Slow Down and Pay Attention.

I have struggled for several months now with pain in my legs. Most of the pain is in my thighs, but sometimes it’s behind my thighs and all around my knees as well.  Tuesdays and Thursdays when I had Kung fu after work, the pain was nearly unbearable.  I was also having issues with the middle toes on my feet going numb. I thought for sure it was due to wearing steel toe boots and working on concrete day after day. I knew I was quitting my job and moving to BC, so I just put up with it, and took Motrin to manage the pain. The pain continued after I moved, but I brushed it aside again, thinking it would take some time to get better.  Then as my life started to slow down considerably, I started to realized that the pain wasn’t going away.  I began to delve deeper into why my legs were in the shape they were. I’m active and eat healthy, so why would my legs have this isolated pain.  Then suddenly the pieces started to all fit together.  I remembered my last physical exam almost a year ago. The doctor said my heart rate was unusually low and he asked if I had any pain in my legs. I told him no because at the time, I didn’t.  It was about a month or two after that, the pain started.  While at the clinic for standard blood work, the nurse took me in a room and did an EKG.  I didn’t even know my doctor had ordered one. The nurse said it would tell them if my heart was pumping enough blood, and oxygen to all areas of my body, and in particular my arms and legs. The test came back OK.  I thought nothing more of it. As I suddenly remembered this, I started to do my own research on the subject. Every article I read said that low heart rate can cause pain in the legs, due to not enough oxygen getting to those areas that need it. The articles also said that low heart rate can lead to other problems with the heart, such as heart attacks, blood clots in the legs, etc.  I try not to pay too much attention to this kind of stuff I read as I could have all kinds of ailments if I did. I prefer to leave it up to an actual doctor to decide, rather than doctor google.  Whenever I have my annual exam, my doc always tells me that I am the healthiest person to walk through his door. He says my cholesterol levels are amazing, so I’m convinced I won’t die tomorrow.  The only other issue besides my heart rate, is my iron. It’s usually around 16 to 22, but should be up between 40 and 60. I manage that with what I eat and natural supplements.

On a hike I did about a week ago, I started to get pain in my legs. Wondering if it did indeed have to do with not enough oxygen to my muscles, I started to take in very deep breaths as I walked, thinking it would help to get more oxygen into my body. It worked.

With this pain now on my mind and actually taking the time to sort it out, I began to be very mindful of when I had the pain, and when I didn’t. What activities caused it more than others. When I sit down on a chair, couch, etc, I am not in pain, but I adjust my position constantly because it’s always uncomfortable sitting. I don’t like to have pressure on the back of my legs, but I prefer to sit up in bed, or with my feet up on a stool.  I’ve known this for some time, but again, never really put two and two together. Walking up and down stairs always causes pain in my thighs, no matter what activities I’ve done during that day. When I moved, I had to pack all my boxes, furniture etc, down 3 flights of stairs.  No elevator in the building. This was excruciating for me.  The more weight I was carrying, the more intense the pain.

Now that I have joined a gym in Invermere, I have been noticing that when I work out, and get my heart rate up a bit, the pain in my legs is reduced a lot.  So obviously, I try to get to the gym every day.  There is a room upstairs for fitness classes, and I have been practicing my Kung fu up there. It’s nice and quiet as I’m the only one that ever goes up there.

A week ago yesterday, I had to take my mom to emergency hospital. After a few hours we were ok to leave and stopped at the pharmacy in town to pick up a couple prescriptions. At the pharmacy, they had one of those blood pressure machines. I thought I would check my blood pressure while I waited.   I didn’t realize until the piece of paper came out of the machine, that it gave you a pulse reading as well. After first walking around the pharmacy and looking at all the little gifty gadgets, my blood pressure was good at 134/80, and heart rate was still only at 43 BPM.  That is about what it usually is. My daughter calls me Frankenstein, cause I’m not all real, but partly dead she says.

Now that I am in BC and with an Alberta health care card, it may not be so easy to see a doctor and get it checked out. Of course I kick myself in the butt for not slowing down enough sooner and being more mindful of what was going on. My doctors office was right next to where I worked, and I often thought I should go make an appointment and get things checked out. But I was always in a hurry and always just thought it was nothing. I’m on my feet constantly during the day, and mostly on concrete. “It will get better when I buy new boots.”  That later turned into, “it will get better when I quit working on concrete all day long.”

So when I return to BC after Christmas, I plan to stop at the local clinic and ask about seeing a doctor there. When I was at the hospital,with my mom, the doctor that attended her was amazing. When we got home later that day, my mom said we should have asked her if she was taking new patients. AAAGGGHHHHH. Well....duh.  That would have been a good thing to do. But at the time, my only
concern was for my mom. I wasn’t thinking at all about my needs.  As always, it will work out in the end. But I am just happy that I have now taken the time to slow down, look at the situation, and move forward.