I think the first few times I went out and did something aggressively active, I usually had SOB, slight back pain, and the exhaustion for a day or so. The further out I got and the more I exercised, the better those things got over time, though.

So, you might have some stuff crop up over the next day or so (or you might not!). Don't let it shake you though, getting back to the gym is a good thing!

I started exercising just two weeks after my bilateral PE's. The doctors said to take it slow, which I did and I like TossNTurn had some back pain. I was worried so I slowed the treadmill down a bit and it seems to have helped.

I think by getting back to exercising so soon after my PE's helped me recover quicker. In MHO just pay attention to what your body is telling you.

Take Care

Assuming I've got labour day right (start of September?) you've been ~2.5 months since diagnosis, so there isn't a firm reason not to start doing some exercise, depending on how you feel and there are no serious complications.

I read a quote a while back that if you imagine that you're 50% overweight (compared to your current weight) and you'd never exercised before, you'd feel something like that the first few times when you started again. For me, that wasn't far from the truth. Often you've no option but to start slow, but you do notice slow improvements and as Rosanne says, it can help with a gradual recovery.

I started within a couple of weeks after diagnosis, but I went slooowwww because I just felt so weird initially. I would do sometimes just a 10 minute walk on the treadmill. But I agree with rosanne, I think getting back to some sort of activity actually helps your recovery. It may not seems like it but it builds back your lung capacity, your strength, and it's good for your mental health as well.

Thanks everyone...I felt pretty good last night...I was going to the gym 3 times a week before the PE's so I really missed it...I think I feel better today and plan to go back on Monday for more fun..

Good for you!

Great. Glad you had a good first time back to the gym. As everyone mentioned, starting slow is good. I also got back at it a few weeks after the PE and slowly progressed my way back to normal exercise.

I'm five months post multiple bi-lateral pe-with heart failure. I started slow with walking and then swimming. I have since swam about 30 miles each month in July-October and am still going strong. My cardio and pulmonologist have both been amazed at the transformation. I still have some issues but they believe that I would be struggling had I not gotten such good cardiovascular exercise. I'm really thankful. Good luck to you and listen to your body.

Hi Grommit,
Would you be willing to talk a bit about your heart failure that you mentioned. Are you still having issues? What specifically is the issue? What do docs think about exercise and your heart? I worry I have a heart problem and that endurance running (especially) or high intensity would not be good for my heart long term. Do the doctors say that your heart can be restored to pre PE condition? I hope you continue to improve and am happy to hear you are doing well. I have finally been approved for a heart MRI next week! Hopefully it will shed some light on the situation.
Thanks!

FGtri: I'll explain my situation in lay terms--as the docs have explained it to me. I've had a lot of tests since the PEs on my heart and lungs. There was a lot of concern initially that my heart and lungs would not return to full functioning given the severity of my situation. The cardiologist and pulmonologist were both very insistent that I start moving--nothing too strenuous--but it was imperative to get moving so that my circulation improved and could move things through my lungs faster. The fear was that if my heart didn't get strengthened, the long term damage would be worse. This was about a month post-hospitalization. I wondered to the docs if swimming was okay and they both said that would be an excellent way to get back in the world. I've swam throughout my adult years but hadn't been in the pool in any real way for about 3 years-though I had been strength training and boxing but stopped exercising about 3 months before I got sick because I was exhausted all the time. The docs think that my situation started as a slow-growing DVT and that I likely had it for about 6 months prior to breaking off and going to my lungs. I started by walking very short distances--which was very hard and quite demoralizing. Initially, I had a lot of pain near my heart, shortness of breath and fatigue. Over about 4 weeks, I worked up to walking a mile and then started in the pool. I started slow and have now worked up to swimming 1.5 to 2 miles about 5 times a week--sometime more strenuous than others. The docs feel that this has changed everything for me--that my progress is much farther along than they would have ever expected. They have encouraged me to keep swimming.

I have had chest pains on and off for the last few months--but not when i exert myself--so the docs are not concerned. I have another round of tests in january and will know more about the size of my heart (still enlarged) and about my lungs (still have pulmonary hypertension). As for the heart failure, the docs feel like the exercise has strengthened my heart and that I should continue to improve.

i am still surprised by the ups and downs of this. I feel better sometimes and i feel worse others. I'm still more tired than i would like--but i'm giving myself a year to feel fully back to my old self.

Good luck on your recovery!
Amy

Hi Grommit!
Thank you so much for sharing that information. I'm so glad that swimming has really helped you and your heart! My pressures are on the high side of normal so I worry about pulmonary hypertension, but the MRI should hopefully show if I have that or not. I have chest pressure, like a weight on my chest near my heart and don't feel my breathing is what it was before PE, but I have more time to recover. I also don't feel problems when I exert myself. (Strange). I feel it more on a day to day basis when I'm not exercising. I'm probably hyper sensitive to what I'm feeling in my body as most PE/DVT people are. Thank you again. I'm looking forward to some results to help calm some fears. Way to go on the swimming distances!