Fifty Plus (50+) - Wake Up Call

I received a wake up call on Saturday.

I had worked 19 days straight, the shortest was last Sunday with about 6 hours, and the average was at least 10... on my first day off since the 26th of December I did decide to go to work and send a couple of emails I had forgotten to send on Friday and leave quickly. I was eating a few cookies as I sent the emails and got heart burn... so I went home and the heart burn got worse for the next hour or so. So, I went to the store and got some Maalox and took 2... it might have helped, but it was hard to tell because there was some minor fluctuation in the feeling. I took another, and it was no help.

So, I decided to play it smart and went to the emergency room, and after some time in the ER was given nitro which either helped, or the symptoms coincidentally subsided on their own. As a precaution I was admitted... As the ER doctor said, if you're going to have chest pains, you should have them during the week... I spent the weekend in the hospital (my first in-patient experience) as a precaution until they could do a stress test on Monday morning.

Yesterday I did a stress test,complete with 2 20 minute sessions in the machine to take pictures of the radioactive substance they injected me with as it flowed to and through my heart... all checked out well, but this weekend I did decide that whatever the outcome, I would take the hint and lose the weight I know I need to lose.

So, I didn't quite make it to my 50th birthday before my first hospital stay, but I got within a month...

I will be following up with my doctor in the next week or so, but so far it was only a wake up call, and I am responding to that call.

BTW - My roomy wasn't a cyclist, but he was a 95 year old who was a joy to be with. He still walks around his assisted living facility once or twice a day, goes to exercise class several mornings a week and also to a wellness center in the afternoons. He was upset because, "I'm 95 years old, and I never needed oxygen before." He couldn't understand why he the doctors thought that he needed the oxygen, ignoring the fact that he had pneumonia. I sure hope I can be as feisty as him in 45 years! ... and I will take care of myself to try to make it happen too.

Tonight the bike goes into the trainer!

Thanks for listening!

PS - Follow up visit to be scheduled too!

It's always better to be safe than sorry. If you completed a stress test without them stopping it part way through chances are that whatever you had wasn't concerned with your heart.

My wife had a similar scare in April. Turned out to have been an anxiety attack, but it was her wake up call. She changed her diet, cut calories salt and fat, starting exercising 5 or 6 days a week. She's lost 45 pounds and is back to her college dress size.
In keeping with her program, I've cleaned up my diet, got out on the bike more and lost 10 pounds by the end of the year.

Hope it works out for you.

Funny how these things work. I quit smoking many, many, many years ago just before my wife and I got married after I felt a tightness and mild chest pains when walking up the hill from the bus stop to where we used to live. Figuring that, as a 2-3 pack a day guy, our future life together wasn't gonna be too long, I put an end to that toot sweet.

OTOH, I had pains in my left shoulder that radiated up into my jaw a year ago. I was -and still am- absolutely positive that it was anything but a heart problem. Still, as a chronic hypertension patient, my doctor sent me off for a stress test to rule out my heart. It wasn't my heart but given my new, current level of activity I'll be discussiing those results with him in a day or two during my quarterly followup.

Take no chances!

Glad everything turned out okay. That was a wise decision to go to the hospital.

Smart move! Better safe than viewing the grass from the wrong side!

Darwinism didn't waste much on you did it? Good thought there with the checkup and glad that you are checking out well.

Darwin, I'm so relieved to hear you are well! I wish you the best in your efforts to lose the pounds and increase the fitness. It sounds as if you along with many others (myself included!), in our generation need to realize that stress related to over working plays a significant roll in our overall health. While I still work too much, I can say I made improvements during 2006 to better deal with the stress by not short changing my physical and recreational activities. My thoughts of encouragement are with you as you set out on this new path in your life. Counting down the days to wish you a happy 50th!