Staying the Course -- 03/12/2018

[Superbob]

Our little whiplash from nor'easter #3 is coming through pretty hard right now, even down here in the southeast, Had hard time keeping car on the road driving wife to her doc's appointment 15 miles up the highway. (There are plenty of docs closer, but this is her all-time favorite). And then the winds turned bitingly cold. I am exhausted trying to write this week's opener.

Doing my taxes weighs on my mind though I have lots of other work I need to do. For many years, I've had a preparer, but this time I'm going it alone -- except I think I will give Turbo software a whirl. Next year should be a lot easier for me with the standard deduction doubling.

What's new? I had a little fall while trying to get to my feet after using stability ball in exercise class, and felt embarrassed. But my teacher kept assuring me I am inspiring many of my classmates with how well I do the tougher exercises. Maybe she says that because I am 30 years older than some of them. Anyway, my ego needed a boost at that point. I think I just tried to get to my feet too fast. I learned a lesson: At my advanced age, any way you get off the floor is a good way -- just Take.It.One.Step.At.A.Time, stupid. So tomorrow it's back to class -- meanwhile, I am adding my own workouts in the community exercise room because two-a-week core fitness classes, while great, are not enough.

Wish I had something more inspiring than that to start the week with, but I am flat tired. Look forward to hearing from you all. And no I haven't weighed today. Maybe tomorrow.

Cheers,

Superbob

 

[honeybunny]

Awwww ((((((((((SB))))))))))) I got tired just reading your post. Those winter-spring snowstorms are not letting up, are they? Talked with my brother in Brooklyn on Friday and the weather hasn't affected them much at all, though his daughters in NJ had 2 feet of snow and lost power for 24 hours. Just crazy. Our weather this week is nice: 50s to 70s. Weekends continue to bring rain, which makes for a dreary Saturday-Sunday.

I'm officially up 2 lbs. No surprise as I skipped line dancing two weeks in a row and haven't done any other exercising. Like you I'm tired. And the time change doesn't help. I have my regular 6-month checkup on Friday. It would be nice to drop the 2 lbs by then but I won't do anything drastic.

I've used Turbo Tax for 5 years or more. IMO they misrepresent the cost; I paid $79 to use the program and e-file for a $65 refund. But they have so much of my info preloaded that it's easy for me to get the job done in little time. I was still able to itemize but next year I will probably take the standard deduction because with the increase it will probably be my better option. I feel sorry for the folks who have high property taxes with the new tax laws.

How did DW make out at her doctor's appt. SB? Hope you get some well deserved rest.

 

[Paleowoman]

I just finished the cardiac course I have been doing for the past three months, BUT I'm still getting contiuing support from the clinical exercise specialist and carrying on the training, both aerobic (the training walks) and anaerobic (resistance training), and loading data up to the secure website for me and her to see and discuss. I'm really impressed with their caring. They've written a very comprehensive report to the cardiac surgeon I am now under, my cardiologist and GP, full of data from their blood tests and body composition tests and, as well, posture photos of me against a grid (posture has improved loads). I'll miss the sessions with the CES but am very glad I no longer have to do the commute into London - the railway had delays most times I travelled, and central London is awful.

I don't think those 'stability' balls should be called that SB - they're 'instability' balls ! Seriously, I have big doubts about their safety. I did use one briefly during my sessions in London, but they aggravated my shoulder impingment. I think they probably don't help the spine much. I won't be buying my own that's for sure. It's dumbbell weights, and EZ bar and resistance bands for me, plus good walking shoes

Our weather here sounds similar to yours honeybunny, getting milder and wetter, but we mowed the grass today for the first time this year.

 

[jwinter]

Hello all and good afternoon. Good thing there is a lot of stamina here as the course isn't always straight and easy. I find this particular group and postings very helpful as we all move forward. Doctor appointments, weight loss (and gains), exercise, tests, jobs, spouses, and all the other things that fit here perfectly. I gain encouragement and no judgement for the most part here and many nice open minded people. We all know there are many ways to do things. Wish more would see that.

It is beautiful in AZ today. Lovely 82 degrees and forecast for warmer tomorrow. Our winter here has been short and cut shorter now. Two weeks ago I went by helicopter to Phoenix with my blood bottomed out again. Hemoglobin was at 4. I have been working with hematologist in Billings and he had me do weekly cbc' draws here. One week transfusion and next week barely holding, two days later I was down again. Anyway I worked with both the heart team and gastro team at Phoenix and they PROMISED they would find an answer. Off my warfarin and they managed to get my INR ready in two days so I had an endoscopy that went all the way down to stomach where they found 7 lesions. My thinned blood kept those things just a pumping out my blood. They banded all of them and for the first time in over 2 years my blood has consistently stayed at 8.7 and do I ever feel good. Follow up on those and looking for more in about 4-6 weeks. Call it what you want but I know who led me down this path. I am out in the middle of nowhere, should not have even made this trip here, and local docs would hardly touch me. Quite a story but got too long so will end.

So when you think it can't get any worse, it can. When you are barely hanging on by a thread, HANG ON. Life is really good my friends!

Have a good week and post when you can.

 

[epstns]

Still hanging on here, too. Our winter just won't let go. Yesterday when I left work to go to the gym, it was snowing so hard I couldn't get ahead of it to clear off the car. I'd clear off one side, then do the other. By that time the first side was actually covered with snow again! I just gave it up and went home. No gym yesterday at all. Probably not a bad thing, as I was exhausted. Worked all day, and hardly slept the night before. Sometimes it all just gets to be enough.

Today looks like a better day. Didn't have to shovel too much snow last night -- just a couple of drifts across the driveway. Our daughter in western MA had a snow day from work, but they only had minimal snow out where she is located. Her office is in Springfield, but headquarters is in Boston, so if Boston gets a snow day, so do their satellites. Good for her.

I'm still working out the details to move to semi-retirement at the end of March. Lots of loose ends, and I know that for the first couple of months I may have to stop by the office now and then to help folks over the icky spots, but it is almost here. I'm ready.

I do have to decide what I want to do in terms of a fitness center. The one I've used for the past 8 or 9 years is a block from my office, which is about 11 miles from home. Once I'm semi-retired, I will only be near the current center one week of the month, and would need to make the 22 mile round-trip to use the center on the other days. Near home, there aren't that many centers that are "right" for me. I do not want the "meat market" that caters to millennials wanting to meet new friends, nor do I want the "heavy iron" centers that cater to the huge people who lift heavy. My current center is a park district facility, but the city park district facility near my home is very small and incomplete, as it is inside a senior center. My wife uses a center in a strip mall just a few minutes from home, but the last couple of times I was there as a guest, I found the men's locker facilities to be sorely lacking. I will check them out once more to see if any improvements have been made, but absent such improvements, I will have to keep searching.

I have managed to "lose" about 2 lbs. this past week, but I fear that this is only due to reduced fluid retention and maybe a bit of reduced appetite due to stress at work. I can't wait for retirement and nicer weather.

I guess I can at least be happy and pleased that nothing new has gone wrong in the past couple of weeks. DW and I have been planning some activities for the next couple of months -- outings, dinners with friends, and even a trip to visit family in TX in a couple of months. That will get things started, and I'm sure I will add to my calendar once I get free of the "daily desk."

Be well, everyone. I'm stayin' the course!

 

[honeybunny]

Encourging post jwinter Thanks for sharing and being part of this forum. You have remained upbeat through your many trials. God bless~

Hugs,
Michele

 

[Paleowoman]

I do have to decide what I want to do in terms of a fitness center. The one I've used for the past 8 or 9 years is a block from my office, which is about 11 miles from home. Once I'm semi-retired, I will only be near the current center one week of the month, and would need to make the 22 mile round-trip to use the center on the other days. Near home, there aren't that many centers that are "right" for me. I do not want the "meat market" that caters to millennials wanting to meet new friends, nor do I want the "heavy iron" centers that cater to the huge people who lift heavy. My current center is a park district facility, but the city park district facility near my home is very small and incomplete, as it is inside a senior center. My wife uses a center in a strip mall just a few minutes from home, but the last couple of times I was there as a guest, I found the men's locker facilities to be sorely lacking. I will check them out once more to see if any improvements have been made, but absent such improvements, I will have to keep searching!

Hi Steve - I suppose it depends on what you want to do for your fitness, but when I was told not to lift heavy a few months before AVR I decided not to carry on at the local 'heavy iron' bodybuilding gym that was near me as it wasn't worth the fee to lift light there. I invested in a sturdy weight lifing bench and a set of dumbbells which took weights which could be added or subtracted - cost of both together roughly £120 - delivered by courrier/Amazon which made things easy. When I did cardiac rehab I added an EZ bar which took the dumbbell weights and a Rebok step. Everything fits in our bedroom easily, and our bedroom isn't large, and now I've added resistance bands. (Could also add an 'instability ball' if I wanted, no problem.) All these things have been a truly worthwhile investment for me, and hardly much of an investment at that. It means I can go to the "gym" whenever I want, and I am very self disciplined to do so. For walking I go outside most days unless the weather is truly awful in which case I walk indoors.

 

[Superbob]

... super informative and inspirational posts already this week!

JWINTER has the philosophical line of the week so far: "When you think you are hanging on by a thread, HANG ON.. Life is really good." Love your upbeat attitude. Love your posts.

Steve, I wish you well in your search for a good fitness center. I am very lucky to have the recreation center with great fitness classes less than a mile away, and our community workout room just two blocks away. In warm weather, there is an outdoor pool there I can use for aqua exercise (when I get there before the kiddies take it over). And there also is a Family Y just four miles away, and I've been a member there off and on. Don't really need it at the moment.

Paleowoman, I know what you mean by those stability balls -- I keep a chair handy to grab onto if I feel as though I am about to fall. I can do at least one exercise really well on it though -- the push-up, where you roll out to whatever length is comfortable to you and do push-ups off the stability ball. I get compliments not just from the teacher but other classmates for how well I do those -- so for that reason alone, the stability ball is my friend.

Our teacher promises we will have a Plank-a-Palooza tomorrow. That should be interesting -- and hopefully fun.

HB, I'm still trying to remember to get on the scales very first thing in the morning and report in. (Weighing is obviously not my favorite thing to do.) But before I go see the cardio again, I really want to be down 5 pounds or so. She's the only doctor I have who expresses any concern at all about my weight -- and I actually appreciate that.

Cheers, all!

 

[Superbob]

Oh and a quick, post-script -- just realized I neglected to answer HB's question about my DW's doctor's appointment. It was good: Her blood pressure was great 113/70 or something in that range --- far, far lower than she'd been battling in recent times. I think we finally got the bp meds managed properly to help her. The rib pain has eased, and her toe is gradually healing. So all is improving. Thanks for asking!

 

[FredW]

Nice to hear everyone checking in. Every since I joined this challenge to loose 6.something pounds my weight has gone up. What a bummer! Winter makes it hard to get outside with the dog or to do work. And I’m envious of those of you who have choices for a place to workout. Living in rural western PA has advantages, but choices of fitness centers are not one of them.

I found some extra willpower and drove the 10 miles to get on the treadmill. For the past few months when I do this, I find my heart rate gets concerning. Being on metoprolol, my resting rate in the 45 - 55 range. I stand and it goes to 75 +/-. I walk and it goes to 85 +/-. I hike up a hill or jog, and it goes to 95. But it I run or get the treadmill up to 3.0 mph, it goes over 100 and then drops to 70. I question if my hr monitor is working correctly. I have a Garmin Vivofit with a hr chest strap. Since I question it’s accuracy, I look at the treadmill hr handbag monitor and I see similar results. I also try to validate it with my pulse, and it tracks well until my rate goes over 100, then I can’t tell.

At my last cardiologist checkup, I tried to discuss this with him and he scoffed at it, asking “Why are you pushing yourself so hard? Don’t worry about your heart rate. You aren’t training for the marathon. You have to accept you are not 30 years old. If you exercise or hike and can’t say a sentence without taking a breath, slow down! And, BTW, loose some weight.”

He’s a typical stereotype male doc, doesn’t like to listen, knows more than you, and doesn’t like to be questioned.

So, I was interested in the conversation Steve had on hr monitors, and until I find out if my hr is actually dropping when I push hard, I have been taking it easy. I did one hour, 2+ miles on the treadmill, but I had to dial the mph down below 2.7 to keep my heart happy. But at my age, 74, after an hour of walking, my knees start to hurt, my feet get sore, my legs feel like rubber bands, I extremely bored, and I’m ready for a nap.

Why am I sharing all this? I’m not sure. Maybe it is because I don’t want you to think badly of me for not loosing weight.

I am interested in accurate hr monitors, but begin to think they don’t exist for a affordable price. I’m also interested in how others deal with being on beta blockers - and do they limit ones ability to exercise, hike or work hard? And I am interested in how one handles retirement. I’m not sure I’m handling it well.

When I realize that without my OHS and new valve, I would not be here today, I ask myself if I’m making the best use of new extended time, and I’m not sure I like the answer. I realize I have limits physically and financially, but, like Steve, I still get involved with solving problems in the field of my career. After spending hours identifying and fixing ill behaved technology, I ask: “Why did I do that? I should be at the gym working out, or playing the piano, or helping my wife fix dinner, or _____” (fill in the blank).

I ramble. This was to be a short post.

Wishing the best to everyone. Think spring. Pick winners in the NCAA. Stay warm or cool, depending on where you live. And stay the corse.

 

[Superman]

As far as heart rate monitors, I'm guessing none are quite as good as a stethoscope and a watch. I have a Fitbit Ionic, and sometimes it goes a little wonky. It's a wrist monitor and I wonder if sometimes if picks up two vessels since I can hear my tick and know that it's much lower than what's showing. Most of the time it's pretty accurate, and gives me the general info I want.

I'm on 25 mg 2x daily of metoprolol and my resting pulse is between 59 and 62 most days. When I do my spin class, I average north of 130 bpm, with peaks as high as 190 - but I really question the accuracy when I'm moving around and my wrist is all sweaty. In general, I base it on how I feel.

Steve, We just have a family membership to the YMCA, which is about 4 miles from home. Has all we want and more. We can also use any of their locations, so I can use the one right by my office in a pinch.

My own "staying course" has been derailed by a very very busy time of year on the home front. Birthdays and other special events, including hosting a couple parties, etc. have disrupted my workout goals. I do still get my daily walks in, so that's a plus. I've been holding with respect to weight, but not at my low that I touched last week. Still around 200 lbs plus or minus. Mostly minus these days. Leaving for vacation in two weeks, with one more birthday and related cake and ice cream to get through before then. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

 

[jwinter]

Hey guys I just wanted to add that I was on beta blocker after my first OHS and after a time told the cardio it felt like I was gaining weight and also dragging a 50 pound brick behind me every day. Ugg. He took me off and then I went back on another when I started all my gastric problems-beta blocker and PPI helped to slow all the "action" I had going on inside. (keeping in mind this was after my porcine valve was put in) A couple weeks ago I had those lesions banded in stomach and once again they wanted to try a beta blocker (had just put me on a PPI) The two meds took my blood pressure down to 90/40 something so they stopped beta blocker. My bp is usually pretty low so not really concerned about that (unless I fade out for good I guess) but the beta blockers seem to drag me down.

 

[epstns]

I really wish there was a predictably reliable consumer heart rate monitor, but even if there was such a unicorn, it might not work for patients like myself. With my pacemaker, I'm never sure what it is reading. I do know that 95% of the time, I have normal atrial pacing, but conversely 95% of the time I have artificial ventricular pacing. I'm convinced that there are times at which the monitor reads both the natural and artificial pulses, giving near-double readings. There are, as Fred notes, times when it shows some unrealistically low reading. I've discussed this with my electrophysiologist and my device clinic manager, and they both tell me to "listen to your body - not the monitor."

With my pacemaker, I should never see a resting heart rate below 60 BPM, and as far as we see in the interrogation reports, the only time my natural heart rate drops below that point is while I am asleep. When that happens, the pacer steps in and keeps things at or above 60 BPM in the atria. The pacer also ensures that my ventricles pulse the appropriate fraction of a second after the atria, keeping things coordinated. Since my atrial pacing is almost always via intrinsic (internal/natural) pacing, things work pretty normally. When I exercise at relatively high intensity, my heart rate goes to the mid-140's, even with the beta blocker. If I didn't have the beta blocker, it might go even higher.

Fred - you're a few years older than I (I'm now 70), and I am just getting ready to slip off to semi-retirement at the end of the month. I plan to take a couple of months without a plan, just to get used to not having to go to the office every day, and just to re-calibrate my mind. I am NOT going to reduce my exercise load, in fact, I plan to increase it. I believe that being in better-than-average shape prior to surgery helped me to delay surgery as long as I did, and also helped me to recover better (not more quickly). Therefore, I continue to believe that keeping fit as best I can will help me to maximize my quality of life from here on out, to I will fight to not give up any degree of fitness that I have or can gain.

jwinter - I know what you mean about dragging that big boulder around all day. Immediately after my valve surgery, I was taking 100 mg/day of metoprolol. Felt horrible. Convinced cardio to reduce to 50 mg. Better. Then convinced him to let me try 25 mg/day - much better. My BP remains a bit on the high side, but we are fine with a bit of that. First thing in the AM, my BP may hit 140/90, but an hour later, after I've taken my morning meds, it drops to about 128/72 or so, so doc is happy. I, too, was on a PPI for years for GERD and IBS. After a while, I started having side effects (bloating, stomach pain) so I was switched to an H2 receptor blocker (old line meds like Zantac) for a number of years. Eventually, I developed more side effects, and currently I use Zantac only on "bad" days, and take over-the-counter antacids the rest of the time. Isn't getting old(er) a riot?

I guess I'll get back to work. I've got to finish submitting the last of my 2017 medical insurance claims by the end of the month, and there are some loose ends. Not a huge dollar amount, but better that dollar lands with me than the insurance company.

Stayin' the Course!

 

[Superbob]

Finally got on the scales, and I am only 2 pounds from reaching my initial weight-loss goal. So I lost about 2 pounds last week. Progress feels good. Supplemental workouts between the core fitness classes -- especially those during the big Thursday to Tuesday emptiness with no classes -- may be helping. We did a plankapalooza at class yesterday -- 3 series of 4 planks of varied times, adding in some moves with the legs while in plank position, and a modified side plank. Pretty fancy stuff for we seniors. Good fun. We should get teeshirts for it. "I Survived the Plankapalooza" or somesuch.

Fascinated to read all the postings about following heart rates and target zones in exercising. I've always taken a laissez faire (I suppose) -- or maybe just lazy -- approach to that. I don't check it. And have never had a doctor urge me to do so -- and wondering if that is because of my rather complicated, combined root/valve replacement. My cardio did suggest last visit that I use my bp monitor and check my heart rate too. I will ask her my next appointment if I should be doing more. She's always receptive to questions and discussion. Thanks for sharing what you all are doing as we stay our respective courses!

 

[epstns]

I get two different viewpoints about heart rate monitoring from two different docs. My device clinician tells me not to worry about monitoring heart rate. She says the old "If it feels good, do it." She also says that I will know if things are not going well, and from the one or two times that has happened, I tend to agree. My cardio doesn't say to watch it every minute, but he does say that at my age, he doesn't think I should be doing activities that result in abnormally high heart rates. He says that for me, a max of 140-145 should be plenty to build and maintain conditioning. Hence the beta blocker, I guess. . .

 

[MartinF]

Glad to hear good news on STC this week, especially jwinter.
Had a low mile week a couple weeks ago and then back to 17 miles this past week. No weight loss, still need to drop a few pounds.
Weather out here in SoCal has been colder with needed rain. Luckily the rain hasn't affected my walking. More predicted this week.
Steve, I have hand weights from 1 lb. to 15 lbs at home. Bought most at thrift stores. Still trying to get into a consistent routine with them. Good luck in your search for a fitness center that works for you.
On to the new week!