The first return visit to Panda Express® on King Street occurred on Saturday. The chosen selections were Super Greens, Eggplant Tofu, and Grilled Teriyaki Chicken. The dinner was “free” by redeeming some of the 10,400 reward points. The total sodium for the meal was calculated to be about 1,000 mg.
Sleep appeared to be normal later that night. However, good sleep ended at 2:30am. Essentially, the rest of the time was spent just lying still on the bed. There may have been brief moments of core sleep, though. Since the reduction in sodium, there have been fewer awakenings at night with little need to “drain the lizard.” Even with the aforementioned deprived sleep, everything appeared to be normal.
At the gym today, the workout was somewhat laborious because of fatigue. Thus, a lighter version of the usual cardio workout was initiated. Within a couple of minutes, skipped heartbeats were noticed. Upon abruptly mummifying the workout, heart rate jumped to 160bpm. An hour elapsed before the heartbeats returned to sinus rhythm. The gym staff was notified that an SVT event was in progress, and that an ambulance may have to be requested.
A salad, possibly high in sodium, was purchased for dinner at the ABC Store near the “old folks home” in Waikiki. Most of the salad dressing and ham chunks were discarded. Heart rate has been continuously monitored with the Watch Series 9 throughout the evening. The heart rate never went below 87bpm even while sitting (as of this post).
Of note, there are curious symptoms that occur during the heart palpitations. The need to “drain the lizard” every 15 minutes or less and the near-continuous flatulence are puzzling. Is the body realizing a near-death experience?
The latest SVT event now prompts immediate changes to personal diet with a further decrease in sodium intake being a priority. The restrictions on caffeine will be resumed. At this time, the sodium content in the modified Panda Express® meals is unlikely to be the culprit. Perhaps, there is some other benign ingredient acting as a trigger. Reduction in saturated fat intake will also be mandated. At this point, what else is left?
Addendum: The recent blood test revealed that blood sugar and TSH (thyroid) are in the “normal” range. Alcoholic beverage consumption is next to zero. Stress and anxiety have abated about two weeks ago for no particular reason. Hydration is being consciously maintained. And, daily coffee consumption, on average, is the equivalent to a small retail cup.
Miscellany: Resting heart rate (one of the “vitals”) has gone up from 52bpm to 56bpm in the past few days, a sure sign that an illin’ episode is forthcoming (most likely “COVID” … errr, the common cold).
Postscript: Resting heart rate rose to 63bpm. Extreme nasal congestion also developed by late evening, so an illin’ event may be in the works.