Riding after a stroke and warfarin..

[Lloyd Boland]

Mike,
PPI (proton pump inhibitors) like Prilosec can cause the kidneys to excrete extra magnesium.  This causes a depletion of the magnesium blood levels (hypomagnesemia).  The lowered levels of magnesium cause a variety of problems, one of them being cardia arythmias in some individuals.  If you take a PPI, you should have your blood blood tested yearly for magnesium levels, it is not a routine test and you need to make sure you request this special test from your M.D.  In my experience, many M.D.s do not even know this is a problem yet.  The magnesium supplementation is to replace the lost magensium filtered out by the kidneys.

Freddie,
The extra swelling is due to the blood thinners, and the reason most of the time while on blood thinners the recommendation is to not do things that are of a high risk due to prolonged bleeding.

Lloyd

[fasmith]

Well it has been approximately two months since I started back riding off road again  - with this blood thinner in me -and the other issues I have - and so here is an update.  I am still alive and well and riding my butt off.  It's been an adventure. Four weekends in the woods - and I collected a multitude of bruises, cuts, scrapes, and other odd and end "what the h*ll did I do get a bruise there" items.   So let's see....  one major bruise - whacked my shoulder on a tree and it looked like I had been run over by a car.  All kind of colors.  Smaller bruises...  looked like someone whacked me with a whiffle bat - made of very heavy plastic.   Went over the bars once - bit my tongue then - I hit a pine lighter stump hidden in a bunch of pine straw.   So first of last week ..cause truthfully I was hurting - I limped around and had to open the refrigerator door with my teeth cause my shoulder hurt so badly and the fingers on my other hand were beat up too...I made a trip to my family doctor - who took one look and said "dear Lord.... why?" and I said ..I am a grown man and I love to ride to dirt bikes.  If you want to play - sometimes you gotta pay.  So.. the good doctor signed deeply and wrote me a prescription for a huge round of steroids to speed up the healing. And a bottle of painkillers ..which I did not actually need... Now I have taken the steriods before - to speed up the healing process and it was no suprise to me that after starting taking them on Wednesday - by Saturday...not only was I opening the frig door by myself - I could eat food again other than ice cream, mashed potatoes and grits as my tongue had actually healed and the swelling was gone in it too.  I also had an additional nuclear stress test at the cardio doctor office again - and my PRO closure is scehduled for mid June of this year.  The results of the test were good -- I guess if you can call seeing the PFO open and flap and the aneurysm flopping back and forth like a broken rear brake stay rod on a 1980 KTM - a good result .. well it was wild to see the video myself later in the doctors office.  Of course he asked if I had been taking it easy... and of course..I said no... and he said.. he knew it...he had seen my shoulder when I was getting the electrodes stuck on.  He is a good doctor however. He just shook his head.  I figure... you know... I gotta ride.  On the other side of the tracks... I did buy this piece of protective gear ... a EVS Revolt Roost jersey.... actually it is a under the jersey/flak jacket garmet that has foam padding that covers up the chest and also the stomach area - lower than the bottom of the flak jacket.  

So... all in all... I am ok..and riding in the woods - we have been working on the trail for the national enduro on March 4th and I can promise you that I was a little scared at first... but after I hit that first tree  - all the fear went away.  I said.. you know ..I can do this.  and I have been much better off in my mind since I have decided to ride.  I am not grumpy at home... which my wife says is good cause she was ready to shoot me when I was not riding.  

[Lloyd Boland]

Freddie,
Good to hear your are riding again.  Also glad to hear of the pending surgery to repair the septal defect.  You have clearly documented the risks though.  May I make a suggestion until the surgery, ride cautiously and just have a little fun, not too much, but just enough to keep your sanity so that there are not unforseen accidents that may delay or cancel the surgery.  You want to make it to the surgery date, so that you can go WFO afterwords. I say this only being concerned about the risks and the potential for future good outcomes.  Good luck and keep us posted.

Lloyd

[fasmith]

quote:Originally posted by Lloyd Boland

Freddie,
Good to hear your are riding again.  Also glad to hear of the pending surgery to repair the septal defect.  You have clearly documented the risks though.  May I make a suggestion until the surgery, ride cautiously and just have a little fun, not too much, but just enough to keep your sanity so that there are not unforseen accidents that may delay or cancel the surgery.  You want to make it to the surgery date, so that you can go WFO afterwords. I say this only being concerned about the risks and the potential for future good outcomes.  Good luck and keep us posted.

Lloyd

Lloyd - I value your advice and I promise I will take it a little more easier as I venture out to ride again.  You are right - no need to tempt fate - or to do more damage than necessary at this point.  I suppose my mindset was and is - to not let the issues and the warfarin control me as to deprive me of what I truly love to do.   I was about to bust wide open to get back riding off-road.  The way I looked at it.. I needed to ride to see if I had a "fear" and I can say now I don't.  I do realize that a mishap could cause some damage - but what I figured out for me - was that - as in the case of the over the bars adventure..I jumped up and realized..Hey! I'm good! and actually was pretty darn relieved to have done it and not found myself frightened at the possibility of being hurt.   Of course - wearing all my protective gear and a little extra stuff... also helped.  It was like the time after I suffered an open tibia plateau fracture and tearing four of the ligaments in my right knee after a ugly high-side.  I rode a Honda CR500 at the time - and I was terrified of cranking that bike a year later after the injury had healed.  I just knew my knee would not hold up to the tremendous pressure you have have to exert on the CR500's kickstarter to boot that bike alive.  However... one day..I said I gotta try...and this was after 18 months of rehab and PT - I got on the bike and with much dreaded anticipation.....  I said here we go.  Let's see what happens.  And you know what.  Nothing happened...  not to my knee.  It took me several hard kicks to get it to crank, but my knee did not buckle or explode.  I was like.. well ..I'll be doggone.  I had been riding a CR250 and my KTMs - but had stayed away from open bikes..simply cause I thought I would not be able to crank them without hurting the knee and the bones that got broke.  The worst one to heal was the tendon that tore away from the patella.  It took a long time for it to heal after the surgery.

So... yes..I am taking your advice...going to ride ..but with the thing in mind to ride comfortable within reason... as truly I am not a fast rider by any means... and just enjoy the off-road riding in a more reserve manner so that come June - get that sucker repaired and get off the warfarin and then bring myself back to a normal riding speed for me.  

I think that taking the blood thinner does not mean you have to stop doing the things you love to do - such as riding off-road but I just know that I need to be aware that I need to cover all the bases so to speak to minimize the injuries that can occur.  Ironically - I have not taken a ride on my street bike yet.

[farmer58za]

Hi Fred
Sorry I've come in on this late. I had 2 heart valves replaced in 1999 and have been on warfararin since. As a youngster I rode MX and I always have had motorbikes. I started riding vintage off-road in 2003 and have ridden vintage Motocross and Enduros since then with the most riding taking place in 2008-2010. during this period, I was also able to get a competition licence despite my condition (with support from my cardiologist). I have been fortunate enough to ride 6 ISDT Reunion rides since 2003. I have had a couple of big get-offs over these last years and the bruising has got to be seen to be believed. The biggest drawback of big bruising like that is deep hematomas which tend to leave lumps below your muscles, which take a loong time to go away.
The simple rules are to ride within your physical and fear limits and wear every bit of protective gear you can get hold of.

Unfortunately, I got an infection on my heart valves this year (from my teeth, not riding!)and I'm typing this from my hospital bed - they replaced the valves again! I can't say If I'll be riding soon but I'm full of hope!

Regards
David Haines
Johannesburg, South Africa



Regards

David
'75 KTM GS250
'75 KTM GS400

[farmer58za]

Hi Fred
Sorry I've come in on this late. I had 2 heart valves replaced in 1999 and have been on warfararin since. As a youngster I rode MX and I always have had motorbikes. I started riding vintage off-road in 2003 and have ridden vintage Motocross and Enduros since then with the most riding taking place in 2008-2010. during this period, I was also able to get a competition licence despite my condition (with support from my cardiologist). I have been fortunate enough to ride 6 ISDT Reunion rides since 2003. I have had a couple of big get-offs over these last years and the bruising has got to be seen to be believed. The biggest drawback of big bruising like that is deep hematomas which tend to leave lumps below your muscles, which take a loong time to go away.
The simple rules are to ride within your physical and fear limits and wear every bit of protective gear you can get hold of.

Unfortunately, I got an infection on my heart valves this year (from my teeth, not riding!)and I'm typing this from my hospital bed - they replaced the valves again! I can't say If I'll be riding soon but I'm full of hope!

Regards
David Haines
Johannesburg, South Africa



Regards

David
'75 KTM GS250
'75 KTM GS400