When I look back on the past year to eighteen months, I can see a definite improvement in quite a few aspects of my health and am extremely thankful for the progress made.
During that time, I have learned a lot more about my body and to respond to its cues. I had always been in tune with it, but when things started happening that shouldn't be, I had to start figuring out why what happened was happening and what things were going on when they happened.
It's funny that some of what I have to do for my body now is so different from what I've learned, or done, in the past.
The A-Fib has changed a lot. My heart seems to go into the fibrillation when it either gets too low like 43-48 beats a minute, or high (for me) 70+ beats per minute.
So, when I exercise, when I'm pedalling on the elliptical cycle, my goal is not to raise my heartrate to an aerobic level, but keep it in the mid-60s range. NOT as easy as it sounds.
I've had some well-meaning friends try to explain to me that I need to be working aerobically for fat loss, and I have to explain to them that yes that's what most folks have to do but I have to do what my cardiologist tells me to do, and for soebody like me, a "normal" level of aerobic exercise, right now, is only going to cause me some big problems!
When my heartrate gets too slow I usually go pedal for a few minutes to bring it up but, many times, I was noticing that it dropped very quickly afterwards. Keeping track of the things going on at the time, led me to discover that heat and cold affect me differently now.
Even if I feel warm or comfortable, in myself, if my SKIN gets cool ... maybe because the fan is on ... that causes my heart to slow. It's odd in 75 degree weather to get under the covers and need EXTRA quilts on top, in order to stay stable. I can be all snug under the covers, and touch my thigh or belly and it will be cold to the touch. I lie on my side and "walk" my legs in order to keep my heartrate from falling any more while I rub my skin to prove warmth through friction. Hubby, meanwhile, is throwing off his normal covers because he's too hot.
Another thing I have to watch is my potassium intake. If my blood pressure remains too high, I have to take one of my "emergency" pills, Hydrochlorthiazide, which is a diuretic.
Last year I ended up with failing kidney function, 39%, not good at all. It was scary, I was getting tremblings and all sorts with it, and at that point my doctor was trying to figure out whether the blood pressure issues were causing the kidney ones, or vice versa.
I started limiting my potassium and managed to get my functioning back up to normal, but in researching about my kidney issues, I found that the Hydrochlorthiazide (which back then I was taking daily as a "normal" med) was not supposed to be taken with my Lisinopril as it cause the kidneys to build up potassium! That was when it stopped being a daily and became an emergency med.
I then found out that licorice has something in it that BINDS potassium to it and takes it out of the body.
Since I love fruits and veggies, and they are good for me but high in potassium, on days now where I may eat a lot of them, I have 2 pieces of licorice, to help with removing some of it. The ER doctor laughed when I told her but said that was good planning!
I'm happy with my weight loss, 79lbs gone so far and I'm still on the journey.
My biking on the elliptical provides me with some awesome time with (as my mum used to say) my head "stuck in a book". I've always loved to read, I get lost in the characters and the plot twists and I'll look up to check my heart rate and find I'm 15 minutes gone already, sometimes 20. I try usually to stay between 10 and 15 as it's easier to keep my pulse on an even keel.
My rollator walker has proven a marvellous ally and friend through this and has got me able to walk much more than I was able to before. I need the support of something to hold onto, and being able to sit when I need to means that I don't end up hurting from overdoing it. When I first got it almost a year ago, I could barely totter a dozen paces before I would need to sit. Some days it can still be like that, but for the most part, I can walk up a supermarket aisle now in one go, then sit for a few, then start again. I also accomplished a half mile walk at Cedar Falls like that. Walk. Sit. Walk. Sit. Hey ... I did it though and that's what counts!
I have a long way to go, and it may be that the weight I have set myself (my "normal weight" from ages 15-30 of 140lbs) is unrealistic now. I may have to settle for maybe 150-160bs, only time will tell. But I'm plodding along and for now, that's the mountain top I'm aiming for.
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