Outdoor Job (letter carrier)

I'm a 49 y/o male with a my first ICD implanted on December 31,2013 due to a V Tach episode on Dec 23. I got the million dollar workup (EP study, echo, MRI, angio..) and the results all pointed to a healthy heart with a 65% EF with no physical abnormalities. I'm on Sotalol, Losartan and Carvedilol.

My E.Cardiologist released me back to work as a letter carrier this coming Monday. He says my only restrictions are full contact sports, marathons and boxing. My doctor must have a lot of faith in me and my ICD. I just wish I have the same confidence. I'm going to take it slow and monitor my progress.

Any advice?

5 Comments

Your are right..

by Duke999 - 2014-02-15 02:02:05

Take it slow and monitor your progress. And you will find out that there are more restrictions than what your doctor or anyone else tells you. You will find out what works and what doesn't work for you. Me, for example, I used to love driving fast with my Porsche, in excess of 100 miles/hr because I used to love the adrenaline of fast driving or racing and now, I had to give that up too because when I have too much adrenaline, it kicks my butt so bad with a nasty episode of arrhythmia. So, my dream of being a race car driver, UFC fighter, boxing contender, Olympic wrestler, etc and etc is gone. I'm just keeping it real and not going to paint a rosy picture for you.

However, I do wish you a speedy recovery and take good care of yourself.

Duke

Mail Bag

by Marie12 - 2014-02-15 02:02:28

If you carry a mail bag, I think that will be a bigger challenge than anything and not because of the weight but because if you tend to wear it over the left shoulder it could be a little painful. An EF of 65 is awesome. Consider yourself lucky that you have an electrical problem that can be taken care of by your new little device. Plumbing problems are much more difficult. This is still all new. Give it time (at least six to eight months) and you will realize your doctor is right and you can resume a very normal life.

I'm double the size of the average runner.

by guitarman - 2014-02-15 11:02:07

Dr. was probably being facetious when he said no marathon running coz I'm at least double the size of the average marathoner.

I was admitted to the hospital weighing 250 pounds on December 23rd. Being only 5'6", that's really heavy for a mailman that walks 5 miles a day but I attribute my surviving my V Tach episode to my 'mailman heart'. As of today, February 15, I'm down to 233 pounds. My goal is to get down to @ 180ish. I'm big boned and I never weighed less than 180 pounds even while I was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.

I'm hoping to get to my target weight some time during summer. I've got a white 2012 Camaro RS in the garage waiting for me to become as sexy as she is.

Surprised

by KAG - 2014-02-15 11:02:31

that your Dr restricted marathon running. There are several marathoners on this site. Contact sports are probably not a great idea just because you have a very hard object in your chest and it would hurt like crazy if it got hit hard.

Like Duke said, your body will tell you how you're doing. Just listen to it. I have a feeling that in a few weeks you probably won't remember you have your device.

All the best
Kathy

Take it slow and monitor

by Theknotguy - 2014-02-15 11:02:46

If you were a letter carrier before, you've got all the muscles for doing a lot of walking already in place. Just use them. Walking is one of the best exercises for heart patients.

I usually do the pause test. If something doesn't feel right I just pause and see what's going on. Usually nothing. Then keep on doing what I was doing.

You'll get some thumps, bumps, tickles, tingles, and other strange feelings. But that's normal. As long as you aren't running a fever or getting a lot of pain you're probably OK.

Hopefully, within a very short time, you'll start feeling better and be back to better than you were before the PM.

Hang in there. Life gets better.

Theknotguy

You know you're wired when...

You can feel your fingers and toes again.

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