This is a First for Me...

I haven’t been on my bike since early April, other than a couple basic FLoops two weeks ago.

I woke up one morning feeling pretty normal, did my usual routine and went to work. About 10 am my hands felt like ice cubes. By 2 pm I was sitting at my desk with a jacket on and still shivering. Every night I was getting up to pee every couple hours. My resting pulse is 25-30 beats per minute higher than normal: About 90 bpm instead of 58-60. About 7:30 pm it all went away until the next morning about 10 am...

This went on for about three weeks before I figured I’d better go to the doctor. So last Thursday I did exactly that.

Doc did a visual exam and found nothing. Ordered every blood test under the sun (why can’t a phlebotomist find my veins? I have a spectacularly multi-hued bruise on my lower right forearm); they took 7 vials of blood. I asked if they were going to leave me any to get home on….

She also ordered x-rays of the cervical spine since (I didn’t know this) the nerves controlling the hands run right through there. Also a consult with a neurologist next Monday.

So of course, today all symptoms are gone. The doc has not contacted me about any adverse lab results, and it’s been 6 days so I can only assume nothing was wrong.

I’ll still do the consult Monday, but this has been the weirdest thing ever. My pulse is still slightly elevated, but not too much.

I tend to hunch my neck between my shoulders on the road bike, and I’m constantly looking up, which means my neck is unnaturally bent.

Hopefully this month off the bike fixed it and I can get back on and pay attention to my riding posture.

 

Best wishes, Greg!

 

That's bizarre. I hope it has worked itself out, whatever it was.

 

Thanks for letting us in on your troubles... Hopefully, though, they are now behind you.

 

Wow.....that's bizarre.

Hopefully the bug you had ran its course.

 

It's those lil gnomes I tell ya ...

 

Hope your troubles are behind you I really do, these are warnings we should act on quick" but I know most of us don't, including me, it's a good reminder to check w/ our doctors frequent.

 

Hope you feel better! Health issues can have a physical and psychological effect, lookin forward to a report back that all is good.....

 

When you're ready for some company on a slow tour of the Floop, give me a call...

 

Hope it's nothing to worry about RwS, and thanks for sharing !

 

It is the Floop.....maybe he contracted it there.

 

One way or the other the Floop will make you give blood.

Hope all is well RWS.

 

Glad to hear the symptoms have calmed down @Runs with Scissors , but good you're having it checked out thoroughly anyway. Nerve stuff is complicated, I've learned, with my wife having weird stuff (diagnosed as crps) going on since a rotator cuff surgery over a year ago.
Best of luck for full recovery and hoping that it was just a temporary pinch or something for you.

 

For those interested: blood work came back showing pre diabetes and anemia. I get to have them stab me again in a week - damn vampires. Watching my diet, no more beer, daily vitamin and iron supplement. Hopefully that will keep it in check.

This is not the preferred way to approach your ideal weight. I'm down to 160 lbs. Hitting the treadmill for 40 min every night for exercise.

 

Glad you got some answers. Make those dahm Doctors treat for a cure and not just the symptoms!

 

Thanks for the update... And I'm glad you have some answers. Give a call when you're ready to jump on the bike and want some company!

 

Glad your getting some idea what's going on and at least a start of a treatment

Anemia sucks, I too have to take an iron supplement, it's helped me quite a bit. Funny (not haha) how these things seem to randomly hit as we get older. Beware you youngsters! (less than mid 50's)
Good luck getting back to some semblance of normal, and back on the bike!

 

Do high altitude treatments. That'll push the red blood cells.

Caution: I am not a doctor and I have no idea what I'm talking about. But I once read that altitude gives you more red blood cells, and red blood cells have iron, so therefore I am qualified to give you serious medical advice.

 

Doesn't dirt have iron in it? Go ride your bike and "eat some dirt" ...

Let's hope this stays at bay RWS.

 

Train high, sleep low. Or is it train low, sleep high? I misremember.

I rode the FLoop today. Just a basic Floop. 11 miles and 970 feet or so. I used to be able to ride the FLoop and the extra stuff on just a couple bottles of water. Apparently no more. I considered the Panorama extra credit and realized I was just too hungry. This is gonna take some getting used to - not to mention refiguring what I have to take with me on the ride.

But then, I haven't ridden my bike in three weeks...

 

Update #2: I got blood drawn again this past Friday. I guess I'll see the results middle of next week (everything is online these days, ain't it great?) and I'm willing to lay odds that I'm not actually pre-diabetic. I will say that the daily multi-vitamin and iron supplement, combined with a not-too-difficult diet, seem to be making a large difference. I don't feel as burnt out on the rides I've done lately, including today's B* ride. And I'm down to 159 lbs, which is actually just about perfect. High fiber, low fat, low sugar and no beer diet is awesome. I have the willpower to stick to it, too.

My heart rate is back to normal, 56-60 bpm while sitting at my desk and on today's B* ride I kept it under 165 except the last climb to the golf ball - that's frickin' steep and deserves a high heart rate. Today's BP after the ride was 115/66 - this is an amazingly low reading for me. (I bought a blood pressure tester 4 years ago when told I had high BP). Today's ride on 3/4 of a large water bottle, 1/4 small bottle with 1st Endurance, and no extra food.

All the symptoms have disappeared. I made an appointment with my doc for mid June to go over the labs and give me some answers.

Oh yeah, the nerve conduction test showed no nerve damage or degradation.

I was screwed up for four weeks and no one knows why, including me. I'm going to blame it on the beer.

I think I'm back to normal. Now if I could just figure out what normal is...

 

That is great news... We'll need to do a GMR and Lower Monroe ride in the near future.

Of course... I need my bike back.

 

Thanks!!

I'm thinkin' GMR - Mt Baldy Village - Lower Monroe....that's a great 6,000+ ft ride. And several miles, to boot.

Get Salsa to replace your frame. That El Mariachi seems to serve you well as versatile as it is. If'n I was in the market for a new bike I'd seriously consider one of those.

 

I'm hoping they come through... I've been poring over frame geometry numbers of other bikes, just in case, but the el Mariachi still ticks all my boxes.

 

Ask @bigringrider101 what he thinks of the Salsa Cutthroat. I believe he demoed one yesterday.

http://salsacycles.com/bikes/cutthroat

 

So,we're blaming this odd episode on beer? Or would that include any alcohol? Just curious. My friend with Parkinson's won't drink beer, but other forms of alcohol he does fine with.

Here's to the good times rolling, rws.

 

Nice looking frame, but "no can do SS".

 

Ahhh......I see.

 

I figure the beer is the likely culprit. Can't prove it, though.

It's much more likely to be the empirically proven low iron in the ol' bloodstream. I researched it - a low iron level can cause a high hemoglobin A1C reading, which is the benchmark test for diabetes.

 

I obviously need to find a different doc..this one still hasn't reviewed the lab results. Which means I can't see them.

I need a doc who rides a bike.