I"m
almost two years out from my last chemo treatment. I'm well past my
2-year mark on my last Oxalipalantin treatment. And yet, I think I may
still have latent issues from that drug.
Last night, my trainer and I worked out outdoors. She's been waiting for this time, and now that I'm not actively training for the 5k, she's able to work hard-core on my legs (oh goody). Lots of squats, lots of leg presses, etc. Some of these are difficult at best to do while we are in a fairly crowded gym. Trying to do lunges and squats while watching to make sure I don't get run over or run into a piece of equipment is difficult. So, outside we went.
The past couple of workouts have been harder, and I think it's in part due to the fact that she's working legs - larger muscle group = higher level of difficulty. Great - I need all the help I can get. I haven't been eating as well as I should (quite honestly, I'm struggling with this because I just don't have the information I need, but that's another posting...), and we both agree that this isn't helping the fact that I get 10 minutes into a workout and start to flounder. My body needs the fuel to do the hard work I'm asking of it, and (like a car) if there's no fuel, there's no go.
Yesterday, I ate lunch around 11:30, then had a snack (apple and cheese stick) around 1:30, then a protein shake around 3:30. That should have been sufficient (I think) to fuel my body for yesterday's workout. Nope - 10 minutes into this outdoors workout, I was struggling SO MUCH. I had trouble breathing, was light-headed, and could barely make it through. My trainer thought it was due to not eating.
I have another theory. (Please don't laugh.) I think that my body was reacting to the cool (cold to me) air I was breathing in. Arizona has had a cold spell come through. Remember that less than a week ago, we were dealing with record heat - 90s and above. This week, we are topping out at 70 or 72, and that's with peak sunlight. By the time we worked out last night, the air was probably 60 or 65. While I understand that this might not be extreme for other folks, my lungs were in full revolt. I think it was a combination of the hard workout (which really wasn't all that hard, in retrospect) and the cold air in my lungs.
Thoughts?
Part of this was confirmed for me this morning when I left the house with the kids. I walked outdoors and took a breath, my lungs seized up and caught me off guard. I felt like my chest constricted and it took a minute to get back to normal. If a single breath can have that effect, what will a good workout do to me, when it's outdoors?
Am I making up excuses? I hope not. I really do think that the chemo I was on had a profound effect on my body's ability to handle cold. Combine that with the fact that my blood has thinned out as a result of living in the desert, and I think those were a potent combination last night. My entire body gets chilled very quickly now. I mean, it's 70 degrees outside, and I'm in a tee shirt, sweatshirt, jeans, socks, shoes, and have the heat on. This wasn't the case prior to chemo - remember, I lived most of my life in upstate NY, where we take pride in being able to weather the winter cold in February without a jacket. We also lived in MN for four years, where I'm pretty sure icicles have to go inside to warm up in the winter. I shouldn't be this sensitive to the cold weather. And yet, I find myself counting the days until I know the heat comes back.
I'll be interested to see if any other survivors have had similar issues. This is something that I'm very interested in - the Oxy drug is still fairly new, and while the doctors tend to blow off my suppositions about the side effects (especially this late in the game), I tend to think that maybe, I'm experiencing those small side effects that fall under "others as noted."
Last night, my trainer and I worked out outdoors. She's been waiting for this time, and now that I'm not actively training for the 5k, she's able to work hard-core on my legs (oh goody). Lots of squats, lots of leg presses, etc. Some of these are difficult at best to do while we are in a fairly crowded gym. Trying to do lunges and squats while watching to make sure I don't get run over or run into a piece of equipment is difficult. So, outside we went.
The past couple of workouts have been harder, and I think it's in part due to the fact that she's working legs - larger muscle group = higher level of difficulty. Great - I need all the help I can get. I haven't been eating as well as I should (quite honestly, I'm struggling with this because I just don't have the information I need, but that's another posting...), and we both agree that this isn't helping the fact that I get 10 minutes into a workout and start to flounder. My body needs the fuel to do the hard work I'm asking of it, and (like a car) if there's no fuel, there's no go.
Yesterday, I ate lunch around 11:30, then had a snack (apple and cheese stick) around 1:30, then a protein shake around 3:30. That should have been sufficient (I think) to fuel my body for yesterday's workout. Nope - 10 minutes into this outdoors workout, I was struggling SO MUCH. I had trouble breathing, was light-headed, and could barely make it through. My trainer thought it was due to not eating.
I have another theory. (Please don't laugh.) I think that my body was reacting to the cool (cold to me) air I was breathing in. Arizona has had a cold spell come through. Remember that less than a week ago, we were dealing with record heat - 90s and above. This week, we are topping out at 70 or 72, and that's with peak sunlight. By the time we worked out last night, the air was probably 60 or 65. While I understand that this might not be extreme for other folks, my lungs were in full revolt. I think it was a combination of the hard workout (which really wasn't all that hard, in retrospect) and the cold air in my lungs.
Thoughts?
Part of this was confirmed for me this morning when I left the house with the kids. I walked outdoors and took a breath, my lungs seized up and caught me off guard. I felt like my chest constricted and it took a minute to get back to normal. If a single breath can have that effect, what will a good workout do to me, when it's outdoors?
Am I making up excuses? I hope not. I really do think that the chemo I was on had a profound effect on my body's ability to handle cold. Combine that with the fact that my blood has thinned out as a result of living in the desert, and I think those were a potent combination last night. My entire body gets chilled very quickly now. I mean, it's 70 degrees outside, and I'm in a tee shirt, sweatshirt, jeans, socks, shoes, and have the heat on. This wasn't the case prior to chemo - remember, I lived most of my life in upstate NY, where we take pride in being able to weather the winter cold in February without a jacket. We also lived in MN for four years, where I'm pretty sure icicles have to go inside to warm up in the winter. I shouldn't be this sensitive to the cold weather. And yet, I find myself counting the days until I know the heat comes back.
I'll be interested to see if any other survivors have had similar issues. This is something that I'm very interested in - the Oxy drug is still fairly new, and while the doctors tend to blow off my suppositions about the side effects (especially this late in the game), I tend to think that maybe, I'm experiencing those small side effects that fall under "others as noted."
Comments:
change-is-possible.net said...
Depending
on what you had for lunch (and breakfast), it sounds like you probably ate
enough before you trained. But if you had no breakfast and a super-light lunch,
then you likely didn't eat enough.
You'll also lose a lot of training power if you're dehydrated. Even very slight dehydration causes pretty significant loss in performance.
Also, for me and exercise: if I am going to work out hard, I need a fairly significant warm-up. If I don't foam roll, active stretch, warm up for 10-15 minutes, I'm wiped pretty quickly. Also, for me, unless there's a really gradual build-up, I'm quick out of the gate, then I'm exhausted in 10 minutes and want to quit, then in another 5-10 minutes, I find my groove.
As far as the cold ... I am frozen at anything below 80 ;) which has nothing to do with chemo. I've always been on the cold side, and since I moved here, it's gotten worse because I've completely adapted to hot. So it might be chemo-related for you, but it might just be that you've adapted to the desert summer.
Hopefully there's something useful for you in there somewhere...
You'll also lose a lot of training power if you're dehydrated. Even very slight dehydration causes pretty significant loss in performance.
Also, for me and exercise: if I am going to work out hard, I need a fairly significant warm-up. If I don't foam roll, active stretch, warm up for 10-15 minutes, I'm wiped pretty quickly. Also, for me, unless there's a really gradual build-up, I'm quick out of the gate, then I'm exhausted in 10 minutes and want to quit, then in another 5-10 minutes, I find my groove.
As far as the cold ... I am frozen at anything below 80 ;) which has nothing to do with chemo. I've always been on the cold side, and since I moved here, it's gotten worse because I've completely adapted to hot. So it might be chemo-related for you, but it might just be that you've adapted to the desert summer.
Hopefully there's something useful for you in there somewhere...
November
11, 2010 at 10:57 AM
No
doubt, weather changes affect our health. It turned cold here at the beginning
of the week and my asthma/allergies flared up.
From what I heard, 'fuel' for athletes is quite a science. Can't help you, there but I'm sure others will chime in.
From what I heard, 'fuel' for athletes is quite a science. Can't help you, there but I'm sure others will chime in.
November
12, 2010 at 10:09 PM
Hey
Michelle,
If you ever want to talk about specific nutrients for addressing the long term side effects of Oxaliplatin let me know. I would love to help get your body back on track...no charge of course!
If you ever want to talk about specific nutrients for addressing the long term side effects of Oxaliplatin let me know. I would love to help get your body back on track...no charge of course!
December
20, 2010 at 11:13 AM
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