Exercise that's different - the Theracycle

One of the earliest discoveries about PD was accidental.  A pwp rode a tandem bicycle with a doctor at Ragbrai, an annual cross-Iowa cycling event.  She was pedaling faster than she would have, because of her partner - and by the end of the week, many of her PD symptoms had improved markedly.  That experience grew into a whole series of experiments that demonstrated that when rats - and people - have to exercise faster than they ordinarily would, their PD symptoms improve (in the rats' case this was PD-like symptoms).

That Ragbrai experience on the tandem bike was forced exercise.

The Theracycle is reminiscent of a stationery bicycle, with important differences - it doesn't have a bike seat (and that's good, for there is very little comfortable about a bike seat), and it has a motor that enables you to pedal faster than you'd choose to pedal on your own.  You could use it as a stationery bike, but you can have it assist you to go faster - that's the forced exercise.

There are cheaper versions of the Theracycle, but they lack a critical safety feature - do you want the bike to keep pedaling when your feet are attached to the pedals - if you fall off the bike?  Me, neither.  The Theracycle has a "deadman" switch similar to treadmills; you pin it to your clothing so if you fall the cord pulls a magnet off its target and the machine stops.

We purchased a Theracycle used, almost new, for under $2,000, less than half the cost of new (which would be $4,800 for this model.)  My husband found it on Craigslist.

I gotta warn you - like a treadmill, it's boring.  My husband, bless him,  hooked up a tablet clamped to the right of the display, so I can watch Youtube.

For awhile I used the forced exercise aspect of the Theracycle, but it is a bit too energetic for my additional diagnosis (myelitis, which is similar to MS; see previous blog).  Now, I'm only allowed to do moderate exercise, not vigorous at all - and when I do vigorous exercise now I end of stiff (unable to move stiff), exhausted for 24-48 hours, and sorry.  This is frustrating since I became a real exercise nut before.

But I can stay on the Theracycle for long periods if I set the speed lower.  Possibly I can build up to a faster speed at some time in the future.  For now, I can work out at a lower speed but for quite awhile; typically I walk on the treadmill for 15 or 20 minutes, then use the Theracycle for 20-40 minutes more.  If I'm tired, I skip the treadmill and use just the Theracycle. Even at the slower rate my legs are stronger.

So the Theracycle has been a boon for both conditions.

Image from https://www.theracycle.com/forced-exercise-bikes-for-pd/theracycle-200/

Nicotine experiment goes haywire

There is some research to suggest that nicotine gum increases blood pressure in people with PD.  A recent clinical trial showed that chewing nicotine gum improved low BP for about 90 minutes.  So I thought, given that I have orthostatic hypotension, I would give nicotine gum a shot.

First, I chewed the gum while driving to Rock Steady Boxing, then spit it out when I got there.  Partway through class, though, my BP dropped, and I had to sit.  Okay, so next time chew through class, right?

Wrong.  Yesterday, I started chewing the gum at the start of class.  Felt great for 10 minutes.  Then had to sit down.  Even sitting I felt light-headed.  No way could I get up, even to move my rollator, where I was sitting, out of the way.

I have never felt so washed out.  I even considered phoning my husband to walk me out of class, down the stairs, and take me home; my independence is important to me, so this demonstrates how poorly I felt.  After about 30 minutes, I spit out the gum and slowly started to feel better.  Cognition was subpar throughout, which is not normal either; it improved as my BP improved.

Put one in the "fail" column.  No nicotine gum for me.  There is medication to increase my BP; I haven't wanted to consider it (danger of high BP when lying down), but now I think I have to.

Adventures with blood pressure - low blood pressure

Always had low blood pressure, even in childhood, so I know that if you leap out of bed you'll end up fainting, which is not as glamorous as it sounds (for instance, your elbows hit things on the way down, and you land in a heap).  With PD, this has gotten worse - now there's a BIG drop in BP when I stand.  It's called orthostatic hypotension.

So I added compression thigh-highs at my neuro's suggestion.  Also not glamorous, and a b*tch to put on, but they feel good!  My legs don't feel tired and full of fluid; my ankles haven't expanded.  And I don't feel like I have to faint all the time.  (Now I only feel that when I'm showering and can't wear the hose, for obvious reasons).  I learned that, yes, rubber gloves really do make these easier to put on.  Yes, there are meds for this, but they can result in HIGH blood pressure, so I want to avoid these.

But then came hot weather.  I was feeling really rotten two-thirds of the way through a strenuous exercise session, even though I was drinking plenty of water (and promptly going to the bathroom - like beer, I was only renting the water).  First I thought I was just running short of dopamine, because that happens.  But then I thought that I felt rotten because of hydration, but I was already hydrating, wasn't I? 

The compression stockings get hot when I exercise, hotter when I wear full-length pants/jeans.  So I wear what we used to call "pedal pushers" and now call "capris."   Shorts show the tops of my stockings when I exercise - so attractive - so they're out.

Hydration is critical in hot weather, because you sweat more.  But if I drink even more water, it just goes through me and I'm peeing more than once an hour!  Um, help.  And with exercise comes even more sweat.  So I re-read all the orthostatic hypotension advice, and notice they talk about salt.  I already add extra salt during meals and cooking (which feels weird because we were always avoiding salt when I was a kid.), but what I read mentioned "salt tablets."  Well, what the heck - I'll try that.  So I take a tab with a glass of water when I first get up; I notice that makes walking around before my shower a bit easier - and I don't instantly have to pee as the liquid makes a beeline for my bladder!

I also take a salt tablet every time I drink a glass of liquid, all day.  This is helping.  I'm back to peeing once every hour or two, and I can live with that.  But now I'm peeing a couple of times a night, which interrupts sleep, and I don't need to lose any more sleep.  One of my Rock Steady coaches suggests that I stop taking salt late in the day.  So the last salt tab is right before late afternoon exercise, and none with dinner or later.  After one night's experiment, I only wake up to pee once, so we'll try this again.  I'm hopeful.

Images from Pixabay