Hey guys,

Previously I've been able to take a walk of about an hour a day, with a short break halfway. Since that has been going so well, I decided to try to step the challenge up a little bit yesterday and went for a walk of 1h15m. After 45 minutes, I felt tired and rested at a bus stop. I also stopped listening to my audio book. The absence of the audio book made me feel more clear, and I went on to complete the 1h15m walk.

However, today I don't feel great. I feel restless and I experience dizzyness, especially after looking at my mobile screen and walking simultaneously. I managed to walk about 15-20 minutes today before I started feeling a little tired in my legs. At first I thought it was anxiety that produced these symptoms, but after meditating and sitting and listening to music without feeling restless I realized that the dizzyness persisted.

How do you guys judge when a walk is starting to be too demanding? Do you turn back as soon as you feel any hint of fatigue in your legs? I've had trouble with distinguishing actual fatigue from anxiety-induced fatigue when taking walks, so I'd be glad for some tips.

If you are just walking at a casual pace, I think your response is either anxiety or due to over-attending from the audiobook or watching your mobile screen.

A casual walk increase blood flow but only increases calorie burn by about 40 to 50% over sitting. That should not cause physical fatigue.

The over-attending can cause mental fatigue that can result in the dizziness and other symptoms.

Interesting - do you never experience fatigue from taking long walks that are connected to your PCS? I've been doing so consistently since I hit my head but I suppose that's no guarantee that it's not caused by anxiety

I can do many forms of exercising as long as I am not over-stimulated or over-attending. When I am at the Y, I do 20 minutes on the rower with foam ear plugs. If everybody around me has their ear buds in and listens to their own music, I do fine. When a chatterbox starts talking away, I have to cut the row short. If a heavy footed runner uses a nearby treadmill, the pounding sound causes me to cut short. I know that when the stimulation starts to be a focus rather than ambient sound, I need to leave.

I have the same problem in the pool. The aqua aerobics instructors like to turn the music up. Some music selections will cause me problems. The echos are the biggest problem.

You could try walking with ear plugs to see if your gait had a pounding foot plant. You will hear your foot plant. That can be a problem. Finding a softer gait and softer walking shoes can help.

I don't see a value to the longer walks. I think you would be better to have a broader range of activities. The idea of pushing for a longer period may not be as good as learning how to do a wide range activities and remain symptom free. The stress of "I'm going to finish 1 hr 15 mins" may not be helpful. Just do it with a a specific target.

This is valuable information for me, I've always had an audio book or a podcast playing while taking walks. What happens if you row for longer than 20 minutes? Do you notice symptoms if you break a sweat or get physically tired?

I'll try walking with earplugs today.

You may absolutely have a point. This far I've felt limited in the amount of physical activity I can take overall and I haven't even considered doing something else because something as easy as walking has been making me tired. The idea behind walking for a specific length of time has been that I want to do as much physical excercise as possible without getting exhausted, and I figured that increasing the time I was out walking by a little bit as I managed the previous "level" would be a nice way of slowly ramping up the challenge. But if I notice that I'm able to do other things aswell, you may just be right.

EDIT: Also, I've been thinking about exercising with heart rate in mind after seeing a video describing the Boston Protocol (I think this was the name). In the video, a man's heartrate was monitored, and the man was told to inform the observer when he could feel symptoms returning. Then, the man worked out a program with a personal trainer, putting exercise intensity at a level that would place his heart rate at 10-5% below his heart rate at which he could feel symptoms returning.
Have you looked into this approach, tried it and if so, what did you think of it? If not, what is your reasoning around this?

Many have used the Buffalo Protocol. It helps with increasing exertion levels.

When you say fatigue, what kind of fatigue do you mean ? What are your symptoms ?

You don't need the ear plugs for the whole time. Just long enough to sense if you have a hard foot plant. You want your foot plant to not rattle you brain. Many don't realize how hard their foot plant is. Walking with more toe in the foot plant can soften it. Or, just a better shoe.....

The stress to the upper neck from a hard foot plant can be inflammatory.

What kind of fatigue do you mean?
It's really just a sense of that my legs are tired. When I feel the onset of being a little tired in my legs, the tiredness gets gradually more intense as I keep walking. I tried walking without listening to anything today and one main advantage of this was that I was able to keep more of a focus on how I was feeling: I could feel anxiety coming and thus acknowledge it which in turn allowed me to let go of it to some degree. This resulted in that I could feel tiredness coming (from anxiety) and then feel it go away when I managed to let the anxiety go.

I'll try the earplugs and get a sense of the foot plant tomorrow.

In another thread, you recommended vestibular therapy. I found a video from a physiotherapist/PT at my university that proposed some exercises. I am thinking of trying these out until I get a chance to find a PT who can guide me, what's your thoughts on this approach?


Oh and yeah, I meant Buffalo.

It sounds like you are experiencing an anxiety reaction. Your ability to relax out of it is good. Your legs are not getting fatigued. Instead, your heightened sensation to anything is taking a small sensation in your legs and magnifying it. This is a very common problem.

It might help if you could listen to something that does not require cognitive effort like an audio book and is not stressful or intense like thumping or other aggressive music is. Uplifting music can be good. Then, maybe you can just go for a walk. No goal oriented walking. Just a walk. Reduce the intensity.

I had a collection of music I could use to distract and refocus my mind. For me it was Dianna Krall, The Look of Love and some Sarah Brightman CDs. I also used Celtic Woman videos to grab my visual focus and auditory focus.

I was not getting triggered by bumps or impacts. I was being triggered by over-stimulation and over-attending. I had to find my own rescue systems. I had nobody helping me. All they did was offer drugs.

With some experimenting, you should be able to learn your own rescue skills. A therapist may be able to help you.

My bets to you.

That makes a lot of sense. I've never been able to put my finger on what caused the fatigue response from the anxiety, but your reasoning is spot on. I've gotta say, I'm left a little affected from your music recommendations, I really appreciate them.

Thank you for your advice and support, friend. I'll see you around.

Smutsik,

What did your heart rate get up to and for how long?

I ask because I can exercise for a decent while as long as my heart rate doesn't get up into the higher aerobic range for extended periods without experiencing any anxious symptoms.

Bud