Arcadiagt5On this penultimate #RamenTIME of 2024 I thought I’d share some thoughts on my #TransientIschaemicAttack recovery journey.
Back in September 2023 when the #TransientIschaemicAttack happened I was over 100kg, and basically hadn’t been under 80kg for as long as I could remember. Then I started on the #LiteNEasy diet.
Now, I will stress that whilst #LiteNEasy #WorksFORME it won’t for everybody. I am essentially THE target demographic for them: I basically never cook (and never have, really), have no dependents, so I’m only feeding myself. So prepared meals delivered in a single box once a week is ideal.
So, fast forward 12 months and I’m far enough below 80kg that **I’m** shocked by how well I’ve done by mostly sticking to the #LiteNEasy diet with moderate indulgences to keep me sane(ish)
Along the way my daily dose of #Atorvastatin (cholesterol control) medication has been halved, TWICE, to (currently) 20mg. Although I’m also taking Vitamin D supplements (given that I have two skin shades: pale rider and incipient skin cancer, I’m not going to get Vitamin D any other way).
#Aspirin is also dead to me as a painkiller - I’m taking 100 mg as a blood thinner with breakfast.
But in terms of where I am NOW, instead of laughing hysterically at the idea of EVER getting down to 80kg, I now have a) the luxury of thinking that 80kg is too heavy for me to be and b) a PLAN, that I KNOW WILL WORK, to get down into the mid/low 70s whenever I get too close to (or over) 80.
That… feels good. I like being in this position. And that’s even before you get to possibly the best bit of all.
OK, my father died of a heart attack when he was 50. Certain people on here may remember how dazed and confused I was at my first #SwanCon lo these many years ago. That was why.
In the aftermath of the #TransientIschaemicAttack I was asked to get an #EchoCardiogram done. That’s essentially an ultrasound of the heart, followed by a consult with a cardiologist.
The nurse doing it was non-committal (because liability) but the cardiologist was very straight forward when I saw him a week or so later: Everything was good, and so long as I kept doing what I was doing diet/exercise why, he would probably never need to see me again.
That’s… just… that’s GODDAMN.
For a male of my family and generation, already 8 years older than Dad was when he died of a heart attack, that is ABSOLUTELY [EXPLETIVES DELETED] FABULOUS news.
Medical news just doesn’t GET better than that.
Related: my eldest brother (who I spoke to a fair bit in #Perth when I was there for Mum’s 90th) didn’t really celebrate his 50th for that reason, he celebrated his 51st instead.
So, yeah, that and my consistently good blood pressure are things I’m really happy about.
So, yeah, as 2024 comes to an end, I’m really happy with my health this year, and I feel #EntirelyJustified to have the indulgence that is #RamenTime once a week. Xmas will probably blow my weight out but I’ll be back on the lite meals afterwards to bring things back under control.
As noted above: I have a plan, and the plan will work. That’s a good place to be.
I hope I didn’t bore people too much with all this health talk, but I’m in a good place right now and wanted to share how I got there in case there’s even the slightest chance it might help someone else.
On which note: if you do have any questions, just ask and I’ll do my best to help.
That should be it for this unexpected #Ramentime thread
Dread Pirate (Tom) Roberts@arcadiagt5 It’s good to hear. I remember seeing your posts around the time the attack happened.
So it’s just great to see how things have improved since then.
@troberts Thanks, I really appreciate that.