Getting Fit

I tipped the scales at 189 or so.

My weight has been remarkably stable, and about 5 lbs higher than my best, back in March. I think it’s a combination of diet and weightlifting. I’m doing that thing where I indulge more than I should.

I really haven’t made great gains because I still don’t have the range of motion I’d like. Although I can jump up 20 lbs in squats and deadlifts. I have had small gains in the assisted pullups and dips.

Whatever. I am, after all, an older gentleman.

Besides, my clothes are loose. I appear to be dropping fat and adding muscle, or at least definition.

I won’t be doing a lot, if any, gym work this week, and probably next. I’m simply too busy to take advantage of the quiet hours at the rec center. If I get there late morning, there’ll be crowds of geriatrics working on machines, leaving the gear I use free. An hour later, there’ll be four guys in there all queued up for the squat rack. All, but one, making a career out of doing some squats. I simply don’t have the time to moon around waiting, and don’t want to try it late in the day. I know what I’ll see – couples, which take even longer at the gear than puppies.

If I get a chance, I’ll use my own set that’s sitting neglected in my garage.

Besides, I’m still in the process of shrugging off the latest round of meds from my neurologist.

Dude is hell bent to get me on an anti-depressive. This one had a dual purpose in that it alleviates neuropathy (what’s going on in my jaw). Whelp. Didn’t work. I’m done with the dude. I saw an oral surgeon, he told me the choices I have. None are good. None went down the path he’s going.

So the list of failure, along with my GP is:

• Sertraline: An antidepressant that made me walk around in a fog, stupefied. The idea here was that if I weren’t stressed, My BP wouldn’t rise. It did anyway, even though I was stupefied. I knew better. Took it maybe two weeks. I was given that the month Herself left.
• Lyrica: Worked, sort of. Lessened the numbness and tingling for part of the day. But I got all the bad side effects – most notably “dark moods”. Also, dysfunction in an area I’d just as soon not have dysfunction.
• Tramadol; Worked a bit. But it’s an opiate. You have to take it every day. When you don’t, you get withdrawal in the form of ‘flu like’ symptoms. Absolutely miserable, and not worth it.
• Nortriptyline; I checked to make sure it dealt with neuropathy before I took it. If it worked on my jaw, it was subtle. But I got nearly all the bad side effects. I felt like I was carrying around a cinderblock. Worse yet, I got insomnia from it, making things worse. More …uh…dysfunction. I lasted a week.

I’m giving the neurologist the heave ho. There’s no point wasting another minute with the guy. He seems fishing for something to keep me there – depression, dementia, none of which I have whatsoever.

Far as my jaw goes, I’ve made friends with the numbness.

To be honest, other than the collateral damage to my neck and throat from cancer, I’m very fit. My BP is low, my stamina and strength are up.

I’ll be adding mileage to my running and biking and taking doctors with a big fat grain of salt.