GREAT NEWS FROM THE DOCTOR'S

[chris250]

ok so I went to the doctor's yesterday..my regular doctor and my heart doctor...Both right in a row...my regurlar doctor (who works closly with my heart, and my hrt doc) Was very impressed by how well I was doing...He basically told me that my energy levels will get better as I get more use to my B.P. being lower than what im use to...

My heart doctor did an EKG and it showed my heart is now functioning at 40% vs. the previous 20% when I went into the hospital a month ago...I gotta say, I think the high B.P. from all the anadogren was the culprit of why my heart was so bad...(the extra water weight...I've lost about 20lbs in the last month)

Now my question is to maldorf and pekkerwood...Is how do I go about training now...Im actully kinda scared about training all out hard again...and the doctor's just said take it easy and work into it...What do I need to watch for...How much am I at risk ?

chris

 

[Pekkerwood]

Chris:

Congrats on such a big improvement so quickly! I was not aware an EKG could measure Ejection Fraction. Are you sure it was not an UltraSound/EchoCardiogram? BTW I showed zero improvement (at 15) for ninety days, next test in 90 days was 35-40 and next test was 45-50 which is where I remain (hopefully).

As far as training I obviously am not qualified to give medical advice, and my cardiologist in no uncertain terms told me not to lift. In cardiac rehab we maxed out with 5lb dumbells and I did stick with the program long enough for them to let me at those bad boys!

My general doctor told me to do what I felt like and my body would govern. Please understand I took nine months off totally. When I began training wore my heartrate monitor and did not let me heartrate exceed 120. Exceeding 130 becomes hard to do if you are on Beta Blockers.

From the research I did and physicians I spoke with (many), I decided to lift weights with restricitons. I basically eliminated the largest "strains" on my system. For me it meant I cut back drastically on poundages and elimated "big lifts", i.e. Squats and Deadlifts as these were where I strained the most, held my breath the most, and turned "reddest". I was and am trying to reduce blood pressure spikes.

I do 12-15 rep sets, never dropping below 8. Controlled, smooth reps, with emphasis on breathing and remaining "loose" instead of all contracted and tense. I do contract the muscle worked obviously but my main emphasis is the smooth movement and stopping when my heart rate monitor gets out of range. I no longer wear the heart rate monitor lifing, and rarely during cardio as I gotten "adjusted" to knowing what my limits are. . I limit my workout to four sets until warm and then three sets of all other exercises. I limit myself to 40 minutes. I do cardio daily for thirty minutes. If I skip anything its weights now, and not the cardio.

My tests did not drop one bit from this style lifting and I have maintained for well over a year at the same 45-50% level. Still in heart failure but barely. I added HRT and it also did not have a negative effect but I monitor hematocrit closely and have to stay at 100mg or below for it not to creep up on me.

I space my general doctor, my HRT doctor, and my cardiologist out so I see someone every quarter at least and get my bloodwork.

My suggestion ( which will not be followed) would be to wait until you plateau in your recovery meaning you hit a number and stay there for a couple months, then add in lifting. 1. You insure you are not hindering your recovery and 2. It gives you a baseline to see if things you add have a positive or negative effect.

I am very happy for you Chris. While people certainly empathize with us I'm not sure you can exactly know how it feels until you face it yourself. Be at Peace my friend.

 

[nickman1978]

that great man ...

 

[chris250]

Chris:

Congrats on such a big improvement so quickly! I was not aware an EKG could measure Ejection Fraction. Are you sure it was not an UltraSound/EchoCardiogram? BTW I showed zero improvement (at 15) for ninety days, next test in 90 days was 35-40 and next test was 45-50 which is where I remain (hopefully).

As far as training I obviously am not qualified to give medical advice, and my cardiologist in no uncertain terms told me not to lift. In cardiac rehab we maxed out with 5lb dumbells and I did stick with the program long enough for them to let me at those bad boys!

My general doctor told me to do what I felt like and my body would govern. Please understand I took nine months off totally. When I began training wore my heartrate monitor and did not let me heartrate exceed 120. Exceeding 130 becomes hard to do if you are on Beta Blockers.

From the research I did and physicians I spoke with (many), I decided to lift weights with restricitons. I basically eliminated the largest "strains" on my system. For me it meant I cut back drastically on poundages and elimated "big lifts", i.e. Squats and Deadlifts as these were where I strained the most, held my breath the most, and turned "reddest". I was and am trying to reduce blood pressure spikes.

I do 12-15 rep sets, never dropping below 8. Controlled, smooth reps, with emphasis on breathing and remaining "loose" instead of all contracted and tense. I do contract the muscle worked obviously but my main emphasis is the smooth movement and stopping when my heart rate monitor gets out of range. I no longer wear the heart rate monitor lifing, and rarely during cardio as I gotten "adjusted" to knowing what my limits are. . I limit my workout to four sets until warm and then three sets of all other exercises. I limit myself to 40 minutes. I do cardio daily for thirty minutes. If I skip anything its weights now, and not the cardio.

My tests did not drop one bit from this style lifting and I have maintained for well over a year at the same 45-50% level. Still in heart failure but barely. I added HRT and it also did not have a negative effect but I monitor hematocrit closely and have to stay at 100mg or below for it not to creep up on me.

I space my general doctor, my HRT doctor, and my cardiologist out so I see someone every quarter at least and get my bloodwork.

My suggestion ( which will not be followed) would be to wait until you plateau in your recovery meaning you hit a number and stay there for a couple months, then add in lifting. 1. You insure you are not hindering your recovery and 2. It gives you a baseline to see if things you add have a positive or negative effect.

I am very happy for you Chris. While people certainly empathize with us I'm not sure you can exactly know how it feels until you face it yourself. Be at Peace my friend.

Your right it was a UltraSound/EchoCardiogram, but the doctor was very happy with the improvements....What is the difference between the two...??

 

[mo chuisle]

Great new, Chris! I'm glad your heart has improved. Remember, it's still functioning WAAAY below capacity, so keep resting and focusing on your recovery.

 

[Bolan]

20-40% in 1 month........ hummmmmmm, dont let the competitive bug leave you just yet!!!!

 

[diesel158]

Excellent

 

[elvisman99]

That is great news Chris!! I cant beleive your EF% went from 20 to 40,, Remarkable!! You gotta feel like you have some breathing room now!! I dont remember if you said before Chris but was your heart actually enlarged? and if so how much percent dilated was it?

 

[mexbeast]

i am happy to hear you are getting better, and like pekkerwood said i don't know how it is; but do wish you a speedy recovery and hope you get back to normal one day soon!

 

[LATS]

GOOD NEWS BRUTHA.. now for all of you out there.. if you have high bp while on cycles it is very easy to get meds to control it.. this will save you a lot of trouble later on..

 

[Bolan]

GOOD NEWS BRUTHA.. now for all of you out there.. if you have high bp while on cycles it is very easy to get meds to control it.. this will save you a lot of trouble later on..

AMEN!!!!!!

I check my BP 3x's a day, add them together then divide by 3 to get my daily BP.
If My BP goes to high for a week or so...I back down on the supps.

 

[Pekkerwood]

Your right it was a UltraSound/EchoCardiogram, but the doctor was very happy with the improvements....What is the difference between the two...??

Chris:

The EKG is looking more toward the timing of the "electrical system" or conductive system of the heart whereas the echo is bouncing ultrasonic waves off your heart creating a visual and audio "model". Its sort of like a depth finder on a fishing boat. These kind measure physical dimensions, etc as well as ejection fraction etc. Both are important but the Echo gives many times the information of an EKG and is the current "standard" for those of us monitoring our heart problems.

Please give serious consideration to very light training until you "plateau" in your recovery. It may be very important to you mentally and physically to know in the future what your baseline stats are before adding in stressful training to the picture. I say mentally, because if your improvement stalls and you have been stressing you heart while it is still damaged, you may never know how far you could have recovered. If you get a baseline EF number for ninety days, start training harder, and get it again ninety days, you can see what the effects are.

BTW I would ask my doctor about Coreg CR especially if he is upping you to 50 mg. He can probably prescribe the CR which means "controlled release" and better even out the dosing.

PWood

 

[hard2core2]

Great news!

Hey Chris..its GREAT to hear that you health is improving fast!! good deal.. please keep everyone posted on your continual progress.

How have you changed your diet? I read a post on here that you are just eating regular these days? and not really concerned about your protein content etc. Are you going to modify your diet in the coming months? Do you or are you going to work with a dietitian that will be able to assist you along with your MD's recommendations?

your in my prayers Chris.

Ivor

 

[Alex A]

Hey chris.. glad your doing much better man....your health and family is number one!

 

[tonage]

Hey chris did you have an enlarged heart,cause last year my doc told me i have an enlarged aorta,but it wasnt real bad he said,shoul i cut back on the intensity of my work outs and i was gonna start hgh and and currently on deca,test and dbol.i dont have insurance anymore so i havent went back for a follow up.is it ok to go with low doses?

 

[mr_black]

ok so I went to the doctor's yesterday..my regular doctor and my heart doctor...Both right in a row...my regurlar doctor (who works closly with my heart, and my hrt doc) Was very impressed by how well I was doing...He basically told me that my energy levels will get better as I get more use to my B.P. being lower than what im use to...

My heart doctor did an EKG and it showed my heart is now functioning at 40% vs. the previous 20% when I went into the hospital a month ago...I gotta say, I think the high B.P. from all the anadogren was the culprit of why my heart was so bad...(the extra water weight...I've lost about 20lbs in the last month)

Now my question is to maldorf and pekkerwood...Is how do I go about training now...Im actully kinda scared about training all out hard again...and the doctor's just said take it easy and work into it...What do I need to watch for...How much am I at risk ?

chris

Hey Chris glad to hear you are doing well.

I just found that my heart is all jacked up, I have an appoinment for Cardio in 3 weeks

My EF% is 50 but what worries me most is the Aortic Root diam. of 45.7mm NV=20-37mm. My regular doc is very concerned and has me seeing the cardiologist, but cant get in for 3 weeks.

LVDiastole LVEDD 66.5 NV=(35-55mm)
LVSytole LVESD 45.0 NV=(24-38mm)


My primary care doc says I will need my Aortic Vale replaced dont know when they are thinking of doing it though. I'll guess I get a better idea when I have the cardio appt.

 

[mitochondria]

holy smokes 20%, im sure im behind on your past post events that lead up to that with the bp and all but what was this all about

 

[fsm]

Great news! Hoping yyou continue to improve.

 

[chris250]

Hey Chris glad to hear you are doing well.

I just found that my heart is all jacked up, I have an appoinment for Cardio in 3 weeks

My EF% is 50 but what worries me most is the Aortic Root diam. of 45.7mm NV=20-37mm. My regular doc is very concerned and has me seeing the cardiologist, but cant get in for 3 weeks.

LVDiastole LVEDD 66.5 NV=(35-55mm)
LVSytole LVESD 45.0 NV=(24-38mm)


My primary care doc says I will need my Aortic Vale replaced dont know when they are thinking of doing it though. I'll guess I get a better idea when I have the cardio appt.

Let me know what the doc says...maybe maldorf and get in here and tell you more...im still learning alot of this

 

[chris250]

Hey chris did you have an enlarged heart,cause last year my doc told me i have an enlarged aorta,but it wasnt real bad he said,shoul i cut back on the intensity of my work outs and i was gonna start hgh and and currently on deca,test and dbol.i dont have insurance anymore so i havent went back for a follow up.is it ok to go with low doses?

Hey bro...I dont want to give out wrong advice...but your best bet is to see your doctor...and have it checked out...its not something you want to take for granted...you could end up like Maldorf or I ... not very fun