An Apology for my Relative Absence recently...
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looking back on it, I think that the cardio guy wasn't actually expecting me to go on much longer after I complained that it hurt... perhaps he wasn't aware that riding on when it hurts is sort of what cyclists do...
Chapeau! lol, here's hoping your coming to the end of the nightmare, I'd have eaten my body weight in chocolate every day for comfort!0 -
Update - Sunday I managed a hour on the indoor trainer with no real problems - okay I kept the HR well down (as in under 120 for the entire hour) - a little sore at times - well - it's almost more a "stiff" feeling in the cartilage joints at the front of the ribs really - which sort of improved after 10-15 minutes... almost as if they were starting to warm up.
Yesterday I took a easy day and felt pretty good - but over the evening I had a couple of the pleural adhesion problems I'd been warned of by the doctors... basically similar kind of pain to what you'd get with pleurisy (sharpish stabbing pains in the meat between the ribs) but localised to the areas where the worst of the aches had been on Sunday. Apparently it wasn't so much the joint warming up, but the inner surface of the ribcage and the outer covering of the lungs coming un-attached (that's a good thing btw.. Doc. described it as a bit like a scab holding them together finally breaking down and the ribs and lungs being free to move properly... downside is both surfaces are a bit sore as they separate for a couple of days)
As I say, I'd been warned that this was likely to happen when I started to improve or start to exercise a little, and that they weren't necessarily anything to worry about, just apply a heat-pack and try and get into a comfortable position and take it steady again for a day or so. So, sadly, the hoped for repeat ride today isn't going to happen - if I'm clear of pain tomorrow, I'll have another gentle spin on the trainer (and probably trigger another set of adhesions knowing my luck) - hopefully the gentle movements and upper body stretching should keep them to a minimum though..
another 10 days of the current course of meds left, then a repeat visit to the Vet to see where we take it from there I guess
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All sounds a lot more positive than it was a couple of weeks ago though mate... Onwards & upwards!0
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yeah - aside from the day of stabbing pains after every gentle spin on the trainer, it sounds wonderful
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But at least you got back on the bike for a bit, that's good news mate!!0
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it's sort of a delicate balance between doing enough to cause an improvement, and too much that it sets it back for a week or so at a time. Called the specialist this morning and had a chat, and he basically said "As long as you don't actually feel anything 'tear' while you're exercising, you're okay - sounds like you've done 'just enough', but be aware you're likely to get this for a few more times yet. But - if you can keep going like this, we could well get away without the nerve blocks... When the adhesion clears up you should notice an improvement in your breathing."0
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Looking forward to the day we see you back outdoors on a bike, it will come, sounds like a case of softly softly catchy monkey and light at the end of the tunnel even though a little faint!0
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just hoping the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the headlights of another oncoming train!
it's fair to say it's starting to get me down a bit now.
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Chin up mate!!0
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So, another day where I got on the indoor trainer - did a hour or so of indoor spinning to the Tacx VR DVD of the Cape Argus Tour - basically a hour of riding down some of the most scenic coastal road anywhere in the world, under virtual blue skies... Not the same as riding outdoors in the wind and rain with mud in your eyes and grit in your teeth though...
But - and it's a Kardashian sized one - I did get to try the recommendation of the specialist after the ride. He mentioned that his suggestion would be to get hold of some form of topical gel pain relief (he mentioned either Diclofenac or Ibuprofen based ones) and to apply it to the specific areas where the costachondritis was causing aches after exercise... He didn't recommend it Before exercise, as the "pain trigger" was an important way of avoiding over-stressing things, but afterwards it was fine to use in conjunction with the existing tablets i'm on. And - you know what, it worked pretty damned well! This morning I had a couple of twinges from the (seemingly inevitable) small "adhesions" breaking down but nothing too bad...
It's possible that my current meds for another few weeks, and this little add-on where necessary may just get me back to somewhere near normal again. Or failing that, at least outdoors on the bike
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Brilliant news mate. Don't push it but it appears the light is getting brighter!!
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Such a delicate recovery process but it sounds like you are doing everything as right as you can. Here's to it all still working together and getting better consistently.0
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Just back from Dr's - second follow up after the actual diagnosis, pretty much a little status update and repeat prescription of meds... but the Dr. dealing with this particular case for me is on holiday, so my appointment was transferred to the one I get on well with... the "straight talking" one that I credit with giving me the kick up the *kitten* that I needed to start losing weight...
He's a cracker - I expected a perfunctory 5 minutes, and was in there for half a hour... He went through ALL the results he'd had back for the tests with me, showed me all the scans, x-rays, every last thing - right up to the final verdicts from the cardio-pulmonary specialists which basically gave a "heart age" and a "lung age" figure... Doc says "i'm used to seeing these figures come in at around 5-10 years over the actual age of the patient, so basically, I had to show you this Mark... Heart - 32-35, Lungs - 21-23... Not bad at all for someone who was 180kg just 4 years ago, and who's turning 52 this summer. I said this before mate, we're going to have to beat you to death with a shovel at the age of 200, because at this rate you'll last for ever"
"now, here's a script for the next 4 weeks tablets, but if it's not gone by then, get an appointment to see ME, not the other guy, and we'll see what we can do from there, we need to get you back out on your bike... I've missed seeing you flying past the window of the surgery up in Crofton nearly every day!"
Made me feel a little better about another 28 days of the tablets at least!
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We should all be so lucky to have a doctor like that. Cheers on all the good news! Even if it is 4 more weeks of issues and meds.0
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Glad things are looking up for you TBY. Keep at it!0
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yeah - did a hour of slightly more intensive work on the indoor trainer yesterday with no ill effects, plus walked a couple of miles in the evening, woke up this morning feeling pretty good even before the tablets... i'm thinking that I may actually be properly on the road to recovery now - just need to keep reining myself in and not go out and overdo it...
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Mark, I am glad your heart is strong! Feel better soon!!!
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Well - Yesterday's 65.9km for me was the longest ride I've managed since November last year. If someone had told me a month ago, I'd be out on the roadbike for that distance in the kinds of wind we had yesterday i'd have laughed in their face.
Out
http://veloviewer.com/activities/308805141
Back
http://veloviewer.com/activities/308805132
The good news is my ribs feel remarkably good considering (i.e. considering the homeward leg consisted of 30+km of spinning like a gerbil in the little ring, on the drops all the way to get out of the wind, and crawling along at 18kph average whilst basically feeling like i was experiencing something half-way between terminal heartburn and a mild cardiac episode) If you look at the Strava plot of the homeward leg, I stopped a few times for a couple of minutes at a time - within 30 seconds of stopping getting force-fed the cold(ish) air the pain stopped, so I knew it wasn't anything major or underlying, just "what I expected".
Bad news is, yet another nosebleed last night - it's all the "blood thinners" that are the problem - inside of my nose is a mess of scar tissue at the best of times, and (possible TMI time) allergies meds cause things to dry up and get a little "crusty" in there, and I regularly get very minor bleeds - however, with the anticoagulants etc, there's no such thing as a minor one, and I lost a couple of hours sleep and probably a good pint of the red stuff again!.
Over on the scales this week - probably in part because of having to eat/drink a little before any weigh in, and part from having a Chinese for dinner last night, which always results in my holding 2-3 pints worth of fluids - sodium must have been through the roof (also probably in-part exaggerating the nosebleed problem)
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Nice ride and I'm glad it went so well. Next time you decide to get better and ride your pants off, do it while your on my time. 0
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Update time again - another month passed, and I've now been off the Anti-Inflamatories for nearly 3 weeks. Still on the PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitors) for another week - basically the Anti-Inflamatories are so tough on the stomach that the doctor actually recommended an extra 28 days on the stomach-tablets after finishing the course, to allow my stomach and got to recover from the problems they cause... That and a relatively low fat, keep away from the spices kind of diet for the past month has vastly improved how I feel on the bike - at the end of the course I was basically crucified with acid-reflux as soon as I bent over to reach the handlebars (or indeed bent to tie my shoelaces or pick up something from the kitchen floor - it was simply too much stomach acid)
I've managed a few more rides - including another 60k+ ride (same route as above, only without a couple of the longer enforced rest stops).
I'm still a long, long way from feeling "right" though - I'm finding that the first 10-15 minutes of the ride are critical - its almost like the "rib ends" are stiff and need gentle warming up. If I can get over that initial 15 minutes and settle down I'm not too bad - although as soon as the HR starts to move into the 140+ range I can certainly feel it, and, well - lets face it, I've had nearly 6 months of not training per-se, and gained maybe 15kg, so frankly it doesn't take a lot for that to happen... Oh - and I'm still having issues with the odd pleural adhesion here and there, which are far from fun - and have resulted in my taking a different tack on my riding - trying to get out 4 times a week for a short but fairly vigorous ride which will allow me to push it a bit, and maybe take a couple of longer, steadier ride on the MTB (or the roadbike if the weather allows) to try and get a bit more stamina as well.
Final meds prescription runs out on Monday coming, and I'm hoping that I'm going to be able to just get on with life without being medicated to the gills... Looking forward to it to be honest...
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On a "sort of" rest day today ...
nothing logged for exercise, but I have actually been to the hospital for yet another checkup - again, another 2 "max tests" on the stationery bike, with the breathing tube setup, the works...
one test prior to any pain management - showed up something like a 15-20% improvement on the non-medicated version from 6 weeks ago, second one with another "temp nerve block" in the ribs which I put maybe 3-4% on the last attempt.
So, I've got a bit fitter overall, and there's been a material improvement in my non-medicated test - other tests included some form of scan that shows up where (if any) theres inflammation in the joints, and it pretty much presented as negative - no inflammation to speak of, but when I mentioned to the consultant that it almost felt like the joints were "stiff" and that they complained for 10-15 minutes then "settled down" unless I did something exceptional in exertion he sort of nodded and said "Yes, that pretty much sums it up... its like micro-scarring in the fibres - keep exercising, keep doing what you're doing, and it should ease - we'll keep monitoring it like this, and while ever I see an improvment I am seriously advising NOT to go for cortisone treatment in the cartilages - because, well, you're only just over 50, and we can only do it a few times before it stops being really effective - so if you can avoid it for another 20 years or so it'd be a good idea."
He obviously has faith in how long I'm likely to be still out there biking...
anyhow, I'm now sat at home, the nerve block is wearing off, and I feel like someone's holding a torchlit procession around all the periphery of my breastbone, my ribs feel like I've been on the end of a good shoe-ing, my mouth has that horrible "been sucking a lump of rusty iron" feeling to it that you get after doing Max-Tests with a breathing tube in your gob, and all in all, I feel like 128kg of near-death-experience...
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Well, it has been a long journey so far for you but the positive is that there are indications of improvement. The disappointing thing is that it seems to take forever to move forward. You make substantial contributions to our community and you probably don't realize how much positive energy you create for all of us. Hang in there and know that we are all pulling for you to be back on the bike again in a major way!0
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Hang in there man, I hope you feel a little better after some rest. As amiller said, it is good that there is measurable improvement.0
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Hang in there man, I hope you feel a little better after some rest. As amiller said, it is good that there is measurable improvement.
Cheers - I can see the progress, Its just after 3 months of grinding away, my patience as a patient is wearing thin...amiller7x7 wrote: »Well, it has been a long journey so far for you but the positive is that there are indications of improvement. The disappointing thing is that it seems to take forever to move forward. You make substantial contributions to our community and you probably don't realize how much positive energy you create for all of us. Hang in there and know that we are all pulling for you to be back on the bike again in a major way!
Very nice of you to say so Al, I've always been a believer in putting something back into anything that's helped me - and as this community is in a large part responsible for my sticking around here, and managing to drop from 185kg to my current 129kg (ish) - that's 55kg - probably the only way that I could drop (the equivalent of) Domenico Pozzovivo (though i'd probably fancy my chances on a half technical descent - gravity still quite likes me)
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Time for another Update...
As most of you will have noticed, I'm back on the bike, back outside, back riding and organising damned fool challenges on here for everyone...
and I'm getting fitter all the time while I do so...
Even Strava Agrees...
Basically, that wiggly line shows that theoretically I'm back to being as "fit" as I was before the incident that had me on my back on the slab getting a drill and bits of wire mesh pushed up my arteries...
AND that's with the limiting factor of all the med's that I'm still on... I've had a swap of one of them, which has helped immensely - as in I don't seem to be getting the nightmares every 2-3 times I lay down to sleep, and the irritating dry cough/post nasal drip has also gone. Believe me, that's a big deal - just getting a proper rest is making a hell of a difference over the last month or so since I swapped. Next big hurdle is getting the beta-blockers either reduced in amount, or swapped for a slightly less ferocious version - my resting heart rate and BP is now getting to the point where, when I'm relaxed after a good solid ride earlier in the day, it's a 50-50 thing if I'll be able to stand up without getting "postural hypotension" and either falling back into the chair, or walking around for the next 2 minutes feeling half-drunk and light headed... RHR's in the late 30's are not uncommon - big problem I have is getting the doctors to believe me, as I've always had a bit of the old "white coat syndrome" - which is still manifesting itself, but it's putting the RHR up to around 50, which they keep saying is "That's perfect", ditto with the BP.
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That's a pretty good indicator and a great foundation now to build on, congrats!0
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bearing in mind, the "peak" that I dropped from at the end of August last year was after riding all but 2 stages of the Giro Challenge, every stage of the TdF challenge and the first week of the Vuelta... so was probably somewhere near as good as I was likely to get for the year if I hadn't ended up in hospital getting my heart a de-coke...
I think that frankly the damage to my fitness was actually done in the preceding year BEFORE I had the episode... the couple of months of enforced (relative) rest afterwards - at least in terms of not being allowed to ride - I had a very strict regimen of having to go for little walks and do the geriatric aerobics sessions, but nothing that actually raised my body temperature or my HR above 104...
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Fascinating story. I hope you are doing OK now - your fitness levels in heart and lung ages were amazing.
Very inspiring
x
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Sadly Suze, it kind of went "downhill" rather badly a couple of months after my last post in june 2016...
turned out that the infection HAD caused problems with the pericardium, resulting in a damaged and blocked artery that had me rushed into the hospital feet first, straight into resus, where I was "touch and go" for a couple of hours - followed by a 4 hour procedure to clear and stent the coronary artery that (technically) saw me die 3x on the table while they were working.
I'm back riding, i'm way down on fitness and power due to the meds they've got me on, but I'm pain free (well - until I ride uphill, but that's all "proper" cycling pain, not illness pain) and I'm getting back my fitness day on day - just can't lose the weight that piled on (again, due largely to the meds - i've got it on record that I'm eating less than I was losing weight (adjusted for exercise kCals) and it's not moving - doc says its the beta blockers, lowering the metabolism overall so my BMR is in the pan, and I'd probably need to cut nearer another 500kCals over and above MFP's figures to start losing again - and that puts me on under 1000kcal a day if i'm not riding - I try to stick to it, but I really don't have that kind of willpower to feel empty and hungry all day every day.
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