Answers I knew all along!

 Good morning friends!  

Today is 4 weeks exactly since my bout with myocarditis.  I've seen all the doctors, and am cleared for activity as tolerated.  Today is another attempt to get things back on track.  My toleration of exercise is still in the "work back to it" stage, but I'm getting there.  

As I sit here this morning sipping my coffee; which I can taste again Praise God!, I'm filled with a lot of different emotions.  I'm happy, relieved, mad, and VINDICATED!

3 years ago this past August when I had that heart attack, I had lost 63 lbs.  My cholesterol was awesome.  I had no blockages, and yet I've spent the past 3 years fighting with doctors who kept pushing drugs on me.  Drugs that had side effects.  Those side effects kept me fearful that first year after, and it's been down hill from there.  I felt like I was banging my head against a wall.  After a year, I was finally off of them by my choice, but each doctor visit it would be "suggested" that I really need to get my cholesterol down.  It made no sense to me.  

Kinda like everyone needs to get the vaccination cause the vaccinated need protecting from the unvaccinated, cause the vaccination doesn't work?  Okay, that's another rant.

Onto my story!  My OBGYN did suggest Magnesium, so I've been taking that for the past 2 years.  Still, every doctor visit was stressful.  I finally went back to a NP who supported my initial desire of diet and exercise after my heart attack.  Only now, I don't see her, because of my myocarditis.  It's crazy.  

I needed a new primary care physician.  Relying on urgent care is not an effective tool.  They don't know you, and really, you get the feeling you're just a number.  I needed someone who would oversee all of my care regardless of what specialty I was going too.  Above that, I wanted someone who would be open minded and independent.  I wanted someone to listen.  A friend recommended a primary care physician about 20 minutes away.  He files no insurance.  You pay at the time of service.  He isn't in a group.  It's his own practice.  He's been a doctor for 40 years.  I went to see him.

THANK THE LORD ALMIGHTY!  This Doctor is the most thorough doctor I've ever seen.  I was the only patient scheduled for that time period.  There is no over booking for appointments.  His clinic is open various hours in order for people that work during the day to come see him when they're off in the evening.  His nurse was in there during the physical exam, taking notes as he dictated them.  He actually read the medical questionnaire(10 pages) I filled out from his office.  He questioned me about everything.  

We get to the subject of my heart attack.  I had already talked to him about my migraines.  I also have raynaud's syndrome which is where the capillaries in my finger tips close in the cold weather.  It's genetic.  A lot of women have this.  He begins to clarify:  "  You had no blockages?".  I answer no.  I tell him my cholesterol was fine as well.  He says" Okay, you had a vasospasm".  I told him that's what I was told.  It means my artery closed temporarily on it's own.  He points to my hands and says "  Raynaud's is a vasospasm".  He points to my head "Your migraines are a vasospasm".  He points to my heart and says "Your heart attack was a vasospasm".  "What you have is a vascular issue".  "The only thing you should have been started on after your heart attack was Magnesium".  "Your OB had it right".  I went ahead and shared with him that my migraines seem to occur during hormonal fluctuations.  I'm premenopausal, so there's a lot of chaos.  My heart attack occurred during a time of hormonal fluctuations.  Could that be linked?  I've asked this question to every doctor I've seen in the past 3 years.  I get a smile and a "No".  Isn't it cute she thinks she's a doctor.  His response?  "Yes".  Apparently it isn't the hormones themselves that are the issue.  It's the wild fluctuations that are the problem.  He said it's hard on kids going into puberty, and it's hard coming out.  He said many children have migraines and such during puberty.  My case isn't any different.   

FINALLY!  I feel like this weight has been lifted!  On the other hand I could, in the words of my mom"  beat those other docs til I'm tired".  Not really guys.  It's just a figure of expression.  Nobody call the cops please.  I'm just so mad, that I lost 3 years of my life over all this!  At a time when I was at my best!  Grrrrr!  

So, you start where you are.  This morning I've done 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I have another 30 to do to compensate for a less intense workout.  My new doctor has all my labs, Dr's notes, etc. from every visit and hospital stay in the last few months as well as those from my heart attack.  In a week or so, we will meet to formulate a plan moving forward.  I'm in good hands.  

Movin slow today

 Hello everyone!  It's been a week.  What am I saying it's been a month!  What topped off this stellar (not) month was this past early Sunday morning when I'm struck out of the blue with excruciating chest pain.  Greater than labor and that's saying something.  After taking my first nitro, nothing, took second nitro and called 911.  Husband goes out to meet them.  I'm taken to the hospital.  3 total nitros and nothing happens.  That is nothing gets better.  It took a shot of morphine to get the pain to subside.  3 hospital days, 1 (once again) clean cath, and just for fun a cardiac MRI later; I finally find out what's wrong with me:  Myocarditis.  Myocarditis is a viral inflammation of the heart.  This one was possibly brought on by my bout with Covid.  What this means is that while I was feeling this horrible pain, my heart was just beating away like nothing was wrong.  So no damage to my heart.  The inflammation was what I was feeling.  As an aside here...ahem.  My cholesterol was THE LOWEST IT'S EVER BEEN!  Sorry.  Just had to throw that in there.

This time I have answers at least.  I can hear the Pro-maskers, Pro-vaxers neener neening me from afar.  Here's the truth of it.  Do I regret not being vaccinated?  NOPE!  Do I wish I had never had Covid?  YEP!  I could have gone my entire life without dealing with this virus.  That isn't the way things went.  Like it or not, vaccines are failing; hence the need for booster shots FOR EVERYONE!  Yea.  I read today that PFizer has recommended boosters for all.  Big surprise, not!  Don't get me started on masks (eye roll).  The fact is, Thanks to China, politics, money, and the stupidity of leaders in general, this virus is out there now and I got a taste of it.  I still, thru this all, feel I made the right choice for me.  So!  I will contend with this too.  This means some changes in my future.  

1)  White sugar, white flour, white rice, processed foods, hydrogenated anything, etc, causes inflammation.  The first three of these are the only things we are still using.  They're now gone; from my diet at least.  Hopefully in the future I'll be posting recipes I can come up with using the alternatives of Whole wheat, Brown or Wild rice, Maple syrup, Raw honey, and Monk fruit.  I didn't eat anything from Sunday evening around 8P.M til Wednesday morning around 3 A.M.  In the beginning it was by Doctors order.  My cath was at 4 P.M.  Once that was over I was nauseous the rest of the time.  Since I've had my appetite back, though, it's been no sugar, flour, or white rice: as promised.  

So why this step?  These things are known to cause inflammation.  That's something I'm actively trying to get rid of.  So out they go so the inflammation doesn't have an ally.

Tried Monk Fruit today in my coffee.  Yes, all is right with my world if I get coffee.  It was good.  Now my taste buds aren't fully back yet, but not too bad.  It has potential.  I do think I'm going to stick with a tiny bit of real maple syrup in my coffee though, and save the Monk fruit for baking.  

2)  Before I even knew my diagnosis, I determined I was getting my life back this time.  I wasn't going to sulk and be afraid.  New eating, and moving!  I was more mad than afraid. I've known for a while I needed to get my health back, but it was on the back burner for a list of reasons (excuses).  Now it's top priority.  I need an outlet for stress.  I need to strengthen my heart.  It's as easy as that.  

So today I'm movin slow, but I'm moving.   I have to take things easy.  While no damage was done to my heart, I did have a tube stuck into it thru my veins sooooo there is that.   

I've been on the treadmill 30 minutes as of this posting; 2mph, no incline and in 7.5 minute intervals.  I also managed to can 7 quarts of potatoes with my son's help and sitting on a stool.  I covered my one lone cool weather crop garden bed with floating row cover.  Floating is the operative word.  It's very light weight.  I've puttered around the house doing little small things.  I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk.  So I keep that in mind.  When I start to feel tired I stop.  I have my follow up appointment in 2 weeks.  At that time I'm hopeful the doctor will okay more exertion.  In the mean time I'll just keep on keepin on.  I'm very grateful to still be here.

Covid hits home

 Yes, yes.  It finally happened.  Dh and I have been down with Covid.  Hence the delay in a new post.  I haven't had much energy to do much more than sleep.  I'm amazed at how much I've slept these past 5 days.  

DH was exposed a week ago this past Monday, and he began to show symptoms a week ago this past Thursday.  This past Thursday was when he brought it home to me.  Home, you know that place where you don't have masks on?  He may have gotten his at work, but work came home with him.   I started showing symptoms on Sunday.  Sunday was DH worst day and Wednesday was my worst day.  Those were the days we were at our worst and our fevers were the highest.  Both of us had high fevers of around 102.  Everything about our two cases were identical down to losing our sense of taste and smell.  His loss actually came near the end of his bout with Covid.  Mine started around day 2 and crept in over time.  I say all of this to point out this:

DH is vaccinated.  I'm not.  Here are some other interesting things to ponder.

DH is a nurse in a clinic.  This is a clinic where everyone is masked, including patients.  These are healthcare workers using surgical masks correctly.  In addition, not only was DH vaccinated, but I would hazard a guess that the bulk of his coworkers were vaxed as well.  This is relevant because his clinic is shut down for the week because all but one of the staff tested positive for Covid.  If there was ever a case study into the efficacy of masks and the vaccines, this would be it.  

Now I'm not gonna lie to ya.  I would rather not have Covid.  We're blessed in that we didn't have a case that put us into the hospital.  But it's been rough.  If given the choice I would rather not have to ever experience Covid, but that wasn't the case.  Thanks China.  But, I'm happy to day our immune system mounted a defense and won.  The trade off for the misery we're enduring right now is that we now have natural immunity to this.  That is good as gold in my book.  Worth it?  Given my choices?  In my book, yes.  I made a choice to take my chances with Covid to obtain an immunity far better than artificial.  I made this decision in a well thought out manner, fully understanding what I was accepting.  Everything I believed in the beginning as all been proven out.

Everyone has to do what's right for them.  That's what it all boils down to.  I made a choice to risk Covid to obtain natural immunity.  I knew I would get it eventually.  I stand by that choice.  I know that's the right decision for me, but I'll admit, I'm ready to get past this thing.  UGH!  Worst virus I've ever had.

A refreshing change.

 Full disclosure for those that may have just tuned in.  3 years ago this past August 27th, I had a mild heart attack ( didn't feel mild at the time).  No blockages, so that was good.  However, my cholesterol has been a concern since as far as my physicians were concerned.  It wasn't elevated and no blockages, but they wanted it even lower.  They also wanted my weight down more.  So did I.  That we agreed on.  We've just disagreed how to get there.  Funny thing was I was actually down 63 lbs from my highest weight and at the healthiest point in my entire life! 

The past three years have been stressful to say the least.  As a result My weight was up.  To be totally honest, it was up 26 pounds.  26 pounds!  YIKES.  But notice I said "was up".  It's now down 7 pounds from there.  I'm hopeful this is it and I have reclaimed things, but I'm not willing to claim that yet.  However, I will take the 7 pounds.  It's a daily journey.

So knowing my weight is up, and with now a history of heart disease; I headed to two doctor visits ( one day apart).  I'll tell you I was loaded forbear.  I was ready for a fight.  I was totally ready to deal with a vaccine push by my doctors; an Endocrinologist, and a Cardiologist!  

Know what?  Aside from a questionnaire about general health information that included a question of "  have you been vaccinated for Covid 19"( to which I answered "No"); nothing was mentioned.  Nothing.  Both visits were completely normal ( aside from having to wear a mask ((eye roll)). 

I have to say it was quite a nice change.  I still had bodily autonomy at my doctors office.  I really did appreciate it.  There are now at least two physicians I know that still respect the "Patient Bill of Rights".  Yes that is actually a thing.   To read the full version, you're welcome to click here

Here's a couple from the list I thought to highlight:

1)  The right to Refuse care

2)  The right to agree or refuse to take part in medical research studies without it affecting patient's care.

3) The right to give informed consent prior to the administration of any non emergent care by receiving  information on the benefits, risks, alternatives to a particular treatment, as well as benefits and risks of those alternatives.  

4) The right to have respect shown for the your( and my) values, beliefs and wishes.

It was nice to see that still in action in my neck of the woods.  If it isn't in your's, then fight for it!  You have rights as a patient.  Don't let them tell you otherwise.  

I will leave with this one little bit of new info I've discovered.  I was shocked to see that my cholesterol, which is usually really good, had shot up to 238!  It has never been over the 180's, even when I was very overweight and eating junk.  Guess what?  According to WebMD, stress over a long period of time can release large amounts of cortisol and can increase cholesterol levels!  That's news!  

It's not like we've all been under excessive amounts of stress lately have we?  NAH!

Needless to say I'm working to get those levels back where they need to be.  I'm moving, and getting my weight down.  It's a daily journey.  

 I'll update when I can. 

Something important missing in February

 There are a lot of events in February; Black History Month, Valentines day, Presidents day, and even weather ( Yes I meant to spell it this way)or not spring will come early or not!  Whew!  That's a lot for the shortest month of the year.  

While I'm all for celebrating some of our Citizens, unending love, our forefathers, and warmer weather, I've noticed something missing that is also important.  In fact, in can be life and death important.

February is also Heart Disease awareness month.  Seems fitting, but sadly in the first 2 weeks of this full month, nary a peep I've heard. 

So since no one else will talk about it, I will.  

1)  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women of all races and ethnicities.  Greater than even Breast cancer ladies.  So while you're concerned about "the girls", think about what's behind them too.

2)  1 in 4 Americans die each year from Heart Disease.  The CDC estimates that's 655,000 Americans.  Hmm greater than the fatalities of Covid in the US this past year.  Where's the outcry?  Maybe there should have been at least some focus on Heart Disease awareness after all.

3)  Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the US.  The CDC estimates 805,000 people have a heart attack in the US each year.  Of these the CDC estimates approximately 600,000 of these are first attacks.  Here's the kicker; 1 in 5 of all attacks are silent.  The damage is done, but the person isn't aware. 

4)  Lets bring it a little closer to home.  If someone is Obese, has diabetes, has a bad diet, and/or has no physical activity; they are at risk for heart disease.  That means any or all of these.  You can be thin and still out of shape FYI.  Yes the chances are greater if you are obese, mainly because if you are it means you more than likely have more than one of these risk factors.  

5)  If your father had a heart attack before the age of 50, or your mother had a heart attack before the age of 65, then you have a family history.  That means you can have a genetic disposition to heart disease.  My father had his first attack at 50.  I had mine at the age of 51.  My kids now have a family history.  

6)  Many peoples first symptom of a heart attack is death.  

Have I scared you?  I'm not posting this to instill fear.  I'm posting this to educate.  We have cities in lock down; mandated or self imposed, wearing masks, losing jobs, etc, for a virus that has killed fewer people than heart disease.  The irony of this is some of the main things closed are gyms!  In some places people have no choice but to sit at home and eat.   That's their entertainment! Try exercising at home with kids.  Yea, not fun.

I'm waiting for the powers that be to focus on our maintaining good health, which in turn can help with surviving this current virus.  

Heart disease doesn't have a vaccine we can vie for.  You have to do the work.  Watch what you eat, move.  Don't smoke, Vape, Drink alcohol, Eat Junk, etc.  We don't have to become one of these statistics. In fact, better than that, we can change these and bring them down!  So what do you think?

CDC facts

Neener Neener! Doctor visit

Doctor visit today!  I had my yearly check up with my Endocrinologist.  

Last year I was on Pravastatin, per my cardiologist and seconded by my Endo Dr, to lower my already normal cholesterol levels.  Cause since I had a heart attack they want it lower than normal (what?).  I didn't want to be on it, but hubby wanted me to be on it just until I had labs drawn to see if it would work.  Well those labs came back and my cholesterol went up!  So off that med I went.  

This past year I haven't been on any cholesterol lowering med.  Don't get me started on weather or not cholesterol is the culprit.  That's another story.  I do know a cholesterol med isn't anything I need or want.  I was on half the lowest dose and was still experiencing some pretty worrying side effects.  Chest pain being one.  Yea, not a good side effect for someone who's just had a heart attack.  

So no Pravastatin for me at all this past year.  In all honesty, I haven't been "On program" eating until very recently.  I was still eating healthy, but just too much of a good thing.  

So even with all that, I have to report that my cholesterol came down!!!!!  No med, no real weight loss, but my cholesterol came down.  The doctor even said I did better without the med.  She's totally on board with what I want to do.  I've made a believer out of her,  Yay!  

Oh, and just to share it all, A1C was 5.2; totally normal, no sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes.  All tests were in good range.  AND  according to their records, I'm down 2 pounds from when I saw her last.  That's really saying something since I went up and then down.  So yay!!!!

A Successful week all round!

Good morning world!  How's everyone!  I'm fit to be tied today.  I've successfully completed a full week of healthy eating and activity.  The scale has awarded my efforts with a 5.6 lb weight loss.  Now some of that may be water weight, but it's no longer there is my point.  I use a website to keep track of calories called www.sparkpeople.com.  Each week I record my weight (well I'm supposed too, but some weeks I haven't recently).  I looked back over the last 6 months of recordings, and have not weighed this weight in 4 months,  

I've worked out or been otherwise active every day this week, but it's my eating that sealed the deal.  That's been my main issue.  I'm an active person in general, and while I did avoid the treadmill like the plague (or I guess in our day and age "The Rona!"), I've been outside most days doing rather physical work.  My eating was the problem.  I couldn't seem to get that under control.  It was like I had an angel on one shoulder saying "You don't need to eat that", and a devil on the other saying "one time won't hurt".  One time won't hurt, but a string of ones times will.  

If anyone is wondering what plan I'm using, I've gone back to what I know and what worked for me, and is working for me now.  

1.  Real food, nothing diet, nothing artificially low or nonfat, no processed food.  While I can and do have an occasional form of bread, the vast majority of my carb intake comes from fruits, veggies.and dairy.  When I am having some type of bread item, it's limited, whole grain, and unprocessed.  

2. Portion control.  People turn off at this one usually.  I've found the vast majority of folk want something where they can eat as much as they want with no calories to worry about.  Well I do too!  I want a Million dollars as well!  Our bodies work very specifically.  It is calories in, calories out.  Doesn't matter what diet plan you're on, trust me, it's still calories in calories out.  It's even more important for me because I have an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto Thyroiditis.  Basically my immune system attacked my thyroid, so mine doesn't work anymore.  I've been on meds for this for 30 years.  Due to this, my metabolism is slower, and I need to keep my protein high normal and my carb level low normal.  Spark people helps me do this because they break everything down so I can see what I ate in each category.  So to be accurate, I have to weigh or otherwise measure what I eat.  I guess it can be a bother, but I'm just used to it now.  

3.  Counting calories.  Naturally this goes with portion control.  This is my boundary line.  I can choose to eat whatever I want, but I can't go past my boundary line.  By the same token, I need to make sure I'm eating the minimum calories for my body to function.  Too few calories and my body will hold onto weight to protect me from the famine we are obviously in.  Nice body to protect me so.

4.  Quality-  I get more food, and am more satisfied when I choose quality foods; whole foods, fruits veggies, good fats ( and yes butter is a good fat), and unprocessed foods.  1200 calories of highly processed foods is void of the nutrients the body needs.  It doesn't stay with you very long.  It has a lot of filler, chemicals, etc that the body doesn't recognize.  1200 calories of quality foods has all your body needs,  When the body has what it needs, it won't trigger you to eat.  Yes, your body can do that.  Weird cool!  As a result, you're more satisfied.  Whole fat dairy is way better than low or nonfat dairy.  Great thing with whole fat dairy is I can eat less of it and fill in with a fruit or veggie.  

5.  Move.  Gotta be active.  I did get back on the treadmill.  I will be on it this week too, but I will also be outside taking care of animals, the garden, digging, etc.  I will be active, and I will do something structured.  I will say, pick something you can live with.  

Other tips I would give is to get a decent nights sleep, make sure your drinking water, and relish ( no pun intended) the victories no matter how small.  Keep your eye on the prize.  There are times when I won't lose, or will have a bad day.  I will get up dust myself off and keep moving forward.  Over a two year time span I put on 15 pounds.  My old self would have added all 63 pounds back plus some, but this time I never totally gave up.  I kept trying at least.  I would much rather lose 15 pounds instead of 63.  

So last week is a victory.  Yay!  Now to start on this week.and we'll see what happens!  I would love to hear other success stories!  Won't you share yours!?

Has it been that long!?

Wow!  It has been that long.  I would like to say I got busy with life and couldn't find the time to blog, but that's only a small excuse.

Fact is I was frustrated.  Frustrated with how things had been going health wise.  Frustrated for you guys in the fact that I wasn't posting much worth reading.  At least in my mind I was thinking that.  I have to say I missed writing though.

First and foremost this blog has been a journal of sorts.  There are times I will come on here and read old posts to either a) remember something that happened b) remember a recipe (I know.  I should remember my own recipes, but this is how I write them down) or c) motivate myself.

It's been a hard 18 mths since the heart attack.  I am, as of this past September, off any med except my thyroid med (which I have taken daily for 31 years), and an aspirin a day.  The last med I was on was the Pravastatin.  I was on half the lowest dose prescribed.  They wanted me on it to A) lower my cholesterol, and B) strengthen my vessels.  My husband wanted me to take it for 6 mths until I had my labs done in Sept.  So I did.  Then I had my labs....Guess what!  Cholesterol went up!  Yea.  Go figure.  Plus a side effect was really sore shoulders.  So off of it I went.  My OBGYN recommended I take Magnesium 500 mg to help strengthen my vessels, so I take that as a supplement in lieu of the cholesterol med.

Now I'm trying to get back on track with my healthy eating and moving.  I did have some victories this past year.  For my Birthday, Dh and I went hiking 5 miles ( 2.5 up and 2.5 back), up to a beautiful waterfall.  I even went so far as to climb a really steep part of the falls to see additional falls behind the initial fall!  I would have never done that before!

And just recently Dh and I went and hiked Tallulah Gorge.  I think it was 1082 steps down and UP!  We made it though!  It was a milestone I wanted to achieve ever since the heart attack.  You see we had walked this twice before and I wanted to do it again!  Not a great picture, but give us some grace.  We're still learning a smartphone.

The frugal black belt is still in place.  It had to be last year because we were paying off hospital bills, then we had to build our Health savings account back up.  We are still needing to be frugal for other reasons: Our car isn't getting any younger, and we will need to be thinking about buying another one.  We still have things here that need to be addressed home wise.  Groceries aren't getting cheaper and we still have our two youngest home.  We've had some big dings on our savings accounts more than once.  The latest ding was having to pay a goodly sum to put down our cat of 20 years.  She had CHF, and couldn't breathe.  Precious girl.

So I'm going to start posting some more about things going on here, good, bad, and boring.  It helps me, and if I can interest anyone, then that's a big plus.  Thanks for taking to time to read, and I hope it won't be too boring.

From Fear, and Frustration, to VICTORY!

Wow, that's a lofty title.  Hmmm may be a bit hard to live up to in some circumstances, but in mine, that's how I feel.  In situations like mine, small victories are still victories.

 Coming out of the hospital, fear seemed a constant companion.  Every twinge was a possible recurrence. "What ifs" were abundant.  What if I have another attack.  What if I never recover?  What if I don't survive next time.  What will my family do if...  Through a lot of prayer and determination, I've managed to keep the fear at bay more often than not.  Some of the "what ifs" were allayed by future planning and not putting my head in the sand anymore.  The ones that dealt with the physicality of what happened or could happen, had to be handled with physicality.

Frustration came next.  One day I would be going great guns.  Woo hoo on my way!  Then I would over do and be down for a couple of days.  I've learned that lesson.  Slow and steady wins this race.  Last week during one of my rehab workouts, the physiologist made me slow down, and bring the incline down.  But I was doing so well!  That was Monday a week ago.  On Wednesday I asked him if I can still do the same workout as I was doing when he slowed me down and he said "Sure".  He said as my heart strengthens, it will take longer before my heart rate is such that he has to come slow me down.  Okay!  Armed with this info and the fact that since I had finished my 6th session with them, and could work out at home too, I moved forward.  Thursday was great.  I got on the treadmill and did the same workout as I did at the rehab clinic.  Problem is, I then went outside and did, what I thought wasn't strenuous garden work.  FYI, garden work is at least 75% upper body.  Sore arms, chest, and sore shoulders from gardening and sewing about sent me into a panic attack.  What's concerning, what isn't.  I knew I had over done again!  So I took Friday off from rehab.  Then I took Saturday off from anything physical.  Dh and I drove up into the mountains and looked at antique shops and such.  We had a grand time.

Then came Sunday.  Sunday I resolved to get back on the treadmill but at an easy pace.  I have a heart monitor, and did 45 minutes on the treadmill but in 15 minute increments.  I never let my heart rate get over 110 that day.  It wasn't a true workout, but I moved.

The Victory, however small, came today!  I was back at rehab today.  I knew I was being monitored, and what better way to push yourself than under medical supervision.  I started doing my normal rehab workout; warm up 1 minute at 3 speed 0 incline.  Then up to 3 speed 4 incline.  At every 5 minute mark I brought the incline down to 0 for 1 minute to give my heart a break. Then right back up.  I had been walking 30 minutes with very little trouble when here comes the physiologist telling me to turn down the incline.  He congratulated me though saying he didn't have to come over til the last 5 minutes of the workout.  Now that's great, though at the time I was still frustrated with having to slow down AGAIN!!!!  That wasn't what I call my small victory.  My small victory was this.  After the workout, I went over to him and asked out of curiosity how high my heart rate got before he slowed me down.......130.  Yep!  130.  Yesterday I was worried about it going over 110.  Today It safely went to 130.  Well above what I need to do to stay on track health wise.  He told me I can get it up to 124 at home easy.  To burn fat for a woman my age, my heart needs to beat 115-118.

Mama ain't playin no more.  Let's get this show started!  And no, I am not going outside to work in the garden.  Still pacing myself, but, guys, there's a light at the end of the tunnel!

A Tale of two Doctors

The day I went to the ER with my heart attack, I was asked if I had a cardiologist.  I requested a certain cardiology group.  This group had performed a stress test on me years before and I knew that was who I wanted.  Due to my past employment, I knew many of the cardiologist in both groups, mostly by phone or reputation.  Things went well as I began my stay in the observation unit.  The cardiologist I requested was the one who read my heart echo.  So far so good right?  But some how, between the reading of my echo and my being told I had officially had a heart attack; I was switched to the other much larger group.  Hmmmm.  I won't go into that one.  I will just say, always stand your ground with the doctor you want.  Just FYI.

I was told of the "mix up" prior to my heart cath.  I thought it was right prior to my cath (my cath ended up being later in the day).  At the time, I had no idea the group I requested had been the one that read my echo.  Had I known that I would have made them switch me back to the group I requested.  As it was, I thought the group I was assigned to had read the echo, and not wanting to have someone come in last minute and put a tube in my heart I opted to stay where I was for the cath.  The group I was assigned to had very nice nurses and nurse practitioners.  I met many of them.  I actually met the cardiologist for my cath as I was getting ready to go in.  He did give us an idea of what to expect. The Cath team was wonderful; nice, and fun actually.  The doctor was very competent.  I was awake during the procedure (I know sounds weird, but wasn't.  I felt nothing).  I don't remember the cardiologist addressing me during the procedure, except at the end when he said I had a clean cath, and my heart attack must be stress related.  This was spoken over his shoulder as he turned away to prepare for the next case.

*** According to the American Heart Association, stress will not cause a heart attack, but can make you engage in things that can lead to a heart attack; over eating, smoking, excessive drinking, etc.***

That night I was given my first cholesterol pill.  Because my cholesterol was good and I had a clean cath, I asked the nurse why, she couldn't answer.  The next day I was to be discharged, and met another cardiologist, who came in during rounds.  He told me I was being prescribed a cholesterol drug to take daily.  I also asked him why.  His response was pretty much just take it for three months.  Okay.  Why.  "We would like you to take it for three months.  You can ask your endocrinologist".  Really no other explanation.

I won't go into the whole saga again, but, needless to day, I've spent the past 6 and a half weeks trying to get answers for; Did I really have a heart attack.  How did my attack happen?  Why am I on this med?  Should I take this new med prescribed when I haven't even spoken to the cardiologist?  Can I recover from the heart attack or is this my life from now on.  Will it happen again?  Etc.  My follow up to my cath was with a nurse practitioner, who said to me " with a lot of patients we know, but you are in that gray area". They don't know why I had my heart attack.  Okay.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with nurse practitioners, but when you're following up after a procedure, it's nice to see the doctor that did the procedure.  I saw a nurse for my stress test as well.  In previous stress tests a cardiologist was present, but that was when I was being seen by the other group (the one I originally wanted).  In fact I haven't seen a cardiologist, or spoken to one since I was discharged from the hospital.

I didn't know how all of this was affecting me until I went ahead and made the switch back to the original group I requested.  Once I had wrapped up with the group to which I was initially assigned, I made an appointment with the group I wanted.  Specifically the Dr who read my initial heart echo.  I found out later who had read my echo.   I always knew I would switch back to my requested group.  I didn't realize how much would be resolved when I did.  I was blessed in that there was a cancellation for first thing yesterday morning.  So I got in quick.

* Met with the cardiologist; female cardiologist.  Being female, this works for me.
* She spent an HOUR with me
* Using models, diagrams (that she drew)etc.  She explained everything to me.  BTW, She believes my heart attack was caused by one of my arteries constricting.  Something more common in women as is a heart attack with a clean cath.
* She also explained WHY she wanted me on two medications; one to lower cholesterol ( there may be build up in the smaller vessels that feed my actual heart)and one to strengthen my arteries (keep them from constricting).
* She worked with me to get me on the lowest dose of these meds to alleviate side affects, but for them to still be effective.
* She reassured me about the meds.
* She also reassured me that this wasn't forever.  In fact she said this might have been something residual from my days of NOT eating healthy and being active.  As I continue in this healthier lifestyle, the need for meds and/or concern may disappear!
* I have a friend who recently had a heart attack and this Dr was her cardiologist.  She told me yesterday that during her cath procedure, this doctor spoke to her the whole time, explaining everything as she went.

That one visit with this cardiologist, changed everything.  Fear dissipated, and hope lifted up it's
head.

 I don't fault the previous Doctor.  He did a good job.  His bed side manner leaves a lot to be desired, but I really think that all can be laid at the feet of their practice just being too big.  You can't turn a big ship on a dime.  There comes a time when you're too cumbersome.  There's no way to give each patient the time they need when you have multiple patients needing that time.  Just no way.  There needs to be a good mixture of competence and bedside manner.  A practice large enough to be successful, but small enough to take the time needed for a patient, any patient.

I'm supposed to eat what???

So, I want to say first and foremost, the staff at the hospital was beyond great!.  So nice, so helpful, so considerate.  I have no complaints at all with their care.  But as the stay progressed, what was apparent were the contradictions between what we're told to eat for health, and what was available.  Not just with what I was given, but what was available.  This is a hospital!  I mean really?  There is a popular restaurant in this hospital, and though the same restaurants in public have healthy alternatives, this one did not!  You'd think they would have made a point of this one having more healthy alternatives than the public ones.  Just my opinion.

The day I was admitted I did get a dinner; baked chicken, green beans, and brown rice; all with no salt.  UGH!  I got really sweet tea cause it is the south, and i'm not diabetic soo..., a dinner roll (made with white flour)and MARGARINE, and lemon pudding made with lord knows what.  So I can't have salt, but I can have margarine, and highly processed other foods.  The chicken, rice, and beans were fine, but I would rather have the salt and get rid of the margarine.  Full disclosure, I ate the pudding.  I mean why not?  I was starving!  Past midnight I was to eat nothing til I had my heart cath the next day.  The nurses were great in allowing me a late night snack prior to midnight; boxedcereal with skim milk, or peanut butter graham crackers.  I figured the lesser of two evils was the peanut butter and graham crackers.  My cath was supposed to be in the morning, but it got bumped to afternoon.  They gave me a snack, and again I had to choose graham crackers and peanut butter (you know the processed kind with hydrogenated oil).  I was hungry though, so I took what I could and was grateful for it.  I had my heart cath and it was clean, no blockages.  Yay!  I can have what I want to eat!

"NO!"  I'm told. I'm told I'm still on the cardiac diet.  I did still have a heart attack.  So my dinner when it came that night was....wait for it.... baked chicken, brown rice, and just to change things up, carrots!  Again, no salt, again, margarine and sweet tea.  The day I was discharged was the first day I ate breakfast.  Eggs (good), cantaloupe (also good), then it went down hill from there.  There was the ever present margarine; two of them actually.  I had white grits, white french toast, skim milk, pancake syrup (which was High fructose corn syrup mixed with various chemicals, and , oh yea, salt), and coffee with soy creamer.   I ate the eggs and the cantaloupe.  Just about everything else I had been actively avoiding for years.  Check out this article with Health line.  See if the list doesn't look familiar.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/6-foods-that-cause-inflammation#section6


We are told by the medical powers that be, not to eat hydrogenated foods, but given margarine.  We are told to eat whole grains, but given refined flours.  We are told to avoid High Fructose corn syrup/ highly processed foods, but there they are!  BUT NO SALT!  Can't have that.  You're heart attack has now relegated you to a life of tasteless food.

Now they were consistent putting skim milk on my plate.  This is where what they recommend and what I believe part company.  I stopped eating low fat a long time ago.  I eat full fat cheeses, yogurt, milk.  I just eat less!  Check out this article in Medical News Today.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322452.php

In fact, full disclosure, we've begun to drink and use Raw milk and/or non-homogenized milk.  It's what we choose to do.  We buy local and know our farmer. We had a friend that recommended the raw milk because of it's cholesterol lowering properties.  Ironic huh.

The very nice cardiac rehab counselor was in the room that morning when my breakfast came.  She appreciated my dilemma.  With a chuckle she said "unfortunately, dietary guidelines haven't caught up with current info".  In some ways I agree,  but looking at my tray that morning I thought "some of these dietary guidelines haven't kept up with dietary guidelines"!  I assured her that though I ate full fat, I ate less and kept my fat intake under a certain range.  She was fine with that.  So that is what I'll continue to do.

This is what we choose to do.  You have to do what works for you, but be informed about what plan you are going to follow.

And the saga continues.....

Once I was cleared I was like YIPPEE life is back to normal!

 Aaaaannd I got on the treadmill the next day at 3 mph and 2% incline (LETS NOT GO CRAZY RIGHT!).  I did that for 45 minutes.

Aaaaaand I then went and did yard work outside.

 Yea....never said common sense was a strong characteristic of mine.  Come Friday, the next day, the nice folks building my deck (the wife is a nurse Thank God) ended up taking me to the hospital for chest pain.  Yay Me!  Fortunately it wasn't a heart attack, but the ER nurse caring for me, when she heard what all I did the day before, admonished me and said I needed to get back into it gradually!  So over the weekend I went back to being a slug.  Unfortunately what that set in motion were panic attacks.  I think Friday's issues might have started out as over doing it, but ended up in a panic attack.  Monday definitely was.  3 hours this panic attack lasted.  I had a few small panic attacks over the weekend, but didn't recognize them as that.  I thought it was"you overdid it" pains.  It wasn't until the doozy one on Monday that the nice nurse on the other end of the phone assured me I was having a panic attack.  I would be fine.  It isn't cardiac.  My Dr prescribed an anti anxiety pill.  Yay...another pill.

I didn't want another panic attack so I took the pill the next day.  I was told the medicine would take a week or so to get into my system so I needed a way to cope with these attacks until then.  To the internet I went!  I found that walking can help.  So I walked (no incline; 2 mph)on our treadmill to help get thru them. Walking and praying!  It worked! Whenever I felt an attack coming on, I would drop what I was doing and get on the treadmill.  Sometimes I walked 5 minutes, and sometimes it could be 20 minutes.   I could literally feel the attack hit, and fall off.  The best way to describe is a wave hitting me.  All was fine that day.

Then came the nausea.  Next day, nausea like you wouldn't believe, curled up in a fetal position afraid to move, nausea.  The Dr cut my dose by half and that helped, but by the next day, I guess the half dose had accumulated back up to a full dose (you know 2 days x half dose) and the nausea came back.  I talked to my Dr and told her I would rather walk thru the attack and deal with them without meds.  She encouraged me to try.  So I did.  It worked. Since the time I came off the meds,(a week ago yesterday), I've only had one more decent sized attack and that was last Saturday night.

I think another thing that helped alleviate the attacks is the stress test I had this past Monday and, once I got thru that, I felt my confidence returning.  I'm happy to say I passed the stress test and am cleared to start rehab on Monday.  I'm looking forward to rehab.  I've found I'm too nervous to confidently workout on my own right now.  I never thought of myself as a skittish type, but this has proven me otherwise.  I'm anxious to get back to where I was physically, and even better.


Things I learned from this event:

1) HEART DISEASE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG WOMEN!  Let that sink in.  In fact more women die from heart disease than all other causes of death among women combined.

2)  It doesn't matter how well you take care of yourself.  If you have a family history of heart disease, you are at a higher risk of a heart attack than someone who doesn't.  Now that doesn't mean don't take care of yourself.  Because of the way I was eating, the weight loss, etc, my heart attack was mild.  There were no blockages to remove, no stents to place, no open heart surgery.  My dad's on the other hand, ended up in a quadruple bypass. 

3) The dietary guidelines for cardiac patients is woefully inadequate.  I'll go into that more later.

4)  Even a mild heart attack is a traumatic event as far as my mind is concerned.  I never, ever want to feel that kind of pain again.  And the not knowing why I had a heart attack kinda messed with me.  It's like "But you didn't fix anything....".

5) And finally and not least by any stretch of the imagination; God was there with me through it all.  I never felt him leave my side.  For that reason I thank Him.  Not just for being there, but I thank him for this situation so that I would have the opportunity to feel His presence with me, and to have to lean on Him.  Powerful stuff.

Talk about a motivator!

I know, you thought I abandoned this blog, and you would be partially right.  It has been a busy, busy spring and summer.I figured my little Etsy shop would fade back during the summer months and give me time to leisurely sew up some things for when the Christmas shopping season started.  That wasn't the case.  Add to that my normal gardening season (and we went a little nuts with the planting), helping my mom with cleaning out the basement of her house (Big basement),preparing our previous back deck area to become a porch, only to find out we couldn't get a concrete truck in there so it's back to a deck, and so forth and so on....It was a little crazy.

I have managed to keep my weight at 168, which is good cause it's been hard to eat exactly on plan.  Activity is what saved me.  I would like to say things have slowed down, but that is not the case.  As we speak I have about 5 outfits and 4 sets of diapers, all custom ordered, in the works.  The deck is being built, though not by us.  Some wonderful friends are helping us out.  But I still have a long list of things that need addressing before the weather turns off cold.

 And I had a heart attack.  Not a big one.  It was mild.  Didn't feel mild when it was happening.  I can say I would rather have a baby than feel that pain again.  But, there were no blockages, and my cholesterol is good.  They actually have no idea why I had a heart attack.  I have a family history, so I'm sure that's part of it, but with no blockages they don't know what it was.  I could have passed a small clot thru my heart.  That's what my endocrinologist thinks (and my nurse Hubby).  Nobody knows!  Well except God!

Even though my cholesterol was good and there were no blockages, they put me on a cholesterol lowering med, and I reluctantly agreed.  From the time I was discharged two weeks ago to the night before my follow up, I took this pill at night as prescribed.  Every morning I would get up and have twinges of chest pain.  It's a little nerve racking to have that after a heart attack, but by lunch there was no problem and I felt normal.  Finally the night before my follow up with the cardiologist, I decided not to take it and see what happened.  Yep, woke up the next day and felt like my old self.  No pain.  I brought this up to the nurse practitioner and asked her why they wanted me on it when I had good cholesterol and no blockages.  She said that while my cholesterol was good, in heart patients they want the LDL (bad) cholesterol to be in the less than 70 and mine was in the 89.  I asked her, since I'm so close anyway, couldn't I use diet and exercise to get it where they want it?  She said I could.  So no cholesterol pill!

She seemed surprised, and it made me wonder if maybe she hears more patients just want a pill instead of making any changes.  In all honestly, I'm not making many new changes except using more Extra Virgin olive oil, eating more cholesterol lowering foods, and just getting refocused on what I was doing before.  But having a heart attack gives you real motivation to stay on track.  First of all, I never want to go thru that again, and second, I never want to have to take a pill to fix something with my body.

I'd love to say all was right with my world after that...It wasn't.


This is going to be long, so I will end the heart saga here and save the rest for another day!