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Exercise for BE/NTM patients

Posted by helen1000 @helen1000, Dec 30, 2025

I am not a fun for exercise in my whole life. If I exercise in a high intensity way for two weeks, I will get a cold for sure.

I quit jogging after I got MAC, as I am not sure jogging is the best way to exercise with lung disease like BE/ active infection as it may cause bleeding.

However after I did 50 push ups on Monday , I found I have a little bit sputum with brown color, not sure whether it is a bleeding caused by push ups. Does anyone share the same experience ever? Does it mean I still have ongoing infection/ inflammation in my lungs? I thought I can exercise in a more intensive way when my cavity is closed, but it seems I should not be such optimistic.

Walking is great but it is not strength exercise. Swimming is impossible for BE patients too. It is important to control the amount/intensity, which is my lesson.

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lilianna | @lilianna | Jan 9 7:05pm
In reply to @blm1007blm1007 "@lilianna "How heavy a backpack." I think that would depend upon each of us and what..." + (show)
Profile picture for blm1007blm1007 @blm1007blm1007

@lilianna "How heavy a backpack."
I think that would depend upon each of us and what we were able to comfortably weight ourselves down with, handle etc. ..... at first..... and maybe gradually increase the weight as we experience it all. The weight is to help one to bring about a type of breathing that would help move the mucus up and out....from my understanding.
I do postural drainage and need to incorporate the weighted backpack when I do my walking.
Barbara

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@blm1007blm1007 I walk, I do postural drainage, my husband does cupping on my back- nothing moves the mucus. Today I walked two miles with those gloves/ weights. I will try a backpack too. So thank you for your response

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blm1007blm1007 | @blm1007blm1007 | Jan 10 7:52am
In reply to @lilianna "@blm1007blm1007 I walk, I do postural drainage, my husband does cupping on my back- nothing moves..." + (show)
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@blm1007blm1007 I walk, I do postural drainage, my husband does cupping on my back- nothing moves the mucus. Today I walked two miles with those gloves/ weights. I will try a backpack too. So thank you for your response

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@lilianna Oh my lilianna....so much of what we can be experiencing with BE can be so frustrating. Hopefully one special day you will have the results you work so hard for...the mucus moving....up and out. Great that your husband is right there with you dong the cupping.
Barbara

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lilianna | @lilianna | Jan 10 8:59am
In reply to @blm1007blm1007 "@lilianna Oh my lilianna....so much of what we can be experiencing with BE can be so..." + (show)
Profile picture for blm1007blm1007 @blm1007blm1007

@lilianna Oh my lilianna....so much of what we can be experiencing with BE can be so frustrating. Hopefully one special day you will have the results you work so hard for...the mucus moving....up and out. Great that your husband is right there with you dong the cupping.
Barbara

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@blm1007blm1007 thank you for kind words

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Chris C | @camper16 | Jan 10 8:59am
In reply to @ursala7 "If I exercise vigorously enough to get winded (SOB), I am able to cough small amounts..." + (show)
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If I exercise vigorously enough to get winded (SOB), I am able to cough small amounts of brown mucus, which in my experience, is the older, deeply trapped stuff. I feel this is important to do, so even at my age, I really try hard to get winded. At 76, I can't go briskly walking on the ice in the winter, so I bought a rebounder and do the best I can with that. Also, I noticed that the brown mucus doesn't have the small plugs anymore (as it did when I was new to this game) so I believe I have kept those airways open pretty well.

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@ursala7 thank you for this comment..I recently found that using a rowing machine, which I can't do for long without getting very winded (I think because it includes using my arms) helps me clear mucus..I am going to keep at it even for short intervals. My pulmo says it qualifies as airway clearance. I'm 73 .

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ursala7 | @ursala7 | Jan 10 10:06am
In reply to @camper16 "@ursala7 thank you for this comment..I recently found that using a rowing machine, which I can't..." + (show)
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@ursala7 thank you for this comment..I recently found that using a rowing machine, which I can't do for long without getting very winded (I think because it includes using my arms) helps me clear mucus..I am going to keep at it even for short intervals. My pulmo says it qualifies as airway clearance. I'm 73 .

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@camper16 I bet that rowing machine does take effort! I was told by the pulmonologist "anything you can do to get winded will be well worth the effort". So that has been my mantra, especially as I get older and want to sit around more.

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Chris C | @camper16 | Jan 10 10:44am
In reply to @ursala7 "@camper16 I bet that rowing machine does take effort! I was told by the pulmonologist "anything..." + (show)
Profile picture for ursala7 @ursala7

@camper16 I bet that rowing machine does take effort! I was told by the pulmonologist "anything you can do to get winded will be well worth the effort". So that has been my mantra, especially as I get older and want to sit around more.

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@ursala7 Thank you, I agree. I struggle with SOB anyway as we all do, and just wasn't thinking of getting winded as a goal! 🙂 But it's a good one!

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Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Jan 10 6:59pm
In reply to @camper16 "@ursala7 thank you for this comment..I recently found that using a rowing machine, which I can't..." + (show)
Profile picture for Chris C @camper16

@ursala7 thank you for this comment..I recently found that using a rowing machine, which I can't do for long without getting very winded (I think because it includes using my arms) helps me clear mucus..I am going to keep at it even for short intervals. My pulmo says it qualifies as airway clearance. I'm 73 .

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@camper16 Absolutely - anything that gets the mucus moving is airway clearance.
Dr Pamela McShane is a big fan or exercise, but leaves it to the end of her presentations on airway clearance because most people don't want to hear it. But it's free! And it works my heart and muscles as well as my lungs! Triple win.

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