What are Imitrexes?

Dr. Nedley did work with me on finding a level of exercise that I could do without aggravating symptoms. I was able to complete the entire DURATION of exercise at a lower INTENSITY without aggravating headaches.

Imitrex is a migraine medication. Usually they will only give you a certain number per month because they can cause rebound headaches.

A brand name for sumatriptan, a drug used to relieve migraines. Can be a God-send, completely killing the headache. Does not work for everyone, or 100% of the time. People with limited supply due to health coverage limits must constantly wrestle with using up their monthly supply too soon.

That's a great article.

I've read articles like this before and I trust the content of them, but I also read on previous posts here that you should exercise until you have symptoms and then stop for a break. Well, I get instant cognitive symptoms, "brain fog", as soon as I start. I know this is something I should be asking one of my therapists, but I thought I'd ask here too, just to expand the feedback on this subject. I would love to become more physical, go swimming, shoot hoops, do some push-ups..etc. I just don't like the way it makes me feel.

Any thoughts?

Nick

The rule of thumb regarding exercise is to find the point where symptoms start then back of from that level about 10%. The usual measurement is pulse. So, if you have symptoms at 120 bpm, then exercise to 108 bpm. Wrist worn exercise pulse monitors are quite common and affordable.

If you work out on a computerize tread mill, they often have pulse monitors built in.

What kinds of exercise are you doing? I was doing exercise in a chair for a while... chair salsa... etc...

Stretching can be a good thing too. Light walks. Chi Gong. Tai Chi. etc.

You might be trying to do "normal" exercise which might just be too much for your brain at the moment. What we thought of as exercise before the accidents we had that caused the injuries we sustained needs to be built up to slowly from a much lesser point of activity. :P

I was also getting cognitive warning signs right off the bat, just doing very minimal physical things, like unloading the dishwasher. I am able to do more now; not anywhere near what I used to be able to do (yet.) I think it's definitely a warning sign to stop.

My boyfriend also got me little 3lb weights so I could start lifting them while I sit too.

If only I could exercise without feeling tons worse for the whole following month!

Here's an interesting Q&A with another Times writer on the benefits of exercise. A quote:

"If people want to be healthier and prolong their life span, all they really need to do is go for a walk. It’s the single easiest thing anyone can do. ... The human body is a really excellent coach. If you listen to it, it will tell you if you’re going hard enough, if you’re going too hard. If it starts to hurt, then you back off. It should just feel good, because we really are built to move, and not moving is so unnatural. Just move, because it really can be so easy, and it really can change your life."

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/0...better-health/

Hey Margarite,
I am sorry that you have such problems when you exercise. Perhaps you are overdoing it. It is natural to try to exercise in the same way that we exercised before getting injured, but that may no longer be the best way to do it.

Greenfrog makes a good point about the benefits of walking. Perhaps before you were injured you didn't consider that exercise, but if that is all that you can do without making yourself worse then that sounds like the right exercise for you at the moment.

Mark makes the point that if you know what point you might start getting symptoms then back off of that point so that you don't get them. Mark suggests back off by 10%. I read 15% - same principle. Don't do it to the point that it makes you worse, whatever that point is.

Also, some exercise that we might have enjoyed previously jerks the head too much for us now. Even shooting hoops can involve jumping which is bound to cause trauma to the head, previously not a problem, maybe it is different now.

I have found that using a cross-trainer does not make me feel worse, whereas jogging, even really slowly, does. So in this case, it isn't the fact that I am burning calories that is the problem, it is the fact that I am jerking my head around. When my head is more or less still, using the cross-trainer, I don't get the same bad feeling as when I try to go on a run, even though I might be actually working a lot harder on the cross-trainer.

So, if you are having problems exercise, I would recommend the cross-trainer, or if that is too much then walking, as Greenfrog suggest.

I found that exercise didn't eliminate PCS but it was at least possible to find a way to exercise without making the symptoms worse.