Now that Spring is almost here I would like some advice on how much gardening I should be doing. I started on pred in December 20 mg and I'm now down to 12.5mg and feeling OK. I normally do all the gardening with my husband just doing heavy digging and hedges. It's not a huge garden and I enjoy it but I don't want to make my PMR worse. I can't afford a gardener BTW.
Gardening?: Now that Spring is almost here I would... - PMRGCAuk
Gardening?
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Booklist
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I do my main garden, but my next door neighbour mows the lawn for me. I do leave digging to someone else though. I have really cut back on veg and just stick to herbs and flowers with the odd courgette thrown in! I still cut things back and prune things but take it in easy stages and plan each day what I am going to do.
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer
Keep it to light gardening, and with plenty of tea-breaks in between the actual work.
Mine is mainly pots (sometimes I think too many!) - and I managed with my GCA….
a. because initially hubby couldn’t and b.following his passing, had to.
It’s all too easy to start something, and then keep say I’ll just do this little bit….that’s no good…you have to be strict with yourself.
Do 10, 20 or 30 mins depending on what it is and how you feel, and then have a sit down…if only for 5 mins or so. Then another stint…and remember if you’re using different muscles, or repetitive actions they will complain a bit.
I still have to be sensible, arthritis in right shoulder…and have lumbar spondylitis so find sitting down to do some jobs helps - seeding/deadheading flowers.
Same as we always say…pace yourself! And enjoy, just being out in the fresh air is good! 🌸🌼🥀
You sound like the way I work in my garden!! My husband keeps an eye on me sometimes !But I try and do what I say. I lose track of time and especially when I am weeding!
Hmm.. weeding not my favourite job…
I do a bit and see if I get away with it for 48 hours. Beware weeding, it’s very tempting to just get that last bit. That’s my downfall, or moving a large pot because I don’t want to wait for my husband to get round to it.
Snazzy My pots are on wheels.....................some of which I have had for years - I really am amazed at how long they have lasted. However a neighbour was telling me he gets castors off old chairs etc and has lumps of wood and screws them in - called recycling. 👍 So when I need new ones - I will be on the lookout for castors. 😈
I guess we are all the same type of gardeners!!!! I operate the way you do!!!
I do 10 minutes then sit for 10, another 10 pottering , then sit for 20 with a drink. If I feel ok, I continue with the pattern. Sometimes in the summer, I have gone out at around 1pm (sun has moved then so I have some shadow) taken a flask and some biscuits and been out there for a couple of hours.
You pace yourself and don't wait till you are aching, work, rest, work rest.
Mind I don't do digging etc, just pruning, with long handled pruners which also hold what you have cut. I drag a lightweight barrow, so I can just throw the stuff straight into it. I have a box hedge and hand held shears and I sit and move a stool along - amazing with a bit of thought.
If you can afford it - look at long-handled tools - since disabled people garden it is amazing whats on offer.
I did invest in some raised beds - my birthday and christmas presents to me.
Mind I am an ancient brit.
This is my exact strategy. Short bursts, then sit back and admire the garden for 10/20 mins, which is therapeutic. My partner does any really heavy carrying or wheelbarrowing. Long handled tools are a godsend. I also try to go on the one day on, one day off shift system!!! However, as gardening is my passion I’m not a stickler for this and am usually guided by the weather.
I find at the start of spring its easy to overdo it as there’s so much to do. I get carried away! I find it best to vary the jobs and have regular stops for a cuppa break. It does the spirit good to get out there. I do leave the mowing and digging holes to hubby too. Just do what you feel comfortable with and build gradually. Enjoy
So agree Temeraire...uplifting the spirit is all part of the healing 🌻🌹🌸
I agree with you my spirit is lifted in my garden!!
Hi Booklist, I love my garden and it became my sanctuary and my saviour during lockdown.
I've adapted my garden to suit my capabilities so it's not particularly high maintenance.
I no longer 'dig' but I do hoe! It's less time consuming and gentler on my body.
Like DL, I have quite a lot of pots and plant them up with lots of colour. I personally find 'dead-heading' really relaxing and sit on my special stool to carry out the task.
I water with the hosepipe so I'm not carrying a heavy watering can and hubby mows the lawn.
Remember that you don't have to do everything all at once. A little bit each day can achieve a lot!
I encourage the wildlife to visit as much as possible and have a vast assortment of birds feeding daily, including jays, long-tailed tits, blue-tits, blackcaps, wrens, goldfinches and even some redwings in January. I have hedgehogs in the garden (and saw one just two nights ago!) and squirrels too.
Watching the wildlife and tending my garden is so therapeutic and uplifting. It's like a protective shield for my mental health and on those days when my condition begins to trouble and burden me again I just have to either go into my garden or sit in my window and watch the birds.
It's completely possible to have a pretty garden that's also low maintenance but probably a good idea to research how best to do it first.
Good luck.
Kendrew, I adopted 'no dig' many moons ago.................... it does the soil the world of good.
I'm afraid I'm not a particularly knowledgeable gardener but suddenly being faced with a long period of time at home for various reasons, I quickly learnt to truly appreciate and love my garden. I became a little annoyed at digging up spring bulbs every time I dug the soil over!......I also found I no longer had the energy to do that. Hoeing resolved both issues.
I find I can forget many of my health issues when I'm out in my garden. It's 'medicine' I can recommend! 😄
It's a long time since I saw a black cap. Last year had a pair of reed buntings visit frequently. Just one back this year. My gardening is dictated by who is nesting where as well as my body limitations. Lean to greenhouse isost used for reading!
I think it's quite remarkable how much joy a garden full of flora & fauna can improve your mental well being and also somehow diminish everything from pain to low mood. Just sitting by my window watching the different birds feeding helps clear my mind of negative thoughts and lifts my spirits. I think it's important to have something to do each day that you enjoy.....it may not be gardening or bird watching.... any hobby or activity will do...... knitting, painting, stamp collecting! Would be so easy to just sit all day feeling sorry for myself but this just isn't a worthwhile or constructive option.
Like you, my gardening revolves around the the wildlife inhabiting it.
Keep your eyes peeled !!.... you may see a Blackcap yet!!
Just wonderful to get back to a bit of gardening. But it is so easy to get carried away. I put an alarm on my phone and tell myself very firmly to stop when it goes off. I can manage about 20 minutes fairly gentle clearing up/pruning and then I rest and don't do anymore that day. It is also the way I get housework ...10minute task and then stop (without the alarm because there is less temptation to continue)
What a good idea! I also find that when I am saying, “ I’ll just do …” that’s the time to stop.
It is so easy to full back into old habits...and just roll on...but there is always a price to pay. Now into my 3rd year of PMR and sometimes find it hard to rein myself in and accept all the limitations. Although I can hardly remember my high octane former self. Will I ever stop being this rather decrepit individual??
Third year of PMR for me too and sometimes I feel like an old woman!.......hang on??.....I am an old woman!!😄 In physical ability only though! I'd love to be able to spend the whole day out without 'consequences'...or be able to accept an evening invitation to dinner or the theatre knowing I'd not be completely fatigued. Hopefully that will be possible again one day in the future, but in the meantime, this is my new normal.
However......I can walk, I'm not reliant on walking aids, I can manage stairs and I can go out as long as I have regular stops (for tea & cake!🙄) I'm able to travel in the car, drive reasonable distances myself, manage my own 'personal care' and be fairly independent. So although I'm sad for the 'losses' PMR has inflicted on me it's not for too long because there are still so many things that I can do.
I'm learning just how well I can adapt to my ever changing 'possibilities'!
Lots of positive energy! You really are doing so well...and you know how to pace yourself. Many of the boxes you tick, I can too...though stairs are an absolute impossibility and I have zero energy for going out...but it is the acceptance of the new normal that matters...whatever it is.
BTW just noticed that you really are a spring chicken...I suspect the decade between us does make a difference...though I am sorry you got smitten by PMR so young.
Here here!👍
Good morning, l have GCA that was diagnosed in 2020. I have managed to start gardening again which is a real treat. I am very careful about not overdoing it. Especially in the early days when l was on high dose steroids and felt like l could do anything. I have a little timer that l set for 30 minutes when out there. I can't always comply with it and stop what l am doing but it makes me take account of how l am actually feeling. I sometimes do a bit more or go out again later. It was not very expensive of Amazon. I have also started wearing shin pads as l kept getting bruises very easily especially when l get a bit to busy out there.
Like you I had GCA and thin skin started to be a problem and so I use arm protectors which start at knuckles right up to elbows. I now don't buy expensive plasters.
In fact, I think I have saved the money spent of arm protectors by not buying plasters. 🤔👍
I do remember the wonderful energy I had on 60mg of steroids. Fortunately had none of te negative side effects. Never thought life would get worse as I tapered! I am grateful for the continuing lack of pain but.....
How has it got worse?
much lower energy levels...adrenal problems causing terrible fatigue...I also got serious muscle weakness a few months into the high doses and that has not improved at all as I have tapered (not caused by the tapering). Very occasionally dipped below therapeutic dose and suffered a return of the PMR pain/disabilities. The high levels cured the shoulder bursitis which crept back on lower levels.
I was such a happy duracell bunny on 40-60 mg of steroids...shame about the side effects.
4mg is where I am now...so far off normal energy...no physical stamina...feel like I am on the edge of pain breaking through...one shoulder has limited movement...
Sorry for such a catalog of actually very minor complaints...but you did ask...and I have actually had a tough phone call with my eldest son this morning who has never been willing to accept any of my limitations and now expects me to be completely back to normal. I have never even asked him for a moment's help (although I live alone). Sorry for the moan. Just feeling a bit sad.
Never apologise for moaning and life is difficult when you life alone…even more if people don’t recognise your illness.
I think some children don’t want to acknowledge that their parents are unwell - because it makes them feel vulnerable and the parent has always been the one they lean on (even if they don’t realise it)
Know what you mean about the higher doses, but it was never going to last was it? 😊
All I can say about the fatigue, it will go - but it can be a very frustrating time -but patience, slow tapers etc does get you through - been there. Also with the shoulders -arthritis or injury?
As for muscle weakness, I found Pilates a great help - not easy to start with, but stuck with it -still am and it’s got me through 3 joint replacements,
Hopefully you’ve got a sunny day today, and you soon feel a little better 🌸
Thank you. Such a meaningful and timely response.
Am out for coffee -will pm you this afternoon.
Sons....not easy sometimes. Don't let them occupy your mind all the time if you can...I know, easier said...go easy 🙏
wise words...I am beginning to move on...thank you for sending me your message...I feel so immensely to helped by the HU community...
So sorry to hear this ageingfeminist 😟
I can sympathise, albeit with perhaps less cause. Been feeling somewhat low myself - it’s as though the ageing process has been accelerated since I’ve had PMR. I love my garden but haven’t even thought of doing anything this year…..
Anyway just thought I’d say you’re not alone and I hope things improve for you soon. Hugs xx
I so appreciate your message. I do feel like I have aged 20 years in 3 years...it's not an exaggeration. 3 years ago I was a 70-year-old who felt like a 60-year-old (or even younger!) and now I feel like I am approaching 90.
Absolutely agree! I was always regarded as young for my age (and felt it) but no longer, I fear….It’s almost the worst thing about my PMR. Pain and stiffness I can work around, the fogginess and fatigue I find much worse…..
In fact I’ve just remembered I overheard my husband saying to a neighbour in the early days (just last year!) that “it’s like she’s aged20 years overnight”. I’m on 12.5 now so it’s not the adrenals but I have very limited energy or enthusiasm still….
I am actually finding it immensely reassuring to find myself in the same boat as others. It is so easy to feel ALONE and wonder what on earth has happened.
Me too 😊 Certainly friends and family have even less idea what’s happened than I do, so it’s wonderful to find understanding and companionship here xx
The “very limited energy/ enthusiasm” is worrying me atm too. I’m a lot older than you but during the last few weeks I seem to have aged twice as quickly as before. I blamed it onto the weather but it’s SUNNY now!🌞😎This too will pass - WON’T it???🤷♀️
I hope so Constance, I really do 🤞
Interestingly, when I had heart surgery people warned me of this kind of fatigue, but I didn’t really find it a problem. I find PMR much more all pervasive and difficult to get a handle on …
Hope you feel better soon xx
An odd question considering that all our bodies are different and what one person calls pain another may see it as discomfit
I’m not much of a gardener but did discover that bending over and pulling weeds results in muscle soreness…even if I take breaks. So now every spring and fall I pay a lovely, keen woman to get the beds in shape. It is affordable and it helps her out financially. Win, win!
I loved this thread that you started--my gardener friends are the best ever!!
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