Red Hat Society

[QueenMama]

I've noticed that there are a lot of 50+ women here at LCE.

Since we tend to have different issues from our younger members, I thought it might be nice to have a place for us to visit, discuss problems, as well as tips, related to our age, health, etc., or to share any news that might be of benefit to us.

I thought the Women's Forum would be a good place to post this, but if any of the moderators feel that it would be appropriate elsewhere, then by all means put it where you think it belongs!

“ When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
”(From a poem by Jenny Joseph)

From all I've heard, women under 50 are allowed to wear a pink hat with a lavender dress, so, of course, those ladies will be welcome, too! Especially those creeping close to the 5th decade......

(Now all we need is a red hat smilie!)

[tiashanty]

Nita, what a wonderful idea. I'll be 60 this year so I guess I'm eligible to join. I always pictured myself as an "older" lady that was full of vim and vigor. Instead, a few months ago I've been hit by such aching pains in my arms and legs that I know I'm not going to be jogging in the near future. How do the rest of you put up with things like this?

[Shelleyg]

here ya go, Nita....


I may *dig* around some more and see if I can find something better...

s

[enelkay]

Originally Posted by QueenMama

Since we tend to have different issues from our younger members, I thought it might be nice to have a place for us to visit, discuss problems, as well as tips, related to our age, health, etc., or to share any news that might be of benefit to us.

I'll be celebrating my 70th birthday in five months, so I guess I qualify. And I think it's a wonderful idea!

My only real problem is exercise -- or rather the inability to get it. Back when I was a "kid" of 65, I walked between a mile and a half and two miles most days, and during the summer months I spent at least half an hour a day in the pool doing water exercises.

In the past four years, though I've had six surgeries plus two 6-month-long sessions of chemo and a 6-week session of daily radiation therapy. After the first round of chemo my legs were so weak that I could barely walk, and every time I started to get back some strength in them another treatment or major surgery would come along, and I'd lose whatever little bit of muscle-tone I might have been able to develop.

All that surgery has apparently fixed the underlying conditions (breast cancer, an aortic aneurysm and a fallen bladder) and a strict gluten-free diet has taken care of another (Celiac Disease). I actually feel pretty good, but my legs start to get shaky when I'm up on them for even long enough to cook a meal or hang up a load of laundry.

I have a treadmill, and I've worked my way up to being able to walk a slow (very slow!) quarter of a mile. On warm days (of which we've had very few this winter) we heat up the pool and I do low-impact water exercises. After the sessions in the pool I walk a lot better for several days, so I'm expecting to be in a lot better shape when spring finally arrives.

But until then I'm looking for any suggestions that anyone might have for things I can do to build up legs that just don't seem to want to work.

[Goddess]

nadine-when i read your post, i am sure you're not the only one facing this challenge. i added a section for "Special Needs Exercise" to our LC Bookstore here - Low Carb Bookstore | LowCarbEating

And you may want to search YouTube for "chair exercises" and see if you can't find ideas that work for you...

[Shelleyg]

Hi Nadine!

I meant to respond earlier, but I was short on time this morning.
Yes!! Chair exercises are a good place to start. If your Dr has cleared you for exercise, seated movements are a good way to start. Several that come to mind for helping the leg muscles are:
~ sit in chair and cross R leg over left. Relax as much as possible. Then you will flex your right foot...think pointing the toes to the ceiling. Do a set of 15 or so. Then do the opposite leg.
Do these whenever you are sitting down watching TV or reading.
The more sets you do in a day, the stronger of course, your muscles will get over time.
~ another...while sitting, sit very straight and *tall* in the chair; place hands on top of your thighs. both feet on the floor with knees touching. Start doing heel-toe *walking*. R foot on your toes, at the same time the L heel is touching the floor. This mimics walking.
If you like music, try to build up to do this for a whole song...2 minutes or so.
~ while lying in bed...same motion...point toes on R foot, downward, while toes on L foot are pointed towards ceiling....this mimics "bicycling".
These movements don't seem like a lot, but they can help you build up your endurance. Add a minute per day to your sessions until you build up to 10 minutes or so of doing each movement.
In con-junction with walking and doing some upper body weights while seated as well, you may just be surprised how fast you progress.

Good luck and good health to you!

s

[enelkay]

Goddess and Shelleyg --

Thank you so, so, so much! Yes, I've finally been cleared for "mild" exercise -- as much as I feel comfortable with. And after reading your post, Shelley, I think I may have discovered that I've been looking back too much at the things I did five years ago and trying to do them (which is impossible right now), while ignoring the "small stuff" that might get me back to where I can do them.

I just tried the chair exercises you described. They sounded too easy to be at all helpful, but I found that all I could do was about half a dozen of each, and my legs feel it. But that's great, because it means it's really working the muscles! I'll have to work up to the "bed bicycling" -- lifting my legs just doesn't happen right now. But it will!

I'm also going to do just what Goddess suggested and search the Internet for chair exercises and add them to my new routine. That's how I found the low-impact water exercises I do, but I never thought about looking for chair exercises.

And Hallelujah! We're expecting a warming spell with temperatures going into the very high 70's and low 80's for close to a week, so I'll be able to use the pool. That, added to chair exercises, should jump-start my recovery.

Once again, thanks. And once again thanks to QueenMama for starting this thread. I hope I can help others the way you all have helped me already!

[Shelleyg]

I'll have to work up to the "bed bicycling" -- lifting my legs just doesn't happen right now. But it will!

Nadine,
I'm sorry my instructions probably weren't clear enough for the *bicycle* bed exercise.
No lifting of legs or hips. Lying with legs flat on the bed, simply alternate pointing one foot, towards the foot of the bed, while with the other foot, point toes towards the ceiling...like a pumping action...or bicycling.

Another chair exercise you might want to try a little later when you have built up a little more strength, is: sit in a non-rolling/moving, sturdy chair with sturdy arms. Stand up while pushing off with your arms and at the same time concentrating on using your legs muscles(mostly the thigh muscles) to help you stand. Lower yourself back into a sitting position using mostly your arms to lower yourself back to the seated position. Do as many reps as you can, then try to add a few each day. This one is really good for upper arm strength.

Here's a link for some exercises for Seniors. You may or may not be able to do them at this time, but they will give you some idea of what to be working towards. Also, physicians will sometimes order home PT (physical therapy) for their patients, or out -patient re-hab if you are able to drive to a facility or have someone that can take you 2-3 times per week. Just a thought.

You are exactly right in the fact you should not look "back", but set mini goals each day that will help you get to where you want to be in the future. You've got to walk before you can run, as they say, right?
Please do keep us posted on how you are doing, OK?

best wishes,
s

[enelkay]

I guess I did misunderstand the bed biking, Shelley. But I'm sure I can do what you described. I did two short sessions of exercising yesterday -- each session being about five minutes, divided into each of the three seated exercises you described. And I did three "not-quite-half-leg-lifts" with each leg in bed last night and three more before I got up. I think I'll continue them, too, trying to get my legs higher each time.

I really felt a difference already. Today I'll start the bed biking and the one for the upper body lifting myself up from a chair. And starting tomorrow I'll be able to do my workouts in the pool for a few days.

I know my legs always do better after even just a couple of sessions in the pool, but my problem has been that those are few and far between during the winter, and the good effects disappear in a day or two. I think the chair exercises, along with more walking as I'm able to, will be the answer to keeping up the good effects in between.

I hadn't thought of physician prescribed physical therapy. I just started with a new primary physician. I won't waste your time with all the problems I had with the old one, but one of them was just a complete inattention to the symptoms I'd ask him about, so I'm not surprised he didn't mention the possibility of PT. I have my second appointment with the new one next month, and I think I'll ask him about it. I'm able to drive, so I'd have no problem getting there. I have both Medicare and a really good supplemental insurance, and in the condition I'm in, I think my insurance might even pay for it.

Thanks again!

[QueenMama]

Nadine, we're glad you with us! You've earned your red hat, and perhaps a matching purse!

Oxycise is a good exercise program. She has a good breathing technique, and then exercises to go with the breathing, and she shows regular, seated, and also bed exercises. Check your PBS listings to see if they show "Sit & Be Fit". It's a really good show for seated exercise.

PT is a great idea, too. Let us know how it goes!

[enelkay]

Originally Posted by QueenMama

Nadine, we're glad you with us! You've earned your red hat, and perhaps a matching purse!

Oxycise is a good exercise program. She has a good breathing technique, and then exercises to go with the breathing, and she shows regular, seated, and also bed exercises. Check your PBS listings to see if they show "Sit & Be Fit". It's a really good show for seated exercise.

PT is a great idea, too. Let us know how it goes!

LOL! Thanks. The hat is lovely, and the matching purse is so-o-o-o important!

And thanks for reminding me about Oxycise. Dana Carpender mentioned it either in her book, How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost Forty Pounds! or in her Hold the Toast newsletter. She's one of my inspirations, and I bought the book, but that was years ago, back when I was doing regular, vigorous exercise, and I never really got into it. I still have the book packed away somewhere, and I'll have to dig it out.

I really will report back regularly, and it's so nice to have friends who are interesting in what I'm doing.

[enelkay]

Progress Report:

Wow! It's surprising, but after only about a week the improvement in my walking is very noticeable. In fact, I didn't mention the new exercises to my husband, but yesterday afternoon he mentioned to me that it seemed to him that I was walking a lot better for the last couple of days. So I had to "fess up" and show him my exercises.

We had four good swimming days, too, and I'm sure that helped. I'm really excited about how much more strength and coordination there is in my legs.

We'll be away for a week, but I'm going to try to keep up the exercises while we're gone so I won't have to start over from square one. And I'll check in again when we get back.

[Shelleyg]

Yay, Nadine!!!
I'm so glad you are seeing some improvement!!! It truly is amazing sometimes; what we least think will help us, turns out to be the BEST plan to get us over the hump and on our way to better health and functionability!

Please do check in when you return; we'll miss ya!!
Take care of you!!!

(((hugs)))
s

[QueenMama]

I think I earned my red hat this past weekend. We had to take the grandson to the Dr., a 4+ hour drive up there, staying in a motel, and I was the pack mule, carrying my own and my daughter's purses, and anything else that needed to be carried. We're still trying to resolve medication issues with the boy. This trip was spur-of-the-moment, "can you be here at 9 in the morning?" It was a matter of throwing some clothes in a bag and going. Anyway, this old lady is tired. I don't know how the kids do it, dealing with this every day. I think my daughter has earned the pink hat and the lavender dress, for all she's having to go through.

[happylandings1]

I too want to earn my hat!!!!! I am 54, 2 yrs ago I fell while working on my horseback riding,, ummm 32 stitches in my left knee, and lifted the knee cap,,, it still isn't right,,, but in all honesty before looking at the knee I thought I scraped it and had just a scratch,,, but on arrival at the hospital and the cutting of my brand new riding pants,,, I figured ok a little more then a scratch but a few stitches and I will be right back up on the horse,,, wrong,,, I can bend the knee, and I can walk sometimes, other times I am in such pain,,, exercise is very hard,,, because of the uneveness of my walk I have back pain,,, I do use weights, and I have a gazelle so I do try to spend 5 min at a time on that,,, seems to help the stride because it is so smooth vs walking and the jarring of my body,,, I want to be able to lift my leg to mount the horse and bend the knee,,, anyone got any suggestions?