I went swimming yesterday. You may ask what is exceptional about that. Well I'm on 10 litres of oxygen per hour which I need to use whilst swimming. You may ask how did she get around the Health and Safety rules. Well I hired a small pool at a swim school for £12ph and my friend came with me. I took along a shopping trolley and some long tubing for the oxygen cylinders. In theory my friend was to walk up and down the pool with the oxygen while I swam. However the oxygen seemed to balance well in the shopping trolley and she was able to come into the pool with me. I was able to swim breaststroke with my head in the water and backstroke. I did have a half time rest on a chair at the side of the pool. The whole experience was so good for me both physically and mentally. I'm back in control and the illness is not going to get me!
Kind Regards
Mandy
Written by
BugsBunny
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Oh well done Mandy. You make me feel so lazy. I'm not on Oxygen and have a small School pool which they hire out to the public at certain times and I haven't been for 5 years. It is only within walking distance. Maybe, just maybe I will take the plungexxx
Hi Mandy - thats fantastic! I am impressed that you are able to do backsroke! I find I have to stick with the less demanding breastroke, as backstroke and crawl have my sats plummeting after just a few strokes (I can't use my oxygen in the public pool). With breast stroke I can do lengths with brief rests at each end for sats to get back up around the 92%. I am currently working on swimming crawl using arms only with a float between my thighs to keep my legs up - the theory being that my sats will stay up if I am not using my leg muscles. I am finding this very hard on my arms but will continue to practice the method for a short time before continuing with my usual breastroke each session.
Have you noticed that when you swim breastroke, raising your face out of the water to breathe in, then back into the water to breathe out, it is great for controlled breathing - like 'mega PLB' as we breathe out against the pressure of the water! Great isn't it! I would love to swim with other COPD'ers - perhaps we could get a team together one day ... now that would be cool! I hope you are able to repeat your experience on a regular basis Mandy - let us know how you get on - it feels beautiful in the water doesn't it! Vanessa xx
How wonderful ...I have to make do with my bath ,I love being in water and the sea.soooo good to enjoy somthing after all we go through fighting this lung thing!!
Hi everyone, Thank-you for your lovely comments. I have Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Hypertension. It would be nice if people with lung diseases could all swim together: Swimming for Breathing. Though if we were all on oxygen then our wires might get tangled up. I for one will keep on swimming.
Mandy, What confidence, what boost to your morale. Well done!
I don't swim any more because the water is too cold, but I do go to the gym and finds it alright. I even weaned myself out of oxygen by going with it to the gym. They were very resistant to the fact I could go. I got a note from the doctor and my pulmonary nurse. within 2 months I got rid of the bottle and of my home concentrator.
I swim 3 times a week. I am lucky though that I don't need oxygen yet. it really is fantastic exercise, for me the mental side is as important as the physical side but I do feel my health has maybe not improved but certainly helped me maintain stability.
Well done you for not thinking negatively and going for it. Where there is a will there is away. Marie
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