1990 and 2007 were two very difficult years for me. In 1990, I lost my body-brain coordination and I could not accurately bring a glass of water to my mouth. I had to hang on to walls to walk. It took two to three years before I was diagnosed with SLE (lupus). Other than steroid shots, there were many medications I could not tolerate. In the end, I turned to prayers and intense inner focus. I imagined small movement sequences again and again until they became very real and clear in my mind. I asked my five-year-old to teach me to play the piano. He taught me to connect the musical notes to the piano keys and my fingers. My twelve-year-old had a typing game on the computer. I practised on it several times a day. Jane Fonda's videos were also around the house. I bought them for my fourteen-year-old. I used them a few minutes a day till my feet could step to the music.
In 2007, I became very stiff. My joints stuck together. Even taking a breath hurt a lot. My neighbour, a doctor, came up with a painkiller I could tolerate. I became strong enough to get up and seek medical help. UPM Pusat Kesihatan conducted blood tests and found my inflammation markers alarming. They referred me to a specialist hospital and Selayang Hospital diagnosed another autoimmune issue: rheumatoid arthritis. Swell.
Periods of being immobile and frail make me value mobility. I hated the shrinking of my world. I hated that I depended on others to accomplish the simplest tasks. I concur with Peter Attia, that a long lifespan is torture if it does not correspond with an equivalent health span. Peter Attia is acknowledged as a prominent longevity expert. His new book, Outlive, and his podcasts, theDrive, stress exercise as the most important modifiable factor in both health span and lifespan.
Exercise increases cardiovascular and respiratory function and decreases muscle size and strength loss. It also increases bone density and decreases osteopenia and osteoporosis. Strong muscles protect joints, improve stability and flexibility and reduce the risk of falling. As we age, we inevitably become weaker. However, movement and exercise will slow the rate down.
Movement and exercise have immense benefits for people with autoimmune issues, including stress and pain management, fatigue and inflammation reduction, mobility and flexibility improvement. However, and this is a big important warning, an activity that is too intense or too long might bring on a flare-up. I have to fine-tune very carefully and not be greedy. I especially tend to overdo my walks. I love being out in nature and tend to push myself. If I do that, I often wake up feverish. It is better to do three ten-minute workouts than a single thirty-minute workout. On very bad days, I stretch and do whatever I can on my bed. When my balance is bad, I do chair work. There are many workouts to choose from on YouTube. I try to choose qualified and certified trainers to be more certain of not hurting myself. I tend to do quiet workouts with less talk and motivation, such as the video from Dr. Kristie Ennis.
I am fortunate that I live in a pretty neighbourhood. My preferred form of exercise is walking. The current hot and humid weather is making me inconsistent. I tend to flare up in extreme heat and also break out in rashes.
Dr. Peter Attia talks about the equal importance of zone 2 training, resistance and weight training and high-intensity training. I am happy enough to be somewhat physically active. When in pain, it is easy to give up. Not wanting to be frail and immobile again, I try my best, even if all I can manage is five minutes.
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