Hi everyone,
Names Luis. I have been a constant "lurker" I guess you can say for at least 5 months, great group of people here! Especially in this sub-forum. Being a Clyde myself at 5'9'' and 234 unhealthy pounds I was able to relate with most here.
My whole life since maybe fifth grade I remember being overweight. I topped out at 266 for most of my high school years and then lost over 40 pounds one summer (I had somehow convinced myself that I might be diabetic so Fear is what drove me to loose so much weight in 3-4months) and got down to 224 by senior year which is where I stopped AFTER I finally got my blood results back and discovered everything was normal. Anyway I have gone down and up in weight. Ranging from 210 to 250 after that and now I sit at 234.
Last year I purchased a road bike in hopes of maybe losing weight by commuting to work (40miles round trip) but did so at the end of season just before weather got very cold here in Chicago. Its a 2011 Specialized Tricross Sport, love the bike and I am looking forward to riding. I might have to work my way up to that 40miler a day though
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I probably would not have joined or actually posted, I am a shy guy what can I say?
until the events that have happened to me this past week. Wednesday at work I started to feel lightheaded and feared that I might pass out.....This freaked me out naturally. So I made an appointment and discovered I had high blood pressure, the doctor wanted a series of tests before prescribing any medication so I had a volley of tests, ekg for the heart and some echos etc etc. (he was concerned about my dizzy spell). To top it off I had contracted a viral infection and had a fever of 102F. He was convinced that my viral infection probably had something to do with me being dizzy and light headed that whole day.
Well I received my first test results today, I apparently have a "possible" (Nurses lingo but lets face it? I most likely do) partial clog on my left Carotid artery. Now that is really freaking me out. At the age of 25, in my mind I shouldn't be going through this, I am too young! I am starting to realize that the days of feeling invincible as a teenager eventually does run out for some at an earlier age than others. So I probably have high cholesterol (Have not received my blood tests yet, but high cholesterol leads to clogged arteries), and partially clogged artery that goes to my brain, high blood pressure, who knows what else. I still have some results I am waiting for. I have a follow up tomorrow to see what needs to be done.
WOW this is long and I apologize. Most might not read through it, I don't know, I needed to get this off my chest. I am looking forward to getting to know you all and needed to make myself accountable somehow. SO, this is my introduction! Oh, riding the bike paths alone does tend to get boring for me haha.
Does anyone here have any experience with a clogged or "partially" clogged Carotid artery? I have "educated" myself to the point of really scaring myself by using the internet. The Internet..its a love hate relationship. You go to it for knowledge on some health issue you might have and you end up in a fetal position after reading all these scary technical terms and "risks". I would love to hear of any experience with this and maybe even the surgery's involved.
Thanks for reading
-Luis