On The Road Traveling And Having Issues Please Help?

[mnaha]

We left our apartment several days ago and now are staying at a place in town to rest up until sunday. Over the last few days I have had to move more than I have in a year or so . I have laid around for all that time with little or no exercise.

My wife says she is amazed at my ability to get up and go out and walk and lift things and move around . In the last few days though I have been really tired and hurting all over. Also I am having issues from the belt line area of every time I go outside for awhile and sit I have to come in and urinate and my area around my beltline hurts for about 30 minutes.

For days I have had to urinate so much more than usual for me, and now I feel like I have to and not much is coming out. I am not running fever but my legs have been getting swollen a little bit from going outside and sitting in the sun and sitting on a hard surface. I dread the drive ahead because I am afraid that my legs will get so swollen that I won' t be able to continue.

Also over the last few days I can hear my heart making a loud lub dub sound all the time. Not only when I am laying down but when I am sitting outside and also standing. Last night I got really really tired and had to come inside and rest and it scared me.

Also hearing and feeling my heartbeat making a rocking in my body and hearing the loud lub dub has gotten me worried that maybe I have congestive heart failure.. I am already so nervous about this trip and don't want to have to worry about getting sick somewhere down the road I don't know what to do .

If anyone ever feels these things please tell me and if they are just anxiety that would help too. I am not sure all these things are manifested from anxiety but hoping they are. I don't know what is wrong with me. My wife and I have traveled thousands and thousands of miles with no issues but I am worried about traveling now and that is crazy because of all the travel I have done in the past.

Anyone have anything that would make me feel better? suggestions? Thoughts ? Advise? Please help.

[Josh1234]

When was your last check up?

[mnaha]

Seven months ago. Blood work and my internist did a full physical . I ask him then why I heard my heartbeat and he said because I was sensitive. Over the last year and a half I was hospitalized and monitored for seven days. Ecg, lung xray and tons and tons of blood test. Four cardiologist checked my ecg and said there was nothing wrong with my heart and also my intake doctor and doctor that attended me at the hospital and also follow up doctor. I have had doctor's appointments every month for about six months and then stopped going. I also now after walking and lifting the last few days have what seems to be a lower pulse pressure where I take my pulse. Is this all because i exercised.?

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think you've had a lot of tests for heart concerns and have not found anything so that has to be a very good sign your heart is in excellent health.

With being pretty sedentary once you start to exercise you can expect plenty of aches & pains because all exercise means micro tears in the muscles and the natural rebuilding the body does. This is just the bodies way of adjusting to current demand. It's common when you start an exercise programme to find the first 3 weeks are constant aches & pains because of this and then the body gets used to it. It builds the extra muscle required to compensate.

If you've ever had a physical injury, or condition, that has caused you to be in bed or resting for weeks (a break is always a good example) then this is always the case until you perform enough exercise for the body to build that area back up again.

So, logically if you think about all the extra work you are currently doing, how far away from starting the gym is it? If you go from being unemployed and doing little hard graft, starting back to work means hard graft, lots of tiredness and aches & pains.

Obviously, only a doctor can say for sure with the heart but given you wanting to get back into regular exercise (walking) and now having to do a load of lifting & carrying, it seems likely that this is the exercise.

Have you noticed how your heart beat & breathing change as you were doing all that work? They would have. Perhaps you haven't noticed because you are distracted due to being busy but I wonder how different it was to what you have noticed now.

Are your legs swollen? Or are they pumped up? Could it just be that all the walking is keeping the muscles bigger because of the extra blood going to them, which is natural for any level of exercise? I do a fair bit of walking and my calf muscles are like iron these days compared to when I was working in offices.

With the urination, could it be added stress? Not sure on the pain though. Could you have pulled any muscles there? Has it been heavy lifting and twisting?

[Carnation]

It's the extra stress mnaha.

I've got it too because of a really stressful week.
It will fade away eventually and urgent need to urinate is too and you need to drink more fluids to compensate this.
You are doing a tremendously stressful thing and as long as you have intervals in between and eat and drink well, you will be fine.
As 'Claire Weekes' says, if the heart is beating, you are ALIVE!!!

[mnaha]

I think you've had a lot of tests for heart concerns and have not found anything so that has to be a very good sign your heart is in excellent health.

With being pretty sedentary once you start to exercise you can expect plenty of aches & pains because all exercise means micro tears in the muscles and the natural rebuilding the body does. This is just the bodies way of adjusting to current demand. It's common when you start an exercise programme to find the first 3 weeks are constant aches & pains because of this and then the body gets used to it. It builds the extra muscle required to compensate.

If you've ever had a physical injury, or condition, that has caused you to be in bed or resting for weeks (a break is always a good example) then this is always the case until you perform enough exercise for the body to build that area back up again.

So, logically if you think about all the extra work you are currently doing, how far away from starting the gym is it? If you go from being unemployed and doing little hard graft, starting back to work means hard graft, lots of tiredness and aches & pains.

Obviously, only a doctor can say for sure with the heart but given you wanting to get back into regular exercise (walking) and now having to do a load of lifting & carrying, it seems likely that this is the exercise.

Have you noticed how your heart beat & breathing change as you were doing all that work? They would have. Perhaps you haven't noticed because you are distracted due to being busy but I wonder how different it was to what you have noticed now.

Are your legs swollen? Or are they pumped up? Could it just be that all the walking is keeping the muscles bigger because of the extra blood going to them, which is natural for any level of exercise? I do a fair bit of walking and my calf muscles are like iron these days compared to when I was working in offices.

With the urination, could it be added stress? Not sure on the pain though. Could you have pulled any muscles there? Has it been heavy lifting and twisting?

I am paying for being sedimentary . BIGTIME. Its sad but its all happening with a vengeance. This morning I woke and the varicose veins are popping out all over , I usually have them but not this bad and also they have been looking good for the last few days. Weird ,don't know why they would do that today ,the day before we leave to go on the road.

Also everything you said about the pumped up legs and swollen legs is absolutely correct. Its like you are physic .Also my heart is doing all kinds of things ,the beat is changing and changing and I can barely feel my pulse. I want to say all the exercise is good thing but it is freaking me out. It has so many different effects. I appreciate your and Carnation's support , it means so much to me and it was so nice of you both to post this morning . I have been having bad dreams about circulation and such and woke up really anxious today but trying to handle it.

We leave tomorrow and although we are out of apartment we are still in town and glad we took some time to rest and get ready for the road. I hope everything will be fine. One thing that bothers me Terry is for the last few days my pulse has been hard to find and very light. I don't know if that is because the lack of coffee or maybe the exercise or what but its weird . I am so use to feeling it pounding when I take it.

Anyway thank you both for trying to help and you have helped me a lot. As soon as we get on the road and get going I will let you know how things are going. Also I wanted to say yes my muscles are so pumped up its like I have been exercising for a long long time. I don't get it but not going to worry about it. It is nice to feel like you have muscles again.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Could the veins have been pushed out by the muscle swelling?

This will be you in no time...

Well doesn't caffeine make palps more common? So, does it cause more thudding too?

Exercise is good for the body, very much so for the cardiovascular. In fact, the more you do it, the more you will get used to things relating to these beats. HR changes too since the more exercise, the lower it naturally becomes and it takes much more to get it high. There are others on here that will be able to say better on this, our resident ex personal trainer springs to mind, but maybe the effect can be quite quick?

You are clearly someone who's anxiety symptoms include heart related issues and so anything that changes that or causes something new is going to hit your anxiety radar. I've never really had issues with palps much as I never investigated them to understand it all (probably a blessing back then) but I have had major issues with exercise myself. One of my big issues came from stimulants that gave me a really big adrenaline rush. I was used to them but added a very strong one and it was too much. My GAD was minor, the first few months and this event did panic me. After that any level of exercise made we worry about my breathing (I'm an asthma sufferer) and not palps but fast heart beats were an issue. I also had an issue (still do to an extent) with muscle soreness from exercise. But getting over the heart & breathing issues was a matter of pushing myself to experience it and see I was ok. In the end what did it was walking my dog. He wanted to run and so we sprinted each time, a few times a walk. The more I did it, the more it clicked in my head and having my dog there seemed to help more than if I was alone.

[mnaha]

Was on the road four hours today and covered 219 miles. It was so hard to get started this morning. i was so scared and my body seemed to be locking up. Finally we left and drove and as I drove it seemed I got more calm but as I got tired some four hours later the nervousness crept back in and we had to stop and get a room to rest. Now I am here and ate a small dinner and my heart is rocking back and forth an it scares me also my throat is so dry it feels like it is going to choke me and also I am exhausted and need to sleep but can't for the rocking feeling and choking feeling. I am so worried and can't relax. i don't want to get sick in an unfamiliar place. I hate this anxiety and am so worried that I might not be able to finish our trip but now I am on my way I have no choice. I am so scared..and don't know what to do. Terry I am not drinking but very little coffee. just a mere fraction of what I used to drink and hoping that I don't get withdrawal from caffeine. I have been drinking coffee all my life.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Well done for doing this. Four hours and 219 miles is a lot. Well to us it's a fair proportion of the country.

You noticed it got easier and it was the anticipation that was the real problem. So, you could easily see the exact same tomorrow once you get moving.

Four hours is a fair time and maybe you were getting hungry? If you were driving non stop and not getting much to eat or drink then your blood sugar will be dropping and you will feel tired.

Are you getting breaks or driving 4 hours solid?

I think this is a fair sized exposure for you and it will be hard until you do it enough times to get beyond some of the fears underpinning it. It's not going to be done on day one but the more you do it, the more it can get easier. So, it's something to persevere with and in a couple days you may see it is getting easier & easier in time.

We fear lack of control, change and uncertainty. Being in an unfamiliar place is bound to challenge these issues and it may be hard to initially adjust. Try to distract yourself where possible and get some short walks in if you can as it may help. I always find a lot of sitting down for periods can mean more adrenaline building up that needs some exercise to burn it off, but I do have problems with adrenaline on my med that seems to lead to this and I need the burn off.

[mnaha]

Ate something yesterday when I got in and after a few minutes I fell asleep on the bed. I woke and my eyes were so red and bloody looking. I felt a pressure in my face and I stood up and was so dizzy. All the lights looked so bright and my eyes were really acting up . Everything has freaked me out. I woke for a bit and everytime I moved I got dizzy and the light was so bright. i then woke for awhile and started feeling like I was choking and then turned over on my back which I never sleep on and fell deep into sleep. I woke and not feeling too bad I went to the restroom where the lights are so very bright and still continued feeling weird. i then came back to bed and was laying around but all night everytime I move I get a little dizzy . Not sure what all that was but also felt nauseated a lot.

We stayed another night at the hotel where stopped because both of us is exhausted and this is so very hard. Hopefully we can be back on the road and not linger here. I do not like this place as it is unfamiliar and I feel so nervous .

I don't think its going to get any better as we travel further away but I sure was hoping my feelings would change and i would feel more secure. I guess only time will tell. Thanks again Terry for your response.