PM or just me ?

Today I did some laundry. I had a basket of clean clothes that was pretty dull since I was a little behind from recovering (insert 10/22).  I estimate the basket weighed 30 pounds .

i carried it upstairs about 14 stairs or steps. 
 

i noticed I was slightly winded when inreached the top of the stairs.  
 

pre insertion that didn't happen- I'm a fit guy and while my heart rate would have naturally increased I wouldn't have felt it at all. 
 

I looked at my garmin heart rate watch monitor and heart rate was 105.... I assume that's accurate but can't be sure. 
 

hard to believe I have gotten out of shape that quickly ? Or ..... could it be my PM not supplying enough of a blood pump to meet that demand ?

or does it even work that way ?

from what little I understand this device detects movement and responds in anticipation of demand ..... maybe it doesn't respond or know I am carrying a 30 lb load ?

am I way off track on how this thing works? 

I have a level 1 block I'm told and my heart was beating too slow ..... the setting on the device is 60/150. 
 

people keep asking me if I feel better .... well I can lift my left arm overhead yet ....I do feel some light headed ness  and seem to have less stamina climbing stairs so I would say "No"

any insight as always is appreciated. 

7 Comments

how it works

by Tracey_E - 2019-11-17 09:10:58

It's a gas pedal, not a brake. If your rate went up on stairs before, it still will now. The pacer can't slow it down. It can make the ventricles beat when they don't keep up with the atria. If you are using rate response, it can sense motion and raise our rate for us when it doesn't go up enough on its own. If you are dependent on rate response to get your rate up, you may find the stairs get you winded because it doesn't respond that quickly. I ran both a 10k and a half marathon two weeks ago, did a 5k yesterday, went to Crossfit 5 days last week... and still will be huffing and puffing if I walk up the stairs. Frustrating but you get used to it. 

It's also entirely possible to lose condition that quickly. It doesn't seem like long but your body has been through a lot of changes, give it some time to catch up. 

Garmin may or may not be accurate. Always count manually if in doubt. I've never found a heart rate monitor that works for me but my apple watch is spot on most of the time. 

pumping

by Tracey_E - 2019-11-17 09:13:00

The pacer sends an electrical signal, mimicking what the heart should have done on its own. The heart responds by contracting. So our heart muscle is doing the contracting and beats are the same as they were before pacing. 

Thank u

by Pacer2019 - 2019-11-17 10:49:18

that is good information  that is quite an impressive schedule you are keeping ! A CrossFitter who runs ???? People I know say they do xfit ao they don’t have to run ! LOL 😂. If a WOD involves running they that a “recovery day “ - my friend who owns a box once got ao frustrated stopped posting the WOD if running was involved !

i lived the xfit lifestyle for 2 years until my family did an intervention on me —I once went 14 days in a row .... I wish I had the confidence in not dying to go back..... I wasn’t a big weight lifter but loved the WODs that we quick and intense leaving me in a heap on the floor.

im 3 weeks in now and wondering if I may end up being a mall walker at best .  Thought I could get back to my racquetball league by Dec 1 but am feeling like that may not be realistic .  I cringe to think I am become a pickle ball person 

What is your advice ? 

 

running

by Tracey_E - 2019-11-17 12:12:19

Gotta love the 21-15-9's! 

I used to be tempted to cherry pick on running days but that was before I dragged my daughter to our first race. I wanted to do something hard that I'd never done before to celebrate having the pacer for 20 years so I picked a race. Be careful what you teach your kids! I was thinking one and done but she had a blast, placed in her age group, and immediately started looking for more races. She's in grad school now and that's become our thing, we meet to do races together. I'm slow. Like, really slow and I run/walk, at the gym I don't go all out and rx is not in my vocabulary.  I cut back to 3x at the gym the two weeks before a longer race. And if the wod has a lot of running, I count that as one of my midweek runs. But yeah, sometimes I look at my schedule and wonder who the hell I've turned into lol. 

Dec 1 might be a little ambitious but you will get back to where you were. Probably better, because now your heart is beating like it's supposed to. Is heart block the only thing wrong? If everything else is healthy and the only problem is electrical, there's no reason to think you won't be able to do whatever you want after you heal. Ease back into your old schedule but you'll get there. 

My advice? Set your sites on the box. Seriously. Just have a schedule and plan your rest days. I work out 6 days a week, 4 or 5 if it's a race week. My doc is thrilled, staying fit is the best thing we can do for ourselves. We have electrical problems, we need to work hard to prevent plumbing problems. 

Yes

by Pacer2019 - 2019-11-17 18:55:44

Well ..... I had a plumbing problem 12 years ago at age 44 - quintuple heart bypass  ðŸ˜¬.  

That’s been my main motivation for pushing it so hard - trying to sprout new arteries 

Plumbing problem

by AgentX86 - 2019-11-17 20:40:23

I hear you.  I had a triple bypass five years ago, next week. I was 62 a the time. My wife and I started walking the stores (free heat) right after and I went to cardiac rehab after 12 weeks.  I continuously increased my time and now I'm walking about 500 miles a month.  There isn't any more time or I'd probably try for more.  I'm that dumb.  ;-) 

Awesome

by Pacer2019 - 2019-11-17 23:26:15

500 miles ! That’s very impressive... keep up the good work 

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