GIP, and health stuff

[ratcreature]

I present you with a Conflicted!RatCreature icon, a RatCreature subjected to warring influences... *g*



Like, for example right now I'm pondering whether I ought to heed my physician's advice to take up some endurance exercise I would "enjoy" or stick with the baser instincts of my inner Sloth!RatCreature.

I think I mentioned before that I went to get checked out because I recently got dizzy and fainted (which frankly sucked, not least because I banged my knee when I fell down after passing out, and well, there was the general unpleasantness of loosing consciousness unexpectedly too). The good news is that there's nothing wrong at all in my blood tests, apparently all the things they check for were healthy, my EKG was normal too, though my BP was a rather high, so that wasn't any help with an explanation either, as a low BP might have been. I suspect a significant influence on my BP might be the near panicky state I tend to be in when I am seeing a doctor, at least my pulse was apparently significantly slower during the EKG when the doctor wasn't in sight (and IIRC at least last year when the nurse checked it when I was in the hospital for the eye thing they never mentioned it being high either), but I am still to get that checked out further. The bad news is that he suggested I ought to do some endurance sport to strengthen my circulation in reaction to the fainting thing, as there's apparently nothing really wrong with me, and I just ought to come back if should happen to faint again.

I mean, I'm sure such exercise would be good for me, but... The only sports I've ever done voluntarily was a bit of Qi Gong some years ago, mostly to help with some back pain I had then, but it's not like I stuck with it once I had gotten mostly rid of the back problems. Swimming would be a hassle to do regularly and I don't own a bike (besides, I kind of vowed when I was eleven or so to never get on a bike again, and so far I haven't broken that promise), so that pretty much leaves me with jogging as the obvious option. I have trouble to see that happening.

It not that I don't acknowledge that in theory it would be better if I was less sedentary, but in practice my only concession to that is that I favor stairs for anything on the sixth floor or below even if there's an elevator, since I'm used to walking up that much anyway as my apartment is unfortunately located like this, and well, obviously I have to walk for many errands too, since I don't own a car. But in general my strategy is sadly a sloth-like avoidance of movement, and I find the thought of running around without need a bit bewildering. Also I suspect I'd feel embarrassed.

OTOH I found getting dizzy and loosing consciousness rather scary even without any serious underlying cause making it worse, and I would like to prevent it from happening again, and obviously there's that whole "exercise is good for you in any case" thing, that gets shoved into your face everywhere.

I also made a Geek!RatCreature icon. Well, actually it looks more like a MadScientist!RatCreature icon, which is why I decided to add the text:

Comments

[ane.livejournal.com]

It's been much too long since I've mentioned I love your icons. *g* And I'm pretty sure that Geek!RatCreature does have an evil gleam in its eyes.

[ratcreature]

Thanks, I'm glad to hear you like them. And yeah, mad scientist or not, it's definitely not a *harmless* geek. ;)

[dragovianknight.livejournal.com]

I think Geek!RatCreature is a Spark. (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com)

The devil on Conflicted!RatCreature is too cute for words.

[ratcreature]

Oh yeah, I can see the similiarity.

And if you let Devil!RatCreature hear that you'd get picked with a trident. ;) But I'm glad you like the icons.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

You know, the bypassing the elevator and the walking for errands makes you inherently unslothlike to me. *g* I've been thinking I should take up walking to work, because it's only a couple of miles, but it's so handy to have my car there, for any shopping on the way home, or what have you! But like you, I really need to get more exercise, sigh.

And as always, fabulous icons!

[ratcreature]

Well, I don't have to walk *miles* for the things I need to do. I mean, for anything where I'd have to walk significantly longer than ten minutes I use public transport.

But since I don't live in suburbia but in a city neighborhood I don't need a car for normal shopping (obviously shopping for furniture and such sucks with public transport, even something that you can still carry like a shelf becomes totally unwieldy in the underground, an experience I made last time I bought one from IKEA, also even the short walk I have to the DIY store sucks when you carry large pieces of wood or similar stuff). Overall, the distance to the stores I use is mostly like the going to the supermarket across the street for groceries or at least less than one or two blocks away, and there wouldn't be any parking nearer to the stores in any case.

So it's definitely not a "uphill both ways in the snow" type of situation. *g* Well, except for the part where I have to schlep everything up the frelling stairs. (We hates them, preciousss....) Thankfully at least the tap water here tastes okay, it doesn't bear thinking about how horrible it would be if I had to carry beverages upstairs too, instead of just drinking plain tap water and tea.

[elynross.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, downplay it, but you're talking to someone whose longest walk is at most the equivalent of a long block, or a couple short ones, between her car and work. *g* My knees don't like stairs, either, although mostly I've just gotten lazy about that.

So, okay, maybe we both should do some more intentional walking. *g*

[catmoran.livejournal.com]

Maybe you could get away with adding a few longer, slightly speedier walks into the mix. Walking can actually be very good exercise.