Update, 12 months after pulmonary embolism

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So a year has passed since I went to the hospital with blood clot in my lungs

For the full story see:
An abrupt reminder of mortality.
Update, week 3 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 4 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 5 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 11 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, 12 months after pulmonary embolism
Another reminder of mortality (here we go again)

Things that I've had to change in my life

The daily routine is back to normal and has been that way for more then 6 months. These days I don't even think about the medication, only drawback is that I have to get up from bed early to take the medicine even on a day off.
I gave up mountain-biking. Pretty much decided to sell the bike the minute they told me to not hit my head. I do still have my racer, and run and gym. But for example now in the winter I've been a bit restrictive in running when it is slippery outside, not that I've ever fallen but just do not think that it is worth the risk.

Future

Yep, got the results from my doctor and she told me to buckle up and keep eating xarelto for the rest of my life. I pretty much was set on that from the beginning so it was no real shock.
For now I am planning and training for my next 180 km challenge on the bike, so back to a tight training plan.

I do not think of anything else to write, things are back to normal and I enjoy life fully. Just thought I'd do an update.

Why I write this

I don't write this to feel sorry for myself. Just to share an experience, maybe ease for someone else that has the same diagnosis. You don't have to be old to get this, I was 33. I've always categorized this as something to look forward to when I get older. But life is full of surprises and luckily we humans are capable of adapting :)

Until next time: Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

Update, week 11 of pulmonary embolism recovery

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For the full story see:
An abrupt reminder of mortality.
Update, week 3 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 4 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 5 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 11 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, 12 months after pulmonary embolism
Another reminder of mortality (here we go again)

This will be my last update in this series if nothing major happens. This post is just for wrapping up things and sharing my training plan and progress for motivation for others. : )


So been a while since last update but things have moved to the better and I think I am back to normal now and starting to get a routine on the xarelto medicine. It is starting to become part of life.

This is a picture of my training calendar for the first 3 months of 2017. I've color coded it to show the time schedule from when I first noticed that something was wrong, to the hospital stay and the recovery period afterwards. When the color coding ends I was able to do a pretty hard workout on a trainer.
This week, went lunch cycling with my team and made a personal best on a hill climb. Did not see that coming.

Also, mid Mars I started to run again to get more intensity on the lungs and as you can see, the pace has increased in a nice fashion even though this weeks run was maybe a little too much. Not far, just 1300 meters but nice progress.



2 months ago, I did not think the progress would be this fast. The doctors told me 3 months recovery until I would be back to normal but I guess it depends on the person and what state you were in before and how determined you are on getting back. Make it a goal and gradually increase the training intensity. Don't forget to rest when your body says so and stop when needed. Little by little, progress will be made and you will be back in no time!

Why I write this

I don't write this to feel sorry for myself or whatever. Just to share an experience, maybe ease for someone else that has the same diagnosis. You don't have to be old to get this, I am myself 33. I've always categorized this as something to look forward to when I get older. But life is full of surprises and luckily we humans are capable of adapting :)

Until next time: Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

Update, week 5 of pulmonary embolism recovery

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Picture of my training room setup. Bike, trainer, computer for Netflix etc.

For the full story see:
An abrupt reminder of mortality.
Update, week 3 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 4 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 5 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 11 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, 12 months after pulmonary embolism
Another reminder of mortality (here we go again)

So up to 100% work week this week. It went pretty good actually. I think I was a little extra tired on Monday to Wednesday, but other than that it went pretty good.

On Thursday everything felt good until I sat in the car back home when I started to get a little pain in the lungs, most probably thanks to grocery shopping moments before. I had planned a cycling session for the day so I was in a really bad mood when I came home. First bad mood based on the situation, so far everything has gone quite smooth so I was not expecting a hiccup. After 2 hours of rest I did the cycling session anyway. And it went well. Up to 16 km/h for 15 minutes.

On Friday, I decided to do another session, this time with a little bit higher effort level. Ended up breaking sweat and 18 km/h for 20 minutes.

On Sunday, the first 60 minute session. Average speed 12, but anyway. Feels good.
Bought compression socks this week, and using them after each session as I feel that blood has a little harder to move up from the legs. Maybe that was the cause for this all after all even if they didn't find anything at the hospital. So taking the precautionary route.

All in all, week 5, according to plan. I still try to take it quite easy, not pushing anything because I don't really want a relapse.

Why I write this

I don't write this to feel sorry for myself or whatever. Just to share an experience, maybe ease for someone else that has the same diagnosis. You don't have to be old to get this, I am myself 33. I've always categorized this as something to look forward to when I get older. But life is full of surprises and luckily we humans are capable of adapting :)

Until next time: Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

Update, week 4 of pulmonary embolism recovery

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For the full story see:
An abrupt reminder of mortality.
Update, week 3 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 4 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 5 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 11 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, 12 months after pulmonary embolism
Another reminder of mortality (here we go again)

Back to work then. This week at 50%, meaning I can go home at lunch and take a nap. Something that I really needed to do every day. So, I am happy that the doctor wrote 50% on this week. Next week I guess will be even harder when it goes up to 100%.


Had some real progress this week. Sat 15 minutes on the trainer on Tuesday, average speed up on 11 km/h compared to 9 the week before and 20 at the same pulse interval normally.
I.e. the limit I have on myself is less than 105 bpm and get off when it starts to feel any tiredness at all.
Normally I use this for endurance training, for at least 2 hours as current endurance level according to strava is < 113bpm. This has probably changed a little now, hence 105. But compared to normally I only manage about 15-20 minutes before I feel something, normally I could go on for hours as it doesn't put any real load on the body.
Other progress is that I don't get out of breath, but too much load causes pain.

Wednesday, went for a walk to the third road sign (about 600m) and back. Did not have to stop, had some pain afterwards so body is not OK but its on the right path.

Thursday, on the trainer again. Up on 12 km/h for 15 minutes at the given pulse interval until I start to feel a little. The feeling originates from my back around the lung area. Not pain, but tiredness, hard to describe.

So a lot of progress this week. Slowly going forward. Next week is back at work 100%, hopefully I'll manage :)

Put my beloved mountain bike on sale this week as well, so if you live in southern Sweden go have a look.

Why I write this

I don't write this to feel sorry for myself or whatever. Just to share an experience, maybe ease for someone else that has the same diagnosis. You don't have to be old to get this, I am myself 33. I've always categorized this as something to look forward to when I get older. But life is full of surprises and luckily we humans are capable of adapting :)

Until next time: Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

Update, week 3 of pulmonary embolism recovery

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Third week at home, thought I'd write an update.
For the full story see:
An abrupt reminder of mortality.
Update, week 3 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 4 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 5 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, week 11 of pulmonary embolism recovery
Update, 12 months after pulmonary embolism
Another reminder of mortality (here we go again)

The first week

First week went to napping and reading about OpenGL, something that I've tried to write a little about on my coding page. I was really tired and out of breath. Daily walks to the closest road sign (about 200 meters) and back. Really slow walking, out of breath when going just a little too fast. Back home, had to take it easy for a period to get back to normal. Overreaching results in blood taste and pain in back/lungs.
Had a long talk with a nurse from the hospital about Xarelto and how it is supposed to work. Evidently I get a higher dose the first 3 weeks and then it lowers a bit. Really nice to talk about it with someone that actually took their time to explain.

Second week

Had a revisit at the hospital on Tuesday, really out of breath and a little blood taste walking from the parking lot to the doctors office.
Asked my doctor and he said that I should try to activate myself but keep it under the limit of overreaching. Easy to say, hard to do as that wall comes with no warning. One step is OK and the next is out of breath alternatively pain. He extended the sick leave with 1 week 100% and then another week 50%. Told me to not take amlodipine anymore and go check blood pressure again next week.
End of week 2 I managed 2 walks per day to the first road sign.

Third week

Things are starting to go better. On Monday I decided to sit on the bike (on the trainer) for 10 minutes. Really really really slow, like pulse around 100 bpm. 

Wednesday, off to check blood pressure (evidently you have to book a time slot in Sweden to do this). 120/85 compared to 160/110 when I got the medication at the hospital. So off those pills at least.

20 minutes real slow on the bike. Felt good. Not overreaching. Still tired but, a lot better. Nice to see progress.

Today (Thursday) I walked 3 times longer then last week. so 600 meters and back (3rd road sign). It wasn't fast and had to stop 200 meters from home as I felt pain and out of breath. So even slower home, but I made it. Tired now afterwards, probably lie down a bit. Lets see if there will be a penalty for this later today or tomorrow.

On Saturday Xarelto will lower to once per day, so I guess its a bit less risky to get papercuts from there on :)

Plan for next week

Back to work at 50% for one week and then 100%. At the time of writing this sounds doable, the original plan to go back 100% on week 3 would have ended in a disaster.

Why I write this

I don't write this to feel sorry for myself or whatever. Just to share an experience, maybe ease for someone else that has the same diagnosis. You don't have to be old to get this, I am myself 33. I've always categorized this as something to look forward to when I get older. But life is full of surprises and luckily we humans are capable of adapting :)

Thanks for reading

When I upgraded my Scott Speedster 30 from Tiagra to 105

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One year ago exactly I found a nice price for a Shimano 105 group (60% sale) and decided it was time to upgrade my Scott Speedster from the Tiagra that had gone 7000 km.
So I thought 'how hard could it be' and placed the order. Luckily I had almost all the tools needed to perform this operation.

The stripping of a work horse

Scott Speedster S30, without wheels in repair stand

This part went pretty fast. Some parts were quite stuck and needed a little extra work with the help of a rubber hammer on the tool, especially the pedals. As you can see I should have replaced the bar tape ages ago.

Scott Speedster S30, frame and handlebars only

Totally stripped bike. Only the frame, handlebars and front fork is left. Time to clean it up, really rub away all the dirt that was stuck.
I actually hadn't replaced the chain either during those 7000 km, so the cassette and chain rings were quite married to it at this point.

Build it up again

So, now that all the old stuff was removed it was time to assemble the new components.
The shifters really took some time to figure out and a lot of youtubing, evidently they had changed the design a little and until I found a clip that described how to do it... Well, after I found out how I really felt stupid, it was quite simple in the end. Shimano does not seem to ship assembly instructions with their components, only a paper that a certified mechanic should do the assembly. So when you get stuck, it takes some time to find the correct instructions. This happened mainly for the shifters.

First issue
The front derailleur that was included in the kit was not the type that can be clamped around the tube. So needed to order a replacement. A week went by.

Second issue
Tube cutters (cable housing cutters), really, buy the specially designed tool for this, otherwise.... Well its just easier with the correct tool. Ended up with a cheap one for €5 and they do the job. So much easier then trying to use normal wire cutters.

Third setback
How did I miss this? I went from a 10 speed group to a 11 speed one and didn't think of the cassette fitting the rear wheel. So, when I tried to mount it there was 1.8mm missing on the body. So it was time to upgrade the rear wheel. Sadly I had bought the old wheel just 6 months earlier. But, oh well. Sometimes you just have to pay for your own stupidity.
Placed the order, expected delivery 4 days. But for some reason DHL decided to ship the wheel to Norway and it got stuck in customs there for 5 weeks until they sent it to the correct country. At this point the spring season was starting up and I really wanted my bike ready to be able to cycle to work instead of taking the car every day.

Finally when it arrived I was able to assemble the rear wheel, get the rear derailleur working. Something extra that I recommend is to fit in a barrel adjuster for the front derailleur, otherwise you end up needing tools every time you need to tighten the tension, something that happens with new wires.

Scott Speedster S30, converted to Shimano 105 drive train

I really like how the black Cinelli Mike Giant Handlebar Tape fit the build, and the stylish black chain ring and crank arms.

All in all what I thought would be a weekends work turned out to be 7 weeks with all the delays. But in the end, it was worth it. The feel of the 105 drive train is just so smooth. Even now one year and 2 chains later it is just the best. I promised myself to take better care of this new setup so now I change the chain every 1000 km and cassette every third chain, so cassette replacement is coming up in a month or so.

Useful videos

• How to: Wrap bar tape, by totalwomenscycling.com
• How to change cables shimano 105 5800 shifters, by The System Gotcha
• How to Change Your Rear Derailleur - Replacing Your Bike's Rear Mech, by Global Cycling Network
• How To Install Inline Cable Barrel Adjusters, by RJ The Bike Guy
• Shimano cassette installation explained, by Steve Garrison

Cat tax

Thanks for reading, here's a picture of a very tired Prime (10 month kitten).

Until next time: Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work