routine. Have a reformer class today, private lesson tomorrow, and a mat class on Thursday. That's three, count them THREE workouts!

Steroids

Someone asked me recently if I'd considered a course of Prednisone (a steroid) and/or inhalers to kick start the healing process.

There is no question that steroids are incredibly powerful drugs that do have their uses. When someone is having a severe asthma attack, steroids can literally save their life. A couple of people have told me that a course of steroids helped them with their RADS. I'm glad for them that they found relief from their symptoms. And I understand the temptation of aggressive treatment in order to get well, especially when natural treatments don't seem to be working. Each of us has to weigh the pros and cons of our treatment options and decide for ourselves which is best. Steroids aren't right or wrong, good or bad, they are simply a tool. But for me, in my current condition, it's not a tool I'm considering using.

Why not? My short answer is because I'm getting better without them.

I'm miles ahead of where I was 5 weeks ago when I had my last major setback. It's true that for two weeks I couldn't do much of anything. There were a couple of days there that were pretty damn scary. But last week I was able to do Pilates twice (my butt is still sore from Thursday's class! what a great feeling!), run errands, make dinner, even had dinner out, complete with conversation, a couple of times. My current regimen of an anti-inflammatory diet, vitamins, fish oil, garlic, probiotics, pilates and daily meditation is resulting in significant progress. Instantaneous? No. More work than taking a pill or toking on an inhaler? Perhaps, though I personally don't find it burdensome. And it's working. And it's working without any side effects. In contrast, check out the list of potential side effects of Prednisone.

My long answer is more philosophical. Steroids are incredibly powerful drugs. Immunosupressive drugs. That's how steroids work, you know, they suppress your body's natural immune response. My personal philosophy is that I'm better off strengthening my immune system, not weakening it. If my lungs are inflamed, then I figure it's part of the healing response. Your body's healing mechanism is incredibly smart. Yes, sometimes your body needs help, but if it's making progress I say provide some natural assistance and get the hell out of the way.

My slower, steadier, more natural healing path might take me any longer to get well than aggressive treatment. But then again, it might not. I can't find any research online that indicates aggressive treatment results in faster healing. And even if someone could prove to me that with steroids it'll take 6 months and my way will take 8 or 9, I'd still take the more natural path with its lower risk of side effects.

Lastly, just a couple of links:

Here's what Dr. Andrew Weil posted about steroids with regard to asthma (the emphasis is mine):

Oral steroids (prednisone is the commonest) are very dangerous for asthmatics, because it is too easy to become addicted to them, and toxicity from long-term steroid use is devastating. Try to avoid ever going on oral steroids. If you do have to take them, get off as soon as possible. In general, the less medication you can take, the better. Allopathic drugs, being suppressive in nature, tend to perpetuate asthma and may reduce the chance that it will disappear on its own.

And a reading list for you asthmatics out there:

Reversing Asthma by Richard Firshein, D.O.
Asthma-Free Naturally by Patrick McKeown