Monday 18 May 2009

What a month or two it has been!


Holy Cow!

I was running in April, then I got stricken with a series of migraines.  Like debilitating migraines where you go home and pray it will go away.  I took maybe 3 or 4 dosages of migraine medication, which is pretty hard on the body.

On April 16, I experienced chest pain and shortness of breath.  I called the doc and they told me to go straight to the ER (actually they wanted to send an ambulance, but since I work at a hospital, I thought that would be incredibly embarrassing).  They kept me for 6 hours in the ER and did all kinds of crazy tests, among them a PET scan.  They said that I did NOT have a heart attack but that I needed to go see my doctor at the first available appointment.  

That weekend, I got to ponder this and I was sure I was old and dying.  It was awful.  On the next Monday, I went to my doc, who felt that I was in good shape and it was unlikely that I had heart disease - more likely I had an adverse drug reaction to the migraine medication.  But we scheduled a stress test.  Well, I didn't know a woman my age was supposed to quit 5 minutes into the deal!  No one told me!  So, I went for 12 minutes, which is off the chart for a 57 year old.

Using my blood pressure and my cholesterol, They calculated my risk of developing heart disease in the next 10 years as 1%.  One Percent.  That made me feel very very good.

Then I started running again....

Last week, I developed a horrible toothache.  And the worst part was, it wasn't actually my tooth that hurt.  It was a gum infection, which was horribly painful.  I  took antibiotics for 5 days and that went away...

Then I started running again....

Now I am feeling good.  I ran this morning.  I am going to ride my bike to work tomorrow.  I am a happy girl about this.

I am looking into half marathons to do in January. ... still have Maui on my mind.  

Has anyone done a race in Hawaii?  Any advice?  

7 comments:

Debbi said...

So happy you're back on the track, so to speak, and that your health issues are resolving themselves. I've never had a migraine (knock on wood), but I know how debilitating they can be. And that chest pain is nothing to mess around with! Sounds like you checked out in excellent condition. Good to see a post from you again.

Unknown said...

You sure have been through a lot. Great news about your heart though.

I've never done a race in Hawaii, but it sounds like fun!

Jess said...

Sorry to hear about all the setbacks, but at least you're feeling good now and running again!

Wes said...

"So, I went for 12 minutes, which is off the chart for a 57 year old."

Hahahaha! You are kick ass..

Lily on the Road said...

Glad to hear you are on the mend, that is one heck of a way to start a year.

So glad that the stress test was not "stressful" for you and that your heart is A1

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you are feeling better and back at it. Missed you around here.

My only advice to running in Hawaii is...

...enjoy every single minute of it! :-)

Ace said...

Wow that was quite the road back to running. Glad you are back at it. The stress test thing is hilarious, rockin'it for sure!