Had a scare last night.....

[FASTBACK340]

I had some heart issues years past and since I've lost a great amount of weight & taken much better care of myself as I get regular exercise and eat right. But last night.....

I've had an irregular heart beat at times that has never been witnessed or observed by my cardiologist. Last night it happened to the point where I almost passed out. Paramedics arrive as I start to feel better. My blood pressure was 108/40 at that moment. I have no idea how low it actually got..... I spent the night in the hospital's cardiac care unit without so much as a hiccup. Blood pressure fine....heart rate perfect.....

<sigh....> The joys of getting old. Now I see my doctor tomorrow and start the medication juggling act. Up this dose age, drop that dose age, start taking this.....

Everyone: Don't wait until your hospitalized (like I was in 1996) to turn things around. It took a week of me being in a Pennsylvania hospital thinking about what went wrong and how to reverse it. Since then I've dieted & excercised and still have issues. I'd probably be dead already if I ignored my initial health problems. Hopefully this isn't the start of something else.

Look in the mirror and think about it......

[cobraman]

Very good advice. As I am aproaching 62 in a couple of months I started thinking more about my health at the first of the year. I never smoked or drank outside of soda. I have cut my soda intake way, way down and have switched to diet soda but don't drink much of that either. I have been eating better and staying away pretty much from fast food. I get enough exercise at work I think. When I retire at the end of June I am going to have to do something. Walking will be one thing I do early in the morning since it is too friggin hot here in Arizona to do any walking after 7 in the morning. Hope you are well and continue to stay healthy.

[disabled modeler]

Take care of yourself....I have been more aware of my health since my accident in 1996...whole list of new things to watch over.

[FASTBACK340]

To put numbers behind things: When I was hospitalized in 1996 with Congestive Heart Failure I weighed 338 lbs. Yes, Three HUNDRED and thirty eight pounds.....

Fast forward to today: After 17yrs. of medication, diet, & excersice I'm down to 193lbs. and pass my bi-yearly stress test with flying colors. I get plenty of walking in between work & taking my boy Buddy out for a trot.

[1972coronet]

I have cut my soda intake way, way down and have switched to diet soda but don't drink much of that either.

I hate to be "that guy" , but trust me on this : it's much better to drink a soda with real sugar in it than drink anything with that garbage aspartame !

Aspartame exasparates preexisting conditions ; aches and pains (e.g , arthritis , and other chronic pains) ; neuropathy , anxiety , vertigo , and countless other conditions manifest themselves as well .

I know this from first-hand experience .

Now I consume only real sugar soda : Hansen's Natural Cola is very good ; secondary would be either "Throwback" Pepsi ( and I despise 'regular' Pepsi ! But the real sugar stuff is actually good !) . Another option is to look for Coke or Pepsi that's from Mexico . Seeing that you live in Az , that shouldn't be a problem . I find it all of the time here in So Cal.

[cobraman]

Thanks for the info. My goal is to cut out all soda.

[pharoah]

Glad you're doing better John. Keep it up.

I turn 61 in a few months. So I try to take care of myself.

[FASTBACK340]

I just turned 55 the first of April. I can hear the clock ticking.....

My Mother was diabetic so growing up we never had real soda in the house, so that was never a problem. I learned to drink water & seltzer, my favorite to this day. My problem was portion control and choices. I would eat 3 pieces of broccoli and a 1/2 lb. of cheese (maybe not together, but an example of bad choices) and red meat. Now I eat red meat about 3 times a month (as opposed to weekly) and live on veggies, chicken, & fish. I love Soy Milk (the Silk Very Vanilla is like a melted milk shake, less calories & cholesterol than milk) and can eat Tofu.

Yeah, it hasn't been easy .....

[rmvw guy]

Take care and listen to your Doctors. Hope you are feeling a lot better by now.

[Kaleb]

Seeing this, I know that the older I get my body will start acting up. Turning 30 this year I'm getting my head together, but my body is falling apart lol. I've had more back trouble with pinched nerves and other minor stuff than I ever had. I've cut out all but root beer and birch beer for sodas. I even had some older guys make fun of me because of it. Thank you for posting info in what to do, don't take this wrong but I figured out long ago, to learn from others mistakes. My wife bought me a bike carrier, now we go biking, running and walking to stay in shape. Too much fast food will kill you. Literally.

Edit:

I don't have a lot of "faith" in doctors. I don't get checkups, because I've had too many relatives get prescribed wrong meds or dosages. Sometimes I think most of those meds cause worse than what was, then they give you meds for those effects.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Kaleb

[Chris White]

Heart Disease is my family's legacy, I have had some recent "issues", so I can appreciate your situation. Stay healthy my friend.

[jaydar]

Good words to share. I have started to lose the weight and exercise more. The weight is coming off more slowly than i like but as long as it does it keeps me motivated.

Thank God I have a wife who is a great cook and she really knows her stuff when it comes to low fat, low sodium and high protein.

joe.

[FASTBACK340]

I lost about 150 lbs. over the course of those intervening years. I did it in steps. I'd set a goal of 10 or 15 lbs. and chip away at it. Once reaching that weight, I'd plateau and try and maintain at that weight. I had periods where I'd gain & lose, but gain never more than 10 lbs. which is the point where your clothes don't fit! I'm at the point now where I can eat anywhere/anything and make sensible choices.

But it's a daily challenge that's so rewarding when you get it right!

[FASTBACK340]

I have started to lose the weight and exercise more. The weight is coming off more slowly than i like but as long as it does it keeps me motivated.

Thank God I have a wife who is a great cook and she really knows her stuff when it comes to low fat, low sodium and high protein.

joe.

Dropping weight slowly is the right way. These quick-loss diets do nothing more than starve you, while teaching you nothing about nutrition and the body's needs. Usually the first week of HONEST dieting & exercise will yield a high weight loss in relation to the amount your overweight. Not unlikely to lose 10 lbs. the first week if your over a 100lbs. overweight. But the second week might be 2-3 lbs. and that's how it goes. Some weeks you might not lose any weight, but your waist size might decrease. It's a slow, dedicated procedure. No short cuts. You'll go as far as you want. But remember, cheating on a diet might be your secret that everyone will notice once you start thinning down. Friends & family's reactions and encouragement should help motivate you.

YOU just have to do it.

[DrKerry]

Good advice, I'm 44 and I'm standing in that doorway now. Looking at bettering myself.

[DrKerry]

Hope you get feeling better!!!!

[Greg Myers]

I'm 65. Getting old does suck., pay attention, eat and drink sensibly

, exercise often,See your doctor : http://vimeo.com/24340828

Edited May 3, 2013 by Greg Myers

[Greg Myers]

I'm going in for a cardiac cauterization and possible stint this Monday. Isn't modern medicine wonderful ?

[FASTBACK340]

I'm in the Dr's office now waiting for my Eco-Cardiogram.

Details to follow.....

[Tom Geiger]

Wow John be careful! We have too many friends that aren't here anymore. We are the same age and I have a good heart but am a type 2 diabetic. And I need to get better at it. Billy Kingsley, in his mid 20s, wasn't feeling well at NNL East and wound up in the hospital with diabetes. He is home now, and he'll have to change a lot of his ways.

[FASTBACK340]

I had my stress test last Nov, but thats not a problem as I use a treadmill intermittantly when not outside walking. Like I've posted, I worked at getting into better shape. But what happened Wed was un-provoked. Any way, I went for the Eco & spoke with my Dr. Here's the deal:

Depending on the results and interpetations, I might get away with juggling my medications. Besides vitiams, allergy, and Chloresteral meds, I take 4 pills relating to my Heart & Blood Pressure daily. This is the best possible remedy. Then we get into clogged pipes, neurological, or physcial ailments. Some remedies involve knives.....

<sigh.....>Now we wait.

[FASTBACK340]

BTW: Thank you all for your concern. But to be honest, in a hobby such as ours, where we can sit at a workbench for hours on end (sometimes days if a deadline is approaching) without consideration over getting our circulation going and move around, isn't healthy.

As for Tom's post on Billy, as much as I wish him the best dealing with his ailment, Diabetes CAN be controlled, sometimes eliminated, by diet & exercise. I saw Billy that day and he's where I was at back when I was first Hospitalized in '96. Only I was in my late 30's. I believe Billy is much younger and better able to turn things around.

Billy: I wish you the best and if your reading this and want to talk privately, please feel free to contact me personally. Advice and support are sometimes the best medicine.

[MrObsessive]

Dropping weight slowly is the right way. These quick-loss diets do nothing more than starve you, while teaching you nothing about nutrition and the body's needs. Usually the first week of HONEST dieting & exercise will yield a high weight loss in relation to the amount your overweight. Not unlikely to lose 10 lbs. the first week if your over a 100lbs. overweight. But the second week might be 2-3 lbs. and that's how it goes. Some weeks you might not lose any weight, but your waist size might decrease. It's a slow, dedicated procedure. No short cuts. You'll go as far as you want. But remember, cheating on a diet might be your secret that everyone will notice once you start thinning down. Friends & family's reactions and encouragement should help motivate you.

YOU just have to do it.

Excellent advice John!

Back in '09 around this time, I was at my heaviest ever at 330 lbs. One morning I was getting things together and had this strange sensation in my feet-----particularly my left foot on the left side. There was a slight numbness there that I hadn't noticed before. I decided right then and there that I needed to do something and right away! I cut out all the fast food I was eating, stopped frying everything I ate, and started working out (again).

At the time I was wearing a size 50 in pants and 3XL shirts (and was bursting out of those). I'm now down to around 242 lbs as of this morning and I'm 6' 3". I can get in to a size 38-40 and a regular XL shirt. My foot troubles have since gone away, and my blood pressure and blood sugar are normal.

I did this without any crash dieting, or crazy pills that are out there..........just a determination to NOT come down with diabetes which unfortunately runs very rampant on both sides of my family.

Every day I have to watch what I eat and when, but I do allow myself a weekly "cheat day" which I'll indulge in certain things for part of the day-------and then the next day it's back to normal. You're right in that it's definitely a lifestyle change, and not just a fad that one goes through and you're done. I'm a firm believer that certain body types have to watch certain things they eat more than others.

Now I'm not a dietician by any means.........but I know that since my weight likes to gain first on my lower back and belly, I have to stay away from insulin spiking foods such as wheat, corn (and their byproducts), dairy, and of course super sugary stuff. It's not always fun, but as you mentioned---we're not getting any younger (I'll be 52 in October), but it's certainly worth it for the health benefits that taking care of yourself yields.

Edited May 4, 2013 by MrObsessive

[Gluhead]

Yep, gotta watch it, eh! I go back for my 4th stent next week, after having that heart attack in March and earning myself 3 then. I found out I'd developed t2 diabetes at the same time.

I'm 42, and the only reason I'm sedentary is because my back is screwed up pretty bad (much like our host, Gregg's, if you're familiar with his situation). But regardless of the reason, I am sedentary and have been for a chunk of years now. I gained 80 pounds (putting me at 280) going from being pretty active to unable to even walk through a grocery store. I lost half of it by adjusting what/how much I ate, but the other half just does not want to feck off. But, between several years of the sudden drop in activity and a high pre-disposition to heart disease and diabetes, here I am. So we do what we gotta do, right? But that doesn't make it easy! That's okay...nobody ever said livin' was a cakewalk.

Anyway, good luck with it!

[Bad Apple]

Glad your ok John and i hope this isn't the start of heart problems for you!

Back when i was at my heaviest point my Dr. thought i has Cardiomyopithy(not sure if i spelled that right) but after losing all my weight over the last 4 1/2 years everything has been good. I think i managed to turn things around just in time before i developed any major irreversible issues!