Oxygen and excercise

By Candy D.

1 min read

I’ve been on oxygen for 11 years. I have stage 3 COPD but I started walking about 5 years ago in my living room and have kept it up because it makes me feel better and breathe better!

My routine

I recently added small weights to my routine and I do that sitting! I will do whatever it takes to help me breathe and it does! Exercise and diet and sitting out on my porch a few minutes each day make me feel more alive than I did when I was younger!

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Leon Lebowitz, RRT Member
<inline-mention username="Candy D." user-id="4571623"/> Hi Candy, and thanks for your post. We appreciate you sharing the success you're having exercising in the house. Walking is one of the single best ways to stay active. Doing it in the house helps to protect one from the elements, especially in the colder and inclement weather. Adding small weights can be a nice improvement as long as you have clearance from your physician. Keep up the good work! Leon (site moderator <a href='https://copd.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)
Bixd Member
 I have been on Oxygen since 2015 (my breathing problems predate that by about ten years). I have found both in-home exercising and walking is effective and we now spend more time exercising at home than we did when we went to the gym -- which for me was a daily occurance. I think the most singularly important improvements I have made in the last three years came from losing weight (I was never "fat" but what fat I had or have is in the stomach area, impacting my lungs), and breathing exercises (an investment of two or three ten to 12 minute periods). I think there should be more discussions of breathing exercises on this site, but I have to comment on the line "a nice improvement as long as you have clearance from your physician." I started "seeing" my lung doctor when I was 71. I just turned 75 and I saw him, maybe for the fifth time and, of course, we didn't recognize each other. I complained about having to made separate trips for a lung test and results -- his response was to say, "Ok, we won't give you any more tests." He has as much interest in what I do as a tick in Tennessee has intellectual interest in Pacific tide pools. I have asked to be changed, but that is useless, too. My view is we have to help ourselves, and breathing exercises have helped me. I have also not increased my 02 level from two liters. One "rehab" I went to told me to turn my 02 up while exercising, but my personal view is we need to get our lungs to do as much as they can.
1. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Member
 <inline-mention username="Bixd" user-id="4541955"/> Hi Bixd, and thanks for joining in the conversation here. I know you and I have had previous conversations here since you recently joined (February 2022). I seem to recall you mentioning this doctor before, too. The 'we won't give you any more tests' remark stuck in my mind after reading it. The nerve of that doctor! Sometimes one has to be their own best self advocate as well as their own cheer-leading squad. I have a respect for the way you are handling everything - keep up the good work! If there is anything we can do to assist you, please let me or any other moderator / team member know. Wishing you well, Leon (site moderator <a href='https://copd.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)
Bixd Member
 Hi Candy and Leon -- I think walking in the house is good, but it can be more effective carrying small weights. As anybody out there experienced the feeling of fatigue as the afternoon goes on? It is one of my concerns. I do really well in the morning, but by evening, I need to be horizontal. I also have trouble digesting -- before the plague, if I I had a jam session (I am a musician and used to host jam sessions at my house in the afternoon) I would have to skip lunch or have a light lunch. Can anybody relate to that? I also have to point out that walking is great exercise, but many of us find this a profession with diminishing returns. We can't do it like we used to. , , 
1. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Member
 <inline-mention username="Bixd" user-id="4541955"/> Hi Bixd, and thanks for your response and, for sharing your experience using weights. As my colleague, <inline-mention username="Lyn Harper, RRT" user-id="2449585"/>, said - it is a great suggestion. The walking (as my son always tells me), is key! I aim to get out and walk 7-days a week. By aiming for 7-days a week, I am satisfied if I get to five or even 4 days. I am fortunate in that I have a good dog who I walk four times a day. Each walk is between 10-20 minutes, and that is in addition to the 7-day a week walk I am for. So, either way, I am following my son's 'direction' to stay active by walking. Often times, like you, Bixd, I will add light weights to the walk (when I am indoors). But, when I am outdoors, I use hand grips to keep my grip strong. The point is - to remain active each day (within one's own particular level of capability) - that is what helps to manage this disease! Wishing you well, Leon (site moderator <a href='https://copd.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)
2. Lyn Harper, MPA, BSRT, RRT, AE-C Moderator
 <inline-mention username="Bixd" user-id="4541955"/> Now that's something anyone can do! I love the idea of water jugs - low cost, fill them to any weight, and easy to handle. The cloth bags is a real bonus. I know what you mean about hte breathing exercises. They provide so much value for so little effort. I sometimes wonder after we've taught someone here in the hospital to do breathing exercises if they continue to do them when they get home. I always hope they do. Thanks for the response. Lyn (site moderator <a href='https://copd.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)