Thursday, June 21, 2012

Stress Test....Grrrrr.....

I had my stress echocardiogram this morning, the ultrasound tech and the nurse were AMAZING, I love, love, loved them!  My cardiologist wasn't in yet so I had another cardiologist in the room with me, not a fan, not a fan of him AT ALL.

He came in the room, looked at me and said, why are you here?  You are way too young and certainly far too fit to have any heart problems, if you had issues you wouldn't be able to exercise like you do.

I was baffled, just baffled, I've had my heart condition for 10 years, 10 freaking years and you walk in take one damn look at me and say crap like that to me?  I was so pissed but thankfully the idiot then left the room during the actual test.

It was not fun, on a treadmill at an incline, it would get faster and be at a higher incline as we progressed.  I was on that thing for 17 minutes before my heart rate finally got high enough.  Lying there all sweaty, breathing heavily, I felt so bad for the ultrasound tech!  She just laughed and told me not to worry, I was a cute sweaty girl ;)

The cardiologist was in the room then looking at the ultrasound, he proceeded to tell me everything looked fine.  I was shocked so I asked him if the mitral valve was perfectly fine.  He told me he hadn't even looked at that, well geez you freaking idiot that's why I'm here!!!  He checked that and told me he could see a leak but in his opinion it was nothing to worry about.  I didn't say anything and he just left the room and told me he would send everything to my cardiologist and I should hear from them by this afternoon or tomorrow.

I must say that damn doctor rattled me, what if I am just plain ass crazy thinking I'm having heart issues?  Kyle is angry I had a doctor like that and keeps reminding me of how concerned my actual cardiologist was at my appointment on Tuesday when he simply listened to my heart.

We'll see what we find out, maybe I'm just a big baby and need to suck it up with the fatigue and move forward.  If they call me and say I'm fine then I'm right back to where I started but I will just move forward, continue volleyball and get back to training for the show.

All that would make me very happy, although I would still be tired daily I'm sure and still have no clue as to why.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Mitral Valve Regurgitation

I'm very glad I had my appointment with my cardiologist yesterday, he was hopeful I would be an easy one for him and he could figure out a simple issue going on.

Not the case, it is for sure the mitral valve regurgitation and I have to have a stress echocardiogram tomorrow morning.  They will take a picture of my heart, put me on a treadmill, take another picture after that and hopefully we will have the results Thursday afternoon or Friday.

My constant fatigue is due to this issue and the scenarios my cardiologist thinks of are all bad.  I'm pretty sure I am going to have to have heart surgery.  He is a bit worried about the chance of heart failure so no more exercise at this point, no stress and I need a lot of sleep so my heart can rest.

It seems as though life is wanting to throw as many curve balls as it can our way, we will get through this and I will be able to get back to exercise again once I am better.  If I do have heart surgery it will be a long recovery and a slow return to exercise.  That means no figure competition this year, looks like I will be waiting yet another year to complete that big goal.

Kyle is being very protective right now, I appreciate it greatly, he is the best daddy and is even more phenomenal now.  Taking care of dinners, bath time, bed time, all so I can rest at home and go to bed by about 7pm each night, how sad I go to bed that early because I am truly so exhausted from the day.

Looking forward to the test tomorrow and getting the results so we know what our next step is.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Volleyball & Inhaler

So this weekend was full of sand volleyball, Friday night I played in a doubles tournament with my brother Larry and we had our regular games on Sunday.

Friday I used my inhaler, it did nothing for me.  Thankfully it wasn't as hot as they predicted and it clouded up, so the heat wasn't too horrible.  I was just tired and had the same "heavy" feeling in my chest.  Saturday I spent the day outdoors and walking around, I woke up Sunday completely exhausted again.

Sunday night volleyball I tried the inhaler again and again it did nothing for me.  I woke up today exhausted and my chest feeling "heavy" and tight.  I called my doctor's office this morning to let them know and they got me in right away with my cardiologist tomorrow, I will have an ultrasound done on my heart at 3pm.

I'm a little nervous, many thoughts are going through my head, what if they don't find anything at all, am I just plain crazy?  What if the valve is bad and I need heart surgery?

On one hand I hope it is a bad valve and that surgery would fix it, if that is what is truly causing my constant exhaustion it would be amazing to get it fixed and feel better every day.  Otherwise I just don't know, as a pretty healthy 31 year old woman I just don't think I should be feeling this way daily or that exercise should cause me to feel so crappy.

The downside of this of course would be my goals, they would be put on the back burner.  If I have to wait another year to do a figure competition so be it, but I won't lie I would be disappointed!!!!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Inhaler Please Help Me

Today was my appointment with my amazing doctor, seriously I love this woman.  She first asks me how Kyle is, which new job did he go with and has Bella fully recovered from her strep throat :)  I just love that she knows us all so well, she really feels like a great friend and a doctor, we are lucky!

Now onto the appointment, she is hopeful that my issues may be allergy/asthma related.  I will be picking up an inhaler tonight to use before volleyball this weekend, we have a doubles tournament on Friday and our regular Sunday night games.  If the inhaler doesn't work this weekend I have to let my doctor know next week.

After that she would contact my cardiologist, let him know what is going on and what steps we have taken to get me feeling better.  Then I would have to have an ultrasound of my heart so they can check on my "bad" valve.  I have mitral valve regurgitation along with the syncope, I shouldn't read things online because it usually scares me, but I did.  The only thing that worries me is that my symptoms seem to be right on with the valve getting worse.  That scenario would require open heart surgery, so obviously I am beyond hopeful that this weekend the inhaler does the trick.

Last night I was still feeling crappy so my trainer let me just plant the flowers he had gotten me for Mother's Day in our huge flower garden.  It was beautiful out last night, 72 and not humid!

Looking forward to actually working out today after I go take care of my beauties May and River, aka the sweet horses that still need a couple of amazing families to adopt them! :)

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Photos & Tired

Angie, myself and Larry, ready to run!

Hehe, Larry making his sister happy by posing silly with me :)

Bella being all cute waiting for mommy to run by.

Here we come!

Yay, I finished, damn my IT band hurt.  Glad I did it and looking forward to my break from running.

 Love teaching her about a healthy lifestyle and giving her good examples, she is ready to be a runner :)

Tomorrow I am heading to the doctor, kind of starting over with my heat/humidity issues.  I'm tired of the cardiologist I've had for the past 12 years telling me I will outgrow the "condition" he calls Syncope.  Yes I do have that, but after this weekend today I am still feeling crappy.  Tight chest, it just feels like there is a heaviness in my chest, I am exhausted, light headed constantly.  

Again drinking as much fluids as I possibly can and taking my medication, but nothing is helping.  I'll be seeing my family doctor, I've never seen her for this condition so we'll see what she thinks about it and how we can go about possibly figuring out a better solution or if there is something else going on.

This won't hinder my weight lifting, not sure what Kyle has in store for me tonight, at least I will be working out in our nicely air conditioned house :)

Monday, June 11, 2012

Run the Flood Race

Well I did it, ran the race with only one week of runs prior to it and IT band syndrome.

That meant I ran the run 26 minutes slower than the last time I did it, but I ran the race with my cousin Angie and we had a great time!  It was hot, of course, super sunny and not much shade, the water stops consisted of me just dumping the cups of water over my head.  Thank god for my hydration belt (thank you trainer for making me wear it :)), I used two goo packs and drank all my Gaterade.

Afterwards we went to a bar, had some Summer Shandy and greasy food, that was the best part ;)  I will have photos to post once I get them uploaded.

Don't be shocked, but I was totally dehydrated after the race and my IT band was like a bone.  Kyle massaged it on a super comfy wooden bench, that helped a little bit, I'm just ready for this thing to get better and feel like it never will.

I also had volleyball last night, doubles at 5pm and fours at 6pm, it was 98 degrees, sunny and humid.  I felt like CRAP, I drank over 200 oz. of Powerade plus a ton of water and my pills that seem to do nothing for me at this point.  I played awful in doubles, I felt bad for Larry but we still had fun, fours was alright but I was still completely exhausted.

Feeling a tad bit better today but guess what, still DEHYDRATED!!!  Seriously when I finally see my cardiologist on July 31st, I just might smack him if he goes into his "you will grow out of this" talk, it's been 13 years and seems to be getting worse.

Enough complaining, I will continue to drink as much as I can today and hopefully stay hydrated for a bit :)

Friday, June 8, 2012

Oops....

My wonderful trainer gave me clear instructions to do the P90X Chest & Back workout before my run last night.  Only do the first half of it, about a half hour and then run.....

Oops, I did the Chest, Back & Tricep workout instead, lifted for about 45 minutes as my trainer (aka awesome hubby) walked in and asked, "why the heck are you doing ball tosses??".  I then realized my mix up and the fact that I lifted way more than I was supposed to.

Then my "little" brother shows up and is ready for our 45 minute run in the 84 degree and HUMID weather.  I told him I might, just might have some issues on the run.  After 20 minutes of running I was covered in goose bumps, no longer sweating and cold.  NOT A GOOD SIGN.  Obviously I was completely dehydrated, I was super smart and decided NOT to wear my hydration pack.  So the way back was a run/walk for me, my brother is amazing though he would run ahead, turn around and come back to me.  He said he wouldn't leave me, even though I told him he could, because he knew if he did 1. he would be in trouble showing up at my house without me, and 2. he just wouldn't do that anyway, the thought of me passed out on the side of the road by myself was a bit much for him ;)

I have been taking my medication to help me retain fluids plus drinking lots of water, I admit I could be drinking more Gaterade so I am doing that today in preparation for tomorrow.  I have an appointment with my cardiologist on July 31st, I'm so looking forward to it and hearing him tell me that I will outgrow this, even though I've had my condition for 13 YEARS.  Sense the sarcasm please, we're thinking I need to maybe go see a different cardiologist if he tells me yet again this year I should outgrow it.

So no lifting for me tonight as I have my 7 mile race in the morning.  I'm hoping for a coolish morning and I will look so awesome with my super sweet hydration pack on tomorrow ;)  Tonight we'll be picking up our race packets and stuffing our faces with awesome pasta from Zio Johno's, I truly can't wait for that tonight!

After this race the true break from running will be happening.  I'm glad because after just these two runs this week my IT band is killing me again, obviously that didn't totally heal in the time I've taken off from running so far!  I'll only be doing sprint work to help get my legs in perfect form for the show :)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Horse Night

Every Wednesday night I go out to a farm to care for two rescue horses.

Its totally glamorous, me with my rolled up jeans, poopy shoes and gloves.  I scoop out two large stalls, the horses like to poop in both of them, darn them anyway ;)

I also brush them down and just spend time with them, it is relaxing for me, besides the poop scooping and hauling, I still enjoy it though!

I was pleasantly surprised when I got home as my trainer told me I didn't have to lift since I had scooped poop, but not to get used to it.  He doesn't want me too worn down for the race on Saturday, what a great trainer :)

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Ab Ripper X and a Run

Last night my workout was P90X's Ab Ripper X and then a 30 minute run with my brother Larry.  I left work a bit late, picked up Bella, stopped at Target and rushed home to get the Ab Ripper X done before the run.

Of course Larry shows up while I'm finishing Ab Ripper X, so I knew it would be a tough run.  I must say out of any ab workout, Ab Ripper X is my FAVORITE.  It is so hard, honestly, but it goes so fast and you do over 300 ab moves.  I didn't even try to do the V-Ups though, the only set I skipped!

So then it was time to run, I realized Kyle had my car with my iPod in it so we had to wait for him to get home. He gets there, I have my chip plugged into the iPod, can't find my headphones so I had to use an old pair.

Larry and I start out on our run, I realize I put the wrong chip in my iPod, so no Nike+ for us, but we were running based on times not miles so I wasn't too upset, although I do like to know my pace so I was irritated.  Then I hit play for the music and the headphones didn't work!

It was a pretty quiet run for me, Larry and I chatted a bit by my abs were so sore from the workout that just running without the chatting was enough for me :)  It had been about three weeks since I've ran and I felt amazing, it was a great run.  I did start to get covered in goosebumps right at the end, so obviously I was dehydrated after 30 minutes, the heat and humidity here in the summer is what kills me on runs.

My IT band felt great on the run, then it was pretty sore afterwards.  I have another run scheduled for Thursday night and then the Run the Flood race on Saturday, my last run for quite a while.

Today I'm pretty damn sore, my abs are like OWWWWWW, but in a good way.  I haven't started the full on dieting yet but I am making sure I have a protein shake in the mornings, this weekends grocery shopping will be me stocking up on my fuel foods and starting the entire process.

I got Kyle set up with the website promoting the show, we now have all the rules and regulations.  It is crazy, this is a natural show so I will have to do a polygraph test and a urinalysis to prove I haven't taken any enhancers.  Seeing the photos of previous shows helped me out a lot, I'm super excited and think that I will do well with this and can't wait to see the changes with my body.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Second huge goal.....

Well I completed a half marathon in April, now my training has officially began for the body fitness competition in October.

I'm so lucky to have my own trainer living with me, he even has been given permission to get mean with me and make sure I'm eating right, doing all my workouts and also having fun.

Tonight we took photos of me in a bikini, scary, not quite as bad as I thought it would be, did measurements and body fat.  I had a thought in my head of what I thought my body fat would be, I was pleasantly surprised :)

My body fat starting this journey is 19%!!!!  Woo hoo, I was expecting it to be at least 25%.

Tonights workout was the P90X Core Synergistics, love, love that workout, such a great one for me to start with.  My strength is so bad though, I can do 7 stacked foot, staggered arm push ups though, that made me happy, now when I can post that I did 7 prison cell push ups, I'll be super duper happy!

The biggest challenge for me with this will be the dieting, I LOVE food, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE food, especially greasy, deep fried food.  I will get to eat a lot of food just mainly, chicken, fish, some red meat and veggies, eggs, pretty much consuming protein in nearly every bite I take.

Thankful for the support I have around me while I embark on this huge goal, this is something I know I am made for, literally.  I love weight training and my body does too, just so, so happy to be getting this really started and working my butt off to try to place in the top 5 for my first show :)

Sand Volleyball - Training Time!

Finally, finally Larry and I have meshed perfectly and we won all three of our doubles games last night.  It felt good to play so well and have all my confidence back, I even had a couple of good spikes!

Still wish I could magically grow at least a couple of inches taller, but I can still get above the net :)

Tonight is my first official night of training for the figure competition in October.  I'm so ready for it!  Stress, stress, and more stress caused a weight loss of 11 pounds, not in a good way obviously but at least I'm not needing to lose any weight now I just need to get my muscles and lines perfected :)