Originally Posted by indyfabz

I used to overeat during unsupported tours. I started experimenting and found I really did not need a huge breakfast in the morning. Something simple like a bagel with canned fish or even fig bars were enough to get me started. And on the road limited snacking on things like nuts and/or energy bars is usually enough unless I have a really hard day planned (e.g., one with a hard mountain pass), in which case I might pick up a sandwich somewhere. I also carry a few packages of Hammer Perpetuem if I know I will have days with no services en route. Last year I did a 52 mile day in Montana that had about 4,100' of climbing, including one pass. No food or water between the starting and ending points. Breakfast consisted of fig bars and coffee. On the road I ate a couple of Cliff Bars, some peanuts, an apple and a bottle of Perpetuem. I was quite hungry at the end of the ride, but I never felt a lack of energy while riding.

Originally Posted by Bassmanbob

I’m very happy that your visit went well. Just monitor your condition. I have a dear friend who was treated for GERD for a month before his primary doctor was concerned about his heart. A week later he had a a quadruple bypass. His years of running provided him collateral circulation around his blockages, saving his life prior to the bypass. All I’m saying now is to be aware of your progress.

Originally Posted by Wattsup

Thanks, I am monitoring. It is a little coincidental that the GERD thing started exactly at the most strenuous part of the climb, and subsided two minutes after I stopped. I asked her about that, and both of our guesses were that it was during the climb that I was doing a whole heck of a lot huffing and puffing, spraying acid on whatever is being irritated. I just got done a block of brutally difficult indoor intervals indoors about two or three weeks ago though, heart rate sky-high, with no symptoms at all. You'd think if I needed a bypass I would have had some symptoms. My fear after the climb was that it was the full stomach that was the added burden (less blood available) that caused the angina (like) symptoms.
Well, at least I know I have a normal resting EKG. I'm going to see the PCP soon in any case. Thanks for the advice!

Originally Posted by bpcyclist

Interesting. I did just a little under 80 the other day with food (mostly bars of different types, maybe 200 calories an hour) but with no water. It was only 55 degrees outside, so I did not consider it a realy safety issue. I actually filled my bottles and inadvertently left them in the fridge. Did not want to ride all the way back and get them. Lazy, I guess.

Anyway, it was relatively flat and I rode slow. That said, I was really, really thirsty when I finished. Like, extremely thirsty. Water is key, obviously.

Originally Posted by qcpmsame

Tomato sauce will certainly do the trick for some, but I'd watch thing carefully for the time being. Even with the doctor checking it out with a stethescope, I'd be wary about things. This is from hard earned experience and surgery on my own ticker last October. I knew I had AFib for about a year, and a cardiologist had jerked me around about things. He wasted time with a false Dx of a 75%+ blockage of the LAD, based on one ECG during a regular check up. I bit and had the Cathertization (sp?) procedure. NO blockage present, he laughed it off and left the room. I left his practice, and the hospital also.

I found a Cardiologist Heart Rhythm specialist at another hospital, purchased an Apple Watch with ECG capability, and when an series of events hit me over a weekend, he had ne in for scheduling an ablation ASAP. No events at all since the surgery (4 location ablation, all four pulmonary veins at the entry to the left atrium.)

Just be careful with that heart please, watching my father die from a massive MI, at 49, almost did me in myself, I was 19 at the time. Left the USMC PLC program
then, and I enlisted a few months afterwards when my mom was stable and able to handle things again.

Bill

Originally Posted by Wattsup

Thanks Bill. I'm taking Protonix and will keep a watchful eye. I ride a lot, ride hard, so if it was angina, I'll surely feel it again soon. I did a 30 mile ride a few days ago, no issues, but no substantial hills either. In the next few days I'll be doing some very high HIIT, within a few beats of maximum heart rate, so that'll be the acid test.

Originally Posted by qcpmsame

Roger that, glad you are doing well. I'm doing indoor training stand sessions for now. I watch the MHR closely, its staying quite nicely below my estimated max HR ( highest has been 136 during some intervals with high spin rates and high resistance settings. I'm leery of much outdoor activities right now, 63 y.o., and had far too many surgeries between 2000 and 2010, 16 total and two chemo rounds on top of those.

Keep on keeping' on my friend!

Bill

Originally Posted by Wattsup

Update....After my last post here, I started getting some horseness in my voice after 5 minutes of talking , another symptom of GERD. My doctor prescribed 40mg of Protonix daily, and I also started taking a liquid antacid before bed and also before vigorous exercise. I raised the head of my bed a few inches as well. All symptoms have subsided, no more incessant throat clearing, no more hoarseness, no throat issues, no "angina-like" symptoms. I'm sure I have GERD, and I expect it to take several months for the tissues in my throat to fully heal.

Last night I did a 30 minute custom HIIT VO2max 30x15 interval workout on Trainerroad. It's 30 seconds on at 130% of FTP, 15 seconds off at 60% FTP. Nine of those intervals, three sets, each set separated by 3 minutes at 60% FTP. This workout is brutal, and it gets my heart rate REALLY high by the third set. Here's a screen print from Training Peaks. I set 5 heart rate records last night, mostly because I've lost some fitness over the last few weeks. The 5-minute number represents 97% of my max heart rate, which is 159. No pain or anything. I did take a couple of teaspoons of liquid antacid before though. I don't think I ever had angina. : )

Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy

Great! When you're done with your course of Protonix, try 20mg of Famotidine 20'-60' before breakfast and dinner. That's working great for me and seems to actually be healing my esophagus. Proton pump inhibitors are not good to take for long periods. Raising the head of the bed seems to be a key thing, permanent. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article...h-longterm-use

Originally Posted by Wattsup

Good info, thanks. I especially took note of the rebound effect, and the advice to taper when coming off. My doctor doesn't want me to remain on the protonix long term. He mentioned short courses (after this long one) to keep symptoms in check. i'll consider the pepcid, I also might have an upper GI done. Doc thinks I have a hiatal hernia.

Originally Posted by Wattsup

I did my usual 20 mile ride today, and rather than hop on the train with the bike and head home like I usually do, I decided to turn the bike around and ride the 20 miles home. 40 miles is no problem for me. The only issue was that I had my normal 12 inch Subway meatball sandwich before deciding to ride the 20 miles home. I knew that wasn’t a great idea, but I planned on taking it easy all the way home. I never eat a meal before riding, but today I did.



On the way home, I discovered that a little bridge was out, so I had to detour. I asked an elderly biker for directions, and he said, “Go up this hill, make the 2nd left, and you’ll be back on track. Well, it was a hill all right. It was about a mile long, and I had to stop and walk about two thirds of the way up. That didn’t surprise me, as it was long steep hill, beyond my current ability. Here’s the thing though. Towards the end of my climb, I started getting a strange tightness in my throat. It kind of reminded me of the exercise induced asthma I would get when I was very young, (I’m 60 yrs old now). The humidity was very low today, brush fire warnings.The sensation stopped about two minutes after I got off the bike and started walking. I got to the top of the hill and proceeded home another 15 miles without incident. Do you think this was angina? I had no chest pain, but I was in the weeds, right up against my fitness limit. Here’s the thing. I’m up against that limit often with no similar symptoms. I do VO2 max intervals in Trainerroad and get my heart within just a few beats of my maximum. Not a calculated maximum, but my proven maximum. I never have any issue, no pain. Just today, after I ate a foot long sandwich, something I never ordinarily do. I’ll usually have a small snack no less than 90 minutes before biking.



So what do you think? Anyone here ever have diagnosed angina with just this one symptom, a throat tightness?

edit: Could this be vocal cord disfunction? I have noticed myself clearing my throat alot lately, my voice sounds soft, almost hoarse sometimes. To me, from my experience, that's likely GERD. I started taking prilosec again a few days ago.

Originally Posted by Wattsup

You make a good point. On the other hand, if the doc ordered a nuclear stress test, I'd probably have to wait for 6 months in the other country!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypi.../#19e9565736b8