Day 2 of Running.

So I wanted to give an update about my second day of running. Well, stupid me wore the little cut-off socks. You know the socks that only peek above your shoe line so people don't see your socks. Well, as I started running my socks kept slipping further and further down my foot and my shoes kept rubbing and rubbing my foot. Ugh! I now have several lovely blisters to show for my run. YUCK!

In better news I have to say I am amazed by my running experience. I went to the gym after eating (4 or 5 Kalamta olives for the salt) with a huge bottle of water and an ensure in my gym bag. I chose a treadmill as far in the back as possible so people wouldn't judge my slow pace. I started with a warm up walking at a speed of 4 for about 5 minutes after a good stretch. I then increased my "walk" to 4.3 so that I was fast walking. I then alternated jog (which I put at 5.3) and walking. At first it was easy, but half way through I was getting pretty tired. Not only was I getting tired, but I was breathing hard. To my delight and my neighbors horror I was even coughing!! Not excessively, but I could feel some mucus moving around and gave a few strong coughs while running.

I thought, "Hey, this isn't too bad." and then a woman three times my size got on the treadmill next to me and basically did the same workout, but wasn't even breaking a sweat. I felt like a loser all sweaty and red-faced, but I digress.

The most amazing part was when I got in the car to go home I was coughing! A lot! And it was considerably thicker than my normal mucus! I was elated! Then I got worried. What if this is actually an infection brewing, not old crappy mucus being brought up from cardio. So in my paranoid state I rushed home and did hyper-tonic saline to bring up as much crap as possible. I went to bed half excited that my workout brought up so much junk from my lungs and half worried that this thick mucus was a sign of infection.

Fast forward to today and my lungs feel great! No extra cough and when I do cough my mucus is thin and very light (yellow/tan). I am convinced that the run pulled some old junk from my lower lungs up and out. It makes me all the more excited to run again! I have yoga until Friday so I won't run again until then, but for ONCE in my life I am actually looking forward to running. Okay, I am not looking forward to the actual run. I am looking forward to getting rid of some of this nasty slim in my lungs AFTER the run!

Kundalini Yoga...not as weird as it sounds.

I started Kundalini yoga a few weeks ago after a relatively long break from yoga. I LOVE it. Although there is a huge spiritual component to the practice I am going to tell you who I chose to start kundalini based off of my own goals.

1. The whole hour and a quarter is dedicated to breath. There are so many different breathing exercises and the whole class you are focused on breathing correctly, deeply, and with your whole lungs. This is PERFECT for a CFer. Being conscience of my breath requires me to inhale deeper than I ever do in daily life because normally I am not paying attention and breath lazily. You know that shallow breathing that we all do when we aren't thinking about breathing...which is pretty much all the time!!

2. Its a time that I get to meditate and clear my mind! The whole yoga session is dedicated to you and being in tune with your body and it isn't about looking cute at the gym or stretching further than anyone else. It's completely 100% about YOU!!!

3. I am much more in tune with my body! I am spending time listening to ME and MY lungs and MY body. I noticed last week that I had more crackles during my deep breathing. I would never hear this otherwise because I never sit and listen to myself doing deep breathing. I proceeded to go home and vest/neb to be proactive. I never would have done this because I would have NO idea that I needed to.

4. The exercises (holding poses or doing repetitive motions for a ridiculously long time) are often mind over matter. Often my muscles are shaking while I am holding a pose and it takes all I can not to quit, BUT yoga also allows you to go to a different part in your mind. I don't know if i can explain it. I try to release my mind from my body and go into a different place (for lack of more descriptive word) and suddenly what seems impossible is very doable. This is so important for anyone, but especially for people with chronic illness. Being able to escape out bodies when we are in pain or about to undergo a procedure is a life saver! It also allows you to release a lot of fear when going into procedures because you are 100% confident you can get through it!

**Disclaimer***
My personal opinion is that the only way to get true results is to go to a true yogi. All of those classes provided at gyms are such a joke. Don't get my wrong I have been to them and you do get a workout and you do relax, but it is NOT true yoga. I call it trendy yoga and is good for a workout, but will never provide the benefits I have listed. That makes me sound stuck up huh?

Awareness Video

I found this video on YouTube and I ABSOLUTELY love it. Whoever put it together did such an amazing job. Enjoy!

I Dread Running!

In my quest to increase my lung function I have decided to start running. Ugh! I HATE running with a passion, but I don't feel like any other for of exercise does enough for my lungs. I have tried every machine at the gym and nothing produces enough sputum for me. I found a website that is supposed to guide you from being inactive to running a 5k. I have not attempted to run since my junior high days so it will be interesting to see how it goes. I am hoping to acquire a runners high after I get good at it which may make me more enthusiastic to hit the treadmill. Here is the link.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml 

I started the work out last week, but am a little behind already. YIKES!! I ended up doing extra yoga last week because I needed to make up some days I missed in the past and so I missed my run. Also in a week I will be out of town for over a week and I know I will not be running for the entire time so I will be remaining on the first step for about 3 weeks. Wow that sounds pathetic.

I am schedules to run tomorrow so we will see how it goes. Wish my luck and fast feet :)

Daily Meds

Here is my new and improved daily routine which I am hoping will keep my lungs healthy and to improve my lung function as much as possible.

AM Meds:
1. Nebulized Albuteral
2. Flutter (15-20 minutes)
3. Pulmozyme
4. Cayston (switching every other month with Colistin)

Afternoon Meds:
1. Albuteral
2. Pulmozyme
3. The gym 3 days a week and Kundalini yoga 1 day a week (not a med but airway clearance)

PM Meds:
1. Nebulized Albuteral

2. Vest 20 minutes 

3. Hypertonic Saline 7%

4. Flutter (15-20 minutes)

5. Cayston (switching every other month with Colistin)

I also take a prenatal daily vitamin, Vitamin D, and sometimes ADEK

Baby fever

My mother told me that since the time I could talk I begged her for a sister on a regular basis. I had an older brother whom I loved dearly, but for this maternal little girl all I wanted was a baby sister to play with. No brother, or puppy, or even a neighbor's baby would suffice. At the tender (well for me it was bossy) age of four I was given a little sister and I was over the moon. She became my baby and no job was too hard or gross or tough for me, her big sister. Crying and fussing? No problem! Diapers? My specialty! Spit up? I just brush it off my shoulder! That love for babies has never subsided and I believe it grows stronger as I get older.

I am happily married and both my husband and I have a case of baby fever. You may be saying, "What is the problem pop out a kid and cure your acute case of baby fever". Well, here come the challenging part. I have Cystic Fibrosis. Now this is not the end all be all for my baby desires. In face these days more and more women with Cystic Fibrosis are having one, two, or even more children. In fact, I follow several blogs written by these very women. The problem lies in the fact that doctors recommend women have FEV lung function 50% and higher in order to get pregnant. Here is the kicker. I have numbers that hover around 46%-49%. Ahhh so close and yet so far!! 

***For those of you without CF knowledge and are concerned that I have less than 1/2 of my lungs let me explain. FEV is the amount of air a person can blow out in 1 second, not the amount of air they have in their lungs. The amount of air I blow out in one second is only 46% of what I SHOULD be blowing out in one second. ****

You may be saying, "What is the big deal? Work harder and improve your one second blow." As any CFer knows, it is not that easy, but as you will find out throughout this blog that I intend on doing just that! I have a very extensive action plan and you can have the enjoyment of seeing if it works!