Well, I have passed the halfway mark in my treatment for my pulmonary emboli! Three more months and I can come off the anticoagulants and start riding again. (I can't ride while on anticoagulants because of the risk of cerebral hemorrhage - a bad thing - if I fall. However, I can spin on a stationary bike, run, hike, whatever else, as long as there's no big risk of head injury. If I fall while running, I will bleed more than a normal person would, but I probably won't die.)
Yay! (I hope - things can always change, but right now the indicators are good.)
I've noticed a fair amount of hair loss in the last few weeks - Velogirl had warned me about this. It is a side effect of the Coumadin I am on (which is literally rat poison.) Fortunately, I have a lot of hair! :D
I also have secondary pulmonary hypertension - high pulmonary artery pressure caused by the blood being pumped out of the heart meeting up with the resistance of the clots. I had a second echocardiogram a week or so ago and the PA pressure was much better than it was in the hospital (but still high), which indicates the clots are getting smaller. Yay!
Since I can't run, and I am sort of a freak anyway, I am doing the Nike Women's Marathon on 10/22. I decided to do this about six weeks ago and to raise money for Leukemia/Lymphoma Society after having dinner with a leukemia patient friend of mine who went through a really rough time over the winter and spring and is now much better (again, yay) and I decided, well, heck he's gone through such a hard time, I have to get off my butt and do SOMETHING. Raising money for the cause always picks up my spirits.
My doctor said with the pulmonary artery pressure issue that I might have less endurance than I otherwise would. This was after I told her about the marathon and she looked at me as if I'd started speaking Chinese to her. I haven't noticed a loss of endurance - but I'm keeping my exercise intensity level lower than before.
So that's my story.
