Posted by jeff glickman on April 06, 1999 at 14:39:33:
In Reply to: Exercise posted by Jack on April 05, 1999 at 10:49:43:
I discovered through pure reaction that jumping up and down
was what I was compelled to do after being awakened and driven
out of bed by a CH. So I put a pad next the the bed and a pair
of old running shoes. CH would come, and would put on the shoes
and then do stationary running on the pad. As part of the rhythm
of the running-in-place, I would swing my arms up above my head,
then bring them down and cross them below my waist, then cross
them above my head. As I warmed up - it's just about ludicrous
to go from sleeping heart rate to exercise rate, but CHs make
us do things we normally wouldn't - I would keep my arms up
over my head longer, and get deeper breaths. I found that
I was eventually able to take enough breathes at the very
top of my lungs (so to speak) that the CH would quickly
taper and then end.
But how many times in a night can one do that? By the
third CH, I would be holding onto the bedpost and sort
of jogging without my feet lifting off the floor.
Then I found O2. A lot easier. And now, some twenty
years later, I really can't jump up and down anymore,
under those conditions. But I try and exercise 4-5 days
a week at a health spa. Problem is, lately I've had a
number of days where I would begin getting a CH either
in the midst of exercise, or when I was done. Damn!
Is exercise a trigger for me now? I just can't let it
be so, but I do have a new fear now. Handling fear and
pain as related to CH - that's what I'm trying to
understand how to do now.