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Geocaching And Health


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Hello everyone :(

 

My name is Tommy and I am 15. I have quite a few health problems (osteoporosis, and an MDA disease to name a few), and I just wanted to share my geocaching experiences with a few people. I was first introduced to geocaching by my grandpa, and was instantly hooked. All of my doctors say that exercise is the best way to get my bone density up and is good for my MDA disease as well. I began to geocache every weekend with my grandfather, then my dad came in, then my sister, and pretty soon everyone in my family was caching every weekend. Even my dog Sparky comes! I told my doctors about my new "sport" and they said that it should increase my bone density and help with my disease. I have a few travel bugs out now, and have been to a few events with my dad. I think that geocaching is a great way to help people who have bone, joint and muscle diseases to get up and out without having to do strenious activities.

 

Hope to hear your thoughts...

 

Tommy

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I also began geocaching for health reasons. My cardiologist recommended walking for exercise, but walking around the block in our neighborhood quickly became boring. So I tried a geocache one evening instead of walking the block ... and was hooked. In addition to better health, I have found many interesting and beautiful places, learned some history, and met some of the best folks you will find anywhere ... geocachers.

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Way to go Tommy:

I planned to do a lot of caching after retirement,but Open heart sergery,and complications put a damper on that Idea.

I have become a hider. less actual time in the woods,but in familiar places where I know the tarrain.

Plus,I can spend a lot of time at home planning my hides.

Good luck to you on this wonderfull adventure you have chosen.

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I have an auto immune disorder, and any sort of exercise is very hard on me. But I propose another healthy thing about geocaching: mental health. The thought and hope and reality of geocaching helps me to keep going! Every time I feel a bit better physically, I try and go caching. If we are traveling, we cache at the same time. It can be very hard on me physically, but it's one of those things in life that helps me to plan for the future, and enjoy feeling like a normal person for a while. And these here forums keeps me close to the people I love! :)

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I actually have been geocaching for about two years...,

 

Yeah, I realized that after I posted.

 

I've been up to your neck of the woods (At least based on the location of your cache hide)

 

I used to travel quite a bit for work, I'd hit New York, Dallas, DC, Colorado Springs on a fairly regular basis. I finally found a position that kept me home, then a few months later I find out about geocaching. D'OH! There went my chance to do some long distance caching on the company's tab (rental cars and everything). :)

 

See ya!

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I have an auto immune disorder, and any sort of exercise is very hard on me. But I propose another healthy thing about geocaching: mental health. The thought and hope and reality of geocaching helps me to keep going! Every time I feel a bit better physically, I try and go caching. If we are traveling, we cache at the same time. It can be very hard on me physically, but it's one of those things in life that helps me to plan for the future, and enjoy feeling like a normal person for a while. And these here forums keeps me close to the people I love! :lol:

 

I actually have an autoimmune/MDA disorder too. Its called dirmatomyasitis (I dont know if I spelt it right.) and it is when my immune system attacks my muscle tissue making pretty much everything difficult. Right now, it hurts even to walk :anibad: , so I am posting on the forums rather than caching with my family. I hope to get better soon, and I am curious to know, what is your AI disease? Even though I am 15, I have heard quite a lot of doctors tell me what I could have, so I might have heard of it. I took prednisone for 8 years straight, which resulted in a severe case of osteoporosis. I became so devoted to geocaching, that I even made a little blog for it.(I think it is on my profile). I think geocaching was what helped me feel better, and I tell my MDA and neuromuscular specialists about it all the time :lol: . I hope you guys will continue to be such a supportive group of people. I was thinking of making a event here in NY to benefit the MDA Foundation, so I'd like to know what people have to say.

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I have an auto immune disorder, and any sort of exercise is very hard on me. But I propose another healthy thing about geocaching: mental health. The thought and hope and reality of geocaching helps me to keep going! Every time I feel a bit better physically, I try and go caching. If we are traveling, we cache at the same time. It can be very hard on me physically, but it's one of those things in life that helps me to plan for the future, and enjoy feeling like a normal person for a while. And these here forums keeps me close to the people I love! :lol:

 

I actually have an autoimmune/MDA disorder too. Its called dirmatomyasitis (I dont know if I spelt it right.) and it is when my immune system attacks my muscle tissue making pretty much everything difficult. Right now, it hurts even to walk :lol: , so I am posting on the forums rather than caching with my family. I hope to get better soon, and I am curious to know, what is your AI disease? Even though I am 15, I have heard quite a lot of doctors tell me what I could have, so I might have heard of it. I took prednisone for 8 years straight, which resulted in a severe case of osteoporosis. I became so devoted to geocaching, that I even made a little blog for it.(I think it is on my profile). I think geocaching was what helped me feel better, and I tell my MDA and neuromuscular specialists about it all the time :lol: . I hope you guys will continue to be such a supportive group of people. I was thinking of making a event here in NY to benefit the MDA Foundation, so I'd like to know what people have to say.

You know what, mine doesn't quite fit into any one known disease, so right now we're just not sure, which is very frustrating. :anibad:

 

It must be hard for you, having this through your childhood. But it sounds like you have a good attitude about it, and that's what you need. :lol: I'm just starting to learn to accept this, and work with what I've got! I can do a lot of things, and I focus on those things when I can.

 

Physical ability goes up and down. Sometimes you can cache, sometimes you can't. I've needed caching so much for my mental health, that I've actually cached a bit more this year that I have my other years. Usually only when people take me to them. But then, the only caches I've gone to in the last month were when my husband took me to see a doctor in Seattle, and he brought the drive-bys to me. It's just been a hard hard month.

 

When I can sit, I spend a lot of time in these forums! I love the people, and they help me to feel better. :P

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Well, I've gained a lot of weight geocaching. I used to do a lot of distance hiking (including over a thousand miles on the AT). Now I take short hikes geocaching. The dolphin is definitely up over 200#. :)

I manged to get Lyme Disease lasat summer, followed by a nasty case of allergic dermatitis that required predinsone. Other than that, I'm having a lot of fun!

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Hi,

 

I have been following the sport of geocaching for about five years. I joined GC.com back in 2001. When I first became interested, I had recently been diagnosed with MS. Because of my MS, I never started caching. It wasn't until last year that I became active in geocaching. I started geocaching to get myself back outdoors and to get in better shape. Geocaching is why I am now in much better physical shape and it seems to have had a very positive impact on my quality of life. I applaude anyone who uses this sport to get out and get active!

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I have an auto immune disorder, and any sort of exercise is very hard on me. But I propose another healthy thing about geocaching: mental health. The thought and hope and reality of geocaching helps me to keep going! Every time I feel a bit better physically, I try and go caching. If we are traveling, we cache at the same time. It can be very hard on me physically, but it's one of those things in life that helps me to plan for the future, and enjoy feeling like a normal person for a while. And these here forums keeps me close to the people I love! :(

 

I actually have an autoimmune/MDA disorder too. Its called dirmatomyasitis (I dont know if I spelt it right.) and it is when my immune system attacks my muscle tissue making pretty much everything difficult. Right now, it hurts even to walk :D , so I am posting on the forums rather than caching with my family. I hope to get better soon, and I am curious to know, what is your AI disease? Even though I am 15, I have heard quite a lot of doctors tell me what I could have, so I might have heard of it. I took prednisone for 8 years straight, which resulted in a severe case of osteoporosis. I became so devoted to geocaching, that I even made a little blog for it.(I think it is on my profile). I think geocaching was what helped me feel better, and I tell my MDA and neuromuscular specialists about it all the time :( . I hope you guys will continue to be such a supportive group of people. I was thinking of making a event here in NY to benefit the MDA Foundation, so I'd like to know what people have to say.

You know what, mine doesn't quite fit into any one known disease, so right now we're just not sure, which is very frustrating. :D

 

It must be hard for you, having this through your childhood. But it sounds like you have a good attitude about it, and that's what you need. B) I'm just starting to learn to accept this, and work with what I've got! I can do a lot of things, and I focus on those things when I can.

 

Physical ability goes up and down. Sometimes you can cache, sometimes you can't. I've needed caching so much for my mental health, that I've actually cached a bit more this year that I have my other years. Usually only when people take me to them. But then, the only caches I've gone to in the last month were when my husband took me to see a doctor in Seattle, and he brought the drive-bys to me. It's just been a hard hard month.

 

When I can sit, I spend a lot of time in these forums! I love the people, and they help me to feel better. B)

 

Well, I've gained a lot of weight geocaching. I used to do a lot of distance hiking (including over a thousand miles on the AT). Now I take short hikes geocaching. The dolphin is definitely up over 200#. :D

I manged to get Lyme Disease lasat summer, followed by a nasty case of allergic dermatitis that required predinsone. Other than that, I'm having a lot of fun!

 

I know what you mean, Ambrosia. I was diagnosed with dirmatomyasitis when I was 5 years old. THey had no idea what it was, but I am glad that they found out and allowed me to go into remission, since there isnt a cure. My dirmatomyasitis is treated with PREDNISONE! I took it from when I was five until now, with on and off little spirts. The longest consistant high dose interval was 80 mg for 8 years every day, no breaks. Taking it for so long is what cause my severe osteoporosis. I am so glad to have my parents and my friends to support me, as well as people in the forums. Even though I am 15, many people treat me as and adult because of my "mental maturity". I now have dirmatomyasitis activly, and everyday life is difficult. I usually deal with the side effects very well(weight gain, mood swings ect.) but occaisonaly, I need people to support me, I still am a kid. :D I am so glad that other people on the forum are using geocaching to hekp with health. I hope that this post will recieve a lot of attention, and I hope to set up an event for the proceeds to go to the MDA Foundation :( Thank you all for being so supportive!!!

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Wow, these past few posts are an eye-opener! I was feeling pretty good about the fact that I have lost about 30 pounds since I started caching and have to buy new pants, but these posts leave me feeling humbled. It's great to hear that so many are using caching as a recreation to improve their health and I've recently gotten my parents and grandparents into caching since retirement has not been very health oriented for them until now. I hope to someday meet some of you in the field. I think it would be most inspiring to see in the flesh what I'm seeing in the forums. Good luck and Happy Caching to you all - Hound

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The positivity that exists here is really second to none. Kudos to everyone who has taken up this sport for health reasons. I have both Diabetes and a spinal cord injury (though I can walk thankfully) and I took this sport up because I though that the hiking might be good fairly low impact exercise for me. What I have found is that I have lost weight, sharpenend my mind, built confidence in my physical abilities that has been lacking lately, and most important of all, it's just plain fun. If you can push yourself, you may just find that you discover things about you that you never knew. Keep up the good work (Especially the young dudes out there) and hopefully you'll find it a rewarding experience.

-Cracker

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I agree with everybody about the health benefits of geocaching. My advice is to avoid the bugs. Last summer I had a massive allergic reaction to fire ant and other little critter bites. I had to go to the doctor. He thought I was crazy for going out in the woods that time of year. I am certainly more cautious now.

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I borrowed a GPS unit to map out where I mountain bike, something I took up to help me lose weight and it was something I could do with archilles tendonitis, but also to help me get fitter so I can manage my asthma better. I am on a preventer at the moment but it is steroidial so I would like to be able to stop it (without it I use ventolin between 10 - 15 times a day just to do normal every day stuff).

 

I checked out the Geocaching.com website after the garmin site had a page on it and now I am hooked, my asthma is there but I dont notice it, now I am planning some mountain bike only caches (something NZ is lacking, so I can combine my two addictions)

 

Predinzone is something I avoid like the plague, whenever I am given it for my asthma I take it for a few days to get over the worst of it then stop and just use my normal drugs. The doctor is aware that i do this and is ok with it as long as I take it for a few days and the asthma improves over that time.

 

My husband although he grumbles about the constant driving around from cache to cache (my map reading skills are improving but they still suck) he is happy that I am out doing a different form of exercise and he is helping me disguise my first ever hide (its not going to be easy to find). he is also great at pushing me to get the most out of it exercise wise, pushing me to walk further than I would normally before stopping that sort of thing (and already my arse is getting smaller, w00t). Its good to see that others have the support of their family and friends when caching.

 

wooo what a ramble for my first post. doh

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Hi,

 

I have been following the sport of geocaching for about five years. I joined GC.com back in 2001. When I first became interested, I had recently been diagnosed with MS. Because of my MS, I never started caching. It wasn't until last year that I became active in geocaching. I started geocaching to get myself back outdoors and to get in better shape. Geocaching is why I am now in much better physical shape and it seems to have had a very positive impact on my quality of life. I applaude anyone who uses this sport to get out and get active!

 

I was diagnosed about a year ago with MS. The worst part is that I am 60. (where did all of my life go ??)

I have good days and bad days, but never bad days, geocaching.

Sometimes Im a little slow in the woods, but, I do make it. My dog stays with me, and generally my adult daughters and son in law and grandson all go together.

GC has had an impact on my life too. So far, I have not gotten any worse, so (knock on wood) maybe I can maintain status quo until I get too old.

I try to go with someone, most of the time or at least my dog (Whats that Lassie, Timmy fell down a well ??). So, I have someone with me, if needed.

 

Good Luck

 

Rick

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It is a great compliment to other physical activity. While of the four of us, I probably have the least "need", it certainly is a great excuse to get fresh air and exercise.

 

In my wife's case, it adds to biking and rollerblading to help maintain weight she long lost through these activities. Then my 4 and 2 year old have been told by the doctor to get lots of exercise to build endurance for ironically opposite reasons; in his case, he did not gain weight for a long while during his infanthood and is really just starting to develop, in her case, she was born unusually heavy (almost 11 lbs.) and has thick legs that made her both crawl and walk late (and she still gets physical therapy for endurance) and her legs are finally starting to get into "normal shape".

 

Our pediatrician thought this was a great activity for all this and has recommended it to others in a similar situation.

 

3 Stooges, perhaps we'll accidentally bump into each other one day on the cache trail, looking at your finds looks like you're in our neck of the woods. Cache on and good luck!

Edited by hairymon
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Hello everyone :mad:

 

My name is Tommy and I am 15. I have quite a few health problems (osteoporosis, and an MDA disease to name a few), and I just wanted to share my geocaching experiences with a few people. I was first introduced to geocaching by my grandpa, and was instantly hooked. All of my doctors say that exercise is the best way to get my bone density up and is good for my MDA disease as well. I began to geocache every weekend with my grandfather, then my dad came in, then my sister, and pretty soon everyone in my family was caching every weekend. Even my dog Sparky comes! I told my doctors about my new "sport" and they said that it should increase my bone density and help with my disease. I have a few travel bugs out now, and have been to a few events with my dad. I think that geocaching is a great way to help people who have bone, joint and muscle diseases to get up and out without having to do strenious activities.

 

Hope to hear your thoughts...

 

Tommy

 

First off I hope to find one of your TBs. It would be an honor for me.

 

I too have a minor medical problem that does hinder my caching. I can't take long walks or hikes. About 2 miles is all I can do. I get very nauseated when it comes to extreme exertion. Although nowhere near the calamiity you have I do feel for you.

 

BTW I became a Grandpa this past weekend. I hope I am as good to my grandson as yours is to you.

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