Sad endictment on society

Frank the tank

Went for a pre-med today and after viewing my ECG results and observing my low heart rate the nurse asked

"Are you on blood pressure tablets"?
"No, me duck."
"Do you just keep fit then"?
"I ride a bike. It's a shame your first reaction was to ask if I was on medication."
"Alas, it goes with the territory, most people I see don't persue a healthy life style and if they have a good heart rate is usually down to medication".

Gizmodo

Your story made me laugh. I went to my GP last night, after a ride I decided on a nice hot bath for the first time in years, now I can't hear from my right ear - it's a side affect of being 45 years old for those too young to realise my obvious problem.

After a quick look in my ears and telling me to make an appointment to see the nurse he asks me if there is anything else he could help with. He seemed really disappointed when I said no and that I'd done a 45 mile ride that morning. (Yes, my GP is open on a Sunday).

nevman

Does NOT taking Viagra affect your hearing then.Eh,whats that you say?

team47b

I cycle to my hospital appointments, 48k round trip, I sit in the waiting area in my cycling gear surrounded by sick and obese people, it makes me and the nutritionist I go to see, smile

Yossie

I went to get some stuff cut out of me last year. The pre-op conversation went like this:

Old Nurse: So, do you drink?
Yossie: Well, yeah, but nothing major - a glass of wine or two a night during the week, maybe a bottle on a Saturday shared with Mrs Y and an occasional beer or two - you know, the normal. Nothing major.
ON: So you don't get smashed?
Y: No. Occasionally a few - say once every couple of months i'll get squiffy, but nothing major.
ON: Oh. How about drugs?
Y: No, I'm ok at the moment thankyou. Anyway, I have to go back to work in a bit and we're not meant to have any while we do what we do. Some people think it may be dagerous. Health and safety and all that .....
ON: Very funny. No, do you do any?
Y: No. I'm clean, me.
ON: None whatsoever?
Y: Nope. None. Aspirin for a headache and that's it.
ON: No coke?
Y: Sorry?
ON: Coke. Cocaine. Charlie.
Y: Errr, no.
ON: Not even a little bit? On a Saturday night?
Y. No.
ON: Are you sure?
Y: Yes. Sure. No coke.
ON (raising eyebrow): None?
Y: FFS, no.
ON: Oh. Fine. Its a surprise that's all.

Is it just me, or does it feel weird to be the one who isn't smacked off their tits?

arthur_scrimshaw

maybe it was your dilated pupils?

Aggieboy

What a coincidence this thread is. Just returned from a swimming gala in Sheffield where y'day night I collapsed with severe food poisoning. Gave my age (54) and had all my 'vitals' taken by ambulance crew while I lay on the bathroom floor at the hotel. Lady takes my RHR of 47 and then asks me if I keep fit or have had any heart problems. I cycle and surf/kayak and swim, I say. She shouts results to ambulance man in next room who is talking to my wife. "Is this HR right?" he says. "Cyclist" she shouts back.

PS. I never knew the body could produce so much dark green bile over 12 hours!!

LeicesterLad

Yossie wrote:

I went to get some stuff cut out of me last year. The pre-op conversation went like this:

Old Nurse: So, do you drink?
Yossie: Well, yeah, but nothing major - a glass of wine or two a night during the week, maybe a bottle on a Saturday shared with Mrs Y and an occasional beer or two - you know, the normal. Nothing major.
ON: So you don't get smashed?
Y: No. Occasionally a few - say once every couple of months i'll get squiffy, but nothing major.
ON: Oh. How about drugs?
Y: No, I'm ok at the moment thankyou. Anyway, I have to go back to work in a bit and we're not meant to have any while we do what we do. Some people think it may be dagerous. Health and safety and all that .....
ON: Very funny. No, do you do any?
Y: No. I'm clean, me.
ON: None whatsoever?
Y: Nope. None. Aspirin for a headache and that's it.
ON: No coke?
Y: Sorry?
ON: Coke. Cocaine. Charlie.
Y: Errr, no.
ON: Not even a little bit? On a Saturday night?
Y. No.
ON: Are you sure?
Y: Yes. Sure. No coke.
ON (raising eyebrow): None?
Y: FFS, no.
ON: Oh. Fine. Its a surprise that's all.

Is it just me, or does it feel weird to be the one who isn't smacked off their tits?

Not all bad, She sounds like she might be a goer...

EDIT- Just noticed you said 'OLD' nurse, oh well, might still be a goer...

Bozman

I had a very similar experience after an AF attack 18mths ago.

I ended up in the hospital but everything returned to normal after about 24hrs(dehydration), when i returned for my follow-up appointment they did an ECG, the nurse gave me a funny look and asked if i was on drugs?.."no", a few minutes later he made me take my boots off(??) and did another ECG, then asked if i did any exercise.

First RHR was 38 and the second was 42, to be honest it shocked me because i'm not that fit but i've had taken a few times since and it's generally in the low forties

Mayniac

I was woken one morning last summer with acute abdominal pains. They got progressively worse, and during a conversation with a chap on the NHS helpline, he recommended and called for an ambulance.

The paramedics asked me for an indication of the pain level from 1 to 10. I gave it a 9, badly breaking my arm being a 5.
' How come his heart rate is only 59 then?'

' Have you seen the bike in the kitchen?' replied her colleague.

(Verdict: probably gallstones.)

markos1963

Same for me, couple of years ago I went in for my five yearly medical. As usual it was performed by a non medic, just hooking me up to the ECG and computer. She looked at my readout and went out to get the doctor, I heard the word 'bracycardia' mentioned and braced myself. He asked me if i'd had any problems and the usual questions. He never once asked about my sporting pastimes so I thought I had best put him out of his misery and tell him. 'We don't see many of your sort in this job' he said. What made me laugh was a bit later the operative was lecturing me on leading a healthy lifestyle just because my BMI was a bit above 'normal'! 'When was the last time you rode a hundred miles in five hours?' I asked. That soon shut her up.

alihisgreat

Yossie wrote:

I went to get some stuff cut out of me last year. The pre-op conversation went like this:

Old Nurse: So, do you drink?
Yossie: Well, yeah, but nothing major - a glass of wine or two a night during the week, maybe a bottle on a Saturday shared with Mrs Y and an occasional beer or two - you know, the normal. Nothing major.
ON: So you don't get smashed?
Y: No. Occasionally a few - say once every couple of months i'll get squiffy, but nothing major.
ON: Oh. How about drugs?
Y: No, I'm ok at the moment thankyou. Anyway, I have to go back to work in a bit and we're not meant to have any while we do what we do. Some people think it may be dagerous. Health and safety and all that .....
ON: Very funny. No, do you do any?
Y: No. I'm clean, me.
ON: None whatsoever?
Y: Nope. None. Aspirin for a headache and that's it.
ON: No coke?
Y: Sorry?
ON: Coke. Cocaine. Charlie.
Y: Errr, no.
ON: Not even a little bit? On a Saturday night?
Y. No.
ON: Are you sure?
Y: Yes. Sure. No coke.
ON (raising eyebrow): None?
Y: FFS, no.
ON: Oh. Fine. Its a surprise that's all.

Is it just me, or does it feel weird to be the one who isn't smacked off their tits?

When i was in Hospital they were struggling to find out what was wrong with me... (turned out i had an abdominal infection/collection).. and after some scans and whatnot they must have asked me on 4 or 5 separate occasions if I had done any cocaine..

it was really quite bizarre.

Maybe there is something in the blood that suggests (but doesn't necessarily confirm) cocaine?

Frank the tank

Can't understand why they should keep asking us cyclists if we're on drugs.

pinno

Sorry to piddle on yer chips... I was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukaemia as a young adult. After loads of chemo and TBI (Total Body Irradiation) followed by a bone marrow transplant (BMT), I was sent for a lung function test LFT). At that point I had not been on a bike for 8 months. 42% of post BMT patients die of bronchial pneumonia, so a LFT was standard practice. Most patients record a LFT of 30-40% of a healthy adults lung capacity. I recorded a lung capacity of 4 and a qtr litres. I was sent away because they had to 'calibrate the machinery' as it "was'nt working properly" ! When I came back, I gave it an extra push and recorded a lung capacity of 4 and a third litres. Still befuddled, she sent the results to my Haemotologist with an advisory note saying that they were not sure the machine was working properly. Ha, thanks. Said I would never have children after TBI, well they were wrong too. Got a little one of 14 months and another on the way (due Aug 14th). I put it down to a healthy lifestyle and cycling combined. Fuck 'em i say; more medals than at any time in our history at the Beijing Olympics thanks to some Lycra clad super athletes and yet the General Public still have'nt got a friggin clue as they set such low standards in health, are we so remarkable? Nah, but still on the brunt end of stupidity such as "Do you shave your legs to make you go faster...?" - pleb talk.

Mike Healey

A very slight acquaintance of mine (a v. fit runner) was taken rather ill and rushed to hospital.

After a session in intensive care, the ward sister said to him that his HR was so low they thought they were going to lose him.

He said there was nothing to worry about, he was very fit and had an exceptionally low HR.

She gave him a very old-fashioned look and said, "What? 12?"

greg66_tri_v2.0

I have one of those RoadID bracelets that has my RHR and BP on it. Figured that it mit save me from being misdiagnosed as being in shock if found myself lying on a roadside somewhere.

B3rnieMac

Am doing a drug trial at the moment - those zipp wheels aren't going to pay for themselves - and the woman dosing me this morning was flicking through my pack and was astonished at my rhr of 40, she said she had never seen a pulse that low before. Guess she doesn't see a lot of cyclists then.

Yossie

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

maybe it was your dilated pupils?

Nah - more like the fact that I couldn't stop dancing and I was dressed like John Travolta.

Yossie

On a more serious note, they actually do say that being super fit and having a really low HR is actually bad for you come operation time: ON of story above was saying that she was once monitoring a super fit runner when he was under having an op and because he was so fit when awake when knocked out his heart rate kept dropping so much that he would need the electric machine thing to recover him - had to zap him twice.

Quite a common occurrence I believe.

I was actaully well fit at the time of this op (RHR of 38 that dropped to 34 on HRM once while watching an England game due to boredom and thought I was going to die) and when I woke up I had two nurses watching me because my HR kept dropping between 37 and 35 setting off the "he's going to die alarms".

Same story: he's an athlete/cyclist, don't worry about it too much.

Recent Army medical also showed HR of 46ish - add a few says the Doctor because you're not really relaxed. That's because the next thing you do is that weird thing with my testicles, thinks I.

Redhog14

A few years ago I was suffering from chest pain and pain when breathing in - so mid thirties man in suit appears at Hospital with chestpain - fast tracked in and hooked up to various machines, 3 seperate doctors came and asked me if I was on medication and then if I was taking any illegal drugs. Answer No, same issue as above they couldn't believe my RHR of 42. Turns out I had torn some cartilidge in my shoulder which was causing the pain. Similar on a First aid course the tutor thought I was taking my own pulse wrong and was trying to make fun of me when I asked her to do it herself.

jedster

Still don't really understand the cocaine questions though - isnt cocaine a stimulent that tends to raise heart rates (like caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, adrenaline, etc.)? Biology not my strong point so may be nonsense!

rick_chasey

jedster wrote:

Still don't really understand the cocaine questions though - isnt cocaine a stimulent that tends to raise heart rates (like caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, adrenaline, etc.)? Biology not my strong point so may be nonsense!

I read somewhere that 40% of men with heart problems have taken cocaine within 3 months of them having the heart problem.

Separately, cocaine is very very bad for your heart, lungs, and blood > hence the above.

It's properly bad for your health.

Yossie

Rick Chasey wrote:

jedster wrote:

Still don't really understand the cocaine questions though - isnt cocaine a stimulent that tends to raise heart rates (like caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, adrenaline, etc.)? Biology not my strong point so may be nonsense!

I read somewhere that 40% of men with heart problems have taken cocaine within 3 months of them having the heart problem.

Separately, cocaine is very very bad for your heart, lungs, and blood > hence the above.

It's properly bad for your health.

Out of interest, did Boonen win anything while he was busy getting busted for Charlie (either time) - or did he get busted off season?

rick_chasey

Yossie wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

jedster wrote:

Still don't really understand the cocaine questions though - isnt cocaine a stimulent that tends to raise heart rates (like caffeine, amphetamines, nicotine, adrenaline, etc.)? Biology not my strong point so may be nonsense!

I read somewhere that 40% of men with heart problems have taken cocaine within 3 months of them having the heart problem.

Separately, cocaine is very very bad for your heart, lungs, and blood > hence the above.

It's properly bad for your health.

Out of interest, did Boonen win anything while he was busy getting busted for Charlie (either time) - or did he get busted off season?

Think both times (he was caught...) it was in the post- classics period before he started racing again.

Something about that empty feeling after the all to brief euphoria of winning, having lived like a month for 6 months.

amaferanga

Frank the tank wrote:

Went for a pre-med today and after viewing my ECG results and observing my low heart rate the nurse asked

"Are you on blood pressure tablets"?
"No, me duck."
"Do you just keep fit then"?
"I ride a bike. It's a shame your first reaction was to ask if I was on medication."
"Alas, it goes with the territory, most people I see don't persue a healthy life style and if they have a good heart rate is usually down to medication".

I dunno. Are you surprised that a nurse working in ECG expects people to be unhealthy? Her comments are a reflection of the job she does surely and not of society.

Not saying that as a nation we're not disgusting and unhealthy and getting worse though. Next time you're walking around in town try counting the number of men that don't have a fat bulging gut - you'll have fingers to spare....

Stone Glider

I find it scary, the number of people my age (65) & younger using mobility aids - walking sticks, etc. and deeply overweight. I'm not slightly built but they frighten me. The impact on your 'quality of life' must be severe

My RHR has dropped into the low 50's from the high 70's BTW, all thanks to cycling and the love of a good woman of course.

Cleat Eastwood

Stone Glider wrote:

all thanks to cycling and the love of a good woman of course.

just hope the wife doesnt find out, hehe.

schlepcycling

Yossie wrote:

I went to get some stuff cut out of me last year. The pre-op conversation went like this:

Old Nurse: So, do you drink?
Yossie: Well, yeah, but nothing major - a glass of wine or two a night during the week, maybe a bottle on a Saturday shared with Mrs Y and an occasional beer or two - you know, the normal. Nothing major.
ON: So you don't get smashed?
Y: No. Occasionally a few - say once every couple of months i'll get squiffy, but nothing major.
ON: Oh. How about drugs?
Y: No, I'm ok at the moment thankyou. Anyway, I have to go back to work in a bit and we're not meant to have any while we do what we do. Some people think it may be dagerous. Health and safety and all that .....
ON: Very funny. No, do you do any?
Y: No. I'm clean, me.
ON: None whatsoever?
Y: Nope. None. Aspirin for a headache and that's it.
ON: No coke?
Y: Sorry?
ON: Coke. Cocaine. Charlie.
Y: Errr, no.
ON: Not even a little bit? On a Saturday night?
Y. No.
ON: Are you sure?
Y: Yes. Sure. No coke.
ON (raising eyebrow): None?
Y: FFS, no.
ON: Oh. Fine. Its a surprise that's all.

Is it just me, or does it feel weird to be the one who isn't smacked off their tits?

Maybe she's a dealer and was trying to get you to change your supplier.

Velonutter

Mayniac wrote:

I was woken one morning last summer with acute abdominal pains. They got progressively worse, and during a conversation with a chap on the NHS helpline, he recommended and called for an ambulance.

The paramedics asked me for an indication of the pain level from 1 to 10. I gave it a 9, badly breaking my arm being a 5.
' How come his heart rate is only 59 then?'

' Have you seen the bike in the kitchen?' replied her colleague.

(Verdict: probably gallstones.)

I had the exact same thing last October and was rushed to hospital with a suspect heart attack, they couldn't work it out as I have a low heart beat.

They kept saying they were going to give me an adrenaline drug, I kept saying no and through each interaction with the Docs, told them the same...

"I train hard to get my heart beat like that", to which all of them were grateful that I had told them as if I had kept quiet they say I may not of been here now!!! :shock:

At 52 My resting heart beat is 47 on average, used to be sub 40 when I was in my youth.

I now wear a dog tag saying that I have a low heart beat and low blood pressure.

Turned out the problem was gallstones that I'm told can give similar symptoms as a heart attack.

Don't hesitate to keep telling all the medics that you are a cyclist with a low heart beat, it may just save your life!

term1te

I went to the work's doctor a couple of years ago to get a medical certificate for the Marmotte. He only asked if I'd trained before singing the form. As I left he asked if I "doped", as I must have looked slightly confussed, he clarified by asking if I took performance enhancing drugs. I think he was quite surprised that I didn't, although if he saw my final time he wouldn't have asked.

Saw some doctor on the TV last night saying it was dangerous to go over 85% of your maximum HR, which should be calculated by the old 220 minus age.

fossyant

I had a private full works medical about 5-6 years ago. All hooked up etc. etc. Bike test was laughable as they don't stress test just in case. Doctor was reviewing the heart traces. She says "Well, if I didn't know better, this tells me you are just about to have a heart attack'. pause........ 'my husband has a similar trace and he does loads of sport too'. Phew !

I had my shoulder decompressed last year and whilst I was 'out' my heart rate was doing just 32. Upon coming round, the nurse said 'oh we were a little worried then, you were slow to come round and your temperature was a bit low'.