Can You Exercise Safely with Liver Cirrhosis When my liver failed with Hepatitis C, my doctor made me quit exercises. No weights, no cycling, no running. I had to prove that I would be super careful not to cause another varices bleed. Ascites was a problem too, and low platelets. Once I got my body calmed down and my Meld was below 15, I was allowed to begin working out again, but very slowly. Can you exercise safely with liver cirrhosis? No matter what the cause, Nash, fatty, autoimmune, hepatitis, PBC, PBS, you can. If you don’t have advanced disease, these are good tips to keep your muscles strong, and your heart and lungs healthy for many years to come.
NOTE: My general health was good when my liver failed from Hep C. BEFORE you start, be sure to get permission from your doctor. If you approach exercise with caution, it’s possible you’ll get the go ahead.
Safe Exercise with Liver Cirrhosis
Weights – If you have liver disease, you’ll be a light weight to start with. I had to keep it under 5 lbs. Otherwise, the risk of creating a new varices was too high. Of course, popping one could always bring on a bleed out and those can be life threatening. I don’t want to scare you, but I learned the hard way and am super lucky to be here. Low weights with lots of reps can keep you strong. You won’t lose a lot of muscle mass, and you can continue to eat healthy protein that your liver can metabolize.
Nutrition – Eating protein that is safe for your liver is a no brainer. Of course you can go totally plant based. I mixed in some meat from the start due to anemia. Watch your lab numbers and if your UREA and metabolic panel are within limits, your doctor may allow you to eat meat too. In spite of eating good protein, I got a bit soft. Ask your doctor how many grams of protein you should get per day and go from there. Get all the nutrients you need by eating healthy veggies, fruit, and protein.
Cardio – Walking is always the best. It can help you beat fatigue and keep your energy level up. It’s proven to help hour heart health and is safe. Cycling and running are great options too. A helmet is a smart idea if you have low platelets. Any type of head injury could cause excessive bleeding. Running may require more energy than you’ve got with advanced disease. I always ran when I could and think it helped. I’m no longer a runner since the diagnosis.
Can You Exercise Safely with Liver Cirrhosis ?
If you have advanced disease, a scarred up liver will back your blood up into your esophagus. I had a stomach full of the little varices, probably from all the cycling I was doing. If you have portal vein hypertension, take your beta blocker, and ask your doctor how high you can get your heart rate. For cycling, running, or fast walking – this is a must. Wear a heart rate monitor and STAY under your doctor’s orders to be on the safe side.
It’s always in your favor to do some type of exercise. I go with stretching and yoga these days and you can catch my videos here. If you are determined to lift weights and keep up cardio strength, I’m right here cheering you on! My physical strength paid off when they found a liver tumor. After using Tase and Ablation to treat the cancer, I got a transplant. I credit my overall health and recovery to my lifestyle, diet, and exercise. Please let me know if you have any questions, and always talk to your doctor about your limits. Take your medications like diuretics or lactulose if needed, but stay active and strong! XO Karen
8 thoughts on “Can You Exercise Safely with Liver Cirrhosis”
Hello Karen 🙂 This makes my heart happy. I currently have PSC and Im about 7 years into my diagnosis, although the dr thinks that I have had this for quite some time before it started causing me issues. Im so lost some days and its easy to feel discouraged about exercising before I even get started. Anyhow, I feel in good health most days .. except for those moments where my liver aches to remind me that it is sick (it really is a mental battle). I guess, for me, I always get concerned about causing more problems (varices, Ive heard some scary stories) when really the benefits of exercise outweighs most of those concerns. So I love the encouragement! Currently my meld is 7 as of my last labs … dr says I do have some fibrosing and cirrhosing of the liver … no lifting over 20lbs … no straining the abdomen … and he prefers that I walk over running. I just recently purchased Leslie Samsone’s (?) Walk away the pounds but Im thinking I like the idea of stretching with yoga?!!! Or maybe both 🙂 Oh, and one more positive Ive got going for me .. I currently have no need for medications (and this includes my co-diagnosis of Crohn’s disease as well) God is good!
Hey Girl!
I’m so glad we met and am glad we follow on IG! This is really cool and it feels good to connect with you. It is the PITS to look back on your life and see all the little complications that you brushed aside, when in fact, you were sick. I”m so sorry you’re going through this.
About the exercise thing. I’d been hanging onto that post and finally published at just the right time for you to find it when you needed it. I’m super happy to see that you’re already following the doctor and not lifting over 20 lbs and walking over running.
I hope you can find my yoga YouTube. I think the chair is the best. You can BOOST your metabolism, and I capped that because it’s proven you can slim down with a slow cardio burn. It’s all I’ve had at times and works perfectly fine. Cheering you on as you do both when you can.
A lot of this has to do with feeling like it. This is where mental discipline may have to top feeling like it list. It’s not easy, but the long term benefits will be awesome.
I’m wondering about the Liver Loving Diet. You may be reducing gluten or other grains, which is limiting. I’ve grown an affection toward eating spaghetti squash with pasta sauce.
Finally, Congrats on not needing meds. That means your liver is compensating just fine all by itself. I’m kinda teary eyed on that one. You, my dear, have a huge head start over mine.
I have a feeling that you’re going to do great. I look forward to staying connected. With so much media, please poke me every once in a while and let me know how you’re doing. ok?
xoxoxoxoxoKaren
Howdy! So a couple things. I just watched your live soup insta … love it and hope you do more of stuff like that. About your liver loving diet … can you buy a physical copy of the book? Im not much of an e-reader and love books 🙂 I had snapped shot a recipe of your veggie soup not too long ago and hope to give it a try soon 🙂 Also, I am an Oklahoma baby ♡ I didnt live there long but I was born in Cushing 🙂 Oh, and I plan on checking out more of your you-tube videos … is there a way of being notified when you post there? Im not much of a techie, lol! Blessings and thank you for your kindness!
Hi Lisa,
You have a beautiful name. My baby sisters name is Lisa too. Thank you SO very much for the encouragement. I cook every single day and wondered how my lil “not fancy” kitchen came across. I’m IN on that.
The book is pricy to sell on Amazon. They want me to charge over $25.00 for the book. I may jump in there one day, but last I checked, when I do? They can make me pull it from here. I put it on because it’s too complicated to write them all in the website. I created and run it by my brain foggy self. Thank you though and I”ll keep you in mind.
If you hit the subscribe button, you should get an email when I post. Would you do me a huge favor and try it? I set it up by myself and am not sure if it works… I will be watching for your answer. I hope you’re faster than I was answering this comment. So so sorry.
I’m glad we’re friends. Aren’t the words blessing and kindness just wonderful? If you’re ever in Oklahoma, give me a buzz and I’ll buy lunch!
xoxo Karen
Hi Karen – thanks for your positive blog. I was diagnosed with HCV in 2003 and am about to go through Harvoni (generic) treatment starting tomorrow. I have stage 3/4 liver disease so I’ve gotten very serious about diet. The liver biopsy for sure scared me into compliance and action.
I love to exercise and will be careful about the weights – mostly I ride on my Peloton and do yoga and meditation. My days of bench pressing 250 pounds are long gone 🙂
Look forward to more blogs – thanks for the support – I follow you on Twitter.
Onward –
Curt
Hi Curt, If the other comment went through, please forgive the repeat. I answered you the other day but don’t see it now. Yikes.
By now you’ve taken your first few days of meds. About a week now. I remember the liver biopsy scare. It was hard to believe. You wonder if they mixed up the results.. But then you move on and start to plan a way to recover your life.
It sounds like you’re doing ALL the right things. Eating well, of course becomes easier with time. The exercise thing shook me up. I had bleeding varices and they fought me on it. After treatment, you may find that the liver damage reverses. I’m writing about that now. It’s miraculous to hear story after story of people who went from stage 3 or 4 back to 1 or 2. I may poll my fb friends next Wednesday on fb live to see if I can get some positive news for you in actual people! It’s one of the buried treasures of Hep C treatment.
The yoga and meditation have been a gift to me. I wish you could come to my class. My physical strength now is hard CORE and yours will be too. Plus meditation is a bonus for your brain and body.
I trained on a spinning bike for years. That way you can work out year round. Will you stay in touch during treatment? You’ve got a lot of support coming at you!Let me know if you want a topic…. kk?
What’s your twitter name?
xoxo Karen
Hi Karen – thanks for the reply! It’s good to have people to connect with who really understand. I am on Day 8 of the 12-week treatment. So far not bad, a little nausea at first and some insomnia and fatigue. But it’s worth it for the miracle I’m praying for to cure my disease and save my liver.
I’ll keep in touch and thanks for the support.
Curt
p.s. – we are already connected on Twitter 🙂 JohnnyFreedom99
Curt,
Hay you!
I love connecting too and can’t wait to get updates on your treatment. I appreciate you getting back – and for the tweets. I’ll get on there tomorrow and chat you up.
You ARE going to feel better fast. I remember the countdown on the weeks. Just be prepared to get a lot of rest.
Hopefully, you won’t have pressure to do too much and can put your health as a number one priority for 11 more weeks.
xoxoxoxo Karen
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