Has your doctor suggested you do light exercise? If so, what do you do that doesn't cause more fatigue?

[JennerLayne]

I've never been an exerciser, though I have had periodic bursts of 'self improvement' to meet a certain weight, fit into a special dress or just to get off my sofa from time to time. At last week's visit, he suggested I do some light walking to stay in shape and keep my muscles moving. There's a walking track at the local park but I am really looking for something simple I can do for 15-20 minutes when I don't feel like leaving my home. Any ideas?

[Nissa]

Leslie Sansone has some great walking based fitness DVDs. The DVDs come in various lengths (3 miles, 5 miles, etc), but you can set the DVDs to only play one mile if you want (I hope I'm making sense). Wal-Mart and Target both carry the DVDs.

T'ai Chi is also a fairly gentle workout, but I have yet to find a Ta'i Chi DVD that I actually like. Maybe you could check your library to see if they have any fitness books / DVDs that aren't too strenous.

[littledragon23]

Due to my spinal disorder I was never able to perform any sports, so I always have done walking. However, I don't think that you need something particular for that. If you don't feel like leaving your home you may could walk around your home, up and down stairs (if their are any), or as Nissa suggested some gentle workouts you could do with a training DVD.

Although I always prefer to go for walks outside and on my days off I usually go for 1-2 hours everyday.

[Fudger126]

Hi Jennerlayne.

I'm not sure if this my be to much, but at the moment I am doing couch to 5k. It is a program u download off the NHS website, and It is free! it helps you to be able to run if u wish. Week 1 starts with 5 minutes of walking then 60 seconds of running and so on. Take a look at the website as there is lots of different things to help lose weight and get fit. I was constantly coming home from work feeling so tiered that I could just go to bed but now, 3 times a week I go out running, I can now run for 20 minutes per time and I feel great. It is just an idea and worth a look, Evan just for ideas.

Good luck and once you find something you enjoy you will carry on xx

[Hidden]

No not been advised or exercising mentioned. Not sure if due to when weight taken at hospital first appt and calculated on the NHS BMI scale I am in a normal range or whether because I am pretty much active. I did happen to say that despite me being active and at time working full-time the year I started to itch (2010, diagnosed same yr) I felt so fatigued all the time.

Since my first abnormal LFT I started to make changes anyway. MY diet I've always considered pretty good but I now take even more care if that is possible.

I found that after being on urso for over a yr I started to feel fatigue leave me and ever since I've not really felt like I did originally. Yes I still itch but I think that is the one that could be the more problematic one to deal with.

I still go long walks, in fact many miles especially of a weekend and I clock up a lot during the week too as I walk to/from town. I have a small stepper that I've had years and occasionally if I am not doing much I put the tv on like I do when I am ironing and have a comedy that lasts 30mins on meanwhile. The stepper you just push on the 2 pedals to make your body go up and down and I can gladly use that for the duration of a short comedy.

I do actually think that the more active a pace one can lead with this PBC is probably something that is pretty good as it will keep the system clocking away and it aids digestion far better as long as one doesn't push the limits (ie if not used to doing a certain thing).

My husband used to be in the army and running was one of the things the guys all did frequently. He doesn't actually do this anymore as he has said what an impact it can create on the body joints with the thudding of you feet when you run for a good distance. I can certainly run but it's something that I'm not very partial to though I can walk a pretty fast pace if I want to.

At the end of the day it is the pace that we all find for ourselves regardless of what we do. I know I spent 5yrs running up and down staircases in a prior job up to the year before I started to itch and it was for 4hrs per day 5 days per wk. I can certainly walk and run up and down steps still due to that 'training' I had without getting out of puff.

Not sure about anyone else now but regardless of how far I walk or anything very active in a day, I still find it doesn't knock me out for a decent night's sleep. I have patchy sleep and when awake during the night, that is when I feel the itch.

[Pat_H]

I live in Gloucestershire and our local district council runs "walks for health" in several locations in the district. These walks take about an hour and you have the advantage of doing them with others in what becomes a social group. I understand that the Ramblers now "underwrite" these walks.

Is there anything like this in your area? You can decide how many walks you want to do a week - some just do one a week - and, in some of the locations, whether you want/are able to do a fast, intermediate or slow walk.

I walk once a week with the "walks for health", three further days with a friend, a much longer walk on Fridays with a walking group and the occasional all day-walk. I've got a bus pass and try to walk and bus as much as possible and not take the car. I also do Tai Chi (through U3A) once a week.

I don't appear to get the terrible fatigue that some people with PBC get. I don't know whether this is due to taking exercise or just because I'm not as far along the PBC road as they are. However, I do get "the itch"! And, as with Peridot, I don't sleep well. I'll have many many nights of patchy sleep and then I'll have a night of really good sleep which ends up with an oversleep, as I don't bother with an alarm any more.

Pat_H