My doctor basically said go ahead to all exercise except heavy weight lifting. So now I run, bike and do lighter weights. Sure shows every case is different, but it makes me think if I might be doing a little much. I do go for gamma knife November 10th, it will sure be nice to get that timer started.
Exercise can be problematic even outside the brain. My grandfather was a healthy 38 yr old who owned a bar. Irish immigrant working so hard.He was carrying cases of beer up the cellar steps. Died of a massive bleed. Decades later, we realize his death cert indicated he had AAA (abdominal aortic aneurysm). The aorta is the strongest blood vessel in the body; he had been born with a patch that would inflate like an inner tire.It was a combo of the disorder and the Valsalva maneuver that caused his death. Valsalva is when we hold our breath and push. As when lifting wts, dealing with constipation or carrying beer. Or pushing a baby out of the body. The simple maneuver builds pressure within the blood vessels/ If the vessel is impaired, the higher pressure causes a tiny tear. Aortic has the force of the heart so a small tear causes blood to gush. Info I have accumulated; you can use it to formulate an exercise plan along with your doctor and PT. I have a VM and need to maintain heart/lung health. Swimming or riding a reclining stationary bike while wearing compressionwear. No gravity for me. This is the plan worked out specifically for me.
Hi I had a cranitomy on the left side of my skull because of a temporal lobe AVM. I used to suffer from seizures but now it’s been a year and a few months and have not had a seizure. Is it possible for me to go for long walks or push ups? I would like to get get married soon and was wondering if sex will be a problem because of chances of rupture when blood pressure goes up! Right now the only exercise I do is walking.
I think I’m just reiterating what others have said here, but every case is different. Some doctors do not want patients with AVMs limiting their activity. Also, we can’t give medical advice here. Unless there is a specific danger, there are very few situations where exercise makes something worse. In most cases, exercise makes almost all things better.
For my DAVFs, before embolization I did take it easy. A few weeks after each embolization I returned to exercise. I believe that sped up my recovery and also what helped me feel more normal. I also had a large residual clot from a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis that did not change for 6-12 months or so. I returned to riding my bike 10-15 miles a day and upon my follow up angiogram, the clot was gone.
This is obviously a different situation. But being sedentary and not exercising introduces so many health risks and problems. I know it’s easy to be scared about causing a hemorrhage. I’m included in that. I limited my activity too much, but I was terrified.
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