PTSD, Exercise and Weed

[Gypsy Nirvana]

I can resonate with the occasionally overtraining. I sometimes push the body with work and workouts to the point were I get sick... Yeah yeah, I know take it easy and it wont happen but but but it happens.. Which leads me to the recover after work outs.

I know I recover better the days after hard work if I continue using my body ( so long Im not sick ofc), a little activity atleast. Not getting cold, so the body dont need to use enegry on heating too..

So the question, does any have a habit and maybe some good tips and tricks to recover better/faster?

First you had best get a full checkup from a doctor - I recently did this due to suddenly having an incident where I felt my chest getting tight - and having difficulty getting the oxygen I need for exercise - so I had all my bloodwork done - which was normal - had a chest x-ray - an ECG to check the heart - and a 24 hour blood pressure monitor - which showed that my blood pressure was waaay over what it should be - and the Doctor diagnosed me with Cardiomegely - that's having a big/oversized heart - which was the reason for the incident - and the high blood pressure - so now I take one 5mg blood pressure pill per day - which the doc prescribed - and have to wait a month for a heart imaging appointment - to see if there is anything that needs doing with my heart -

- I do feel just a little bit better today - and hope that I can return to my regular workout schedule soon -

- You can't recover very fast from exercise if you do have blood pressure/heart problems - so best get it checked -

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

So - have been reading up on my condition - was told long ago - when I had been training (powerlifting) - that I had a bigger heart than most - and that my blood pressure was a bit 'high' - finally got to find out the probable reasons why - since the heart is just a muscle - and it gets bigger the harder you train - to be able to push all of that blood around - under pressure -

Athletes With Enlarged Hearts: Is It Harmless or Serious?
The difference between athlete’s heart and serious medical issues

When you train your biceps, quadriceps or other muscle groups repeatedly over time, your muscles grow stronger, bigger and better equipped to deal with stress put on them.
Something similar happens with your heart, which is also a muscle. Regular cardiovascular exercise makes your heart more efficient at pumping blood to your body. In the case of athletes who do a lot of very high-intensity training, the heart sometimes actually gets a little bigger.

The term “athlete’s heart” refers to a natural, subtle enlargement that can happen as the heart adapts to intense athletic training. By itself, it’s not a disease or a medical condition and doesn’t cause harm.

However, an enlarged heart can also be a symptom of potentially serious heart problems such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy or hypertension.
So when a serious athlete shows sign of an enlarged heart, it’s important for a physician to differentiate between athlete’s heart and a problem, say Co-Directors of Sports Cardiology Tamanna Singh, MD, and Michael Emery, MD. Sometimes it takes a sports cardiology expert to tell the difference.

Athlete’s heart or underlying condition?​

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disorder that causes the heart’s walls to slightly thicken. It’s a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes, so it’s important for athletes who have an enlarged heart to make sure they don’t have HCM.
A sports cardiologist looking to rule out HCM or another heart problem in an athlete would probably consider:

• The sport’s unique demands and training techniques. “Sports-related changes to the heart are often particular to age, race, sex and type of sport,” says Dr. Emery. “All can have different ranges of ‘normal.’”
• Results from tests such as an ECG, MRI, echocardiogram or stress test. “We are cautious in interpreting test results,” Dr. Singh says. “Most positive findings in athletes with no heart disease symptoms are false positives. That’s why we rarely rely on a single test. We will often design individualized stress tests that are specific to the athlete and the sport.”

Heart disease in athletes​

Heart disease isn’t common in athletes, but if someone has concerning symptoms such as fainting, excessive shortness of breath, chest pain or an unexplained decline in performance, those should be checked out. A sports cardiologist will evaluate whether those symptoms are harmless symptoms related to the sport or something more serious.
If heart disease or another condition is diagnosed, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of an athletic career.
“Detraining or quitting the sport is rarely necessary,” Dr. Singh assures. “Even athletes with a defibrillator can sometimes return to play. Sports cardiologists can discuss the pros and cons with the athlete and make a decision together.”
A cardiac exercise physiologist can also design an individualized exercise program with workouts that are safe for the athlete and effective for the sport.
“Our goal is to protect the heart, whether the patient is cleared to return to competition and training or directed toward noncompetitive activities,” Dr. Emery says.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/athletes-and-enlarged-hearts/

 

[Creeperpark]

Sorry to hear about your illness Gypsy. After working hard all one's life it is hard to just do nothing. You may need to stay away from the gym. Take some gentle walks or bike rides until you get used to your condition.

 

[herbgreen]

Yeah, that's the thing there The lifting is great and it keeps your youth Its great thing

Youre right its pumping up to the extreme may not be ideal

Try isometrics... Its really powerful and trains mind/muscle connections

This is one of my favorite trainer guys and I could spend all day looking @ his technics and muscle theory

Its really worth looking into ... I watch his youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/athleanx

 

[herbgreen]

Cannabis itself is dilator of arteries thus lowers blood pressure

RSO will do that over time Rick Simpson had high blood pressure until he started ingesting his oil regularly

Sounds like what you said enlarged from heavy lifting.

That Athlean X guy was trainer for a pro baseball team and he knows a lot...check 'em out!

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Sorry to hear about your illness Gypsy. After working hard all one's life it is hard to just do nothing. You may need to stay away from the gym. Take some gentle walks or bike rides until you get used to your condition.

I have been taking it easy lately - still walking a coupla miles per day - but not at marching pace - and in the gym - mainly just stretching and calisthenics and aqua exercises - gently - and it does look like my blood pressure is coming down - was 125/80 this morning - maybe these Amlodipine pills are working ?

 

[Creeperpark]

Amlodipine belongs to a class of drugs known as calcium channel blockers. It works by relaxing blood vessels so blood can flow more easily. Amlodipine is also used to prevent certain types of chest pain (angina). It may help to increase your ability to exercise and decrease the frequency of angina attacks.
You need to take this medicine at the same time every day for the best results. My ole lady says you need to watch your blood pressure closely at first when taking this med. She said it's easy to fall too low until your body gets used to it.
This med does have side effects but if the side effects are better than the original chest pain symptoms, it can prevent a stroke or heart attack. Once you start the meds you can't stop them without help from your doctor. Taking this med doesn't have to be a life sentence. I know people who changed their behaviors and were able to stop taking them after a while. Either way, don't stop taking them once you start, without a doctor's help.

Your heart's best friend is taking walks. The sequential rhythm of walking and your heart beating is the best medicine for heart patients' recovery.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Amlodipine belongs to a class of drugs known as calcium channel blockers. It works by relaxing blood vessels so blood can flow more easily. Amlodipine is also used to prevent certain types of chest pain (angina). It may help to increase your ability to exercise and decrease the frequency of angina attacks.
You need to take this medicine at the same time every day for the best results. My ole lady says you need to watch your blood pressure closely at first when taking this med. She said it's easy to fall too low until your body gets used to it.
This med does have side effects but if the side effects are better than the original chest pain symptoms, it can prevent a stroke or heart attack. Once you start the meds you can't stop them without help from your doctor. Taking this med doesn't have to be a life sentence. I know people who changed their behaviors and were able to stop taking them after a while. Either way, don't stop taking them once you start, without a doctor's help.

Your heart's best friend is taking walks. The sequential rhythm of walking and your heart beating is the best medicine for heart patients' recovery.

Good info on Amlodipine - its just a tiny 5mg pill - the Doc did say that if it doesnt work - he can up the dose to 10mg - every 24 hours - but it looks like 5mg is working - I feel calmer - and dont get dizzy spells now - so I'm heading out for the mile walk to the gym with the kids - and have a light workout - see how it goes - if I start getting that Angina feeling again - just stop and hit the showers - for a good cleanup and shave -

 

[St. Phatty]

Human beings have a tendency to take on Personal Projects until they are overloaded, and often the overload is Overwhelming Stress.

Once I was stretching at a gym in San Diego and this guy walked up to me and told me I had "changed his life". I should have asked for some stock options right there !

Turned out he ran a small Internet Provider, and was faced with 12 hours a day of alternating between dealing with customers and doing technical work, both problem solving and new system design.

Anyway, I am 5'7" and was about 190 pounds at the time, so sort of what he was saying was "I didn't know fat guys could do yoga".

So he started doing yoga and his work went a lot better, then he started another Internet company, a wireless one, and that became his "ticket to riches".

To be specific, I was doing the stretches from Ashtanga and Bikram style yoga that a beefy person could do, only about 1/3 of the Ashtanga stretches.

I think there's a lot to be said for mixing exercise, swimming, yoga, mountain climbing, skiing, and yardwork that results in exercise, etc.

 

[growshopfrank]

If you want to try something different in the way of cardio style exercise I recommend a UBE or upper body ergometer. What they are is basically is an arm bike you sit (or stand) and crank away. UBE's are fantastic for folks with shoulder wrist or elbow mobility issues as its low impact predictable movement is kind to your joints.
Most cardio focuses on your legs and lower body a good thing for time VS calories but it leaves out your upper body. A UBE helps balance out your exercise load on you body.
The one downside is that without music UBEing is boring AF. I can row 20k without music but about 3 minutes into UBEing without tunes I'm done

 

[Veggia farmer]

First you had best get a full checkup from a doctor - I recently did this due to suddenly having an incident where I felt my chest getting tight - and having difficulty getting the oxygen I need for exercise - so I had all my bloodwork done - which was normal - had a chest x-ray - an ECG to check the heart - and a 24 hour blood pressure monitor - which showed that my blood pressure was waaay over what it should be - and the Doctor diagnosed me with Cardiomegely - that's having a big/oversized heart - which was the reason for the incident - and the high blood pressure - so now I take one 5mg blood pressure pill per day - which the doc prescribed - and have to wait a month for a heart imaging appointment - to see if there is anything that needs doing with my heart -

- I do feel just a little bit better today - and hope that I can return to my regular workout schedule soon -

- You can't recover very fast from exercise if you do have blood presshad ure/heart problems - so best get it checked -

Thanks for the reminder! That is actually a very good thing to do, my mothers father had a oversized heart too. Not sure all why an such, he "died" under an military training once and was "woked" back to life when he was young man. Could be relative to that or training afterwards, but it got very big and he had some issues due to the heart all his life. Crossing fingers its not genetics.

Cant remmember the numbers but my blood pressure was on the low low side. So I could/can get dizzy if I stand to fast an such. Doc said at the time it could be because of blood veins(vessels?) could easily "stretch/ get bigger" for more flow resulting in low pressure to the head. Which now when I think about could be the reason why I sometimes get a headache after the gym if Im low on stimulants.... Love the coffee, and we talk about the heart... Errghh....

When that said... Good luck with everything you found out Gypsy and hope it will go as smooths sailing for you! <3

Watch for clogging the blood veins/vessels, but I already know you been very into diets lately! Still keto and fasting? 18hfasting/6heating

 

[Veggia farmer]

Human beings have a tendency to take on Personal Projects until they are overloaded, and often the overload is Overwhelming Stress.

Yup! Still learning the balance and getting there! Had almost a year now almost not growing and little work other work aswell. Had a big need to rejuvenate, but it feels very good to start slowly getting back to stuff again too! "Talking with a proud grin": Setting up a new grow room/rooms these days. Very fun to be back again!

 

[Chi13]

I recently began intermittent fasting. I was slightly overweight and after 6 weeks have lost 5kg, and am now just officially "normal weight". I have increased exercise as well. Feeling fantastic. Head is clearer and some old clothes fit again.

@gypsy, are you still doing keto diet? The reason I ask is that I read it can increase blood pressure in some people. Of course, I have also read the complete opposite as well. It's so hard researching diet as you get so much conflicting information. Good luck with your heart issues.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

I recently began intermittent fasting. I was slightly overweight and after 6 weeks have lost 5kg, and am now just officially "normal weight". I have increased exercise as well. Feeling fantastic. Head is clearer and some old clothes fit again.

@gypsy, are you still doing keto diet? The reason I ask is that I read it can increase blood pressure in some people. Of course, I have also read the complete opposite as well. It's so hard researching diet as you get so much conflicting information. Good luck with your heart issues.

After about one year and a bit of sticking to the keto/intermittent fasting - I gradually came off it - due to arriving at my targeted weight (200lbs) - and found that I had to eat a breakfast - or I would lose too much weight - and start to lose muscle mass - since just about all of the subcutaneous fat had gone -

- Due to this recent cardiomegely diagnosis - I have stopped drinking coffee (sadly 'cos I love it) - and my whole world seems to have slowed down - but maybe that's a good thing for now? - because I need to rest alot while my heart is being monitored and checked - and the medicine takes its effect - next appointment at the clinic is on the 15th November - for a blood pressure check - which now - with my new blood pressure monitor and cuff - is done twice a day - at 4am and 4pm - by myself -

Still I am doing some exercise - walking every day - and gym/swim (gently) - 3 times per week - trying to find that perfect balance with diet and exercise - whereby I'm not losing weight - nor gaining weight - but still managing to maintain a strong physique - at around 200lbs -

 

[herbgreen]

I love coffee

I dont know if I trust a substance that when I skip a day gives me a massive headache!

Try Ginseng tea

Beats coffee and if you forget to drink one day.....No problem!

Coffee can cause heart issues

Polynesian kava root

kava kava drinks

kava kava very good to calm nerves

kava is nice and relaxing without the excessive sedation

 

[Thighland]

If I do sport it needs to be exciting and a bit dangerous, this really puts on in the zone of the moment, which is great for stress relief. I like riding dirt bikes, boxing and Muay Thai. Also I like gardening, mixing soils etc.

The problem for me is age, I'm 53 and was working on building sites in primary school. Two dodgy knees, bad back, arthitis in my joints, so it's difficult to find something suitable.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Ya - coffee and risky sports - were appealing for years - until you start to realize that they don't work so well with longevity - and being pain free for as long as you can make it - by the time you reach your 60's - for me - it's all about maintaining - and trying to be on top of any up and coming health scares - by getting checked regularly - if you dont do some exercise - then you will atrophy - if you do too much - that can cause problems too -
- making the exercise physically dangerous - for a thrill - could end up with a broken leg/arm or worse - broken bones seem to take so much longer to heal - when you are older - and would prevent me from doing my regular workout - and the broken arm or leg would just atrophy - and be much harder to get the limb back to normal - to heal right - so maybe best to start being more cautious - as you age - in regards to exercise -

 

[Thighland]

Yes, too much and you're in pain, not enough and it's like you're starting to rust. I gave rock climbing a try, figuring it had the feeling of risk without the danger, but just too much pain in the hands. Fear and danger really puts you in the moment, I think surfing is a good one, gives the connection with nature and is really exciting without being as dangerous as motorbikes.

I also do bird photography, which if jungle walking can involve exercise and with fresh elephant poo adding the fear element.

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

That lust for danger - has cost many a young man his life - came near to checking out of existence myself - on many occasions - whether it was on bicycles or motorbikes - diving from ridiculous heights - or just sparring in the gym with a stranger - getting knocked out - can be a whole lot of fun - lol -

- Today not so keen on reliving those close scrapes with damnation - even though it was always some sort of huge buzz - to cheat death - and walk away fairly intact -

 

[exoticrobotic]

The problem for me is age, I'm 53 and was working on building sites in primary school. Two dodgy knees, bad back, arthitis in my joints, so it's difficult to find something suitable.

Trying to keep muscle mass up as elastin and connective tissue degrade isn't easy.

- Today not so keen on reliving those close scrapes with damnation - even though it was always some sort of huge buzz - to cheat death - and walk away fairly intact -

I've had quite a few near death experiences. They are of great interest to me, what happens to the mind at that point... Who is spoken to and who speaks back etc. They are most exhillarating.

I hope your heart issues are able to be easily remedied and aren't serious GN.

I hope your big heart at icmag does not manifest at home.

This morning i woke up unusually not in any pain. I had some Chyawanprash yesterday. It is really good and tastey too. I hope you dont mind the link. It is an ayurvedic herb jam concoction that tastes amazing and apparently can give a 70 year old the vitality of a 20 year old.

I have no affiliation with the company below but i am buying another few pots!

https://www.essentialayurveda.co.uk/products/chy-wan-prash