exercise and anemia

[Bruno S]

I am a 28-year-old male that five years ago was diagnosed with Hodgekins disease and treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Because of the treatment my hematocrit level is of around 35 and my blood count is of about 12. My doctor tells me that although for a normal person these levels would indicate anemia, I am not normal anymore and as long as they do not drop more I should be able to have a normal life. I like to do a lot of exercise (running, cycling, swimming) and I would like to know how anemia affects the performance of a person when doing exercise. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

[jetgirl]

hi bruno,
Now don't quote me on this, but I have heard from other anemia patients *especially the ones with pernicious anemia* that there are problems when excersizing if you are anemic. I had trouble breathing before my doc found out that I had anemia and once i started taking the meds for it, the breathing got much better. When I would do a lot or sometimes a little work outdoors, I would get breathless and feel horrible. I was to the point with the anemia where I had NO energy and was sleeping all the time.
Take care

[KellieG]

Hi Bruno,

I am 25 yrs old and was diagnosed with Pernicious Anemia. I am also in the Navy. It is mandatory for us to exercise 3 times a week and we have a Physical Readiness Test every 6 months. Once I was diagnosed I felt like I could not run any more. I was always out of breath. Since being treated with B-12 I am starting to feel better. I still don't have the breath and running abilites but I keep improving with time. Just hang in there and take it one day at a time.

[NancyH]

With pernicious excersise can be difficult but certainly not impossible. It took me several months to get with the program so to speak, I also had to be careful with my balance problem at first. But I now excersise 4 times a week for 40 to 60 min on the treadmil without getting breathless(tho I have some bad days)so keep at it, anemia can be worked with once you get the treatment and level taken care of.