Gym after graft

[Pascalini]

just wonderd what peoples experiances of are of going to the gym after having a cornea graft?

Ive been told not to go to the gym 3 months afte my graft and its now 6 weeks post graft.

Im feeling so lazy and a bit of a slob. are you allowed to do anything? even a fast walk mite make me feel better, i know weights are out of the question.

Also is it a good idea not to use the jacuzzi and suana too? lol would be just nice to have somthing to do during the day that gets me out and about.

hope you can help

[Andrew MacLean]

Steve

Be guided by your ophthalmologist as they do use different sutures and different conventions (running stitch, individual sutures 16 in some cases, 22 in others). It would be a pity to take the honest opinion of folk here and later find that your surgeon was using a low-tension suture that popped when your IOP increased with exercise.

That health warning in place, let me share my experience. I waited ten weeks before returning to the gym and began with light cardio-vascular exercise, returning to the resistance machines after a week and working on low resistance settings to build stamina.

I also have apnoea and have to avoid any exercise that would tend to build muscle around my throat. These are the muscles that collapse while you are asleep and block the windpipe.

All the best.

[Anne B]

I should think a fast walk would be ok.
I have 3 children and after 3 weeks i was doing the school run. i can't drive and i am always late so i was doing lots of fast walking
As for the gym i would wait till you have the all clear from you consultant.
All the best with your graft

Anne

[Asif]

brisk walks should be ok after a few weeks however exercise like jogging i would say 3 months. weights i would say 6 months but start off very light but obviously you cant lift as heavy as you were previously for some time...but the advice from your consultant who actually did the graft and not a registrar would be best.

i started the gym 6 months post graft started with very light weights and progressed to about 50-60% of what i was normally lifting but i could always feel lie my eye was bugling up in some way. after 2 years post op i started lifting weights i would normally lift before the graft but then broke two stiches and i could feel them come loose while i was still in the gym. when they were removed my vision got worse by about 3 lines and my glasses that i was using to see 6/6-6/9 made my vision worse and i couldnt even read unless the at a distance of about 15cm...........so i would say take it easy on the gym and stick to light cardio and weights if you have to

the thing is exercise and escpecially lifting heavy weights can increase your intra ocular pressure and to a point can affect your stitches.

[Pascalini]

thats really good advice thanks to all three of you-

im cing my doc thurs so i will see what he says, i was just hoping to be able to do a 40 minute run every couple of days but i know that may be too much at my stage.

do you guys feel more sensitive to light after the operation? its been over 6 weeks now and it is a little better but the bright light is still annoying, and i hate wearing shades lol does this get better over the months?

[Andrew MacLean]

Light hurts because your cornea is beingheld in an unnatural position by the sutures. I found that as my astigmatism settled on the removal of sutures my photophobia declined.

All the best with your appointment

Andrew

[GarethB]

Light sensitivity is a very individual thing.

I know just as many people that have had grafts that were light sensitive post op as there are people whe were not.

Afraid it is a case of take it as it comes. There are ways round it, shades, hats and so on.

[Lisa Nixon]

I resumed training for the London Marathon 2 weeks post op. This was after a long discussion with my surgeon who runs marathons etc. I was only walk/running though and am very very slow - 13 min miling or less. I made sure I didn't do anything that might strain my eye - I have horses and didn't lift feed sacks etc or ride for over 6 weeks. The downside of training so soon was that I was still on Tramodol for the pain which masked a leg injury so I ended up having lots of physio! I ended up walking the marathon which took nearly 7 hours and the lens fell out of my glasses along Bird Cage so I crossed the finish squinting madly!! A good long walk won't do you any harm at all, always makes me feel better! Nearly 2 years since I had my op, I resumed competing my mare 5 months post op, but don't jump much higher than 2 ft - my nerve isn't what it used to be! Running wise I've been plagued with leg injuries but managed a couple of miles and eyes absolutely fine! Good luck