February 21-22nd was my official 1 year anniversary of my heart attack. I was discharged on the 24th...it is amazing to see how much life has changed in a year. 1 year ago, I was unable to pick up Jackson and didn't have enough strength/energy to dry my own hair, not to mention the struggle a shower was. Every pain in my chest sent my adrenaline through the roof, oh how glad I am to be past that stage. I still have a lot of questions and haven't quite figured out certain pains and why they are still so consistent, but I know that they aren't the sign of another heart attack.
My wonderful doctors at Cedars-Sinai have helped to manage my issue with blood thinning medication, which should make it nearly impossible for me to form another clot, which is great! In March I will get the order to have my 1 year post MI cardiac MRI! This should help us to see how much my heart has resolved its issues; I am very anxious to get the results of this exam. As a result of the MI my heart has a scar, it is the craziest thing to look at. Hopefully all checks out.
Since I didn't have a typical clot my only real tell-tale sign of my oncoming heart attack was my extreme fatigue, I was requiring quite a bit of sleep, which sadly has not resolved itself. In conversations with my mom about my new found need for sleep, lack of a sharp brain/memory and increased muscle aches and pains, she replies "wow you are explaining the new joys of my life as I approach 50!" Not exactly the comforting reality I was looking forward too, but hopefully these things will continue to improve. Now I experience more of the tell-tale signs of an oncoming heart attack but that has a lot to do with the damage my heart has incurred and its inability to perfuse my blood to all of my heart. Which means that I get a lot of chest pain throughout the day, when I exercise, etc. I am really hoping that I can find a way to be able to run again!! I can run about 10-15 minutes before I really feel like something is wrong; I was running longer and further earlier this last year, even after the heart attack, so hopefully I can overcome this little hurdle.
Anyway being a full year away I can appreciate more of the roller coaster ride that this year has been. I am grateful to be looking at T nearing graduation and us looking more toward the future! After one year I can honestly say that this now feels a bit more like a stumbling block versus a huge change in my life. I am learning to better facilitate my body's capabilities within the world of fitness and not allowing my body to hinder my chance to participate.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Almost There
Well I need to keep logging these feelings or they will forever be lost. First I have yet to have any really serious episodes of any kind these past couple of weeks, which I am extremely grateful for.
As of December, my beta-blocker dosage was cut and half and has since caused about twice the chest pain I was previously experiencing. I was told it would help with the fatigue, hair loss and need for tons of sleep, but thus far I don't know that much of these things has changed. I have been trying to up my exercise efforts.
I have started walking about 3 miles a day. I don't tend to have any chest pain as a result, but I don't really know that it is helping my cardiovascular fitness either. Running and lifting are a slightly different story. It is actually the running that is really hard. I can push through pain I just think its a bad kind of pain to push through. I think it is the result of the duration I spend at an elevated heart rate. On Monday I ran for 3 miles and I was feeling the aftermath all night long. A lot of burning in my chest and pain. The chest pain had kicked in from the onset of my warm-up and all the way throught the run. The following day my legs and rest of my body really felt like they had been hit by a baseball bat. I need to see if this has any correlation with a potential lack of blood flow to these muscles.
Otherwise all is well. I am getting much closer to my 1 year mark. This will be a celebrated day for years to come:)
As of December, my beta-blocker dosage was cut and half and has since caused about twice the chest pain I was previously experiencing. I was told it would help with the fatigue, hair loss and need for tons of sleep, but thus far I don't know that much of these things has changed. I have been trying to up my exercise efforts.
I have started walking about 3 miles a day. I don't tend to have any chest pain as a result, but I don't really know that it is helping my cardiovascular fitness either. Running and lifting are a slightly different story. It is actually the running that is really hard. I can push through pain I just think its a bad kind of pain to push through. I think it is the result of the duration I spend at an elevated heart rate. On Monday I ran for 3 miles and I was feeling the aftermath all night long. A lot of burning in my chest and pain. The chest pain had kicked in from the onset of my warm-up and all the way throught the run. The following day my legs and rest of my body really felt like they had been hit by a baseball bat. I need to see if this has any correlation with a potential lack of blood flow to these muscles.
Otherwise all is well. I am getting much closer to my 1 year mark. This will be a celebrated day for years to come:)
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