The body wants what it wants.
Doctor says no running until we figure out whatever is going on re: dizziness/ lightheadedness.
Treadmill stress test was a joke. 98th percentile for age and gender. Could have stayed on the apparatus longer, but medical staff said they had all the info they needed. Would have stayed on longer if they'd said that another minute or three would push me into a higher fitness category.
Felt a little dizzy for a few minutes after the effort though, which wasn't much of an effort.
Another test coming up soon, but not soon enough for me. Not exactly known for being patient when people get in the way of me getting what I know is within my reach.
There's some possibility that this might be an easy fix. Might not be related to issues with my health at all. The symptoms might be blood pressure med side effects. Started on BP meds in November, shortly after marathon 90. Dizziness might have started around the same time though not 100 percent sure.
Working out lowers your bp. That three hours on the treadmill right before I fainted? That was a tough, fast run. I took in limited water the first hour to mimic conditions at the Tokyo marathon, then might not have gotten enough fluids in those last two hours to make up for that. Dehydration also a factor? Possibly.
Then, long strenuous run ends, and I walk and drink for a bit after -- ten minutes or so. Then get off treadmill. Stand around talking with the physical therapist for a few minutes. During cool down and standing around, bp is probably falling, and perhaps exacerbated by the bp meds, falls too far and/ or too fast. And maybe that's why I went down.
There's a good chance I don't need bp meds. There's a good chance I was on the wrong dose or wrong kind of bp med. There's a good chance that the Tokyo DNF is not due to my head panicking, but bp meds holding me back. I'm off bp meds for the next week and recording my stats daily. Hoping for answers.
But it always comes back to the Tokyo DNF. Was the DNF a head issue or a heart issue? Or a combination of both?
And then there's this: Did I mention that I wasn't the first person to pass out at the physical therapist's office? A week before, another patient, female and about my age, also passed out. She wasn't working out heavily though. She was there for hand therapy. Like me, she went to the ER after. Like me, she got a clean bill of health. Crazy. Was there something in the air? Literally?
The more I learn the less I know.
Doctor says no running until this gets resolved. Great. Telling someone who's run their entire adult life to not run? Clawing at walls here. Now I get why my cats -- all indoor -- get so aggravated with me sometimes.
Easy fix when I get too aggravated by doc's words: picture myself passing out on concrete, head first. So I walk, mainly indoors on a treadmill but a bit outside too. I bike indoors. I ellipt a little but worry about getting my heart rate up too much. Walking seems to be the safest bet right now.
Another test in a few weeks. If I don't pass that, I guess I keep walking. Getting the okay to run would be better though. I have another marathon soon. This one I can walk entirely if I want. No big issues with time constraints. At this point, feeling super de-conditioned, so running the race in its entirety is out of the question even if I got the doc's okay to do so. But walk-running that race, even just a little bit, would be quite nice. A real confidence-booster. Something I need badly right now.
Glad I got this off my chest. Helps with the feeling of powerlessness, a little, to write this down. Now, I gotta run. Er. Walk. At least I still get to do that.
