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Healthy Sport Review
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Ok now. It has been many many days since I blogged about health (mainly due to my personal health challenges) but I am trying to get back into blogging again because, well, I just want to blog. A few things happened lately : I got immersed into programming, updated web sites and became a little lax on the exercise front.
I started on biking/cruising as well. I want to say biking/cruising because I am not yet getting into road cycling - I am a little careful (as you can tell) about switching from one exercise mode to another. Is it necessary? For me yes because I am already in my 50s and accident at this age is worse than in my 20s, which just reminds me of a current rehab patient I am treating. She was very healthy (and she states, there is not a single extra fat in her body) and was cycling everyday as an active person. Well, one day, she collapsed while biking ending in brain injury and ended with craniotomy. I thought, “All this for trying to be healthy?” So my friends, don’t blame me for being too cautious but my unfortunate life is the one dealing with all these accidents. And even granted that this type of accident happens in 1 out of a million, still, to me it looks frequent because I see the same patient everyday.
So what was the culprit? She told me in her very thin voice that it was dehydration. Apparently she already knew she was hypotensive and yet, she did a road cycling without carrying water with her. That, combined with very hot Florida weather, she fainted while cycling and voila! Head Injury. Healthy Sport Rule: Dehydration drops blood pressure some more!!!
Seriously and I mean seriously, do not tempt fate. You can never be too careful. A few points to ponder:
First, know you health numbers: sugar, cholesterol, BP, heart beats (like palpitation). And address them ASAP with your health provider.
Second, be alert of different sensations: chest pains, sudden abnormal tiredness, dizziness, numbness, slurring, ‘weird’ perception of the world, sudden forgetfulness ok, these are BIG common sensations that can alert you, BUT, also consider silent or subdued symptoms: little pains, mild dizziness, ‘that weird feeling’ such as worsening balance, feeling like floating in the air, darkening of the world in your perception, and stop immediately until either the symptom gets away or if not, seek immediate check up with your MD.
Of course I am talking only of symptoms that are related to active lifestyle (since there hundreds of other symptoms unrelated to activity that you should also take seriously i.e. stool bleeding, lump anybody?) And my point is really to be ‘self aware’ constantly because in our 50s (especially) the body begins to suffer what it is predisposed to suffer.
Take me as an example: despite all the hard workouts, dieting and living a relatively healthy lifestyle, I still ended with Diabetes because of my family history. That is why--
Third, know the medical history of your biological parents and their parents so you can immediately have yourself checked for them. I have family history of stroke, hypertension, kidney disease and diabetes, so go figure what I am constantly checking.
Fourth, your body will thank you for it and best of all, your insurance provider will love you for it and you will certainly cut the cost of healthcare in this beloved USA and rest assured that this country will thank you for that if you are proactive with your health.
Fifth, continue the fun, the exercise, the right food, family and peace of mind.
Diabetic Journey 7
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I have not been as active as I used to in blogging but here I am again and this time, my whole life program is a-changing. There is good news and bad news for me. The good news is I lost 15 pounds through running and dieting. The bad news is, that was not enough because my lab readings were bad. A1C is 8, LDL 130, BP hyper. I told the MD that for the last three months I did my best to work on my diabetes through diet and exercise. Unfortunately my best isn't enough. That is the beauty of medical check ups. No matter how healthy you look, you can still be deceived. Here I am 5 pounds below my BMI and yet, I feel like a walking stroke candidate.
Now I have to take low doses of metformin, lisinopril and lipitor. These are standards for diabetic management. And the reason I say my whole life program is changing is because now I have to factor-in the effects of these medications to my current dieting and exercising. And believe me, there are adjustments to make.
The truth is, diabetes progression and its impact on the body is inevitable. Diet and exercise are controllers meant only to delay its worsening and prevent its complications but like it or not, especially in cases when it is hereditary and pathological, time dictates diabetes course and there maybe a few who can eradicate it from their systems (most likely they are diabetic due to bad habits but not due to heredity)but eventually it will attack via its complications.
But unlike other diseases, it can be managed. A diabetic is different from other patients: he becomes his own doctor, his own nurse, his own nutritionist, his own personal trainer because each individual has his own unique way of dealing with it. And that is the beauty and ugliness of this disease. It is manageable but it requires significant attention throughout the day. You check your blood, you watch your food, you keep active and sadly, you need to take your medications regularly. And if you are like me who loves running and active lifestyle, you need to manage also the side effects of medications in relation to your activities. Most of all, you avoid stress.
And some old rules do not apply anymore. Whereas before I could be careless with my running, I've ran in the past without sleep or food or even water, now that is a big no no. Nowadays I check my sugar before and after exercise. I check my BP before and after exercise and lately, I am very particular about eating something and hydrating a lot when I run.
This is a new challenge I am happy to face. It will encourage me to learn more about the disease, how to deal with it, experiment with it and most of all, share my experience with all I encounter. Diabetes is not the end of all that is fun and joyful and good quality in life. It is not something that should frozen you in living a full life. It just requires the person to become extra vigilant, more experimental, more disciplined and more in control of his body. I am now in my second week of medications and my body seems to adjust better with them compared to last week when I felt something 'different' when I ran after medications. My system has gotten adjusted, it seems. It's all about finding that fine line between what is safe and good and great to be diabetic and alive versus what is not.
My runs are usually in the ranges of 4-5 miles 4 x per week. I was careful initially but as of last time, I felt much more comfortable and within my target pace. I will talk more about this as I blog along.
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