Getting back into the swing of thinks...
02-03-06, 11:13 AM
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Getting back into the swing of thinks...
I'm planning to return to commuting next week as I've been off of the bike for about a month now. Prior to Christmas I started noticing shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heart rate, and sporatic chest pain early into my 7 mile ride. I was getting completely exhausted and fell way off my normal times. It got so bad that I'd end up walking the bike out of frustration and lack of stamina-I almost thought I wouldn't make it home a couple of times. I finally went to the doctor, who referred me to the e.r. , then a pulminary specialist to run multiple tests. After: EKG's, blood work, chest x-rays, lung capacity tests/treatment, they suspected exercise-induced asthma and gave me an inhaler. I stayed off the bike but continued to lift weights and noticed that the inhaler made little or no difference. All tests indicated that I was as healthy as a horse, in fact, the pulminary function tests indicated that I was 100% or better in every measurable catagory and that I was oxyginating 98 to 99%.
The was no explination for my sudden drop in performance and the "possibility" (per my physician) of a collapsed lung, pulminary embolism, or congestive heart failure had me shaking in my boots. Fortunately, and completely by accident, I found the cause; black mold. One of my kitchen cabinets was covered with it, it looked like charcoal covering the bottom panel. I threw out a box of empty beer bottles and some other things covered with it, cleaned the mold, and asked that the rental office replace some of the boards. I only noticed it because I was replacing some appliances and had to store some stuff under the sink. Almost immediately I felt better and now feel 100%, I played tennis last night without getting winded. The real test will come on Monday when I return to the bike. I'm reassured by all the test results, they're things I should have done years ago as part of a routine physical, but it's scary considering your own mortality or adapting to a way of life that may limit your participation in activities that you love.
The was no explination for my sudden drop in performance and the "possibility" (per my physician) of a collapsed lung, pulminary embolism, or congestive heart failure had me shaking in my boots. Fortunately, and completely by accident, I found the cause; black mold. One of my kitchen cabinets was covered with it, it looked like charcoal covering the bottom panel. I threw out a box of empty beer bottles and some other things covered with it, cleaned the mold, and asked that the rental office replace some of the boards. I only noticed it because I was replacing some appliances and had to store some stuff under the sink. Almost immediately I felt better and now feel 100%, I played tennis last night without getting winded. The real test will come on Monday when I return to the bike. I'm reassured by all the test results, they're things I should have done years ago as part of a routine physical, but it's scary considering your own mortality or adapting to a way of life that may limit your participation in activities that you love.
02-03-06, 11:39 AM
#2
it's my road too, dangit
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Glad you got it figured out. What an alarming thing to happen.
/s
/s
02-03-06, 11:58 AM
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YIKES!
I lived in a basement apartment for 3 months that had black mold. I had to move. My whole family was so sick. It was terrible! My son, who was 6 at the time was so congested from it that he could barely hear. My wife was having severe allergic reactions, and I was coughing and hacking all the time and we all felt terrible. My daughter also had bad reactions to it. What a nightmare.
I lived in a basement apartment for 3 months that had black mold. I had to move. My whole family was so sick. It was terrible! My son, who was 6 at the time was so congested from it that he could barely hear. My wife was having severe allergic reactions, and I was coughing and hacking all the time and we all felt terrible. My daughter also had bad reactions to it. What a nightmare.
