Emma

Pré op vidéo appointment and lab work today. Spent rest of the day in bed while my heart raced. Ha ha. 180 beats per minute. I feel like crap. Six more days.

 

New « challenge »

 2023 was a crappy year. Here’s  hoping 2024 is better. Although starting off with a huge earthquake in Japan does not bode well.

Sigh. 
Last surgery was declared a failure. Been on medical leave since mid December. Two more weeks to second surgery. 
 I was born with a progressive heart condition which has been progressing. This past summer, after multiple trips to the ER, including one when I went to the doctor’s office for a routine check up and she called an ambulance, (ha ha ha) and multiple failed cardioversions (they use a defibrillator, those paddle things, to try and shock you back into rhythm), the doctors said time for operation. This operation (cardiac ablation) has a 75% success rate. I am in the 25%. Damn it. Irregular heartbeat worse than ever. Can hardly do anything, have to rest a lot. Second attempt has 90% success rate. I’m  hoping I’m in the 90% this time.

 Current goals are to rest a lot and keep my heart in rhythm until the operation, and try to eat better. More veggies and fruit, etc. Hard to do when a cooking session can send me into irregular heart rhythm. Just about any physical exertion can send me into irregular rhythm.  Maybe do some homework. Depends on how I feel.

 Cardiologist recommended this doohickey 

https://store.kardia.com/products/kardiamobile

it doesn’t interpret the ekg but I can document what’s going on and then send the strip to the doctor. Being able to do this saved a lot of time. Otherwise I would be waiting another month or so while they ran more tests.

My heart rate has gotten up to 180 at times. And that long gap where my heart isn’t beating at all, just quivering, that’s when it’s really scary and I almost pass out.

 So good luck to me.

 And now, back to bed. Sigh.

 

I bow to Prometheus, bringer of fire.

Tried an exercise goal of 2000 steps. Two thousand steps. And I am having irregular heartbeat. A bad one. I hate it when my heart stops beating altogether for a couple of seconds. I really really hope this next operation fixes that.

Happy birthday!🎂 

Been doing okay. A little frustrated that I can’t do everything I want to but  it’s paying off. I have been totally in sinus rhythm for two days now. It feels very good.

 I’m calling this the cruise ship life. Just loafing around, sleeping a lot, meals at the buffet (my freezer), not leaving the house. 
Finished the pathology course! Yay! That’s done. Next up is digital radiography which won’t be anywhere near as gross. Finished all the paperwork for medical leave.  I ordered three hundred dollars worth of books from Amazon.  (Merry Christmas and happy birthday Emma!) Don’t have the energy to go to the library or bookstore these days. The books have started arriving and I am very happy.

 Sadly, one of my new meds seems to be messing up my blood sugar so I need to be more careful there. Pbbt. Very glad to have the glucose monitor, I might not know otherwise. Another new med causes hair loss. I looked it up because I was seeing a lot more hair than usual in my hairbrush.  Aaaaaaah! Nooooo! God I hope I don’t go totally bald. This is definitely way worse than the blood sugar problems. Kidding, but the only thing I have ever been vain about has been my hair. Sigh.

Since they were able to move up the operation I won’t be taking the full two months off. I’ll be back at work January 19. I am severely limited in my activities because the irregular heart beats can start at anytime and then I can’t do much but sit. I tried cooking a proper lunch yesterday but the afib happened while I was trying to cook and then the mess took quite awhile to clean up so no cooking. Not worth the time and effort it took. It wasn’t very good either. Sticking to frozen dinners and occasional fast food which will allow me to count calories pretty well. I should be able to do one set of stretches and gentle walking, but two sets put me in afib.

so that’s the plan for the next few weeks.

Operation is January 9.

Thanks guys

So my heart is getting worse. I wanted to take a couple of months off just to rest. My boss talked me into working a 6 hour shift instead. And tonight about two hours into my shift I went into afib. I had my little Kardia with me and took an ekg of myself. My heart rate was 176 except for the one or two second long gaps when my heart wasn’t beating at all. I texted screenshots to my boss and told him I shouldn’t be driving when my heart is doing this. I’m putting in for two months leave on Monday. I hope I get scheduled for the operation soon.

You’re being kept out of the loop. Which can be scary when surrounded by unpredictable people with anger issues. I have found this a hard thing to deal with even though I am safe these days. I am on edge when I don’t know what’s going on with the people around me.

Hugs. 

My ex was a Subaru mechanic and believed them to be really good cars.

Follow up with cardiologist this morning. They are putting me on the schedule for a second procedure as soon as they can. In the meantime, just take it easy.

 Spoke with therapist today. I have official permission to be lazy for the next year. After the pandemic and then this past year of heart problems I am so ready to be lazy and hermit for awhile. Asked him why all the experts say you have to have friends and community or you can’t be happy and healthy. He talked a bit about statistics and group studies and in any given group most people do better with friends, but not everyone. He said if I’m happy without friends, that’s okay. I think I like this guy.

I was really tired and cranky yesterday.

my apologies. 
 Recovery not going well dammit. Tired all the time and in afib more often now than before the procedure. Not anywhere near normal energy as before.

Hé just called. We do zoom meetings. Said auto fill filled in somebody else’s name on the email invite and he didn’t notice until this other person he wasn’t expecting popped up for the zoom meeting. Funny story anyway. Pbbt.

 And this is why I don’t trust people. Anyone surprised?

Yeah, I know. But two in a row. Sucks.

Therapist ghosted me. Second therapist in a row to do so. Feeling unloved and unwanted.

 Doing better. Covid congestion seems to have cleared. Have been noticing that the heart is worse after overtime and apparently too much exercise. Need to avoid overtime and stop pushing the exercise. Sigh.

Still breathing. Heart a bit better but recovery still not going well. I have been lurking here and there but don’t feel up to a challenge.

 Thanks for thinking of me.

You are not alone there.

Honestly, a day at the spa/salon should be something a doctor can prescribe for mental health.

Hey, snarky!

Thank you guys for checking in.
 I have been fever free for two days now. Feels so good, even though I am still coughing some and tire quickly.
 I was almost well enough to go to work today but I asked my boss for one more day to recover and regain my strength please. What’s he going to do? Fire me? When we’re already understaffed?  
 So I will be working tomorrow. Boss will let me take it easy. And I will take it easy, I am still tiring quickly.

 

Hey flea.

 Sadly, paxlovid does not play well with my heart meds. There is a less effective alternative but the pharmacist wasn’t able to track any of it down before the window closed.

 I do seem to be getting better, and will probably go to work tomorrow. Sigh.

Happy birthday. And many more.