Week of Resting for the List

It has been a week recovering from a procedure I have been hoping to not need for a long time, but ended up having it. A few years ago I started having challenges sometimes while running, episodes of racing heartbeats and struggling to catch my breath would start shortly after starting a run and end hours after it or so. I worked with my doctor and a cardiologist to try to diagnose it and it was initially diagnosed as fitness induced asthma and I was given an inhaler to use before workouts that made things worse and I promptly stopped using it.

Then I got a newer Apple Watch with the ECG feature and it warned me of atrial fibrillation during an episode. What?! No, that’s something my parents dealt with later in life and I am too young for this! Back to a cardiologist and stress test confirming it. Lots and lots of research later and I suspect running possibly accelerated me to a genetic curse and I had no idea!

Okay, so I learn to live with this and manage episode triggers better throttling back my running and intense cardio and research and experiment with eliminating all other possible triggers for extended periods of time such as alcohol, sugar, caffeine, etc. and try recommended supplements. But last year it escalated with my job stress, possibly after getting COVID, and other stressors. And episodes were getting longer and more symptomatic. So I start down the road of controlling it with medication which was not working well, episodes were still happening and I was dealing with the side affects of the medications on top of that, not fun. My choices were to try more serious medication with bigger risks and side effects or get a heart catheter ablation to hopefully stop the episodes.

The idea of the ablation terrified me even though both of my parents have been through it. What if something went wrong, or it made the condition worse? Well the ablation was last week and I spent a long day in the hospital being prepped, thankfully under anesthesia for the procedure, then a few hours of bumpy recovery before being discharged to rest at home for the week. It’s been an interesting week of trying not to worry about odd chest pains and heart rates as I recover and I am still on that rollercoaster. Did the procedure work? Too soon to tell, we’ll see over the next few weeks. If not, I need to consider going through the process again in 6 months or so. Ugh, fingers crossed. And why I have not been talking about running much anymore and not sure I will get back into it if the procedure was successful out of fear that I could be back to needing another in a few years if I do. We’ll see, but I am debating on re-branding this blog again.

Back to the lighter, fun stuff. It has been a low-key week at home and trying to eat healthier, but there has also been some comfort eats such as these Trader Joe’s Battered Plant-Based Fish Fillets. The fillets were easy to bake and prepare, the “fish” texture was pretty good. My only complaint was they were a bit greasy and I ended up eating less of them.

There was also a fun new brand of chickpea pasta I found at Grocery Outlet, it was delicious with simple marinara sauce and kale.

Ron sweetly found Konscious Plant-Based Sushi at Sprouts Farmers Market and brought it home to try.

It was frozen, but very simple to thaw by either sitting out for a couple of hours or submerging in hot water for 10 minutes to bring to room temperature. And it was great for being pre-made sushi with vegan “crab”, the crabby texture and flavor seemed pretty close and made a fun treat.

There has also been vegan noodle dishes from Trader Joe’s and simple vegan soups to keep it easy and chill at home.

I did step out to Pho Vegan Asian Cuisine with my mom and sister a day before the procedure to have fun and get my nervous mind off of it.

And there have been simple stir fries and kale salads with leftovers to keep things simple this week. I am feeling better, hopefully good enough to return to work tomorrow and face my inbox. And hopefully I can gradually return to my fitness routine over the next couple of weeks or so, it has been tough sitting around and resting. I hope you have a great week ahead starting with the list.

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