Need Runners Feedback

I have a dual lead Biotronik Evia DR-T for Bradycardia and my low setting is 60, high setting is 140 - implanted 2 years ago. The surgery went seamless and I was back running within 4 weeks. Last year I had my best year running, steadily improving my times and feeling great. This past January I had an incident where my PM went into a backup mode some time during a flight to Florida. It was never determined if airport security caused it or if the Relief Band I wear for motion sickness caused it but it happened. I noticed right away while running in Florida that my legs felt super heavy and my breathing was very intense but I had no idea why until a couple of weeks after I got home I had a prescheduled annual check-up with my EP and he couldn't get any readings and had to call in the Biotronik reps. They reset my PM back to where it was last known to be. I have not been the same since. My legs still feel heavy, my breathing very labored. I have lost 3 minutes in my 5k time ( I have run 12 of them so far this year with no improvement) and I feel like I struggle to even finish, needing to stop and walk several times. There has been no change in my fitness routine or diet yet I have gained almost 20lbs! I mentioned to my EP and he says it's not the PM. So I bought a Fitbit Charge HR just to see what my heart rate actually is when running. I ran a 5k last night and my heart
rate spiked up to 167bpm at the very beginning but then dropped down to 134-136 which felt good. But it didn't stay there very long at all and went back up to 156-158 and stayed there. I took several walk breaks towards the end and it would drop down to 130's but immediately back up to high 150's when I started running again. My Max heart rate should be 175bpm and 80% of that should be 140bpm. My average heart rate for the run was 152bpm. I ran 33 minutes (last year was running 29 minutes). So my question is - is this normal for running and is my EP right, it's not my PM but something else causing this?

8 Comments

Very Frustrating...

by valley01 - 2015-09-16 07:09:23

The weight gain started well after this started so I think the weight gain is a result of this, not that this is a result of the weight gain. I do see my GP next week for my bi-annual and I'm sure she will want to discuss 20lbs since I seen her last in March. I guess I just can't figure out why I ran almost effortlessly prior to the incident and ever since the incident I feel like my heart is going to explode out of my chest when I exert and my legs feel like anchors. I didn't gradually lose time, I lost 3 minutes almost right away and have not been able to make any improvements back, instead it seems to get worse every race.

thoughts

by Tracey_E - 2015-09-16 07:09:51

Have you checked with your GP to make sure nothing else is going on? It's easy to get tunnel vision and blame it all on the pacer when something else could be going on, esp the weight gain. That could be your problem running, try carrying a 20# sandbag when you run. If I did I know it would add more than 3 minutes to my time.

Double and triple check that your settings were restored to EXACTLY what they were before. Maybe ask them to put you on a treadmill in their office and watch what happens.

Don't trust the fitbit to tell your rate. Always count manually because monitors are notoriously inaccurate with us. Also, don't stress over the nuances in the numbers too much, the percentages and recommended targets are meaningless to most of us. We don't have normal heart rates so rather than focus on the numbers, go by how we feel.

I'm going through the same thing right now, my legs turn to lead, my stamina is off and my times suck. I had a stress test yesterday and they were so happy my rate easily went up to and stayed at 170, I felt great and was chatting with them the whole time. About the time my legs turned to lead, they had everything they needed so they stopped the test and told me what great shape I'm in. Uh, not helpful!!! I can exert just fine, what I can't do is maintain it. I talk to my doc next week, but he saw my rate going up, my bp and O2 sat were perfect, my echo and blood work were good, so to him I'm fine. Frustrating.

settings

by Tracey_E - 2015-09-16 08:09:29

If it was that sudden and that profound, it sure sounds like settings.

Still look into the weight gain. You're still running and burning the calories, it's not like you went from active to couch potato and I would imagine you haven't changed your diet. I could see a pound or two, but 20 is significant.

I agree

by valley01 - 2015-09-17 01:09:24

20lbs in 7 months is very significant, especially for the amount of time I put in running and fitness classes at the gym.

Biotronik

by gleesue - 2015-09-17 06:09:53

I have the same PM set at 50-140. When I first got it I had trouble with the RR. They finally shut it off. I can get my HR over 140 and that means my heart is actually doing the job. I consider that a good thing.

I used to do a lot of running, 10k's. But, I remember I would have weeks where I felt I just couldn't run. My legs were heavy, my breathing not right. However, it would always go away, eventually. I just chalked it up to a little burn out. A lot of training and running races is mental.

Because of arthritis, I bike now, but I still have those periods when it seems to just take more effort and I feel like I'm going nowhere. Hopefully it could be just a period where your body is just saying slow down for a while.

As far as the weight gain. Have you changed your eating habits? 20 pounds can make a bid difference. With the weight gain and poor times it could be a mind thing. But I would check out every angle.

Good Luck,

Jerry

Rate response?

by golden_snitch - 2015-09-17 06:09:59

Hi!

Do you have one of the rate response sensors switched on, either CLS or the accelerometer (motion sensor)? If you can go much higher than your upper rate limit of 140, it sounds like you do not need the rate response. But if it's switched on, although you don't need it, it can cause problems because it interferes with your own rhythm.

If you run at 152, instead of your calculated 140, I'd not give this too much thought. That's not really a big difference. The CLS sensor in my Biotronik Evia gives me non-stop 160 whenever I run and my EP says it's okay.

Best wishes!

Thanks

by valley01 - 2015-09-17 07:09:52

I'm not sure if the RR sensors are on or not at this point but I will ask the question. That's a good point! I thought I was just having some burnout but I really did look forward to running in Florida and the weather was ideal for a Michigan girl :) Then at home I just never recovered. My eating habits are the same but my exercise is not as far as speed/distance. I'm actually logging more time to cover the same distance and my exertion level is crazy high. I tried dropping the amount of calories I was taking in to turn the weight gain around but that made the exercise even worse. I typically eat 1,500-2,200 calories a day with 1 - 2.5 hours of some type of exercise combo (running, zumba, step aerobics, cardio kickboxing, fast walking, etc). Anything under 1,500 calories and I have no energy at all. I have been trying to get more protein the last month but haven't noticed a difference.

Not a doctor but...

by brushmore - 2015-09-19 12:09:16

I really suspect something else is going on besides the settings. That seem very unusual for an active person to gain that much weight in such a short amount of time! All I know is that if I gained 20lbs I would loose way more than 3 minutes off my 5K that's for sure.

You know you're wired when...

You participate in the Pacer Olympics.

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I, too, am feeling tons better since my implant.