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Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by garyTX on 6/15/2008, 9:44 am
69.46.49.251

I have found out the hard way that when I get lazy about exercise I start a downward spiral of sob and fatigue so I stay with it almost every day...
Read on in the link below for "are the lungs trainable" and "other treatments"...garyTX

""In Brief: Exercise cannot reverse the physiologic and structural deficits of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but it can reduce disability by improving endurance, breathing efficiency, and dyspnea tolerance, especially in severely impaired patients. An exercise prescription should begin with an assessment of cardiac risk and exercise capacity. Initial workloads should be light, increases gradual, and follow-up consistent. Patients need encouragement, and may also need supplemental oxygen and treatment with bronchodilators, mucolytics, and/or corticosteroids. Patients who follow an individualized program can often increase their work capacity 70% to 80% within 6 weeks.""

Link: http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/11nov/mink.htm

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by bethca on 6/16/2008, 1:25 pm, in reply to "Big Dividends for Exercise...."
76.167.75.192

John & Jean, thank you for another explanation to this condition. I learn something new here everyday. Thanks to ALL
I did a fast last night and my glucose this am is 87. The other night right after dinner it was 185, scared me to death.

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by Jean on 6/17/2008, 11:10 am, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
69.66.53.88

Beth, when you say you did a "fast last night" what did you mean? And actually, a reading of 185 right after eating is quite normal. What you need to be looking for is what is your reading about two hours after eating. The general rule is that you'd like your reading to be less than 140 two hours after a meal.

When I talk about a "fasting blood sugar" I mean that I didn't eat anything after 9:00 PM the night before. Since I'm usually up at 5:30 in the morning, that's my cutoff time. If you have your blood drawn in a doc's office at 8 in the morning, they'll usually tell you not to eat anything after midnight. Check out the American Diabetes Assocaition's web site for some general guidelines regarding blood sugar values.

Jean

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coffee and sugar readings

Posted by CarolCA on 6/17/2008, 3:57 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
67.164.118.40

I jsut read where coffee, obviously without sugar or cream can affect blood sugar level. I was not aware of that and was not aware that I could not have coffee when taking a blood test that had me fasting.

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by bethca on 6/17/2008, 1:07 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
76.167.75.192

Jean, I know I wasn't too clear, what I meant was that I didn't eat anything after 9:00pm and checked my glucose before coffee in the am. THank you for all the insight. My husband is the one we are concerned about but of course I wanted to check mine after all the reading I had been doing about him and then reading your post about your blood sugar level. We will both do one 2 hours after eating. His goal is to try and stay off meds. Thanks again.

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by Jean on 6/15/2008, 11:01 am, in reply to "Big Dividends for Exercise...."
12.216.119.186

You are so right, Gary! Besides the exercise, there's another thing that I just discovered is extremely important for me, and that's avoiding bad carbs. While on vacation with my grandsons, I indulged in the same sorts of food they ate. BIG mistake! I will probably be paying for this indulgence for awhile, because I've discovered that I can't do on the TM what I could do two weeks ago and it'll take me awhile to get back there. So exercise regularly AND watch your diet!
Jean

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by John O. on 6/15/2008, 11:24 am, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
69.129.197.8

Jean,
Curious as to what those "bad carbs were, so I can avoid them!

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by Jean on 6/15/2008, 12:14 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
12.216.119.186

John, you're going to make me confess in public! Probably the worst included waffles in the morning, some pizza, fried chicken, a cheesburger and fries and Chinese food. These are all things I love, but between the grease and the bad carbs, I just indulged in too many of them all at one time, and I'm paying the price now. I don't think the weather is helping (all the humidity in Iowa is really oppressing right now and it just isn't letting up much) but I certainly can't blame everything on the weather. I feel fine and I have no signs of anything. My blood sugar is running pretty normal and higher than normal reading is always one of the signs that I have something going on, so I'm pretty sure my only problem is over-indulgence.

I've been eating normally since I've been home and I am making some progress. Interestingly, I didn't gain any weight while I was gone, so all the walking around paid off! I probably needed the calories; just not the foods I got them from.

Jean

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by John O. on 6/15/2008, 3:51 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
69.129.197.8

Wow, Jean, that is a full confession.. plus all of those are occasional sins at my house, too. I risk getting physically sick if I pile too many things on in too short a period, but I do take a chance once in a while with fried chicken and/or burgers. Regarding blood sugar see my reply to Beth.

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by bethca on 6/15/2008, 3:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
76.167.75.192

Jean, just curious, why would higher than normal blood sugar be an indication of something wrong. Do you mean because of COPD or something else? My husband checks his blood sugar every other day or so because he is pre-diabetic. Plz don't tell me its another effect of COPD. Thanks

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by Jean on 6/15/2008, 5:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
12.216.119.186

Beth, I think this is one of those odd, individual things. I do have Type 2 diabetes and take 500 mg of metformin daily for it. I test every morning before I brush my teeth, and my blood sugar runs between 90 and 110 almost all the time, unless I've eaten recklessly.

About three years ago, I was finding it much harder to exercise as I do regularly and the only other thing that I could see that was wrong was that my blood sugar was running about 140 to 150 in the morning. I finally decided I was probably sick and went to see my doctor. He could hear things in my lungs and prescribed both an antibiotic and a pred burst. I immediately began to feel better and never missed a workout.

I'm also really odd in that typically my blood sugar doesn't go up with prednisone. Even when I've been on a pred burst (three times in the last five years) my blood sugar runs between 90 and 110.

I think these are just odd things about me. But when my blood sugar is higher than usual and I can't explain it, I pay attention and if it persists for several days, I get in to see my doc.

Jean

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Re: Big Dividends for Exercise....

Posted by John O. on 6/15/2008, 3:47 pm, in reply to "Re: Big Dividends for Exercise...."
69.129.197.8

This probably wouldn't apply to Jean, but it's well known that prednisone raises your blood sugar, and enough of it can make you diabetic, as it did me in '06 after having to use it for four or five months. The good news, though, is that in time it should get back to normal levels, providing your diet is reasonable. So in a way diabetes is connected with COPD, albeit indirectly. As far as I know the jury is still out on whether inhaled steroids like Flovent mess withblood sugar.. my own experience has been that they;re not a problem.

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