Progress!

This weekend seemed to be a weekend of breakthroughs.  It was amazing!  First of all I've lost 21.5 pounds since my heart event in March.  Honestly, most of the weight has come off in the last month.

So, how have I progressed in the weight department.  I've moved towards a plant-based diet.  I've cut out all flavored or sugary drinks.  I haven't had any meat in two weeks.  I've tried to not eat any cookies, but admittedly that is one of my downfalls.  The plus is that I'm not eating them every day, and when I do, I only eat one serving.  The minus is of course, that I'm still eating any.  I've successfully switched over to whole wheat pasta and brown rice.

Exercise, how I hate that word, and action.  I've been walking, and it has been a slow progression.  Right after the heart attack, I'd be lucky to get in 2500 steps in a day.  Then it seemed to climb slowly but surely up to 4500.  Then in the last two weeks it seemed to hit 5000, then 6500, then suddenly 7500.  Amazingly, yesterday, I hit the 10k mark!  It was an amazing feeling.  I wanted to jump, scream and walk some more! I felt/feel awesome!

And finally, my pants have been feeling a bit like clown pants.  When I tried the next size down, earlier this month, (don't we all have a variety of sizes in our closets?), they were too tight.  Friday morning I gave them another try, and Voila! they fit!

So, I feel like I hit the Trifecta!  Weight loss, increased exercise and smaller pants!

Oh, and as an added bonus, I feel GREAT!



Where Do I Go From Here?

After spending four days in the hospital, I was released with six medications, an appointment with the cardiologist an admonishment to see my GP immediately, and a packet of information.

I had an arteriogram, the news was good, no blockages.  However, my heart was functioning at 65% and I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure.  The package said no salt, no more than 1-1.5 liters of fluid a day, and learn to manage stress.  Oh, like that whole stress thing was going to be easy?!

In the following months a few things changed.  First, more testing, and out of the blue, chest pains.  The chest pain has a sweet little name, Angina.  I can take a Nitro pill if it gets awful, hello, the Nitro pill is disgusting.  I've taken one.  I've lost 18 lbs., and yes I have more to go.  I now walk 15 minutes, once or twice a day, every day.  I'm working my way up to 30 minutes at once.  I now take 10 pills a day, which is just unreal to me.  My stress?  Hello, I have CHF, how in heck do I stop being stressed?

So, where does this leave me?  I read and read and then read some more.  I decided I have to be in control of where I go from here.  So here's the plan.

1. Continue to work on my walks.  As silly as it sounds, I add one more driveway a day to my walk.  I'm taking mouse bites instead of elephant bites. 

2.  I've researched the best way to feed my body.  I've decided to transition to a plant based diet.  Now, I'm a sugar, caffeine, meat eating person, so this should be interesting.

3.  Work on the stress, step number one to reduce it, get the 31 year old boy to get a job or get out. Okay, and I'm trying Yoga as well.

4.  Deal with the overwhelming depression that feels so crippling.  Taking medication, which is helping, and I am hoping the change in diet and the regular exercise will help.

So, here we go!  I'm making my way back to Normal (or just my regular quirky self).

It Started On A Sunday

I woke up on a Sunday morning in March.  I hadn't slept well the night before, it felt like I couldn't breathe.  You would think that would make me nervous, but living in a poor air quality area in Central California, and having asthma, it didn't really alarm me.  I took a shower, thinking that the steam would help, it didn't.  I thought perhaps I would need a breathing treatment, or a new inhaler, maybe I could wait until Monday.

I was huffing and puffing for air, the inhalers weren't helping at all.  I finally decided I would go to the emergency room.  I figured I might have to wait a while, but at least I would get a breathing treatment.  I made sure to get my grocery list together, because the shopping needed to be done, and hey, it was just a breathing issue.

I drove myself to the hospital, after all, I had grocery shopping to do afterwards.  The walk from the car to the door was excruciating.  I couldn't breathe and I was sweating.  I had to take several breaths between words, as I explained to the admissions person that it was just a breathing issue, most likely my asthma.  I was surprised that I didn't even have to sit down in the waiting room, instead I went straight back to have my stats taken.  My blood pressure was over the moon crazy, but that didn't alarm me, I've had blood pressure issues for years.  So, after the initial stats, it was out to the waiting room.

I hadn't even had time to start knitting, when they called me to take a chest x-ray. So, back to the x-ray room I went, this time in a wheelchair.  The x-rays were taken, and back to the waiting room I went.  This time I did manage to get out my knitting and had gotten a row or two done. I was surprised when a doctor sat down beside me.  He took my pulse and started asking me questions, did my chest hurt?  Did I have a stomach ache?  Did my back hurt?  Did my arm hurt, or jaw?  I didn't have any of those pains.  He then reached down and pushed on the skin of my calf.  It left an indentation.  He told me we were going to go into the back and called for a wheelchair.  Okay, now I was getting a little nervous.

Once we got to the back, into a scary room, he told me he thought I'd had a heart attack.  Suddenly blood was being taken and I was being attached to an EKG machine.  He put my x-rays up and pointed out my lungs.  They were filled with fluid.  He began reading my EKG, and before he was done, I was being handed an aspirin.  The good news, I wasn't currently having a heart attack, the bad news, I had had one recently, the really bad news, I had Congestive Heart Failure, the terrible news, there would be no grocery shopping today.  I was being admitted.

Seriously?!

Seriously, I'm starting a blog?  Have I lost my damn mind?  Maybe, and maybe I want it back and the only way to do that is to write all this turmoil down.  Do I care if someone reads it?  Not really, I just need the cathartic release that comes with depositing all of these thoughts that fill my brain every darn second of the day, somewhere, anywhere.

I'm trying to navigate a life that has been dealt a severe blow.  I have Congestive Heart Failure.  How did that even happen?  What does it mean?  What do I do now?  Am I going to die?  How long before I die?

I get up every morning, I put on a happy face, and I head out to tackle one more day.  The outside is coping, but inside the questions are flying, the thoughts never turn off.