richard cleaver

Archive for the ‘health’ Category

Tinnitus Update

Mar.01.2010

I received a lot of emails on my recent post about tinnitus. Thank you for the kind words of support.

What is different for me this time around compared to when the tinnitus first emerged three years ago? I do not have the same intensity of emotional response to the condition. Is the condition challenging? At times, you bet it is. Last night, I awoke around 3am and I was shocked at the intensity of the ringing noise in my head. However, I was able to control the “fight or flight” response and I resumed sleeping. Three years ago, I would have been overcome with anxiety and nausea. Three years ago, I did not sleep at night.

The process of habituating to the condition seems to be going faster this time as well.

No question that it has been a setback in terms of quality of life. It is hard to describe just how terrible the condition can be when it is present in the conscious mind.

But for those who did write to me, I am doing fine and I am coping much better these days.

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Tinnitus

Feb.20.2010

Tinnitus first emerged in December of 2006. It was a horrible time. A very dark, despondent time in my adult life. I posted about the experience here.

My last post on the subject was here. I was pretty proud of how I had adapted to the tinnitus. It no longer impacted my life and I did not notice it most of the time.

Until this week. On Tuesday, something happened and the tinnitus roared back into my left side. Although I did not have the same degree of emotional response as when it had first emerged, the symptoms of intense nausea, headache, stress, lethargy, discomfort and despondency all merrily jumped in. In a way, I was hoping that I had come down with a flu. Despite experiencing some severe nausea, no other flu symptoms emerged.

The intense ringing is back. Overshadowing life.

I suppose I am most upset because I did not think that the tinnitus would re-emerge. I am not the only one to have it return with a vengeance. And I have to be optimistic that I can re-adjust to the perception of the sound. It took about six months to adapt the last time it emerged. I’ll just have to accept it and learn to deal with it again.

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Tinnitus

Dec.04.2009

It was almost two years ago that tinnitus emerged. A particularly dark time in my life as posted here.

I have had several people ask me about the battle with tinnitus. And, although it is certainly always there, it is never really there. In other words, I do not notice it most of the time. And for the times that I do notice it, I do not have any emotional response. To me, when I do perceive tinnitus, it is a bit like the noise of a computer fan. Present but not really noticeable.

The best counsel I can give to someone suffering from tinnitus is what I took from this website:

1. Don’t despair or Panic. The condition can be overcome. You will need to be patient and realize there will be setbacks, trials and tribulations as you move forward to your goal of habituating or no longer perceiving the Tinnitus. It is comforting to note that the vast majority of people who have Tinnitus are eventually able to habituate it. If there is no fear, anxiety, worry or negative emotion associated with Tinnitus sound then the autonomic and limbic system in the brain won’t perceive the sound in a negative light and the sound either goes away or is habituated (the sound is there but not noticed no longer perceived). If it is noticed it is no more annoying then your air conditioning fan or computer fan. In the beginning if there was no extreme physical or emotional stress the best course of action would be simply to ignore the sound and not to worry about it. For those that have had the condition for a longer period of time Auditory Habituation using sound therapy may be more appropriate.

2. Don’t believe all the negative literature, negative counseling and horror stories. When a physician tells you “You need to just live it” don’t believe it. There is a lot that can be done and there is a lot of reason for hope. The “wall of worry” followed by a negative emotional response is exactly what makes the condition worse. Unfortunately, many “Resources” out there don’t provide sufferers with much hope and practical suggestions. As a result the condition simply worsens.

3. Avoid trying so called “miracle cures” that are not supported by medical research. If a miracle cure fails your stress and anxiety levels will be increased. Again, the “wall of worry” followed by a negative emotional response is exactly what makes the condition worse.

4. Despite all the negative press more likely than not Tinnitus from a loud event (Disco Tinnitus) may go away as long as you don’t worry and develop a deep emotional response to it. Let it go its course and get plenty of rest and sleep. The worst case in most situations is that after treatment you will habituate or be able to ignore the Tinnitus. The noise may be there but most of the time you won’t notice it or perceive it as annoying. This is the subject of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). See attached links if you wish to find a professional registered in this technique.

5. No regrets. Although it is good to understand the events leading up to the tinnitus don’t beat yourself up over the cause or whether you could have avoided it. Don’t beat yourself up over events in your control that you feel have made it worse. Practice a no regrets policy; it is all water under the bridge. These kinds of things happen and you would be surprised to find out how many people you know have been affected by Tinnitus in some way. It is good to determine what the cause was as this will allow you to understand the condition and move on. Was it a loud noise, severe emotional or physical stress, or an illness that led to the onset of the ear noise?

6. Early on, it is often better to avoid using ear plugs or other hearing protection unless you are in fact protecting yourself from expected loud noises especially if you are hypersensitive to sound (i.e. people talking, loud children). The continual use of earplugs may trigger hyper sensitive hearing or Hypercausis in some individuals. (Consult your physician)

7. Focus on the positive. Despite widespread literature to the contrary the worst case is that with treatment you will habituate the sound after a period of time. This means eventually most of the time you won’t notice it. Studies have shown this occurs despite the pitch of the sound or the volume level. The best case is that the sound simply goes away.

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High Blood Pressure

Jul.26.2009

The Heart and Stroke Foundation offers a comprehensive online test with respect to managing a healthier lifestyle. It was not that long ago when my doctor recorded a blood pressure reading of 150 over 92.

Yesterday my blood pressure was 113/61. My resting heart rate was 51 bpm. This site provides a chart for assessing healthy resting heart rates.

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Advil Overdose

Apr.20.2009

It was two weeks ago today that I went in for the dental surgery. Complications arose which led to a remarkable amount of pain. Aside from the prescription painkillers, I was also taking a lot of Advils. How many? 54 over the past 11 days. Basically 5 capsules a day. 2,000mg a day.

That is a lot of ibuprofen.

Never in my life have I taken so many Advils. The packaging on the extra strength Advil Liqui-Gels recommends no more than 3 a day and to consult a physician if symptoms persist longer than 5 days.

Side effects from taking too many Advils? Yes indeed.

Advil can increase your risk of life-threatening heart or circulation problems, including heart attack or stroke. This risk will increase the longer you use Advil. Do not use this medicine just before or after having heart bypass surgery (also called coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG).

Seek emergency medical help if you have symptoms of heart or circulation problems, such as chest pain, weakness, shortness of breath, slurred speech, or problems with vision or balance.

This medicine can also increase your risk of serious effects on the stomach or intestines, including bleeding or perforation (forming of a hole). These conditions can be fatal and gastrointestinal effects can occur without warning at any time while you are taking Advil. Older adults may have an even greater risk of these serious gastrointestinal side effects.

Call your doctor at once if you have symptoms of bleeding in your stomach or intestines. This includes black, bloody, or tarry stools, or coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds.

Do not take more of this medication than is recommended. An overdose of Advil can cause damage to your stomach or intestines. The maximum amount of Advil for adults is 800 milligrams per dose or 3200 mg per day (4 maximum doses). Use only the smallest amount of Advil needed to get relief from your pain, swelling, or fever.

Via.

I did consult with my surgeon to ensure that I was not overdoing the Advils. And today I have taken just one Advil. The pain is not as intense now and hopefully I can reduce my consumption of Advil to zero. The only side effects that I have noticed are problems with balance.

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No More Painkillers?

Apr.13.2009

Unfortunately not last night. The pain from the surgery came back with a vengeance and I had no choice but to take the hard meds. And throughout the day today I was in a lot of pain.

This evening, the pain pretty much went away. I still have a sore jaw. Or perhaps a stiff jaw. But no intense stabs of pain. I sure hope that continues tomorrow. My main concern is that even dropping the hard meds, I am still downing four or more 400mg extra strength Advils a day. I have never done that before. And I’d like to get off those pills as well.

It is a nice to have relief from the constant pain. Amazing how much it changes my outlook on life.

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Fun With Numbers

Apr.09.2009

Since I started the weight loss program on January 17, I have lost 29 pounds.

Here are some numbers that tell me exactly how I got there.

Taking all of that data into consideration, we can make a few observations if the science of weight loss holds true.

So if I had followed the weight loss program without exercise, I would have lost 16 pounds over the 82 days.

And based on the above math, I should have lost 29 pounds. Which I did. Obviously I kept careful records of what I ate and my exercise program. It feels good to have achieved a significant amount of weight loss in a relatively short period of time. I am also really pleased with the base building that I did on the bike during the off-season. It means that I am much better prepared for the summer riding. And losing all that weight means that I can maintain a faster pace on the road and that I can climb hills a lot faster.

I still have more weight to lose. In another three weeks I will gradually increase my intake to about 2,300 calories and let the cycling burn the last few pounds over the summer months.

Technically I have been on a very low calorie diet as my net daily average was 870 calories after exercise. Oddly enough, I never felt hungry. To move up to 2,000 calories net each day will seem like a huge increase in food. The trick is to continue to measure the calories and, of course, to make healthy food choices.

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Bernstein vs. Cleaver

Mar.28.2009

Bernstein vs. Cleaver. A medically supervised diet without exercise against a self-directed diet with exercise.

My wife has lost 33 pounds since we both started this journey at the end of January. I have lost 26 pounds. My wife is within a couple of pounds of her target. I still have another 10 pounds to go.

I use CalorieKing Nutrition and Exercise Manager software. I track every single piece of food that I eat. And I track every single exercise session. My wife uses a paper form that Bernstein provides to track her food intake. She does not track exercise and she did not engage in any form of exercise.

My exercise program consisted of heavy aerobic spinning — I followed Troy Jacobson’s Spinervals program with my road bike and fluid trainer — 7 to 10 hours a week. I have been burning roughly 600 calories each day through exercise. I have been eating on average 1,400 calories per day. This does bring my net intake down to 800 calories which is borderline in terms of low caloric intake. My weight loss has been averaging 2.6 pounds per week.

Needless to say, I could not keep up to Bernstein. The fact that my wife has achieved such impressive results through diet alone is interesting. Her net daily caloric intake has actually been higher than mine although her food choices were very narrow. Primarily vegetables and proteins. I have been very sensible in terms of the quality of foods I have been eating but I have not followed Bernstein’s meal plans.

I thought that the combination of exercise and strict monitoring of calories would allow me to keep pace with the Bernstein program. It did not.

However, the base building that I have done over the past three months has put me in the best physical condition for riding since my days of racing over thirty years ago. I really do feel terrific.

And it does feel great to get back into 32-inch pants.

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Pain and Deprivation

Mar.04.2009

As mentioned in some earlier posts here and here, the weight loss journey in our household continues. My wife, following a medically supervised program, and myself, following a pain and deprivation program. My wife has lost 25 pounds to date. And I have lost 19 pounds. My wife is within 15 pounds of her target. I have a bit more to go.

My daily intake is hovering around 1,400 calories or so. That is the deprivation part of my program. When I factor in a typical spin on the bike, which burns about 800 calories, my net intake is 600 calories or so.

However, I feel great. I am no longer in pain from the daily rides and I do not have a sense of being deprived.

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