Just Happy to Ride

When I was diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my left calf last month, I really wasn't sure what lay ahead. I just had a vague notion of that whole "you can end up with a pulmonary embolism and die VERY QUICKLY."

Well, almost a month later, thankfully that hasn't happened. Every so often there's a little gurgle or other off sensation, and I ponder how long it takes for a massive clot to go up the femoral vein and vena cava, through the right atrium and ventricle (is my recollection of physiology correct?), to the pulmonary artery, then BANG! I don't know, and basically I've stopped worrying about it.

In reading the accounts of other fit folks (might even say athletes) struck out of the blue by DVT, things looked kind of grim. Either it was "here I am, 2 years later, still swollen and hurting, nothing helps..." or "I've come to accept that I just won't ever be the same." What the hell? This sucks. I didn't ask for this! I joke with my wife that this is a "sympathy DVT" since she, just having undergone ACL surgery, was the one at risk for a DVT, not me.

So, a month-ish into what's supposed to be a 6-month course on Warfarin, where am I? I'm not injecting Enoxaparin (Lovenox) into my belly anymore, although that really wasn't that bad. My INR, a measure of my blood's tendency to clot, is very close to where it's supposed to be, and I just made what I hope is the last adjustment to my Warfarin dosage. I'm able to do what I need to do at work, including copious travel (I now move my legs around A LOT when I'm sitting in a car or on a plane). My leg normally feels fine, and the constant "incipient cramp" sensation I had for 3 weeks pre-diagnosis went away quickly once I started treatment. Every so often the calf feels a little heavy, and I prop that leg up or take off my sock and it feels better.

Exercise definitely helps the leg feel better. The first gym workout, an easy walk on the stepmill with a 120-BPM heart-rate limit, went OK but the leg felt like it was having chills. That hasn't really recurred since. I went skiing last weekend, and while my leg swelled up badly in the boot the first day, I took the hint and loosened the boot whenever I could the second day, and the leg felt fine (it helps that it was much colder and windier, and therefore conducive to frequent breaks!). I realized while skating and poling on a flat into a fierce headwind that my heart rate was sky-high, probably over 160, so I'm not really worried my heart is going to explode anymore.

Today's big news was my first ride post-diagnosis. It was a Chinook day, cloudy but not cold, so I decided to take the plunge. I rode to work, then took a roundabout way home and even saw the kids at karate. Here's the data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/151802530 . The heart rate data for part of the ride was messed up because I wasn't sweating enough, but other than being in less than stellar form, I felt good. Good enough, in fact, to feel like building fitness during my treatment is a reasonable goal. I'm not trying to get into racing shape, but I want to aim for riding Copper Triangle in August. I always register at the last minute, so I have plenty of time for sanity checks. We'll see. However, I just noticed this year's jersey design is cool... Motivation!