Still Here

It's been a rough couple of weeks.
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Following up on my birthday visit to the cardiologist, I returned on 09/09/09 for my all-day stress test. I arrived at 8:20 am, having eaten nothing since the prior evening, per their instructions.
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They were a bit behind schedule, but they got me into a room at 9:00 and put an IV into the back of my right hand, injected an isotope into my system, and wrapped up the needle-pierced hand to save the IV for later use.

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A little bit pinchy, but I could deal with it.
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I returned to the waiting room for about 30 minutes to allow the isotope to circulate through my system.

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My next stop was in the room with the machine pictured below. The talkative tech, George, had me lay on the table for 20 minutes while the round attachment orbited my upper body, stopping every 15 seconds to scan my resting heart.
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So far, so good.
I was supposed to start the treadmill at 10:30, but Dr. Memon had an emergency at the hospital and would be an hour late. It was 10:00 when they sent me away. Go run some errands and come back at 11:15, I was told.

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I went home and took a 1-hour nap.

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When I returned, I waited. And waited.

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The doctor's emergency had become emergency heart surgery, but he'd be back in another hour. I felt bad for this unknown patient, but my mind's ability to focus was diminishing as my blood sugar dropped.

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I informed George that I was hypoglycemic and feeling a bit loopy from fasting so long. I warned him there was a real chance that I'd pass out on the treadmill, and it would have nothing to do with my heart.
It was after 1:00 when they finally hooked me up with electrodes and started me on the treadmill. Maybe I've seen too many medical shows, but I expected to start slowly and work up to the target heart rate.
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Instead, they started me at a power-walk, almost a trot, on a very steep incline. The first time they increased the speed, I literally had to run to stay upright.

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I was already weak and shaky before I'd begun. Now I surpassed my target rate within minutes. It felt like my lungs were on fire. I became so light-headed I was afraid I was going to fall. I stammered, "I'm...about...to pass...out."

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George quickly injected more isotope into the IV. I knew that meant I had to keep going for at least another minute so it could circulate, and at that point I had a full-on panic attack. All I could think was that I needed to stop NOW and they wouldn't let me. Seeing I was about to collapse, they stopped the treadmill as soon as they could and put a chair right there on the machine for me to fall into. I was trembling violently from head to toe.

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They brought me pomegranate juice and a blueberry muffin, and I recovered quickly. I was sent to have a small lunch and ordered to drink something carbonated to wash the bile out of my stomach. Then I went back for one last heart scan, lying on the table. It was almost 3:00 when I finally got home, exhausted.

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Next time I'll just take the heart attack straight up, thank you!
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Four days ago, Monday, I returned once more for my echocardiogram. This test was more to my liking. I had one almost 13 years ago, when I was pregnant with Dylan, so no surprises.

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This tech was also friendly and chatty. He said my heart looked pretty healthy, based on what he was seeing. But when he started looking at the bottom of my heart, he clammed up and began taking numerous measurements. Hmmm.
I'll get my results this coming Tuesday, Sept. 22nd. I admit I'm a little nervous. (The image at right is not of my heart, by the way.)
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Today is the first day since the stress test that my heart has been normal all day. I'm thanking God and enjoying each moment for as long as it lasts.

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The whole treadmill experience was extremely traumatizing. My arrhythmia has been worse for the past 8 days. I can't seem to get my electrolytes stabilized. With no energy, I drag myself to work each day and then sleep or veg out the rest of the day. I've been too unfocused to even sit in front of the computer and post to my blog. Imagine that!

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Thankfully, at bedtime last night my heartbeat finally returned to its normal rhythms, and today I'm feeling awesome. Which means I want to accomplish all the tasks I've left undone these past weeks! Don't worry, I'll restrain myself until I get clearance from the doctor.

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Still, for today, life is good!