Remember that no one cares about the outcome of this thing with your health like YOU do or someone who loves you does. Doctors seem to have gotten into this numbers game where they don’t have or take the time to really put everything together. So, it’s very important that you understand all you can about your condition, partially to help find the answers but also so you’ll be able to see if the doctor standing before you is actually going to have the answers you need to get better. Call you pharmacist. Call friends you have that are doctors or have something similar to what you’re experiencing. Keep lists of ideas that you come across while studying your problem and then be sure you get the answers. But, also remember that there is some information that isn’t correct out there. Be leery of websites that have something to sell you. Be more trusting of sites like Mayo and Cleveland Clinics. But, be sure they are ACTUALLY Mayo and Cleveland. If you read multiple accountings of what you’re studying that are the same, THEN you know that these are the articles you can trust.
I haven’t written in a while though it seems a lot is happening. I’m still not convinced that the diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension is mine to own. In about a month another echocardiogram will be performed to confirm this or not. Thank you for your prayers about this. I do hope that the symptoms I’m experiencing, now, are more connected to the tachycardia. In the meantime, I’m still wearing this 30 day cardio monitor that they told me over a week ago I may not have to wear much longer. I’ve been in touch with the cardiologist’s office, them calling me, three times in the past 10 days where they have said that Dr. Howell wants to speak with me directly and either they or he would call back with some discussion. Well, I’m still waiting. Either they are all irresponsible idiots or whatever they are picking up(they’ve said my heart races to over 160, multiple times a day) isn’t something dangerous for the time being. It WOULD be considerate of them to let me know for sure though. And they should stop telling me that someone will call, if they can’t be sure that will happen. The people on the end of the phone sitting in Texas, who call after they record an event on the monitor say that they can’t discuss what they’re picking up. “That’s a privacy issue between you and your doctor.” That frankly, sounds like a bunch of *****. If it was a privacy issue, why is it that I am telling THEM how I’m feeling and they are correlating it with MY information on the screen. I can understand them not wanting the liability of actually sharing information with me. But, the doctor’s office should be following up, especially once they let you know that they are picking things up and little alarms are going off, sometimes when I’m singing or taking care of patients. It can be quite unsettling. If they want my stress level to go down, they are certainly not facilitating. *sigh* So, in the meantime, I’ve turned it over to God. I don’t know how people deal with these kinds of things without some sort of faith to lean on. But, I’m also trying my best to figure this thing out on my own.
The monitor is picking up tachycardia. I’m sure it’s the SVT that was picked up after the stress test. So, I’ve done as much reading as I can about it and am doing the most logical things possible to take care of myself. None of this has been really stated by any of the doctor’s I’ve seen, other than the pulmonologist that though possible I was being short of breath from heartburn so suggested I cut out spicy foods and caffeine and eat earlier in the evening. Heartburn is NOT the problem. I’ve cut out all caffeine and alcohol and any of the herbal extracts that I occasionally take that have even the slightest chance of causing a rapid heart beat. I’ve also been keeping up with the gentle exercise routine that I began when first having the diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension. When I started just simply to stay in constant motion under the water in the endless pool, I could barely go 5-10 minutes without having to stop and work for many breaths to catch my breath. NOW, I can go a good 30-40 minutes, stopping for an occasional deep breath that allows me to start, again. I’m still not exercising full on or trying to keep my heart rate up or anything like that. In fact, it’s mostly that I want constant movement withOUT having my heart rate raise above 12o beats per minute. I am stronger and having more energy and needing less sleep. I did sleep 10 hours thursday night and 9 hours last night. But, I’m not as exhausted during the day. It was good for Dr. Howell to be able to tell me that he didn’t think I should worry about hurting myself as long as I didn’t push it too hard.
The most telling thing that I’ve uncovered is that I’ve been on Armour Thyroid for 4 years. It has a side effect of rapid heart rate and shortness of breath. I’ve traced my blood tests back to 2007 and see no definitive necessity for me to be taking the Thyroid. So, I’ve cut it in half and plan to have a blood level taken next week to see what it’s looking like. If it is high, which I suspect is the case after looking at some past blood test results, it would be a possible answer from God that this is the cause. Oh My GOODNESS, I can hardly contain myself!!! I’ve called and faxed the information to Dr. Howell and haven’t gotten an opinion from his office, yet. But, I made an executive decision to cut back. I don’t think this is the way this should work, honestly. You should be able to call your doctor, ask to speak to a nurse about something like this, and THEN have an educated discussion about what you should do. My monitor is on for another 2 weeks maximum and if there is any possibility that the Thyroid is what’s causing this, possibly that will be enough time to pick it up and confirm it. Thank you, again, for your prayers and I’ll keep smiling and doing all I can with every moment of my life with the family that I love and appreciate so much. Love to you all and when counting my blessings, today, YOU will be one of them. :o)