Seeing some improvement in health . . . finally ;)

[Jiffer]

I haven't been around here in a while again. As many of you know I've had some health issues that derailed me from the kind of riding I was doing a year and a half ago. Adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, low hormones across the board and more. I went from riding pretty fast, lots of climbing, a handful of centuries a year, a few road races in 2010 to riding 5 to 10 miles at . . . oh . . . 10-12 mph on as flat of terrain as possible. I could physically do more, but if I did, my symptoms of fatigue and blood pressure dropping when I stand would worsen.

Well, I'm still working on all my issues, but my symptoms do seem to be a little better. The black out sensation when I stand is way better, which is directly related to adrenal fatigue. My actual feelings of fatigue, while still there, are a little better. My TSH test results came back showing a closer to normal number. Still not normal, but moving in the right direction now and the best results so far. My vitamin D was WAY low and is now close to the low range of normal. I'm waiting for results from all my female hormones. Next week I'm having my mercury levels tested and will probably begin mercury detox as I believe it may the source of ALL my woes.

I've been testing out what kind of riding my body can tolerate. I've had some mishaps and realized I needed to back off, but over all, I'm doing what feels like almost normal kinds of rides . . . in between super easy and short rides. Trying to find the right balance. But I'm seeing some progress and this makes me very happy.

What is pretty cool is that my muscle memory is definitely still there. I did a 36 mile ride on PCH (flat) drafting my husband at an overall average of 18 mph (which means we were going 21-22 most of the time), and, while it was a pretty hard ride for me, I did okay. And my legs weren't killing me during the ride or the next day. However, I did realize that this ride was more than I should have done when I tried to do the club ride the following week and didn't feel so great a third of the way through and rode back to the car at a moderate pace with my husband. All part of the experimenting process. But the point being, once my health is back in order, I know my muscles will be there to get me where I wanna be again and hopefully a much stronger rider than I ever was before.

[Bike Writer]

That's good news Jiffer! I'm sure it made you feel great to get out on a ride like that, it was a good morale booster even if the consequences showed up the following week. It's still gotta make you feel very good. It's tough to be on the sidelines

With your determination you will be riding as in days gone bye, perhaps even better!

[azfiddle]

Glad to hear it. Hope you continue to improve and get back to where you want to be.

[OakLeaf]

Good news! So glad you're seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there - hoping you're back to normal ASAP!

[Sky King]

A new cycling friend of mine was telling me about her challenges and she totally believes she has Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I had never heard of it but in researching is does sound like similar issues.
Fingers crossed with your seeing success. Meanwhile, relax and enjoy the shorter slower rides, go pick some new routes so you don't have to compare your new self to the old self.

[Jo-n-NY]

Glad to hear you are doing better. It sounds like you are in a good frame of mind and doing the most important thing by listening to your body. My motto is something is better than nothing so whatever ride you are able to do would be fine in my book