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Handruin

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Sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope something goes your way some day. Best of luck to you.
 

mubs

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Best Wishes for getting well at the earliest, Lunar. I'm getting personal here and don't know the specifics of your situation, but not all surgeries are bad, eh?
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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Maybe he's finally having something done about that superfluous third nipple. ;)

I had to take down a file server for one of my customers this morning. After I told my contact over there that I was doing it (at 8:05 on a Monday morning), he put my on speaker phone so I could tell EVERYONE not to do any work for about a half hour right at the beginning of the work day. I got a round of applause. Totally worth it.
 

CougTek

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Apparently, having a great cardio does nothing for blood pressure. I've just have mine measured. My heart rate is only at 52ppm, but my blood pressure is at 136 over 74. Despite the fact that I've trained more regularly recently and that I've cut sodium to a minimum in my food for several years, my blood pressure still often spikes. No way I'll start taking pills for that because once you start this, you can't stop.

Oh well, dying from a heart attack is still better than dying of cancer.
 

Chewy509

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LM, sorry to hear about your troubles...

Had a crap week myself... The microwave is playing up, the Blu-Ray player died, two DVD players are acting up, the car needs new tires (and lack of cash), and my wife on Saturday was told there is a 99% chance she has MS. She just needs a Lumbar Puncture done to confirm a few things, as the MRIs are showing very-very small lesions (almost too small to see, so they are not 100% on the MS diagnosis, but are using the LP to confirm the inflammation of the spinal cord and test on the fluid itself).

The good news it's in the early stages, so treatment should mean a somewhat normal life for the next 10-20 years, but looks like she'll be a stay-at-home mum for life now... Now just need to tell the family...
 

Chewy509

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My heart rate is only at 52ppm, but my blood pressure is at 136 over 74.
Incidentally, my dad has a similar issue. Always run 10km and half-marathons until his mid-40s, and cut back to 5-10km runs every second day for fitness when not working on their property. Found he had high blood pressure and high Cholesterol despite the doctor telling him he was one of the fittest 55 year old's he'd seen recently. Cut out a few foods he liked, and took some medication and all is back to normal. (He turned 60 this year).
 

ddrueding

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Chewy, sorry to hear about your wife's issues. I hope things go as well as possible.

WRT blood pressure; mine is in the 150-something over 90-something. So don't feel too bad ;)
 

jtr1962

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Apparently, having a great cardio does nothing for blood pressure. I've just have mine measured. My heart rate is only at 52ppm, but my blood pressure is at 136 over 74. Despite the fact that I've trained more regularly recently and that I've cut sodium to a minimum in my food for several years, my blood pressure still often spikes. No way I'll start taking pills for that because once you start this, you can't stop.

Oh well, dying from a heart attack is still better than dying of cancer.
It's normal for BP to increase slightly as you get older, and it shouldn't affect your health. Too many doctors go by readings and want 70 year olds to have the same BP as 20 year olds, then put them on pills if their BP is only a little high. And don't feel bad. I just took mine about 15 minutes after a 21 mile ride. 144/90, pulse 52 bpm. Granted, I just ate two bags of Doritos in the last few days, and I'm probably dehydrated from the ride, but those aren't exactly stellar readings. I should take my BP right after waking up. A few years ago when I did that it was consistently around 100/60 and about 45 bpm. I wouldn't take pills, either. That's a downward spiral where you eventually need more pills to counteract the side effects of the pills you're already taking.

BTW, I have a problem now which I hope someone here might have an answer for. I've been doing 400+ miles a month since July but I don't think I've improved my cardiovascular fitness by much. The problem is long before I can start stressing my heart/lungs my legs will start cramping. Could this be diet, or something else? Being Italian, I tend to eat a good amount of pasta and tomato sauce. There might be other foods I eat which could be an issue also but I just don't know.

Lunar, I hope you get through your health issues and Chewy, sorry to hear about your wife. I guess whatever issues Coug and I are having pale next to these.
 

ddrueding

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My suggestion for getting your cardio up is to ride less responsibly. Sprint from a standstill in a high gear, run the cadence way up, or maintain your cruise pace while on the tops. You won't be able to go as long, but you should run into VO2 max much sooner.

The #1 way for me to get there is to talk while climbing a hill (much to the amusement of the other riders). I know you ride solo most of the time, perhaps singing?
 

jtr1962

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I actually like the singing suggestion but I hope nobody is within hearing distance. :oops: I already sometimes run my cadence up, and I'm on the tops 95% of the time because riding on the drops kills my hands and my back. I'll try your idea of upping the effort past my norms the next few rides and see what happens. Usually when I go above my steady pace, it's only moderately (i.e. 25% ) above it, perhaps at a rate I can maintain for a few minutes, such as when climbing a hill. I occasionally do higher effort intervals, but they're not planned. Rather, it's just when I'm trying to hit a light before it goes red. I should try to build in some intervals which are maybe 50% or more above my steady pace. Hopefully your theory will be sound-I'll run into my VO2 max before the leg cramps start.
 

ddrueding

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This is where riding with a group pays off. The groups pace may be above or below your steady pace, and it is up to you to "dig" into reserves and find enough to keep up. Finding some kind of training aid that forces you into a higher or lower pace at random might be beneficial (RNG-created multiple of your base value, changing every minute in real-time? You could build that.).
 

CougTek

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...and my wife on Saturday was told there is a 99% chance she has MS. She just needs a Lumbar Puncture done to confirm a few things, as the MRIs are showing very-very small lesions (almost too small to see, so they are not 100% on the MS diagnosis, but are using the LP to confirm the inflammation of the spinal cord and test on the fluid itself).

The good news it's in the early stages, so treatment should mean a somewhat normal life for the next 10-20 years, but looks like she'll be a stay-at-home mum for life now... Now just need to tell the family...
That's an horrible news. I hope she doesn't take it too badly. There are people who are able to look at the bright side of everything, no matter the obstacles and complications they face. I hope she's like that.
 

Clocker

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Chewy509- Sorry to hear your bad news. My neighbor across the street from me was diagnosed with MS about 5 years ago, also early on. She is doing great, is very active, plays women's hockey as well as does long distance bike riding. She lives a very normal happy life! Also, it looks like there is good progress being made in the search for a cure:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-30/breakthrough-scientists-closer-multiple-scleroris-cure/4987984


Wishing you the best possible outcome for your wife & kids and your entire family.
 

Chewy509

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Hi Guys,

Thank you for the support. Unfortunately, she's not taking it too well, as it just topped off a whole slew of health issues she's faced over the last 3 years. But, I'm of the opinion, it's early days, it does change anything immediately so why worry about it... I'm just hoping my attitude rubs of her a little bit.
 

Mercutio

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That's a tough row for anyone to hoe Chewy. We all know that we will age and our bodies will deteriorate, and most of us can face that with relative good cheer, but it's another thing entirely to find out that one's body and brain aren't on board for the whole trip. :\
 

Handruin

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LM, sorry to hear about your troubles...

Had a crap week myself... The microwave is playing up, the Blu-Ray player died, two DVD players are acting up, the car needs new tires (and lack of cash), and my wife on Saturday was told there is a 99% chance she has MS. She just needs a Lumbar Puncture done to confirm a few things, as the MRIs are showing very-very small lesions (almost too small to see, so they are not 100% on the MS diagnosis, but are using the LP to confirm the inflammation of the spinal cord and test on the fluid itself).

The good news it's in the early stages, so treatment should mean a somewhat normal life for the next 10-20 years, but looks like she'll be a stay-at-home mum for life now... Now just need to tell the family...


Sorry to hear of your recent troubles (and your wife's). I have friends who are managing MS so I've read a bit about it and talked with them about it. The disease as I'm sure you've read can be very different for each person. My fiancee also had a scare related to MS a couple years back when she began looking into her migraines. Initial MRI's showed lesions in her brain which then had her begin seeing doctors that specialize in MS. After a bit of uncertainty they started to form the opinion that the lesions were the result of the migrains and not from MS. None the less it's not an easy diagnoisis to stomach for anyone and for that I'm sorry for the anxiety, sadness, and coping that comes with this crappy disease. I think we also found that artificial sweeteners like Aspartame were contributing to her migraines. I had read an article online and while reading the comments of all places I saw someone mention the association between migrains and artificial sweeteners. Since stopping them she hasn't had a migraine. Hopefully this reduces the lesions.
 

Mercutio

Fatwah on Western Digital
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I am working on an HP Pavilion 15t, a model that's new enough to have Windows 8 on it.
On it, there's a sticker that says it has "Award Winning Support."

And that really does beg the question: Who are these people who give awards to HP's support and for what are these awards given? Are these people being treated for their obvious illness? Or does HP somehow think that "Nearly Adequate" is a meritorious accomplishment?
 

LunarMist

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Hi Guys,

Thank you for the support. Unfortunately, she's not taking it too well, as it just topped off a whole slew of health issues she's faced over the last 3 years. But, I'm of the opinion, it's early days, it does change anything immediately so why worry about it... I'm just hoping my attitude rubs of her a little bit.

That's just awful for a young person; I'm so sorry. :cry:
 

mubs

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Chewy, terribly sorry to hear the news. I wish the very best outcome for your wife and for your family as you deal with this.

Guys, don't be silly about your BP. It's not called "silent killer" for nothing. And jrt, despite all you think, medicine is making progress and one aspect of that is that they've lowered the thresholds for safe levels of BP and sugar. There's nothing stupid about being on medication. I'd prefer that any day to having a stroke. I woul;dn;t at all mind dying if it was quick. What I'm terrified of is living disabled. (Coug: hint)
 
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