Lesson Learned

So on Saturday I bought some Green Tea Extract to sort of jump start a little weight loss before Christmas. I took it Saturday, Sunday and this morning. I read the label and believed it was safe for me to take even though it warned against people with "bleeding disorders" taking it. I have a clotting disorder, not a bleeding disorder so I thought it was okay. Well, when I worked out on Sunday I got a little more out of breath than normal, and it continued for most of the day. I didn't think that much of it because I have bradycardia, and sometimes my heart doesn't beat fast enough for me to get enough oxygen and it makes me short of breath sometimes. (My heart gets down to about 42 beats per minute and I have to wear a heart monitor sometimes to make sure it stays above 40 bpm, if not I will need a pacemaker...I'm an 80 year old in a 36 year old body) Anyway, I attributed the shortness of breath to the bradycardia and really didn't think much of it.

I went to work out today, and only 3 minutes into my workout I was really short of breath and dizzy, but I pushed through it and did my 30 minutes. I was really breathing heavy, and 2 hours later I still was breathing too heavy to breathe through my nose. I started to get a little scared, and googled "green tea extract and shortness of breath." Well, I found all kinds of warnings about it saying that if you have any blood disorders, or are on birth control pills, or blood thinners including aspirin therapy, or taking sudafed, that you should NOT take the green tea extract with it. Well, I took all 3 of those drugs yesterday, I have a blood disorder, and a heart disorder. I got really scared and started debating whether it was better to wait another hour and call my normal doctor who knows all the stuff wrong with me (everything) or go to urgent care. I decided to call a friend who is a doctor and ask her. She assured me I would be fine, and then lectured me about taking an herbal supplement without consulting a doctor especially with all my various health problems. It was stupid of me to do that, but green tea extract seems so harmless I just didn't think it could hurt me. Lesson learned. As Walt would say, I'm a delicate flower. :)