(no subject)

[star_maple]

I feel like shit. I've tried to work out for the past two days and have been too dizzy to complete my workout (moving from one weight lifting position to another just kills me). Part of me thinks it's my positional low blood pressure again, especially because I've been trying to save money by cutting out my favorite salty snacks (salt raises blood pressure and has helped in the past), but I've also got lethargy this time (takes me forever to get out of bed in the morning) and I just feel ditzy and stupid which might mean anemia. However once I get going, and as long as I'm not changing position, I'm pretty good to go. Walking is fine-- I went to a basketball game last night and walked back and forth to the grocery store with no problems.

I also have a sore throat and am a little stuffy, but I think that's unrelated-- probably just dust.

Any suggestions? Can't go to the doctor yet 'cause I don't have my new Care Card. Gonna head to the drug store and get a multi-vitamin with plenty of iron and B-12 and folate, just in case.

ETA: Checked my blood pressure on the machine at the Shoppers Drug Mart: 102/70. Normal's 120/80, but apparently as long as I'm above 90/60 I'm not going to drop dead or anything-- at least according to WebMD.

Comments

[star-maple.livejournal.com]

Heart rate was 76 at the time I checked my BP and that was directly after a 15 minute walk. Normally my heart rate goes up pretty fast and high (near 200 bpm) when I exercise hard, but that's only when I'm working out. I've had an EKG (I think that's what it was) and apparently all systems were go, so I'm not too worried about my heart.

It's been hotter than normal, but it's not too bad this week. I'm not dripping sweat or anything, and I've only had the fan on once.

I did not hear that there were any problems with the Olympic Team sweaters! Ooh! Knitting gossip! Spill!

[brookiki.livejournal.com]

Interesting. My 12 lead showed everything normal and it was discovered after I wore an event monitor for a month. You might try checking your pulse to see if anything weird is going on when you're having the events. Of course, I automatically go to that because of past experiences.

As for the knitting thing: Apparently, the Cowichan tribe submitted a design to the Olympic Committee for Cowichan sweaters for the Canadian Olympic team. They would have all been made by hand by members of the tribe. It was a really gorgeous design, too. Here's what it looked like. But according to what i've read, the Olympic Committee gave it to a company who did a knockoff and outsourced the work to somewhere in Europe. They gave some excuse about worrying that it wasn't up to their standards. There was a lot of outcry and they finally compromised by allowing the Cowichan tribe to sell the sweaters in Olympic outlets under the Olympic name, which even the manufacturer of the sweaters worn by the team wasn't able to do.

Honestly, though, I doubt that satisfied anyone except for the people who were only worried about money, since most of the outrage was centered around "Why can't a Canadian Olympic team in BC wear something made in that area that is iconic for that area?" And I really want one of those sweaters now. If I ever get out to Seattle (I'm supposed to visit a friend there), I am so taking a day trip to find one of those sweaters and damn the cost. (Which, for the official Olympic sweater, was $350.)

[star-maple.livejournal.com]

I hadn't seen those sweaters at all! (And if you come over to Seattle, you have to let me know and I'll come down and meet you!) Here's the thing about the Olympics, though... Suppliers and sponsors pay a LOT of money to be official Olympic brands, and the Olympics do whatever they can to protect their sponsors-- so much so that if volunteers wore shoes with visible non-sponsor logos, they came at us with duct tape to cover them up. The official uniform supplier was HBC (Hudson's Bay Company) and they likely had their own suppliers who could supply sweaters for cheaper and therefore make a greater profit (because that's what this whole thing is all about after all). The ball was entirely in HBC's court because they'd paid for the privilege.

As for my dizzyness-- today and yesterday I've been dizzy all day long. I'm almost certain it's anemia, since all my symptoms are lining up so nicely. Hopefully the vitamins I bought and my increased red meat intake will do the trick (thank God for the sale on ground beef the other day or I'd be screwed). I have taken my pulse during a normal positional hypotension episode before, though, and it doesn't seem to race.

[brookiki.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely let you know.

That's true. I hadn't realized it was that aggressive, but I can absolutely see why. The articles I came across really tried to put it on the Olympic committee itself, but they do tend to oversimplify stuff. Doing a little more digging, I came across a quote from the tribe's general manager saying that they weren't sure they could do it, but they were willing to try.

That said, I think there were a few legal issues with it, since the sweater itself is a registered trademark and HBC used it. I think that's how the sweater was listed as an official Olympic product, to ward off a potential lawsuit.

It probably is anemia. I had a few mild problems with it occasionally and it's always amazing how just taking a multi-vitamin really helps. Sounds like you've got it covered.

[star-maple.livejournal.com]

The official uniform sweaters didn't have the rings on them-- I think it was a moose instead. (Nope, it was a cariboo: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_JAtuLDX8VU8/SzFgvpim6tI/AAAAAAAAA3w/aaMBmT28gPc/s400/hbc-hbc_RVGTF913.jpeg )That may have been part of the problem, the legal protection around the rings logo.

My blood pressure is 10 points higher today. I don't think it's supposed to swing 10 points in 21 hours, but I'm glad I seem to be getting better.