Again, the daily blog idea has fallen by the wayside; I find I'm mostly too knackered and busy with other more pressing issues. But it should improve, if this week is anything to go by. On Monday I got back after managing a 25 minute treatment and slept for two and a half hours in the afternoon then another 9 at night. My legs were still a bit sore when I woke on Tuesday, but I felt a bit more refreshed than before. I managed 39 minutes that day. Dee declared herself to be very impressed, though again she could have been trying to help me fel a bit more cheerful about it!
On Wednesday I managed a whole 45 minutes and today we got fairly easily to 50 minutes. I could probably have managed the whole hour at a push but I'll do that next week. I have found that it all seems to work more smoothly if I concentrate on what is being achieved in the way of pushing extra blood supplies into the cardiac arteries and visualise it as a web of red strands spreading over the surface of the heart, getting bigger and wider with each compression. That way I don't have to concentrate on controlling the breathing and it all happens more regularly and efortlessly. Time also goes by more quickly.
Obviously, I can't see this ever becoming a pleasant pastime to be eagerly anticipated, but I can see it being worthwhile. Whilst it is quite uncomfortable to be squeezed so hard so often, it must improve the blood flow through the heart and also all the other organs situated on the aorta run from the heart to the thighs, like the kidneys. This probably accounts for the fact that the bladder, having been completely emptied before we start, is quite full again within 10 to 15 minutes of treatment. After another empty out it is now building up much more slowly and we haven't needed to make another "wee stop" before the end of the treatment. Such is the measure of progress at this stage!
At least the drive down today was pleasant. A great improvement on the grey drizzly rain we ran through yesterday. We drive through some wonderful Hampshire countryside on the way to and from the Clinic and today the sun was shining and the trees are all coming into leaf and blossom. Things are beginning to look more hopeful all round.
Daily blogging is vastly overrated (she says, airily dismissing the fact that she hasn't managed anything even approximating monthly blog updates) - do keep us updated on how it's going though; it sounds fascinating! (Weird, kind of painful, and exhausting, no doubt - but fascinating nonetheless! Can you take pictures of the equipment?)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it's getting easier for you - I hope it's doing you good; the increasing ease suggests that it must be doing something positive, else you'd still find it as hard as the first time. And the lack of angina is a good sign, too - long may that continue!
Talk to you soon,
xx N
I'm sure it is doing good (even if it's only a psychosomatic thing in response to parting with the money)...I expect they'd let me take pictures of the equipment but if you check out the You tube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjU29pxyTlM you can see it fairly well there.
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