Almost certainly totally fine and related to your fitness. However, in view of a previous history of dizziness, it’s probably worth making sure you have had an ECG (heart tracing) at some point just to rule out that you don’t have an odd electrical problem with the heartbeat.

Hannah (a cardiologist)

We went in October for a week – flew direct from Manchester to JFK with Delta I think. We stayed in Brooklyn, just over the bridge and next to a subway station. It was a lot cheaper than staying in Manhattan and just as easy to get around the main attractions.

I’d agree that Top of the Rock was better than the Empire State. Statue of Liberty was a bit of a waste of time – spent ages in queues to get there and back. Cycling round Central Park was fun. Brooklyn waterfront was lovely and you get a great view of the Manhattan skyline. Try Alma’s for amazing tacos and views in Brooklyn.

My parents live in the Ardeche (and rent out a gite, although I suspect they don’t take dogs). The Ardeche river itself is absolutely rammed even in June:
The Pont D'Arc in Summer by Hannah[/url], on Flickr

If we go in the height of summer, we prefer to canoe the Chassezac river – much better swimming points and a touch less busy. The Ceze is also nearby, but I didn’t think it was quite as nice as the Chassezac.

We hired a car from the Geneva side just before Christmas and drove it to Tignes in France. I tried to email Dollar prior to travelling regarding this and they never got back to me. Had no problems at all when we were out there, and the Swiss car came with winter tyres and a vignette for the motorway as standard (was a smidge more expensive than hiring via the French side though, and the queues at the pick up counter were longer).

Defo not trying hard enough! I’m a big fan of pootling (both on skis and MTB!).

I fell off my MTB when (knowingly) 7 weeks pregnant, whilst on a skills course – although the baby is well protected in the pelvis until about 13 weeks anyway. I was a little nervous about falling on the slopes (am now almost 22 weeks so the baby is definitely higher up and more vulnerable to any abdominal trauma), but decided that I shouldn’t do anything differently to normal as I haven’t fallen over on skis since I was a teenager. I’m glad that I have a supportive partner though – I wouldn’t MTB or ski if he wasn’t comfortable with me doing it.

Looking forward to taking the wee boy skiing next year now!!

Thanks for all the tips etc above. I ended up in Tignes in the end and have had a magnificent week on the slopes. The majority of the Espace Killy is fully open – the only place you can’t get to by skiing at the moment is Les Brevieres. Conditions on piste are good but very hard snow, and there’s no new snow forecast for a while. However, it hasn’t got above freezing all week and the resort is virtually empty, so conditions have remained stable.

I got a pair of Atomic Redster ST skis from the hire shop and have been pretty pleased with them. I asked for a slightly longer pair (163cm, for my 165cm height) and they coped well with the hard conditions. They were happiest when going quickly but were by far the best skis I’ve hired for a long while. I suspect they wouldn’t do so well in softer conditions, however.

Skiing whilst pregnant was actually totally fine, once I’d got over the nervousness of the first run. It definitely helped that the place wasn’t busy (I wasn’t so keen on slopes with lots of people, but they were easy to avoid this week). I also stuck to mainly easy runs, although that was partly due to my husband’s longstanding knee injury (I did do La Face black run on the second day…). The baby enjoyed kicking me in the bladder whilst I was sitting on chairlifts though. And I have amazing blisters on my calves where my ski boots have rubbed on my slightly swollen ankles. All in all, I’m glad I made the decision to go skiing, although obviously it’s a very personal decision and depends very much on the pregnant person and their attitude to risk.

The view from our bedroom window to Tignes Le Lac this morning :D

Very cold all day today, with a mild breeze on the tops. Clear and sunny though, and forecast for similar weather all week. Pistes hard but in good condition, and virtually empty. Great day on the slopes!

Thanks again everyone. I’m so excited, especially having watched that FB video! Hope the baby enjoys it too…

Oh, and BBRs? Erm….an acquired taste!

That’s what everyone I’ve spoken to says! But I really loved them – hired them for 3 years in a row. But I’ve no idea what I liked about them. I think I’ll just be a bit braver this year about going back to the shop and changing if I’m not getting on with the ski that they give me.

Cheers. Do you think there’s a particular property of the skis that I should be looking for (width/camber/rocker/length/weight) or do you think it’s mainly down to my 80s style of skiing?

Have thought about doing some private lessons in the past (last did an ESF lesson aged 14) but will probably give it a miss this year due to the pregnancy. Next year!

Well, me and the bump (and the husband) are off to Tignes tomorrow and we can’t wait! Got a great deal on what looks like a fantastic chalet, so hopefully it works out fine.

Can I ask a quick question about skis? Despite having skied since I was 4, I have no idea about what sort of ski I need to ask for in the hire shop. I learned on long narrow skis (the last pair I owned were 185cm – I’m 165cm tall!) and have never quite got to grips with the “new” technology skis.

The only pair of hire skis that I’ve properly got on with were Salomon BBRs. All the others have felt unstable, like I can’t put much weight through them when turning. I pretty much ski exclusively on groomed pistes, and have tended to go late in the season in changeable conditions (although obviously am going early this year). I feel like most skis try to “knock” together when I’m turning on hard snow, and feel unstable at speed. The BBRs were great for doing long sweeping turns on the piste.

I’ve booked fairly high end skis at the local hire shop but, in my experience, there’s usually the chance to guide the shop-people to what I want. Any suggestions on what I should be saying to them?

Awesome, thanks both. That’s great insider info! 3V opens officially on the 10th, and I think Tignes/Val are open already. I suspect I’ll have fun no mattter where I go!

if I may say so it’s very picky to complain you might not be able to ski the whole 3V !

Fair point! I like to ask for the moon on a stick though! Thanks for the tip on the World Cup – I had no idea that was on.

Cheers, have got good deals for both VT and Tignes – my only concern with VT is that it may not be possible to ski the rest of the 3V (although the accommodation looks nicer in VT, which might be useful if I find I can’t ski as much as I’d hoped!).

I’ve been very lucky so far and not had any pregnancy symptoms at all – I’m keen to make the most of it! I’ve performed the “sweeping” duties when my husband was learning to ski, so will employ him to do the same on this trip. However, I’ve been skiing since I was 4 and haven’t fallen over since I was 13 (I’m 33 now),and don’t do any crazy stuff even when not pregnant, so I’m relatively happy that it’s as safe as driving to work ;-)

I need some advice from the hive-mind, if you’d all be so kind. My husband and I have a week off beginning the 10th December and it’s just crossed my mind that it’s the beginning of the ski season in France that week. I’m really keen to get one last ski trip in before our lives change forever (I’m 19 weeks pregnant with our first) but I’m not sure where to book (if anywhere) – we usually go to the French Alps fairly late in the season so are used to variable conditions, and usually go to a high resort.

I have found some decent deals for Tignes, Val Thorens and La Plagne – any ideas on which of those will have the best snow cover in a couple of weeks time? I’m a first-to-last lift kind of gal so snow cover and ability to ski miles and miles is top of my essentials list!

(PS please no judgements on the sanity of going downhill skiing whilst pregnant – I’ve been commuting by bike to work most days since I found out, and have been on my MTB most weekends! I’d go mad if I couldn’t!)

I agree with dcjay99 above – until you’ve been fully diagnosed, take it easy, don’t try to trigger the pain by doing strenuous exercise, and don’t be afraid to seek medical attention if you have a prolonged or severe episode. Take the GTN when you need to (make sure you are sitting down when you do, and stop doing whatever triggered the pain).

An exercise ECG will be useful in showing whether you have any obstruction to the blood supply under stress – other options for diagnostic tests include stress tests that use drugs instead of exercise to stress the heart. If any of these are positive, you will probably be referred for an angiogram of the coronary arteries – I would strongly suggest that you stop exercising whilst waiting for this if the exercise ECG is positive (you can go back to normal physical exertion once you’ve got it sorted!).

This is a good leaflet which has information regarding coronary angiograms/angioplasty (it’s made by a private device company, which I have no affiliation to, but is very informative nevertheless).

Best wishes,
Hannah (a cardiologist)

PS I agree with chewkw – hospitality for Iranians is everything and they get very offended if they can’t maintain face.

I have Iranian parents-in-law – I feel your pain!

They are an extraordinarily generous people, as far as I can tell. We’ve had to tell my father in law to stop buying ridiculously expensive Christmas presents for us as he is relatively hard up and we are both doctors (and really don’t need any more “stuff”). It’s been successful, up to a point – the main thing that stopped it was my husband telling his dad that he was embarrassing me with his generosity as I’m Scottish and wasn’t used to that sort of extravagance.

He does bring Iranian foodstuffs with him every time he visits but luckily both my husband and I like most of them (husband eats the weird pickle things!) so that’s not so bad.

We’ve been less successful with my mother-in-law. She keeps bringing ridiculously expensive silk rugs over from Iran and I’ve run out of rooms to put them in. I feel really awkward accepting them, but I know that she feels worse if she arrives empty handed, so I’ve learned to try to accept things with good grace if at all possible.

On your second point, it’s easier just to agree that things are better in Iran! I’ve never been, but it sounds like a fascinating country and I’d love to visit if there wasn’t a risk of my husband being forced to do military service. I think the generation that came over around the time of the Islamic Revolution find it very difficult to reconcile all the changes that have happened in the country since then, as it seems to have been quite a modern and progressive country prior to this.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Just watched the first episode (whilst on night shift on CCU!) and very much enjoyed it – as much as I think my job is nuts sometimes, I know I could never hack it as a paramedic, you guys deal with a whole other level of craziness.

Implantable loop recorders (ILR, also called a Reveal device, as mentioned in the above post) are really useful in this situation where the arrhythmia is relatively infrequent but when you have a high suspicion that something is going on. It is the size of a USB stick and sits under the skin under the left collarbone (inserted under local anaesthetic) and can stay in for several years until you record an event. Might be worth chatting to the next doctor you see about this option.

I decided to have a year off racing as I was starting to not enjoy the endless winter nights on the turbo and the horrible nauseating feeling of standing on the start line, but I’ve really missed the camaraderie and banter of XC racing (and meeting wonderful people who’ll happily tow me round 40km of the finest Northumbrian trails), so I’m sure I’ll be back next year! :lol:

This is my Strava from last year: https://www.strava.com/activities/385930576

But I’ve heard there’s more singletrack and less fireroad, so the route may be a bit different.

Bit sad to be missing out on it this year as it was surprisingly enjoyable last year. But I’m taking advantage of my spot prize that I won at the event tomorrow (a skills coaching day at Cyclewise @ Whinlatter – which I am sorely in need of!).

I’m not sure where you’re based, but my grandparents (gran with mild dementia but fit and active, grandad with physical disabilities, both caring for each other in their own home currently) had a 10 day spell of respite at Leuchie House in East Lothian recently. They have space for both carers and patients and organised day trips to the coast etc for their residents. My grandparents seemed to enjoy it, and it gave them (and my mum) a bit of respite.

There’s a very active and supportive Facebook group called MTBChix&Trails that usually has lots of women keen to meet up for a ride. I’m sure there will be some around Gisburn.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MTBChixandTrails/

Angina?

(the latin translation of this word means “to choke”).

Exercise induced symptoms of the neck/arm/chest would always prompt me to see a Dr swiftly, as they could indicate potentially significant heart issues.

It’s a restrictive pattern of lung function, as DrP says, rather than an obstructive pattern (which would be more typical of asthma). Causes include anything from poor technique on the test, to scarring of the lungs from various mechanisms, to just being fat.

GP should be the first port of call, who should take a decent history (including any occupational dust exposures, smoking history and whether you have any pets) have a listen to your chest. He/she may refer you for a chest X-Ray, CT scan, or to a specialist for further investigations depending on what they find.

I tried to last year. Spent 90 mins haggling and thrashing out a deal on a new car with finance. The chap shook my hand and took my credit card to take the deposit. Then came back 2 mins later to say that he actually couldn’t do that deal but would sell me the same car for “only” £3k extra. We got up, walked out, and I’ll never step foot in one of their garages again. Total waste of time.

(Got the same car and finance from another garage the next day, for £2k less than the deal I agreed with AC)

The DVLA don’t discriminate between partial and full seizures in their guidance (and it’s worth pointing out that her diagnosis of “complex” partial seizures means that she loses consciousness during them).

Recurrent unexplained loss of consciousness carries guidance that driving must stop for 12 months from the date of the last attack. If there is suspicion of seizure activity (does not require a diagnosis of epilepsy), then the epilepsy guidelines apply.

Her defence that no-one told her not to drive also doesn’t hold any water. From the DVLA site: “Applicants and licence holders have a legal duty to notify the DVLA of any injury or illness that would have a likely impact on safe driving ability”. So, if you’re not sure, you should inform the DVLA and get them to make the decision.

Of course, medical professionals also have a legal duty to inform their patients not to drive. I wonder how many patients I inform of the DVLA guidance actually heed it?

Whitestone – the guidance for medical professionals is here. It’s very specific about recurrent events and the definitions of these. It says recurrent transient loss of consciousness is within 3 years of the first episode.

MrChrispy – I’m currently in Nice airport and its business as usual. A few more gendarmes on the road than usual. France seems to be exactly the same as it was on the 13th (although we haven’t been into the centre of Nice on this trip)

May seem obvious but have you spoken to the biostatistics people in the maths dept at Newcastle University? I assume that is where you are based on what you are studying.

Might seem obvious, but my brain is so frazzled by this that it hadn’t even crossed my mind! I’ve had a look and there look to be at least a couple of people in that department with research interests in this field so I’ll go and knock on some doors/send some emails.

I think the problem with our (my) data collection is that we’ve used a fairly new technology in a very specific sub group of patients and I think we underestimated the amount of missing data due to these issues, and also how much more complex the data would be compared to previous studies. It’s been a learning curve for all involved.

I’m based in the north of England, but thanks for your offer. I’m going to keep trying to annoy the statisticians at my institution in the hope that one can eventually help me!

TiRed and johnx2 – I can’t thank you enough for having a look at this. I have to confess that I have very little comprehension of what you’re actually talking about, but it’s given me something to think about (and start googling all those terms you’re using!).

I should point out that my example spreadsheet is literally just some numbers that I made up to illustrate my problem. I could show you the actual spreadsheet, but I fear you may lose the will to live if you see it. 17 out of 84 patients had an adverse outcome at 1 year in the actual dataset (ie 20%).

Can I ask what sort of statistical tests you are actually using to construct these models? Assume I’m a moron…

Johnx2 – thanks. I’ve been cutting and pasting huge swathes of data and didn’t even realise that SPSS could do that!

Would adding rows of “missing data” (so that each patient now has 4 vessels and therefore equal quadruplication of their demographics/outcomes) help even out the statistics?

Why doesn’t he want you to speak to the guy directly?

Life is too short (and the forum too public) to go into the issues I’ve had with this project…

You’ve already all been more helpful than every official person I’ve spoken to put together. Thanks!

TiRed – thanks so much. Will email you forthwith!

(and put the bike-buying on hold for now)

Yeah, that’s the issue that I’m having – trying to rationalise all this data into one line per patient. I know that previous studies have managed to analyse their data on a “vessel-level” rather than “patient-level”, so there must be a way round it. I just can’t figure it out.

I’ve tried talking to a medical statistician at the university, but they were less than helpful (basically spent an hour with them to be told that they couldn’t help me).

And I do have hypotheses – I’m just not sure how to test them!

Do you think buying a new bike would help?

Apparently, WADA’s statute of limitations on these blood bags (10 years) ran out 11 days ago, so it may be unlikely that athletes are retrospectively banned, even if they are named as a result of this.

Would you have been doing 29.8mph if you hadn’t been wearing a helmet?

The only way is to pop into the nearest GP surgery/walk in centre/A+E and say you have palpitations and need an ECG. It’s not ideal. But it solves this problem:

BTW – I have low hopes of being able to repeat this actual effect during testing (as it has only happened 4 times in 20 rides), but presumably this wont be necessary for a fault to be picked up?

Unfortunately, intermittent arrhythmias often don’t show anything at all on a resting ECG. 24 hour heart rate monitoring is the first test that we would do, and often we have to monitor for a week or more (or, in some cases, implant a little recorder under the skin that can stay there for several years) to catch the disturbance.

To be fair, your graph doesn’t show the typical sudden switching on and off that I would expect of most of the common arrhythmias so it is possible that it is due to interference/low battery etc. But, given that you have symptoms as well, I would definitely get it checked out by an actual non-internet doctor.