Exercise support group

Ice baths?!! Why would i do that when i have one of the best surf breaks within 5 min of my home? And the water stays cold most of the year.

 

Unique? I'm just an everyday joe.

 

Ice baths right before sleep to bring down your temps. It may not be convenient to go out to surf right before sleep in the dark.

 

LDR, do ice baths help you sleep? My insomnia is off the charts and I'm hoping it's not because I'm exercising.

Ice baths?!! Why would i do that when i have one of the best surf breaks within 5 min of my home? And the water stays cold most of the year.

 

Unique? I'm just an everyday joe.

 

Ice baths right before sleep to bring down your temps. It may not be convenient to go out to surf right before sleep in the dark.

 

LDR, do ice baths help you sleep? My insomnia is off the charts and I'm hoping it's not because I'm exercising.

 

Hey Mindseeker!

 

Laser was saying his body temp stays elevated for days after intense endurance exercise, which in turn make it difficult to fall asleep, so I proposed to take ice baths to cool him down before sleep.

 

But the book I read about insomnia (which I highly recommend) - Say Good Night to Insomnia: The Six-Week, Drug-Free Program Developed At Harvard Medical School by Gregg Jacobs - mentioned the importance of exercise to sleep. To sum it up, it said that insomniacs have trouble with dropping their body temperatures, which makes it more difficult to fall asleep. One of the ways your body signals to your brain to sleep is by lowering its temperature. And when you exercise you manually raise it up, so when it drops back down over the course of the day it helps induce sleep.

 

hi laserjet,

mm i noticed you had insomnia , i had insomnia for awhile after i quit taking alprazolam (xanax) 6 months ago, my sleep has improved when i started taking vitamins to me these 3 vitamins help me sleep well magnesium C & D , i take those after breakfast i drink a cup of milk along with the vitamins drinking milk with vitamins helps vitamins disperse thru the body to where you really need them and theyre much more affective . i know this isnt about exercise i just wanted to help you.

 

i started doing light exercise after i quit taking xanax i activated so much the first 2 weeks i pushed a lawnmower outside for an hour or 2 each day theres an endless ammout of grass to mow at my very large ranch when i wasnt at the ranch i used my treadmill especially in the evenings when i felt my worst my head felt clear for hour from just a 10-15 minute walk now i do much much more exercise i run outside for 20-30 mins i dont try running on the treadmil anymore i fell off from it one time (i was ok ) i started going to a gym as wel i usually run in the mornings and i go to the gym in the late evenings after my nappy & see my boyfriend

Ice baths?!! Why would i do that when i have one of the best surf breaks within 5 min of my home? And the water stays cold most of the year.

 

Unique? I'm just an everyday joe.

 

Ice baths right before sleep to bring down your temps. It may not be convenient to go out to surf right before sleep in the dark.

 

LDR, do ice baths help you sleep? My insomnia is off the charts and I'm hoping it's not because I'm exercising.

 

Hey Mindseeker!

 

Laser was saying his body temp stays elevated for days after intense endurance exercise, which in turn make it difficult to fall asleep, so I proposed to take ice baths to cool him down before sleep.

 

But the book I read about insomnia (which I highly recommend) - Say Good Night to Insomnia: The Six-Week, Drug-Free Program Developed At Harvard Medical School by Gregg Jacobs - mentioned the importance of exercise to sleep. To sum it up, it said that insomniacs have trouble with dropping their body temperatures, which makes it more difficult to fall asleep. One of the ways your body signals to your brain to sleep is by lowering its temperature. And when you exercise you manually raise it up, so when it drops back down over the course of the day it helps induce sleep.

 

Thanks, LDR! I'm going to look that book up.

 

I'm going to learn a lot from you all. 

HI

 

Thanks Drew-

Today I walked 11,200 steps according to my steps counter. Inspired my this new thread I went to the beach and took a long walk. It was incredible. It a lot of steps in my standard- but reporting here may encourage me to keep walking.

 

Carem

Great job, Carem. That's quite an accomplishment. I wear a fitbit and find the step counting aspect motivating as well. Today I got up after zero sleep all the way back in a wave. So did not want to go to exercise class and weights but I forced myself. I felt better about myself afterwards and not quite as depressed.

 

Thanks Mindseeker, for sharing that link about the Duke exercise and depression study. You and I are getting off psych meds after a similar duration. I went on at 25 and got off over the past 2 years. Mostly off. Taking some Seroquel 3 times/week so I get some sleep.

 

I'm thankful for all of you who are fighting the good fight and striving to exercise. Whether it's starting with walking back and forth in the house or going to the gym or running, we're all doing our best to get well. Thanks for the extra push from your inspiring stories.

My this thread seems to have filled a need.  Too bad I can't think of an app in regular life

 

I made the gym and was feeling good today. I did 25 min elliptical w a HR in 130's. I could have done more but I've learned in the past whenever I push it I get hit hard for trying.  It amazes me the difference in my body as I had a one month terrible wave just leave.  During the wave I'm breathless, tight chest, and muscle and nerve pain like I'm fifty years older.  Flight of steps exhaust me. Today, hardly anything. 

On the negative side my brain must be doing some major reshuffling.  I got another of  what I think s a  Scintillating scotoma.  My vision goes out in a weird way for about thirty minutes.  I'm going to post in general area to see if others get this. Seems to be scary but harmless but I'm getting more n the last few months than ever.

 

Great job Carem!   Glad this thread helps.

Great job carem, MT fan and drew. Keep up the hard work! I just finished my 30 minute run and did some free weights. Enjoying that sunshine and soaking up the vitamin D!

 

Btw, I have this app on my phone that's called 7 minute workout. It's free and like the name implies only 7 minutes long. But it kicks my butt every time! I strongly recommend it, if all you got is 7 minutes to work out. You can obviously go as easy or as hard as you want.

 

http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/336096/slide_336096_3390170_free.jpg

Thanks Lonngdistancerunner and MT fan and Drew for your encouragement! Its really meaningful to me and may help me keep up with this. Its great that you all managed to get exercise in today!!  wonderful idea to support each other in keeping up with this.  Having walked on the beach and getting such a warm response from you- made my day. I as m sure to get some walking done tomorrow.

Carem

 

 

 

Hi Mo

 

I couldn't do any exercise for the first several months of my taper. When I was able to start exercising it was at a very low level and my exercise capability increased at an excruciatingly slow rate. Here's a link to my piece on exercise in benzo withdrawal where I mention my details. http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=129461.10;last_msg=1723444

 

I'm a long time bodybuilder. Benzos took me down to the proverbial "weak as a kitten" state but it all came back and I feel the process of gradually increasing duration and intensity mightily aided my recovery. I feel that with exercise in benzo withdrawal you really have to avoid overdoing it. Just keep making very small gains.

Good luck with your workouts.

 

Bart

 

Bart - THANK YOU for that info and that link...it makes me feel more hopeful and motivated when I read that you had difficulty when you first started your taper, but are now stronger and able to exercise again. Plus, it was interesting to read!

 

Laserjet - I WISH I could still get out and surf...used to live in HI and still miss it. What a great way to deal with benzo w/d AND get some exercise! I have trouble for 48 hours after I exercise, too, but mine is elevated resting heart rate and I'm doing nothing near a power work out.

 

MTfan - I have been considering getting a Fit Bit, but since I can hardly do anything I thought it might be useless, but counting the number of steps I take a day might help me keep track of how much I am actually moving (not much right now!) and maybe help me to slowly build up my exercise capacity...

 

 

Looks like we're all doing well with our exercise. 

 

I did my cardio this morning, and then I walked for over two hours this evening. I'm tired!

 

Does anyone know of any studies on whether exercising outside is better than inside?

 

The reason I'm asking is because my akathisia seems to only respond to outside exercise. And I'm wondering if there might be some science behind why that is.

 

Kind of an odd question, but it's kind of an odd life right now.

This is my last step...exercise has been one of the hardest things for me to incorporate into my life, like, ever. But I know if I got some activity in, I'd feel good! I went for a lovely walk during lunch today...was a little cold, but it was necessary, and will get easier the more I do it.

This is my last step...exercise has been one of the hardest things for me to incorporate into my life, like, ever. But I know if I got some activity in, I'd feel good! I went for a lovely walk during lunch today...was a little cold, but it was necessary, and will get easier the more I do it.

 

That's how I started out - walking at lunch. It was really helpful. 

I'm in

 

I'll update on my story later, but today I roller bladed for about 30 min and then walked for about 30 min.

 

Mrs.

I'm in

 

I'll update on my story later, but today I roller bladed for about 30 min and then walked for about 30 min.

 

Mrs.

 

That's so cool! I had to stop roller blading a few years ago. I thought I had lost my coordination, but I think I'd hit tolerance and was having some vertigo.

 

I used to roller blade all the time.  It's great exercise.

Longdistance, fabulous quote. Thanks for sharing.

 

Mosart, I really got the fitbit to help track my sleep and also look for patterns with my level of activity and the wicked insomnia. It's helpful to look at my graph in the morning because it shows how restless my sleep was or, recently, that I get occasional 2 hour breaks where I'm not restless. So I can see progress. I was counting steps though when I was almost housebound and barely moving.

 

Mindseeker, I haven't seen anything about outside being better than inside but it could have something to do with how the light hits our optic nerves causing us to secrete hormones and brain chemicals differently.

 

Mindseeker, I haven't seen anything about outside being better than inside but it could have something to do with how the light hits our optic nerves causing us to secrete hormones and brain chemicals differently.

 

Thanks, MT. Before there were drugs to treat depression, doctors used to tell people to get as much exercise as possible outside.

 

And I think the results were much better than with drugs. Must be the fresh air and sunlight.

I am 33 years *young*. I was put on benzos after having one panic attack, which was created from low iron. I never had anxiety, fear, panic, etc prior to using benzos. I had issues w/ tolerance and rebound symptoms from the first pill (albeit didn't know it at the time), and discovered my issues were caused by the benzo after much searching and symptom-suffering I tapered very slowly over the course of two years from a low starting dose due to sensitivity to the drug, and have been benzo free now for four months.

 

Last year, I could not hardly walk up a couple stairs without experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, so to be in the place that I am today is nothing short of miraculous.

 

I've read that some of you have experienced, or are experiencing, some tachycardia (elevated heartrate) due to withdrawals, that can also be "irritated" from exercise. I want you to know that I had, too, experienced this symptom. During last year, my resting heartrate was often 95-105 bpm. Gentle walking was around 110-115bpm. Slow biking on flat grounds was commonly 120-140s. I could also experience increased anxiety, tremors, intrusive thoughts, panic, fatigue, and a few others after exercising as well. I want to tell you that ALL of this has almost completely went away now - I would say 90-95% gone In fact, I "pushed" during my 30 minute roller blading exercising and it felt GOOD Rest assured that all of this will come back to you as well

 

Okay, that's the low-down on Mrs! Have a great night, and I'm looking forward to keeping you all posted on my exercises as well as hearing about yours!

 

Mrs.

 

 

Looks like we're all doing well with our exercise. 

 

I did my cardio this morning, and then I walked for over two hours this evening. I'm tired!

 

Does anyone know of any studies on whether exercising outside is better than inside?

 

The reason I'm asking is because my akathisia seems to only respond to outside exercise. And I'm wondering if there might be some science behind why that is.

 

Kind of an odd question, but it's kind of an odd life right now.

 

Mindseeker,

 

If I had to venture a guess, I would say it's due to Vitamin D from the sun that you aren't getting indoors. Coincidentally, it also helps regulate circadian rhythm (fight insomnia!) and sleep when you exercise outdoors. Here is an interesting research article about vitamin D and protective effects on the central nervous system. http://www.if-pan.krakow.pl/pjp/pdf/2013/2_271.pdf

Longdistance, fabulous quote. Thanks for sharing.

 

Mosart, I really got the fitbit to help track my sleep and also look for patterns with my level of activity and the wicked insomnia. It's helpful to look at my graph in the morning because it shows how restless my sleep was or, recently, that I get occasional 2 hour breaks where I'm not restless. So I can see progress. I was counting steps though when I was almost housebound and barely moving.

 

Mindseeker, I haven't seen anything about outside being better than inside but it could have something to do with how the light hits our optic nerves causing us to secrete hormones and brain chemicals differently.

 

MTfan - Well, now I REALLY want to get a Fit Bit if it does all that...I DO love gadgets and this does sound like it would be useful. Thanks for that info!

 

Mindseeker - You're right, there is some excellent data suggesting that morning sunshine (before 11am) does hit the retina and stimulate the pineal gland, which communicates with the neuroendocrine system and helps produce melatonin, which then promotes sleep at night and that those with insomnia will often respond better to exercise, morning sunlight and a bedtime "routine" than to sleeping pills. I don't do much exercise right now, but I do make sure I do my 10 minutes of morning yoga calisthenics in the sun room or in front of a window — I live in wilds of the frozen north and there is 6' of snow out there right now and a high of 12° today so until I have the balance and energy to get back on my snow shoes and xc skis, I'm exercising indoors. But, I can't WAIT to get outside and spring is on it's way!

Carem, ...Me too...I am 65 and have been about as inactive as a person can be these last 18 months of w/d ...and tolerance and taper were not much better. I spent most of year one living from my bed. In month 6/7 I started being more active at least around the house. ...My goal is to eventually get in an hour a day of stretching , strenght, and gentle cardio by month 24. . Today Lol...I managed 10 minutes of gentle yoga and 10 minutes of muscle strength . It's all pretty geriatric but still more than I even considered last year.

....Anything is better than nothing.. good for us. This thread was just what I needed to get motivated ... coop

Coop-10 min of yoga and 10 of strength is not geriatric in benzoland!

I am 33 years *young*. I was put on benzos after having one panic attack, which was created from low iron. I never had anxiety, fear, panic, etc prior to using benzos. I had issues w/ tolerance and rebound symptoms from the first pill (albeit didn't know it at the time), and discovered my issues were caused by the benzo after much searching and symptom-suffering I tapered very slowly over the course of two years from a low starting dose due to sensitivity to the drug, and have been benzo free now for four months.

 

Last year, I could not hardly walk up a couple stairs without experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, so to be in the place that I am today is nothing short of miraculous.

 

I've read that some of you have experienced, or are experiencing, some tachycardia (elevated heartrate) due to withdrawals, that can also be "irritated" from exercise. I want you to know that I had, too, experienced this symptom. During last year, my resting heartrate was often 95-105 bpm. Gentle walking was around 110-115bpm. Slow biking on flat grounds was commonly 120-140s. I could also experience increased anxiety, tremors, intrusive thoughts, panic, fatigue, and a few others after exercising as well. I want to tell you that ALL of this has almost completely went away now - I would say 90-95% gone In fact, I "pushed" during my 30 minute roller blading exercising and it felt GOOD Rest assured that all of this will come back to you as well

 

Okay, that's the low-down on Mrs! Have a great night, and I'm looking forward to keeping you all posted on my exercises as well as hearing about yours!

 

Mrs.

 

Hi mrsalw

I remember you. It's great to see you doing so well at just 4 months out.

Bart

Thanks Drew, ...before I got RA I was a runner and hiker...man I LOVED it.. I was a solitary runner and it was my meditation and my 'one with nature' hit. ...So glad I did it when I was able. I ran a  7.5K when I was 7 months pregnant with my son...well,that was a lifetime ago lol. My city has one of the biggest 7.5 K races in the country.  The entire city turns out either as runners or volunteers or supporters. It is our celebration of spring here.  So easy pt reps don't do it for me.. but at this point I am fortunate to do that much.

....So my goal....to add in a little cardio . My complex has an equipment facility so there is absolutely no excuse ...they even have a stationary reclining bike that would be perfect for me....so I guess that is my next step...do a few minutes on the recline bike.  .. thanks for this thread Drew.  coop

Can I join in. I use to be an avid cyclist. I started riding to help with trauma and depression.  I can hardly walk some days. When I exercise it really make my sxs's worse. I think this thread is a great idea. I have read some of your posts and I'm very inspired. All I do is lay around and eat these day when I'm not working, taking care of the house, family and fighting the Benzo's so when it comes to exercise it's a challenge.

 

I would love some help getting off the couch and putting the ice cream away  .

 

Hi Mosart