Entry for January 15, 2007-Monday
It is still cold here. The wind is picking up a little more and as of yesterday they had closed Casper Mountain Road until they can get it cleared off. We don't have any ice like the midwest states, just extreme cold and blowing snow.
Thursday Dan drove me around in the truck due to the volume of snow and the cold. Friday I was able to drive myself to town in the car. It did really well with its front wheel drive. We have so many stoplights put on the crest of hills, that it is often a nightmare for people with rear-wheel drive or bald tires to get going again. I saw many a car get half way up a steep hill and that was it. Even a semi got stuck in the same pickle, 1/2 way up a hill and sliding backwards.
I was really tired by the time I got back home on Friday. Saturday I felt really weak and lightheaded. My blood pressure was 95/60 and my heart rate was 125. So, I called Dan and asked him if he could take me to the ice rink and drop me off. I had a very hard time standing up and holding my arms up was very difficult. But I made it.
By 6pm my blood pressure had dropped down to 92/60 and my heart rate was 120. I just didn't feel very well.
Sunday Morning, my blood pressure was only 92/40 and my heart rate was 110. I was unable to stand up for any period of time and sitting up was extremely difficult. So, I was unable to go to church. I slept on the couch off and on most of the day. I thought if I rested and drank fluids that I would be able to go to the evening service. But, by 5pm my blood pressure was down to 82/40 and my heart rate was 105. I was not standing much at all and felt really bad. So, I missed evening church as well.
On a positive note, I have only missed one day of exercise since the beginning of the year. Most of the time I ride my exercise bike, I've also tried walking on the treadmill one day, that really, really hurt my heal. And I bought an old low impact aerobic DVD from amazon.com and I did that one day. It was really hard, but I think that the more I do it, the easier it will get.
So, Moday morning. Our temperature is 2 degrees and the windshield factor is -18 degrees. Our winds are about 21 mph. Not much wind yet. I don't have to go anywhere today, so that's good. Me being out in the extreme cold, really makes Dan nervous. The reason he is nervous about the cold is that I was told that extreme cold can cause coronary spasms. They believe a coronary spasm is what caused my heart attack.
My vitals for this morning are 92/49 and my heart rate is 91. I've lost 3 pounds over night. I'm sure my diuretic use is playing a factor in the drop in my blood pressure. It is a fine line in managing my excess fluid retention and my blood pressure. I haven't taken any diuretics for 3 days and I still continue to drop fluids. Which is good for me, but not for my blood pressure. It is so good to be able to breath again. I've lost a total of 8 pounds in fluid since last Monday.
Well, I need to iron a pile of Dan's shirts for this week.