Exercise on PD

[alport45]

I'm new here & new to PD dialysis. I was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease when an infant. I am now 76 years old and count myself blessed to have avoided dialysis til now. My egfr went to 7 and , for the first time, I was really fatigued.

My current question is how to regain my fitness. My PD nurse is not much help, just saying I should stick to walking. I'd love to go back to my strength training class but am concerned about exercises that focus on my "core" because of the PD catheter. Anyone have experience with exercise on PD dialysis?

[OperationKidney]

I am amazed at your ability to live that long without needing dialysis! That's incredible.

I do have to agree with your nurse. Unfortunately the catheter is very limiting in terms of how much weight a person can lift while on PD because of weight's potential to cause tearing of the peritoneum. Your team would really be the best people to listen to on this.

[alport45 in reply to OperationKidney]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I have been very lucky with my kidney disease progression. It hits the males in the family hard, so that they rarely make it past 35. I had some acute episodes growing up and with the birth of my son but recovered to gfrs in the 30s over a long time.As for the exercise, the class I was doing before dialysis didn't involve lifting weights bur did include exercises meant to strengthen your torso. It also has us bending at the waist. I wish my PD nurse could be more helpful but she has a one size fits all protocol and won't consider anything but walking. I'll stick to that for now and see if my doc has an opinion.

[OperationKidney in reply to alport45]

Sounds like a good plan. Best wishes to you and hopefully PD will help you gain back some of that energy!

[alport45 in reply to OperationKidney]

Thanks.

[KidneyCoach NKF Ambassador in reply to alport45]

don't. Nephrologist is the one to consult, not the nurse. Ask about yoga or Thai Chi, even chair yoga can help. RSN offers online chair and dance Yoga. Check them out.

[cs65 NKF Ambassador in reply to KidneyCoach]

I do both the Chair Yoga and Dance on Zoom and RSN's fitness class on Zoom. The Chair Yoga does have some bending over exercises, but doesn't use weights. You can use your own discretion to do moves you can do and instead do simple breathing exercises as the leader demonstrates. Before and after the class there is time to talk to the leader about your special circumstances and concerns. The fitness class alternates days concentrating on the upper half of the body, some using hand weights (but if you can't use weights do the movements not using weights) and the legs and core(again, I just do the exercises I can do since I had a partial hip replacement). By tweaking the exercises I feel I still get good workouts that help with muscle pain in my "hip" leg. You can sign up for both at rsnhope.org and look for the online support groups link. There are a variety of classes on Zoom you might like! The fitness class uses weights for biceps and triceps exercises, includes a warm up and a cool down, and even has some balance exercises (I use a chair to hold onto for those). The yoga class also starts with a warm up to soothing music, then we do yoga movements to three songs, followed by a cool down.

[alport45 in reply to cs65]

Thanks for the specifics of your routine. The class I've been attending through my city's rec dept sounds similar. I think it will be okay to continue it but I'll pass it by my nephrologist and maybe the catheter surgeon. Instead of weights, we use elastic bands.

[alport45 in reply to KidneyCoach]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will be checking out RSN. Hadn't known of them before.

[alport45 in reply to KidneyCoach]

Thanks for the referral to RSN. I hadn't heard of it before.

[SadMad in reply to alport45]

If you don't mind my asking, what was the rare kidney disease you were diagnosed with as a baby? I also was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease as a child called X-linked hypophosphatemia rickets which caused me to have to take calcium and phosphorus supplements as my kidneys leaked it out of me. Now I have to watch my calcium food intake and take phosphorus binders. One Day at a Time!

[Hidden]

I fully understand your angst to get “back to normal” exercise, especially since it seems that you take great enjoyment in keeping your body healthy and fit. Having abdominal surgery of any kind, minor though it may seem, can change the criteria for what you might safely do without causing damage. Two ideas: (1) yes, definitely talk with your nephrologist or surgeon who placed your PD access to get their input about how much you can do safely (2) see a fitness trainer and explain your parameters to see what you can do that does not put a strain or cause twisting or compression to your access area. Glad you are otherwise doing well with your PD. Our area of experience is actually with home hemodialysis. Carry on, and I wish you well as you find answers.

[alport45 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. Your input is really helpful. My HMO (Kaiser) provides physical therapy. I think I'll get an appointment to explore which exercises might impact the catheter and peritoneum.

[Darlenia]

All great information. Press forward on your interest and expectation for exercise. And, by all means check with your nephrologist, your currently unhelpful PD nurse (who might have a concern about your particular catheter), your local gym consultant (some also are physical therapists), and others. My hubby, on PD, appreciates and needs physical exercise. So he and I regularly do the Hasfit Exercises for Seniors, particularly the 20 minute set, available on YouTube for free. It addresses the whole body and helps settle his restless legs. (If you belong to AARP, I believe the Silver Sneakers exercises are available to you too - there are bewildering number of them in their library.) There are other sites with exercises, too. mentioned in posts above. Anyway, my hubby's catheter is ideally located, the tubing is flexible inside, so he can do all the Hasfit exercises with the omission of only one activity. He does most exercises standing up. We also walk regularly. We never thought about running this by his medical team - probably not smart on our part. But we started slow and it all worked out fine. It's been almost a year since he went on dialysis and he's now starting to look into getting back in the gym. The social worker at his clinic is also reviewing the same video(s) for others there. (Interesting, isn't it, that it's the social worker, not the PD nurse, who has an eye for this.) I'd like to add that we're a couple in our 70s and my husband is now on the transplant list. So happy you're looking into exercise again. It's a big mood and wellness booster! By all means, continue your quest to bring it back in your life.

[alport45 in reply to Darlenia]

What a nice post. This kind of information is what I was looking for. I'm glad I found this site.

Everyone on this site has been so prompt and helpful in their replies to my question.

[cs65 NKF Ambassador]

I just did the rsn fitness class and the exercises we did today might be too much for you. We worked on upper body and core and it was too difficult for me with some of the standing on one leg exercises, so the leader helped me to adapt it. Our abs did get a workout, so I would suggest just the chair yoga unless you want to see both classes and decide. You can also call Cher at rsn to talk it over with her (she takes part in both classes).

[alport45 in reply to cs65]

Good advice. My city's rec dept class is easy for me because I had been doing it for years. The balance exercises work our core muscles in our abdomen. Those are the ones I'm most concerned about. The arm and leg work, not so much. Now that you mention it, standing on one leg might be too much because it is core muscles which strain to keep one balanced on one foot. So complicated.

[MsTrice]

So yea they say no core workout. in my opinion/experience focus on what you CAN do and modify it and listen to your body to avoid injury. Thats the best advice to give, you don't want to damage your catheter. But use your best judgement and take it slow.

[Darlenia]

Just a quick suggestion here - let your body tell you what you can or cannot do. After your peritoneal catheter wound is healed and your cath is stabilized with a belt or tape and your legs, belly, and hands aren't impacting it, it's pretty much up to you. I'd like to add that ignoring core exercises can eventually lead to lower back pain - particularly for rather sedentary older folks. That's a very painful debilitating situation - keeping one in bed and on muscle relaxants. Since my hubby is prone to that, he always makes sure to include a few exercises targeting that area. Honestly, it's pretty hard to go wrong with senior style exercises. Start slow and methodically. Just listen carefully to your body. It will be your best guide.