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Heart Issues - The Story Continues

8/9/2015

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About 3 to 4 weeks ago I started to get more pains in my heart. Even more than before and for longer periods. And it just never went away. Yes there were times when there were no sharp stabbing pains but it was more like a very low level pressure and it always seemed to be there.

I started to get really worried and of course, that did not help things.  I got really freaked out. 

I knew that this time, I HAD TO DO SOMETHING. 

So I set out on a plan to get it all under control

  • I now get 8 or more hours of sleep a night. 
  • I am taking walks at least 3 days a week for 30 minutes or more. With time I will increase the number of days and the length of the walk. 
  • I switched my days I work out of the house so I have two of the together, in the middle of the week.
  • I am also changing my eating in hopes of loosing more weight (yeah, I still have not lost all the weight from when I had thyroid cancer)
  • Slow down (i.e. more sleep) and relax more and not worry or STRESS as much.
  • I got a FitBit HR so I can track my HR and see if there is a correlation between stress, HR and the pain. The HR also tracks my sleep and exercise. 
  • I bought a portable Quadrio Blood Pressure monitor that syncs to my phone to track my BP, and again to see if there is a correlation between stress, BR and the pain. Well this is a given but I also want to see how my sleep, exercise and HR correlates to my BP. 
  • And I cleared part of my metal work schedule which I wrote about here. Unfortunately when I did this, some of the people I notified got rather nasty about it, which if you think about it really caused MORE stress.  Time to move on. 
  • Remove toxic people and situations from my life.

I have had the FitBit HR on my wrist for just over two weeks. I like the interface on my phone and via the browser on my computer and seeing my stats is great feedback. I have been using the BP monitor for a week and it is very easy to use and again the UI on the phone is good. 

So how's it going.  

I am seeing that the nights I get 9 hours of sleep is when my BP has been the lowest first thing in the morning. The days where I have had little shots of pain - yup my BP is well above normal but not in the danger zone, and my HR is very elevated as well. I am enjoying my walks at lunch AND I have lost 5 pounds.

My goal is to loose a total of 20 pound but right now loosing 10 is what I am aiming for. I am also hoping that with time and IF the pains go away, I can get off the BP meds the cardiologist prescribed. Hey, if I can't well at least I will be better off health-wise.
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Care Package(s) or as we call it..

8/2/2015

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... Running the Nazi gauntlet.

Most times when we (Erich and I) send care packages across the pond, we are sending it to Mike & Elisa who, if you don't know already, live in the northern end of Scotland.   

What do I usually send them?
Well items like: 
  • Japanese cooking ingredients
  • Electronics that cost twice as much over there even before VAT
  • Certain herbals that she can't get or require a prescription such as melatonin which requires one in the U.K., go figure

But this time the care package is going to Albania, for my sister Suzie. BTW, She now goes by Sue but to me she is and always will be Suzie!.  Why is she there? Well she is following a long held dream of working with the Peace Corp and so almost two years ago she started the application process and she is now in Albania. 

What is in this care package?
  • Walnuts
  • Dried Cranberries, Blueberries and Apricots
  • Peanut Butter
  • Some silicone baking items
  • Ranch Dressing mix
  • Herbal Fruit Teas
  • some family baking recipes
  • and a few other bonus items

She does not write on her blog every week but so far the posts have been really informative and in some ways funny. Here is a link if you want to read about it. 
Picture
The shopping cart with items for the care package
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    About Laurie

    Laurie lives in central Texas with Erich, a.k.a. "the shop elf", her hubby of 35+ years and Cowboy Boots, the cat; her metals studio including 100+ hammers and 300+ chasing tools; her sewing studio which has a sewing machine, a closet filled with fabric, hundreds of skeins of embroidery floss and perle cotton, silk and other materials, and Mrs. King the dress dummy; two weaving looms, assorted knitting needles, tubs of yarn; lots of books; plus a plethora of geeky tech gadgets, computers, and more.

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