That Was Then

A mere few days ago. Picked up an extra shift so my coworkers wouldn't have to work an 18 hour shift. Spent some time with the family and got some quality time on the trainer. Even got to send my doctor a recording on my 24 hour monitor. The photo is from my phone and the ZWIFT app.

The trainer ride was pretty good. Still not anywhere where I want to be so far as shape is but' like Nicoll says "Round is a shape". Pushed my heart rate up to just over 115 bpm and worked it back down then back up again.

If your a cyclist and not ding ZWIFT shame on you, My setup isn't immerse by any means but it suffices and gives me goals along the ride.

This Is Now

Its amazing how quickly things change. Especially when it comes to matters of the health of the heart. Health can be fragile no matter how well we think we are taking care of ourselves. Add a chronic condition as my own then your really in trouble.

So here is the now...... I have been in affib now for over 2 hours. Does this mean my procedure was a failure. To be frank with the 1 or 2 of you that take precious time from your day to read this sporadic blog, I don't really know. I do know this though. If I have to have a third procedure done I will be flying to Texas to have it done if the doctor will have me. I haven't given up hope though.

Trigger Warning!!!!!!!

Not really, or in the sense of this new found anomaly that has somehow found its way into our current society. So for the 1 or 2 of you that read this blog anyway or by some mishap of misfortune get linked here by some search engine that was intrigued by my tags. Have no fear I promise its safe to continue.

Anyway, as stated in my previous blog I received the LIFEWATCH monitor my doctor ordered yesterday to monitor for any anomalies that may still be lingering from my ablation in January. My next appointment is a little over a month away and this is the best way to see how the heart is doing.

So I activated and put the monitor on at around 1pm yesterday and had my first recordable event at around 6pm. So far as I know this is the first event I have had since going back on the Flecanide and Metoprolol regiment since back in mid January following my procedures. I'm not sure what the rhythm was but it did not feel like affib. 

Like I said I made a recording and sent it. The monitor supposedly does this on its own but it also has the option for me to record events I know are happening. The LIFEWATCH people did call me afterwords and make sure I was feeling OK. They also said they would be sending copies of the recordings to my doctor. 

So, is this a major setback? I don't know. I'm still within the 3 month blanking period. This is the first event I know of since January 17th. It can take six months for symptoms like this to totally disappear. I have been exercising without any issues. I guess only time will tell and I remain optimistic.

So Exciting

UPS has visited me the past 2 days. Yesterday they delivered the LIFEWATCH monitor. Today the delivered a second LIFEWATCH monitor and my order from PERFORMANCE BIKE. A trainer specific tire,chain lube and a new bike computer.

I haven't ridden with a bike computer for quite a few years now. I have been keeping track but just using my phones GPS and STRAVA. So I'm still collecting information but don't see it until the end of the ride. A couple of the guys I ride with complain because instead of keeping a certain pace I just ride how I feel at any given point of the ride. So maybe this will put an end to his complaining while giving me more information to assist in my training.

The computer I ended up getting is the  WAHOO ELEMENT BOLT. I was also considering  the GARMIN Edge 520. Both computers are very similar, and I think GARMIN actually makes both computers. I read a bunch of reviews and watched some videos and came to the conclusion that the WAHOO was the best choice. Not to say GARMIN does not make a great product its just the bolt seams to be more technologically advanced. Also if you are looking for some good in depth cycling equipment reviews you should check out these two guy's. DC Rainmaker and Steve over at In The Know Cycling.  Both of these guys cover all the bases in their reviews.

I'll keep you up to date on the BOLT as i get into using it. 

We Will Monitor Your Every Move

So I received a care package today from my Doctors office. Hooray its one of the final steps in seeing how successful my ablation was. I wore a similar type of monitor back in 2010 several months after my ablation back then.

The monitor constantly records my heart activity and sends it via cell phone to a central recording station. If I am to have an issue it will alarm to notify both myself and my doctor. On the up side I can still wear my WAHOO TiCKER HRM with it so I can monitor my rates while exercising.

I often wonder what the recordings looked like last time around as I was instructing spin classes at the time and doing a good bit of riding because the weather was so nice.

Really...... We Are Monitoring You

So FACEBOOK is in the news again for privacy infringement. I'm pretty sure the only reason this is happening is due to the current buzz about the trump campaign purchasing data from a third party source during the last election cycle. Otherwise we would probably not be hearing about it. This only further entrenches my opinion that the left will go to any extreme to undermine our current president. Even to turn on their own if necessary.

Al Frankin was the first victim of this particular strategy now Mark Zckerberg.  What is really telling about the situation with Zuckerberg is the fact that it was the Democratic Party, The O'Bama Campaign in particular, that perfected this strategy.  So I feel it is safe to assume that during the same election cycle the Democrats were using the same strategy but have somehow not found their way into the news for doing it. I'm not saying this isn't news worthy. I'm saying if your going to cover a story cover the whole story not just the parts that you agree with or think will further a particular agenda or narrative.

Of course if you didn't already know that FACEBOOK, GOOGLE and any other Internet savvy company isn't collecting and selling data on you your a fool. This is why I like many others don't use their full names or use and alias for FACEBOOK Identity. Not this this really stops it but it will curb it and at the very least keep the average Joe or potential employer form immediately identifying you on social media. 

Not that we all have anything to hide, However, in industries I have been involved in I had to work with people and companies that I know for a fact that I was diametrically opposed with both politically and in some cases morally, and didn't care to be judged on that basis as I know many of these institutions and companies would.

Facebook Isn't All Bad

It really isn't. It has allowed me to reconnect with old friends and to stay in contact with old. I'll admit I'm not a FACEBOOK hero having thousands of followers and friends. I'm a big believer in quality not quantity and live by the mantra "Be the best friend you can be, someone may be counting on it." In other words, don't pick your friends based on their financial stature or popularity because those criteria will surely let you down.

To that point back in January when I was sitting in the hospital waiting to see if I was going to be able to have my surgery I get a cryptic messenger text from a friend. "Do you still hate me?" the text read. "How could I ever hate you", I responded. Which lead to a great conversation which included the uncertainties and fears people have with situations like the one I had currently found myself in and how we personally dealt with them. Which I topped of following my surgery with, "I'm still alive so we will continue to be friends". She found this particular statement amusing.

Back story.......

This particular friend was a girl I dated back in high school and Quite frankly I cant really remember how long we dated or why we stopped,  but I really did like her and we had allot of fun together and that is the part I do remember. She was spunky and outspoken and I really liked those traits in a person and still do to this day.

I'm not completely sure where her question stemmed from, but I wont over think it or inquire as to the particulars beyond the conversation we had that day. I'm content in the fact that we remain friends today.

A Sad Day Today

We had to let our Male Golden go today. It is never easy losing a pet especially when they are so special to you and there is no doubt Goliath was my dog. When he was a pup he used to go to work with me every day. As time passed so did my career path so instead of going to work with me he greeted me at the door every day with a shoe and hos golden smile. 

Not only was Goliath a great companion but he brought so many wonderful people into our lives through his and Lucy's puppies over the years.Goliath was a gentle sole that loved everyone and was by far the most obedient dog I have ever owned. 

Goodbye old friend you will be sorely missed. Goliath The Timid One

Time Marches On

Well its been 30 days now since my ablation and things have been going pretty well. The only hick-up was a couple weeks ago (day 14). I started having some weird heartbeats. I don't think it was affib gut it might have been. This of course is normal following an ablation and making it 14 days in NSR is a good thing IMHO. I only made it 3 days following my first ablation.

What was odd though was that I went out of rhythm at the same time of day. The third time was earlier in the day and took a little longer to covert 2 of 3 times and converted using flecanide in about 5 hours. The third time took a little longer. All episodes were separated by a few days. So I talked to my EP and he put me back on the daily regiment of flecanide 100mg twice a day. I've been in NSR ever since. Again this does not worry me or make me think that my ablation was not successful. As the heart heals this is normal and can last for up to 3 months.

Been A While

Lets Dust Off The Cobwebs

So its been a long time again. I just cant seem to get into a rhythm here any more.

Speaking of rhythm, I had my second ablation done last Thursday. It is something I had spoken to my Electrophysiologist about back in October but we decided to put it off as the runs of arrhythmia's still weren't affecting me that badly. Also we weren't sure what we were dealing with yet.

In 2009 I was treated for both atrial fibrillation and flutter with RF ablation but there were n current recordings of what was ailing me currently. So when I was back to see him several weeks ago he ordered a portable recorder to try to catch the arrhythmia in action. While waiting for the recorder I was contacting my insurance. Since the first of the year my new supplier is BC/BS, and as anyone in the Pittsburgh area know BC/BS and UPMC don't play well together and all my doctors are UPMC.

So in the midst of this my heart continued to carry on. So last Wednesday night we headed to the ER as I am have never been on blood thinners and was concerned with possibility of throwing a clot. We decided to go to UPMC Shadyside for allot of reasons. The least of which is that is where my EP works out of and to see anyone else was unfathomable to me.

This time around I had Cryoablation done. My EP thought it was the correct approach since I had RF done last time.

I'll keep this blog up to date on my recovery. So far so good by the way. NSR is a wonderful thing and for those that have never known anything else consider yourself blessed.

Blanking

Blanking is the process of the heart healing form an ablation. This process lasts for 3 months as the heart heals form the procedure. So I wont be doing much cardio for a while. I do plan to get on the rollers after my visit in February. Just light spinning and low HR until the 3 months is up.