Term Limits?

ounce wrote:Episode 4, Roto-Rooter


I woke up a few times, during the night, for the usual foreign place factors.  I was only disturbed once by this high-strung phlebotomist at 5 a.m. to draw blood.  Ceiling lights pierced my eyelids, making daylight in the nighttime.  She hits the BP cuff button on the monitor to start a cycle (so she wouldn't have to use a tourniquet), finds the vein on my left arm and sucks out 2 vials of sleepy blood.  She didn't use the access IV on my right arm for some standard pat answer that really didn't make sense.  Gauze pad and tape covers the needle hole.  Lights off and she is gone to find her next victim.  Super fast.

I later find out that the right arm access IV is the sole property of the nurses on the floor because if someone screws up that access and I have a problem, there will be hell to pay.

I go back to sleep.  Around 8, I was semi-awake with eyes closed.  (Nurse shifts are 7 to 7).  I here this light tap on the door and the door open quietly.  "Mr. Spence?", the shy voice said.  I played possum.  Didn't move.  Would she say, "It's time to start the day.  How are you feeling?", in this perky voice?

The door quietly shuts.  I WON!

I wake up about 10 minutes later and hear a knock on the door.  "Mr. Spence?", the shy voice said.  In my best Texan Mrs. Doubtfire voice in 3 octives, "Come INNNnnnnnn."  She says, "I thought I had the wrong patient for a moment."

We discuss the day's events of which there is only 1.  The noon cath lab schedule.  One must be flexible as the noon time is a target, not set in stone.  It ended up being 1:15.  No big deal because I was on the 'schedule' and not being 'fitted in' between scheduled appts.  I was told I would be sedated akin to a colonoscopy.  Also, the doc may want to go into my wrist or the femoral artery.  His choice.  He had told me the day before that it would be the wrist.

I was transported up to the cath lab, fitted with a nasal cannula, and told the femoral artery would be used.  The tech whips out a barber's hair trimming machine and commences to groom me.  "There are germs down there," he says.

I'm given the juice, the doc comes in, the music turns on.  80's music.  Joan Jett, Heart, etc.  There's this huge monitor to my left to show what will go on.  They begin the process and I'm not feeling a thing.  Oh, did I mention I'm not asleep or even groggy?  Yup, awake for the whole thing.

We discuss who the artist that's singing.  The tech assisting the doc is a cut up, like myself, and we get along.  There was a song where he starts singing.  Then I start howling like a wolf to a full moon.  "Hey, are you howling at my singing?, he says.  "Yup," I reply.

The procedure didn't seem to take long to put the stent in, but there was one point for about 10 minutes where the pressure on my chest seemed to be a 5-6.  The doc said to hang in there.  What was my choice?!

Afterwards, he shows me the before and after picture.  He says there was only 1 blocked artery and the others looked fine.  Let me see if I can describe it.

Let's imagine that you're looking at a satellite picture of the Mississippi River at normal flow.  It looks thin and dark, right?  This is the left circumflex artery (LCX).  Now imagine at Vicksburg (75% of the way to the Gulf), the flow is gone. Then a much, much thinner flow begins south of Vicksburg.  THAT's the blockage and the Before picture.

He inserts the stent at Vicksburg and the After picture is the Mississippi River at flood stage from Minnesota to New Orleans, plus the rivers that feed into the Mississippi are at flood stage, as well.  Granted, the LCX feeds the subsidiary rivers, not the other way around, but you get the idea.

Instead of a nurse pressing on my puncture site for 20 minutes to plug up the femoral artery (which I'm told is painful), the doc uses this stuff called "Angio-Seal, a vascular closure device."  From my vantage point, it looked a hot glue gun.

I was wheeled down to my room and had to keep my right leg still for 6 hours beginning at 2:15.  Left could move.

Ever tried to eat food, while flat or 10 degrees elevation?  It ain't easy, but being the lover of food that I am, I made it work.

I was put on an 18 hour strong blood thinner IV, with some normal saline.  6 hours was up and I wanted to move.  An hour later, the nurse comes in and says I can sit up, then 15 minutes later I could dangle my feet off the bed.  After that, I stood up for 10 seconds, without dizziness.  I did that twice.

Then the nurse comes in and figures out that I'm more mobile than she would like.  She confines me to bed because there's a bruise developing on both sides of the puncture site.  She was concerned.  She presses gently around the area to make sure it's still soft and tells me she will check in during the night for softness.  I'm approved to move my leg around, but not bent and not standing.

It's Thursday morning.  The puncture site continues to be soft and I'm allowed to raise the angle of the bed to normal eating position.  I ask the morning shift nurse about it for a 2nd opinion.  She said, "Of course it's going to bruise around the puncture site, you're on a blood thinner.  As long as it's soft and not bleeding, you're fine."

I had been duped.

I walked around the floor twice with a staff member after breakfast.  I was cleared for discharge.

The puncture site recovery pain described akin to a groin muscle pull was, for me, wayyyyy off.  It only hurt on odd movements that morning.  On Friday, when I lengthened my stride, I got a small pinch.  And this morning, when I stretched in the bed, to wake up the muscles, it pinched.  That has been the only discomfort.

Saturday, I was a little gassed after doing a normal Saturday chores, but no pain at the puncture site.  But sat for a few hours in the afternoon.

Sunday had fewer chores and I did fine.


THE END

Mark B wrote:The end? Oh, my friend. I think not.

“Every ending is a new beginning. Through the grace of God, we can always start again.”


― Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness And Making Miracles




Enjoy your new extended life. It's an honor not afforded to everyone.

nkrichards wrote:

Mark B wrote:The end? Oh, my friend. I think not.

“Every ending is a new beginning. Through the grace of God, we can always start again.”


― Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness And Making Miracles




Enjoy your new extended life. It's an honor not afforded to everyone.

+1

nkrichards wrote:Boy did we have different experiences.  

I remember nothing from either of my visits to the cath lab.  On Marathon Monday I remember being loaded in the ambulance and asked to chew an aspirin.  I remember my caretakers commenting that the driver wasn't going the normal route...marathon traffic reroutes?  I remember them asking the driver to stop as they couldn't get my IV started.  Then I remember waking up after the procedure was all finished and needing to pee.

My femoral artery wound was bleeding under the skin so they severely limited my activity.  

I was in a teaching hospital.     

My second trip to the cath lab was on Wednesday to see how things were healing up as they didn't insert a stent on Monday.  I do remember being prepped and joking with the technician about Voodoo donuts when he realized I was from Oregon.  We had to discuss them quietly as they aren't really considered part of a cardio healthy diet.    Then I was out for the procedure and back to lying flat on my back the rest of the day.

I finally was allowed to shower on Thursday...remember I ran a marathon on Monday.  Yuck!!!

I was escorted around the hall and up and down a flight of stairs by a lovely young man...who happened to be a runner...for my test "run".

They also did a bedside echo before my release.  And talked to me about heart healthy living...

I was pretty famous during my stay.  Partially because I had my MI while running Boston but I realized later on that it was also because I was in Dr. Baggish's relatively private portion of the hospital.  I still don't understand it all but I know enough to know that I got more than excellent care during my stay.  

They let me move to the hotel across the street on Thursday night.  Our room had a lovely view of the parking lot.  Katie and I rented a car and stayed at a small hotel on the beach somewhere north of the city on Friday and Saturday.  It was a fun area with a couple shops close enough that I could walk for coffee and meals.  I was allowed to fly on Sunday.

It's kind of funny...I didn't panic at all until a couple days after my event.  I think it all finally sunk in.  And I get the use of humor...it's quite effective.

Take care Doug.  Maybe it's just me and you'll do fine but don't be surprised if there are a few bumps in the road to recovery.  It's mental as much as physical.  Even when you know there is someone up there watching over you and he has all the control...it's still a bit overwhelming at times.  I'm not trying to scare you...just reassure that it's normal and it will pass.

Thanks for posting and sharing your experience.

ounce wrote:
As reported yesterday, I walked 25 minutes on the treadmill.  Last night, I walked a mile in 21:24.  Part of the reason was to rule out an issue of whether my chest has a new pain.  Turns out it's the stubble from shaving my chest tugging on my shirt.  Chest pain


This morning, I went to the gym.  Did a 20 minute walk and my normal routine with weights, except the leg lifts.  No issues.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:
As reported yesterday, I walked 25 minutes on the treadmill.  Last night, I walked a mile in 21:24.  Part of the reason was to rule out an issue of whether my chest has a new pain.  Turns out it's the stubble from shaving my chest tugging on my shirt.  Chest pain


This morning, I went to the gym.  Did a 20 minute walk and my normal routine with weights, except the leg lifts.  No issues.

Nice work! And don't be surprised if you're a little twitchy about chest sensations for a while. That's natural. At least you can be assured that, thanks to all the time in the shop, that it's a clean, mean, blood-pumping machine. 

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:
As reported yesterday, I walked 25 minutes on the treadmill.  Last night, I walked a mile in 21:24.  Part of the reason was to rule out an issue of whether my chest has a new pain.  Turns out it's the stubble from shaving my chest tugging on my shirt.  Chest pain


This morning, I went to the gym.  Did a 20 minute walk and my normal routine with weights, except the leg lifts.  No issues.

Nice work! And don't be surprised if you're a little twitchy about chest sensations for a while. That's natural. At least you can be assured that, thanks to all the time in the shop, that it's a clean, mean, blood-pumping machine. 

Oh, yeah on the sensations.  It's like when you get rear ended by surprise and you're twitchy for a month or so.  Whammo!

I want to show the doc my activities between now and the appt to persuade the doc I'm functioning well enough to run again.

ounce wrote:

It's kind of funny...I didn't panic at all until a couple days after my event.  I think it all finally sunk in.  And I get the use of humor...it's quite effective.

Take care Doug.  Maybe it's just me and you'll do fine but don't be surprised if there are a few bumps in the road to recovery.  It's mental as much as physical.  Even when you know there is someone up there watching over you and he has all the control...it's still a bit overwhelming at times.  I'm not trying to scare you...just reassure that it's normal and it will pass.

Thanks for posting and sharing your experience.

Yeah, ours were tons different.  While I was in the hospital, I thought of the myriad of different combinations of heart troubles to which people can present.  I had no valve issue, no aorta issue, no electricity issue, no structural issue, but just 1 blocked artery.  In car engine talk, I just needed a new fuel filter and limped in to the Service dept without being towed.

In my story, one thing I failed to mention was I was given 4 baby aspirins by my brother 4 hours after the Monday event, which was 4 hours before arriving at the hospital.  The ER nurse lauded my brother, who had his issue a few years back.

I also remember the cardiologist say the day before the cath that my thing wasn't treatable by meds.

Nancy, I'm sure I'll hit some speed bumps along the way back to my baseline.  And I'll get a set of boundaries from the cardiologist.  More of a set of "If x, then y."

Y'all just keep on suggesting.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:
As reported yesterday, I walked 25 minutes on the treadmill.  Last night, I walked a mile in 21:24.  Part of the reason was to rule out an issue of whether my chest has a new pain.  Turns out it's the stubble from shaving my chest tugging on my shirt.  Chest pain


This morning, I went to the gym.  Did a 20 minute walk and my normal routine with weights, except the leg lifts.  No issues.

Nice work! And don't be surprised if you're a little twitchy about chest sensations for a while. That's natural. At least you can be assured that, thanks to all the time in the shop, that it's a clean, mean, blood-pumping machine. 

Oh, yeah on the sensations.  It's like when you get rear ended by surprise and you're twitchy for a month or so.  Whammo!

I want to show the doc my activities between now and the appt to persuade the doc I'm functioning well enough to run again.

Nice work for sure!!  Any HR data?  It will be interesting to see if the doc puts a limit on your Max HR for awhile or if he just turns you loose.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:

It's kind of funny...I didn't panic at all until a couple days after my event.  I think it all finally sunk in.  And I get the use of humor...it's quite effective.

Take care Doug.  Maybe it's just me and you'll do fine but don't be surprised if there are a few bumps in the road to recovery.  It's mental as much as physical.  Even when you know there is someone up there watching over you and he has all the control...it's still a bit overwhelming at times.  I'm not trying to scare you...just reassure that it's normal and it will pass.

Thanks for posting and sharing your experience.

Yeah, ours were tons different.  While I was in the hospital, I thought of the myriad of different combinations of heart troubles to which people can present.  I had no valve issue, no aorta issue, no electricity issue, no structural issue, but just 1 blocked artery.  In car engine talk, I just needed a new fuel filter and limped in to the Service dept without being towed.

In my story, one thing I failed to mention was I was given 4 baby aspirins by my brother 4 hours after the Monday event, which was 4 hours before arriving at the hospital.  The ER nurse lauded my brother, who had his issue a few years back.

I also remember the cardiologist say the day before the cath that my thing wasn't treatable by meds.

Nancy, I'm sure I'll hit some speed bumps along the way back to my baseline.  And I'll get a set of boundaries from the cardiologist.  More of a set of "If x, then y."

Y'all just keep on suggesting.

Good call on the aspirin!  Was your brother's issue similar?  Resolved with a stent?  Is he active like you?

Full disclosure on my warnings...I struggle a couple times a year.  During Boston and during the Boston registration.  They've started talking about Boston registration which is coming up soon so I'm slightly more "concerned" than normal.  

Hope you find a cardiologist that you trust...and that enjoys your sense of humor.

ounce wrote:So I have a question.  What do you think about me walking into the doc's office with a printed out marathon training schedule?

If he doesn't turn me loose when I'm in his office, there's a real chance I won't be able to run Houston.  It might be that way now, but I haven't given up yet.  I could step down to the Half again, for the 3rd time.

thanks.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:So I have a question.  What do you think about me walking into the doc's office with a printed out marathon training schedule?

If he doesn't turn me loose when I'm in his office, there's a real chance I won't be able to run Houston.  It might be that way now, but I haven't given up yet.  I could step down to the Half again, for the 3rd time.

thanks.

I'd go for it.  Walk in with a well thought out conservative plan to get you there safely but prepared.  Stress the fact that you know what you're getting into...it's not your first.  Make sure he/she understands that you're not racing anything other than the cutoff time.  Maybe it will work.  Maybe it won't.  But it's sure worth a shot as farm as I'm concerned.

I met Dr. B at my first visit with a list of the the activities I had planned for the next 18 months.  He "strongly suggested" I cancel the planned Mt. St Helens summit which was only 2 months after my event.  After I completed cardiac rehab we modified the Todd Beamer run on the 4th of July...I dropped from the 10K to the 5K and I didn't push myself.  He suggested I participate rather than race in the MAC Dash sprint triathlon in September...I had a pretty decent time for a participant.  He pretty much turned me loose to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail in October and hike, kayak, snorkel, bungee jump and zorb in New Zealand in December.  I have his blessing to do pretty much anything I want now.  He does mention that a marathon is a long race which puts a lot of stress on the heart but he understands.  He also suggests that I not race quite so hard.  I'm learning that that's OK but it's a tough lesson for me and I'm not there yet.


Go for it!

***

Katie followed my blog for a few months after my event in Boston.  She got to know you, Mark, and Michele (she also met Michele in Boston and again in Victoria for my Half Ironman last summer).   She sends her best wishes for a speedy recovery.  She also reminded me that Rabbits jump and live for 8 years.  Tortoise do nothing and live for 150 years.  I explained that I didn't see the point of living for 150 years and doing nothing.  We laughed...she understands.  We make a family calendar every year to send to overseas friends...it's a way to share family photos.  A few years ago our motto/theme was a version of "Live's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely with a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways totally worn out shouting Holy shit, what a ride!"


Go for it!

Mark B wrote:I agree with Nancy: Go for it!

So besides your brother and you, is there any other family history for coronary artery disease? It sounds like the genetic die was cast long ago. That was the situation for my grandfather, who had a fatal heart attack back in the 1960s at the age of 64, and my dad, who had a non-fatal blockage caught before an actual heart attack and treated with a stent -- at the age of 64. Let's hear it for greater awareness and technology. 

Needless to say, my brother and I are wondering what life has in store for us at the age of 64. He's already had a stent installed in his carotid artery - he had a weird blockage there - though his coronary arteries are wide open. I've been checked out a couple of times and seem to be doing well so far, though I really do need to get off my backside, resume running and shed some excess ballast.

Good luck on your appointment!

Mark B wrote:I agree with Nancy: Go for it!

So besides your brother and you, is there any other family history for coronary artery disease? It sounds like the genetic die was cast long ago. That was the situation for my grandfather, who had a fatal heart attack back in the 1960s at the age of 64, and my dad, who had a non-fatal blockage caught before an actual heart attack and treated with a stent -- at the age of 64. Let's hear it for greater awareness and technology. 

Needless to say, my brother and I are wondering what life has in store for us at the age of 64. He's already had a stent installed in his carotid artery - he had a weird blockage there - though his coronary arteries are wide open. I've been checked out a couple of times and seem to be doing well so far, though I really do need to get off my backside, resume running and shed some excess ballast.

Good luck on your appointment!

ounceThe middle brother seems to be getting by on just HBP, which is historical.  Seems like over a certain age, due to stroke concerns, old folks get put on HBP meds.  No big heart issue with my parents.  Arhythmia on my mom. wrote:The cardiologist gave me a token HBP dosage of 3.125 mg, when I told him I was taking a tablespoon of potassium citrate each day.  He said he might even discontinue his script.

When I went to the hospital on the 20th, I hadn't taken the potassium because sometimes it loosens the intestines.  I could see the results with the BP rising, as the day went along.  The nitro patch took care of that.

On your next physical, if it's about to happen, you may want to get a stress test to create a baseline, before subjecting your tootsies to running again.  You have history, but no symptoms.  Your doc ought to be able to finagle getting the insurance company to bless it.

I'm sure running had delayed my blockage.  I've only been running 15 years.  Losing weight would help everything.  The appointment is Sept 11 at 2:45.

-30-

This morning, the temperature dipped to 79 degrees.  I could not notice the difference from 81 degrees.  We're in the meat of hurricane season from now to about the 3rd week in September.  This week, letters C, D, & E have been issued.  Two years ago, Harvey was the gift that kept on giving.

My idea, today, was to either walk 2 or 3 miles outside in that lovely 79 degrees.  2 if there's an issue or 3 if there's not.

3 miles, 18:50 pace
1.  19:50
2.  18:28
3.  18:11

Easy, peasy.  6 miles for the week.  I think next week that I'll raise the angle on the treadmill, in order to see what happens.  This week, flat.

Thanks for dropping by and thanks for contributing your money to my cause.

ounce wrote:This morning was a double event.  I lifted weights and walked 3 miles, in that order.  I did get my heart rate elevated during the weights on two occasions.  The second time, I felt a discomfort at the sternum, sized as a third of the diameter of your pinky finger.  It lasted about 5 seconds at the end of the specific workout of carrying unequally sized kettle bells (20 lb and 30 lb).  I will classify the discomfort like a previously strained, but healed, niggle...like any other pulled muscle being worked after being healed.  Noted, but not actionable.

I lift weights by doing 3 sets of 10 or 11 reps.  I will use multiple machines or weights (e.g. bicep, tricep, pullover) in 1 set, so I'm not sitting/resting on 1 machine for 3 sets.  So, my bicep rests while working the tricep and it keeps the HR up.  The kettle bell discomfort was at the end of the weights program.

Then, I drove home, cranked up the Garmin, and walked the 3 miles.  No troubles here.  There was a batch of high school cross country students running towards me during my walk.  The last two girls were doing a split walk/jog recovery (meaning not much effort), while the others were running.  At my turnaround point, I was behind the girls by less than a tenth of a mile.  So, I increased my pace to try to catch them.  I never did, but it was fun.  I closed the gap to about two-hundreths.

3 miles, 53:56, 17:58 pace.
1.  18:56
2.  17:59
3.  17:00

It was 75 degrees.  9 miles for the week.  After the 3 mile walk, my HR was 80, taken by finger to pulse.

-30-

You know, the lowest HR I saw on a monitor was 45, which is much lower than I thought I could do.  I was conscious and being wheeled down to the cath lab.  NOT asleep.  I wonder how much affect the nitro patch had on that?  It seems logical that a low blood pressure of 109/61, courtesy of nitro, would cause the heart not to beat as much.  The lowest HR I have ever recorded was 55.

Nancy, you mentioned 'be careful in the heat.'  The afternoon before the MI, where it took me 4 stops to do 125 feet, was in the afternoon heat.  I noticed the heat DID elevate the HR and breathing on prior days.

And thanks for the reminder on the roadID message service.  When I first saw that part of it, years ago, I thought it was $10/month, not $10/year.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:This morning was a double event.  I lifted weights and walked 3 miles, in that order.  I did get my heart rate elevated during the weights on two occasions.  The second time, I felt a discomfort at the sternum, sized as a third of the diameter of your pinky finger.  It lasted about 5 seconds at the end of the specific workout of carrying unequally sized kettle bells (20 lb and 30 lb).  I will classify the discomfort like a previously strained, but healed, niggle...like any other pulled muscle being worked after being healed.  Noted, but not actionable.

I lift weights by doing 3 sets of 10 or 11 reps.  I will use multiple machines or weights (e.g. bicep, tricep, pullover) in 1 set, so I'm not sitting/resting on 1 machine for 3 sets.  So, my bicep rests while working the tricep and it keeps the HR up.  The kettle bell discomfort was at the end of the weights program.

Then, I drove home, cranked up the Garmin, and walked the 3 miles.  No troubles here.  There was a batch of high school cross country students running towards me during my walk.  The last two girls were doing a split walk/jog recovery (meaning not much effort), while the others were running.  At my turnaround point, I was behind the girls by less than a tenth of a mile.  So, I increased my pace to try to catch them.  I never did, but it was fun.  I closed the gap to about two-hundreths.

3 miles, 53:56, 17:58 pace.
1.  18:56
2.  17:59
3.  17:00

It was 75 degrees.  9 miles for the week.  After the 3 mile walk, my HR was 80, taken by finger to pulse.

-30-

You know, the lowest HR I saw on a monitor was 45, which is much lower than I thought I could do.  I was conscious and being wheeled down to the cath lab.  NOT asleep.  I wonder how much affect the nitro patch had on that?  It seems logical that a low blood pressure of 109/61, courtesy of nitro, would cause the heart not to beat as much.  The lowest HR I have ever recorded was 55.

Nancy, you mentioned 'be careful in the heat.'  The afternoon before the MI, where it took me 4 stops to do 125 feet, was in the afternoon heat.  I noticed the heat DID elevate the HR and breathing on prior days.

And thanks for the reminder on the roadID message service.  When I first saw that part of it, years ago, I thought it was $10/month, not $10/year.

Doug is definitely on the mend...he's chasing girls again.  

Nice walk.  

Keep an eye on the symptoms/pain you described.  Doesn't sound heart related but sometimes it's hard to tell.  You might mention it at your cardiologist when you see him just to confirm that it's nothing.

I'm not sure what nitro does.  They sent me home with a small bottle and instructions to carry it with me at first.  Then keep it on the nightstand.  Then just forget it.  I never opened it.  It would be interesting to know if your HR was actually that much lower than normal and why.  Not sure you'll ever figure it out for sure.  It wasn't low enough to cause concern so I guess it doesn't matter much.  As long as you don't get dizzy you're probably fine.

As far as exercising in the heat I remember Dr. B telling me to be cautious.  I was recovering during the summer months so hot weather was an issue.  I did get caught out in the heat once and had to call Marty and let him know that I didn't need a ride but was going to walk the last 2 miles home as I wasn't feeling well enough to continue running.  I also remember going into the bathroom on my return one day and my HR went wacky and I broke out in a sweat.  I didn't have my phone and wasn't sure I could get to it.  It passed but scared me pretty good.  I messaged Dr. B and was instructed to be careful and let him know if it happened again.  I was a bit more careful after that and didn't have any trouble.  When he gave me permission to participate in the MAC Dash in early September he cautioned me about the heat.  I requested an early start so I would finish before it got to warm and the race director was happy to make arrangements for me to be in the first heat.

Keep up the good work...

Mark B wrote:Even better walk! Nice even pacing, too. 

Speaking as one of the pups, believe me... you have our attention.

It says a lot about the power of genetics, doesn't it? But also of the benefits of what we do to make these events more a stress-filled hiccup rather than a life-shattering (or ending) event. 

Which *might* have something to do with my getting back out there.

ounce wrote:Like Kevin said that it's the group we never wanted to be in, but here I am.  

Since the doc said the other arteries were fine and my effusion rate was 60% (normal is 50%-70%), I presume that I'm good for a year.  Another ? for the doc.  I wonder if the running faster plus the exertion from the weights may have sped up the blockage...probably not.  It was going to happen.  Timing wasn't great, but the lack of severity was.

Yesterday afternoon, I started walking an errand and determined I had shin splints, of all things.

Oh, well.

Enjoy getting back out there, Mark!

ounce wrote:It was probably inevitable that we had our respective problems.  I imagine our consistent activities softened the inevitable's landing.

Since blood clots are platelets (because platelets clot the blood), who knows how my consistent activity of donating platelets the 2nd half of each year may have assisted in reducing my very ample platelet count to not clot as much, ergo not clot as much?
(Psst...Mark, a vanilla milkshake could be in your future.)

Kevin makes the valid point about taking it easy at Houston.  However, my back is against the 6 hour wall when I wasn't a cardiac patient.  Losing 4 weeks of training, Aug 15 to Sept 11, is pretty close to kicking me out of the marathon.  Although, I haven't sat down to run (no pun intended) the numbers.

But, I'd still like to run the 30K in mid-December, if nothing else because I paid for it.

This weekend, I haven't had any issues.

On a separate topic, I'm looking for a heart rate fitness tracker.  I want it to measure HR throughout a physical activity and be able to print or easily show the HR.  I want to use it as Exhibit A to the Doc on how the ticker is working.  I see on Amazon a product called Xiaomi Mi Band or Willful Fitness Tracker.  FitBit is too expensive and my Garmin's HR function hasn't been accurate.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, y'all!

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:It was probably inevitable that we had our respective problems.  I imagine our consistent activities softened the inevitable's landing.

Since blood clots are platelets (because platelets clot the blood), who knows how my consistent activity of donating platelets the 2nd half of each year may have assisted in reducing my very ample platelet count to not clot as much, ergo not clot as much?
(Psst...Mark, a vanilla milkshake could be in your future.)

Kevin makes the valid point about taking it easy at Houston.  However, my back is against the 6 hour wall when I wasn't a cardiac patient.  Losing 4 weeks of training, Aug 15 to Sept 11, is pretty close to kicking me out of the marathon.  Although, I haven't sat down to run (no pun intended) the numbers.

But, I'd still like to run the 30K in mid-December, if nothing else because I paid for it.

This weekend, I haven't had any issues.

On a separate topic, I'm looking for a heart rate fitness tracker.  I want it to measure HR throughout a physical activity and be able to print or easily show the HR.  I want to use it as Exhibit A to the Doc on how the ticker is working.  I see on Amazon a product called Xiaomi Mi Band or Willful Fitness Tracker.  FitBit is too expensive and my Garmin's HR function hasn't been accurate.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, y'all!

You say the Garmin HR tracker hasn't been accurate... are you using the wrist measurement, or are you using a strap? I've found the strap works well, except during the first mile when it's cold and dry outside. I know that some of the Garmins with wrist-based HR tracking can *also* take data from a strap, but I don't know if yours is one of them.

FWIW, here's the HR track from my run today. 



It's not granular data, as the data geeks would say, but it does show trends pretty well. Note the rapid recovery when I went into a walk.  I think that's the sort of information a cardiologist would want to see. How fast up, how fast down.

This was from Garmin Training Center, using the HR strap and my old Forerunner 305 that I bought off Fred Flintstone.