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My thoughts released; a mind set free |
| Today I traveled to Fergus Falls to see my cardiologist for a three-month follow-up. Everything went well, and she said I'm doing well, but she was concerned about an incident when I was in for my last endoscopy. That was a messed-up day to say the least. I was scheduled for ten-thirty and told to show up a half hour early. That meant I had to be up pretty early so I could get to Fargo, about a two-hour drive from home to the hospital. No coffee, no nothing after midnight, so it was already a rough morning. Once checked in I was moved to a prep room pretty quickly, but they didn't have anyone who could access my port and would have to have an IV put in. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but when this was done, I was still not getting enough liquids, and it was difficult to even find a vein. But the nurse tried and failed; she pushed the needle all the way through. Second attempt in a new location didn't go any better, but at least she didn't push the needle through. She gave up and got another nurse who didn't do any better, so she called for someone to come with an ultrasound to put the IV in. After a few minutes, she had located a vein and, with the help of the imaging, put the needle in the first try. Why hadn't they just done this right away? After I was hooked up to the IV bag, they put the monitor patches on my chest, plugged me in, and wheeled me off to the endoscopy room. That's when I fund out that my doctor wasn't at the hospital yet, but I was assured he would be along any minute. But someone had messed up in scheduling; my doctor wasn't there until one in the afternoon, and I was stuck in an uncomfortable hospital bed, wired, punctured, and all hooked up. After my two week stay stay in that same hospital, and all the problems I had, things didn't go well. I don't like hospitals anyway, and after my stay, I developed an actual fear, not a phobia, but a fear of hospitals, and the next thing I knew, I was feeling a panic attack coming on. I deep breathed, I asked for something to calm me, but in the end, I just had to lie there and deal with it; I went into AFib and almost didn't get the procedure done at all. I did talk my doctor into going ahead with the scope, but he didn't stretch my opening like he usually does because of the AFib, and I didn't come back out until after we had left the hospital. This incident was in my records, and I had also had a few incidents at home going into AFib, but these tend to be short, just a few minutes, and maybe once a week or less frequently. At the visit today my heart was doing great, my blood pressure was ideal, and my pulse was strong and regular. Another ultrasound of my pump was done as well and the old ticker is doing great. My cardiologist and I discussed possible causes, like electrolyte imbalance, low potassium, etc. She also asked me if I still had an anxiety disorder, and if I'm taking medication for it. "Yes, I still have it, and no, I'm not taking anything." The anxiety tends to come with stressful situations, visits to the hospital, and when I don't get enough sleep (the immunology causes insomnia sometimes). She informed me that it may be my anxieties that trigger the AFib and wants me to wear a monitor for two weeks to see when and for how long the sessions last. Once we get the results, I'll have logged stressful times, any panic attacks, and anything else that I'm doing that puts a strain on my ticker; like a little while ago, I went out and chipped some ice from the sidewalk. I don't feel like I AFibbed, but I logged the activity and let the monitor do the rest. It's still sounding good. She wants to monitor my heart, but doesn't think I need to go on any medication. I hope she's right. |
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