Chilled and Discovering my Inner Georgia O'Keeffe
I made it out for another Fat Tuesday ride down along the river. So much fun are these rides. The trails are lacking for snow but that may soon be fixed as there's a storm heading this way.
I forgot how much the blood-thinner Coumadin leaves me chilled. I typically notice it just sitting around the house but yesterday afternoon on a ride I was having a hard time staying warm in temps (18ºf / -8ºc) that aren't usually a problem for me. I didn't do any outdoor riding when I was on the drug 3 years ago so I'm not sure if this is just an occasional thing. I seemed to do fine on other rides in the weeks since I've been back on it.
Being on coumadin means I can no longer use my go-to remedy for knee pain: NSAIDs—or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Having them in my system can exacerbate a bleed and that wouldn't be good. I checked with my doctor and he was adamant that I avoid them. I'd typically take a couple of Advil at night and my knees would feel fairly good the next morning. There would still be some pain but it was better than had I not used the drug. I do have one other option and that's another Synvisc injection.
I meet with my doctor later in the week to go over the results of my Holter monitor. I'd been wearing it for the past 30 days since being discharged from the hospital to see if my heart has any issues with atrial fibrillation. My doctor doesn't think it's a problem but he needs to be able to rule it out. It was nice to finally be able to ditch it.
Today marks my 5th week away from work. I should soon have an answer one way or the other (by the FAA's regional flight surgeon handling my case) if I'll be approved to return to work. He should have all of the necessary paperwork this coming week to make his decision.
Tammy and I drove down to Rochester on Friday afternoon to spend some time with Rachel. We went out for sushi (always something we look forward to) then kicked around the mall, killing time before our painting class at Canvas and Chardonnay.
Rachel had a cold but she was a trooper for still wanting to go out with us.
The class was a nice time. I was only one of two guys there so I suppose it could be considered a chick thing to do but I didn't mind. It got really, really loud in there at times! Everyone was enjoying themselves. No experience is necessary or as they like to say: "It's not fine art, it's fun art!"
If you're unfamiliar with these kinds of classes, you're instructed step by step in how to go about painting that night's subject. The final products are all somewhat similar but yet very different. Each session lasts a little over 2 hours.
Taking the class and seeing how we both enjoyed it has Tammy thinking about signing us up for a painting class through some local community education offering. I think that would be fun. But first, we need to get back to Foci where we've been absent for over 6 months! That's not supposed to happen.
Got your lights on? Let's go for a Fat Tuesday ride!
I forgot how much the blood-thinner Coumadin leaves me chilled. I typically notice it just sitting around the house but yesterday afternoon on a ride I was having a hard time staying warm in temps (18ºf / -8ºc) that aren't usually a problem for me. I didn't do any outdoor riding when I was on the drug 3 years ago so I'm not sure if this is just an occasional thing. I seemed to do fine on other rides in the weeks since I've been back on it.Being on coumadin means I can no longer use my go-to remedy for knee pain: NSAIDs—or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Having them in my system can exacerbate a bleed and that wouldn't be good. I checked with my doctor and he was adamant that I avoid them. I'd typically take a couple of Advil at night and my knees would feel fairly good the next morning. There would still be some pain but it was better than had I not used the drug. I do have one other option and that's another Synvisc injection.
I meet with my doctor later in the week to go over the results of my Holter monitor. I'd been wearing it for the past 30 days since being discharged from the hospital to see if my heart has any issues with atrial fibrillation. My doctor doesn't think it's a problem but he needs to be able to rule it out. It was nice to finally be able to ditch it.
Today marks my 5th week away from work. I should soon have an answer one way or the other (by the FAA's regional flight surgeon handling my case) if I'll be approved to return to work. He should have all of the necessary paperwork this coming week to make his decision.
Tammy and I drove down to Rochester on Friday afternoon to spend some time with Rachel. We went out for sushi (always something we look forward to) then kicked around the mall, killing time before our painting class at Canvas and Chardonnay.
Rachel had a cold but she was a trooper for still wanting to go out with us.The class was a nice time. I was only one of two guys there so I suppose it could be considered a chick thing to do but I didn't mind. It got really, really loud in there at times! Everyone was enjoying themselves. No experience is necessary or as they like to say: "It's not fine art, it's fun art!"If you're unfamiliar with these kinds of classes, you're instructed step by step in how to go about painting that night's subject. The final products are all somewhat similar but yet very different. Each session lasts a little over 2 hours.
Taking the class and seeing how we both enjoyed it has Tammy thinking about signing us up for a painting class through some local community education offering. I think that would be fun. But first, we need to get back to Foci where we've been absent for over 6 months! That's not supposed to happen.
Got your lights on? Let's go for a Fat Tuesday ride!
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