Low dose or no dose?

Many people take a low dose aspirin every day to help combat heart disease. Good for you! One tiny pill can save a life either by it's long term benefits or by taking it when you're actually having a heart attack. A bottle is always a good thing to have in your medicine cabinet if you're worried about your heart. It's also been thought to reduce your risk of colon cancer.

Should you take it every day though? The jury is out. Some doctors thing the risks of bleeding ulcers, bleeding on the brain, and other side effects outweighs the benefits for healthy people. After all, if you're in good shape, why take something that can cause harm?

Almost every doctor will agree that an aspirin regimen is needed if you've had a heart attack or an ischemic stroke. That's a stroke caused by a blood clot or a blockage. A brain heart attack if you will. Aspirin acts as a blood thinner and that's why doctors recommend it to patients with clotting problems. It can reduce the risk of another event. I take an 81mg pill daily for my aspirin regimen. My doctor strongly urged me to continue taking it and I agree with him. For me, the benefits far outweigh the risks. This tiny pill could save my life. I also carry them in a fob on my keychain. If I ever have another heart attack and I'm away from home I can take a dose while I'm waiting for help to arrive. Be prepared right?

So should you take an aspirin regimen? I thought about putting some of the age guidelines up... sorry but no. Not yet anyway. Everything I learn about the guidelines just brings up more questions. Technically, I'm in the NO age group. I still needed it. See what I mean? Here's what I suggest. Ask your doctor at your next appointment. What do you think about aspirin? Should I start taking it? That's easy to say. Your doctor will give you a yes or no and you can pick up your bottle just about anywhere. It's cheap, it's easy, and it just may save your life. Good odds in my book!

Confusion

I don't get it. There's a communication error somewhere and it's irritating and confusing. Is the rehab place not being told something? Am I not being told something? What's up with this?

I go to rehab class just to get kicked out and stuck in the hospital. I did GREAT on my tests so I got to go home. I was warned that I have a rapid heartrate but there's nothing wrong with my heart pumping. Arteries clear, stent working. Yay me. I go back to the cardiologist. He tells me again that there's NOTHING WRONG with the pumping part of my heart and I'm in gorgeous shape. I may be able to start jogging soon he says. Then he puts me in a heart monitor for a month and puts me back in rehab. Apparently whatever may be wrong requires around the clock monitoring. Worrisome. I head back to rehab. I'm hooked up to another monitor and while wearing two at a time I'm pulled off my rower for a rapid heartrate. Again. I bargain my way out of going back to the hospital. It's not happening! They inform me I'm likely never running again and it may be time to "accept my limitations."

I'm sorry what? Which is it?!? Am I healthy or am I not? Will I run or won't I? If the cardiologist says yes, let's get busy. If it's no, I need to start my life and work towards different goals. They'll still be big, I'll just be more careful. I know without a doubt that my heart is healthy. I also know that my guys are worried enough to have me wear a heart monitor. I'm in the middle, the bug, who at this point is just praying I don't have to meet the electrical specialist. Please, please don't let me have to go see that guy.

This is a confusing month. I can handle either answer. It's NO answer that's driving me a little nuts. This marks my 7th month healing. It's time to stop being a heart and start being a person. Don't you think it's time to start living again?

Baby workouts lead to big things.

Don't have time to work out? Sure you do. There are lots of itty bitty things that you can do that really add up. By adding up I mean they get easier and pretty soon that Y membership will come in handy or that Zumba class may seem like fun. These are just a few of the little things that EVERYONE can do to start down the right track. I've discovered they're fun and it amazes me how much time you can find in a day and how much I can get done in my free minutes!

Park in the back. It's win, win. You're car won't get dented and you get some exercise. Parking as close as you can isn't a contest folks. Take a brisk walk from the back and you have just squeezed in a baby workout. Also, go on a cart hunt! Getting a cart from the lot and pushing it inside helps you and helps the poor sucker that has to do it later in the rain. When you're done with it, put it back! If not at the door, at least in the cart spots. Bonus points for spotting "sporty chick." You know the one. They're the women that jockey for the space riiight next to the handicapped ones then hop out in their yoga clothes. When they're done loading their health food they leave the cart right in the middle of the lot. Healthy folks aren't they? Now clock yourself. I PROMISE your baby workout will take 2 minutes longer then their time saving. Doesn't make much sense does it?

We also spend a bunch of time in the kitchen and watching TV. Why not tuck some free weights in your kitchen? While I'm waiting for my water to boil or my microwave to ding I'm getting in some bicep curls. You can accomplish a ton in one minute! I still stare at my coffee pot and curse it for going slow. I just do it while I'm working on my triceps. Pretty soon you'll be disappointed with the time limit and want to add more reps on your own.

I l.o.v.e. commercials. Every commercial I try to get up, stretch, and move around a bit. Tuck in a rep or two of sit ups or push ups and you're on a roll! Work out the kinks or even limber up with some basic yoga poses. Toe touches, knee lifts, you get the idea. When the commercial is over I go right back to playing Bejeweled online but I'm looking out for the next one! I was suprised how much this got the blood moving and loosened me up.

So let's see. While wearing this dang heart monitor 24/7 I went grocery shopping, cooked dinner, watched TV, and typed this blog entry. I ALSO had a walk, did 40 push ups, 80 crunches, and completed 3 full reps of weights. Pretty. Darn. Cool. How much time did I lose working out? None.

Oh! One more thing. I'm strapped to a monitor around the clock and obviously monitored more the any human would ever want to be by a doctor. I'm watched so closely I could be a bug under my cardiologist's microscope. My whole team is absolutely amazing but the objective is to get to a point where I don't need them anymore.If you think you need to ask a doctor before being more active, please do. Otherwise you may end up the bug to. Use your brain before you do something dangerous.

Lent

Mardi Gras is over and Lent is here. Do you know why you give things up for Lent? It's fasting. You're supposed to identify with Christ's suffering, learn self discipline, and pay for your sins. That's why you give up something you love like chocolate, coffee, or meat. You have to feel the loss. If you're not suffering a little bit, you're not doing it right. So that's what's up.

What am I giving up? Sigh. I'm really, really sorry Jesus but nothing. Don't get too huffy people. In the past 7 months this is what I've given up...

Smoking
Mammals
Fat
Salt
8 inches of hair
Jogging
My gym
Ice Cream
Booze
Regular Coca Cola
"Real" coffee, not decaf
My job
Traveling
"Stress"

I could go on but you get the point. Other then an addiction to cute pajama bottoms and a nail biting habit I've got nothing. Some of those things I can get back but quite a few are gone for good. Does permanent loss count for Lent? No? Sorry. :(

I am feeling Lent though. I walked right by all that Valentine's candy at clearance prices yesterday. Sigh. All that chocolate wasting away in it's heart shaped boxes. I also treated all of my moonpies like Christmas presents. It's more fun to give then receive. I didn't eat ONE!!! That's a hefty accomplishment for a girl during Mardi Gras.

But what about this year? How's this? I share some of my healthy tips with you! Check back and I'll post the food, fun, and workouts I've been picking up in the past 7 months. I've learned some handy things! Considering that I'm not even Catholic and don't really HAVE to give up anything, this sounds like a good compromise. Maybe some of you guys can pick up something to do instead of giving up something! Now wouldn't that be fun?

A little tour, just for you.

I've been put back in rehab. It's so I can be babysat while I'm on my new, not so safe pills and wearing my heart monitor. It also gives the people monitoring me a set time to pay attention. Pretty cool.

What do I DO in rehab? A bunch. I go three times a week for exercise and once a week for heart class. The class is where you learn nifty things like what's wrong with you, how not to kill yourself eating McDonald's, and what to do if you manage to get in trouble again. Sometimes you get to look at plastic heart models and sometimes you get Cheerios coupons. It's a mixed bag.

When I get there I sign in then weigh myself. My weight is recorded while I pick up my heart monitor and attach it to my skin. Lucky me, I get to wear two for a month. The staff moves around and takes all of our resting blood pressures. Ready to start!

We warm up with stretches then do about 5 minutes of free weights. I'm allowed the 5 pounders. This is an upgrade from the pink 2 pound ones they made me start with. After weights, we break up and get to our cardio machines. We spend 15 minutes each on the 3 machines we've been assigned. I've got treadmill, rowing machine, and the elliptical in that order.

There are only two TV's in this gym. They show our heart rates. Isn't that entertaining? We're numbers and wavy lines, running across the screen. While we're working out, the fabulous staff is working. They walk around, talking to each of us and taking our working blood pressures. They also check for changes in our health and record any medication changes.

After breaking no more then a mild sweat, we're done for the day. We cool down then wait for our blood pressure to be taken for the 3rd and last time. Once we're clear, we turn in our heart monitors and peel off our lead stickers. The guys actually shave patches of their chests. Imagine taking off fuzz and skin 3 times a week. Ouch!

This is the bare minimum of my workout routine and it's pretty much all I'm allowed for now. The goal is to get my heart used to working hard without putting any strain on it. I do some stuff at home to but that's another post.

Does this sound like a gym you want to visit? No? Kinda sucks huh? While they do their best to make it nice for us, yes. It sucks. Guess what. A sedentary lifestyle is a leading cause for two of the biggest boogymen in bad health. Heart disease and diabetes. Even a little exercise a week will greatly increase your odds of never going to a cardiac rehab gym. Go figure. Going to a gym will help keep you out of THIS gym. All I can say is pick your poison. Either way, most of us end up going.