I finished a 6 month course of Warfarin therapy in July and honestly felt better than I have done in years. Besides the fact that I'd torn my hamstring, my cardiovascular fitness was returning and a lot of minor aches and pains I've endured over the last few years seemed to have disappeared. I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to get back to 'normal' living.
6 weeks later and having enjoyed a few weekend parties - my contemporaries all seem to be turning 50 this year - I really started to feel like I was heading back down the same road that led me to hospitalisation. Without having anything too specific, I simply wasn't feeling the same way that I had done. The only empirical evidence I have for this is that my apple watch estimated VO2 max dropped from 43 ml/(kg-min) to 38 ml/(kg-min) over a few days and stayed down at that level, having not been so low since I was just out of hospital.
With a bit more digging into my family history it's become very clear that there is an issue on our male side. I knew that we had suffered too many sudden young deaths, but I hadn't appreciated that other 'healthy' relatives had also suffered strokes too, so the basis on which I'd had my 'end of therapy' review was probably void.
Back to the doctor and one week of using even just a prophylactic anti-coagulant, I'm already feeling better again and the VO2 max score is climbing steadily once more.
I don't want to be on long term medication, but this is the right decision. Perhaps I was starting to clot again or perhaps it was psychosomatic? Perhaps starting to enjoy alcohol again is detrimental to my overall health and actually I now suffer week long hangovers? Perhaps the fact that I had not taken care to make sure I was getting a 30 minute daily walk done was a factor? In the end, the risks are a little bit too severe for my liking - take a wee pill every day or drop dead suddenly with the possibility of just having a heart attack or a stroke as the lighter alternatives. I'm on long term anti-coagulants now and my ambitions to train in Tae-Kwon-Do or play some masters rugby are parked.
Trials, tribulations, tales and titillations of a now 50- something year old, Scot, determined to stave of his cultural and genetic destiny with sporadic efforts to attain Physical perfection impaired by unhelpful refueling strategies and familial responsibilities. This blog will now track my efforts to recover from Multi-Focal Pulmonary Emboli, caused by a dislodged DVT.
