Somewhat wasted day

I got to Dr Guerra's rooms at 7:20 this morning, the expected traffic did not materialise. It was a day of waiting. Good thing I took my book, and a new one just incase I finished that one! Had an early ECG that showed I was in arrythmia, so we went ahead and I was admitted for the day. This time instead of spending hours waiting in the reception while they found me a bed I was sent straight up to the ward... it looked like this might be a quick one.

I got my own room which was and wasn't cool, atleast when there are nurses rushing around you feel like you can't be forgotten. Every now and then someone would traipse in and do and ECG or take blood or put a drip in. But mostly I lay back and read my book, napped, read some more. Finished my book, started the new one. I watched 10 o'clock go by then 11, then 12 at 1pm I got up and went to find out what was going on.

Apparently i was in a general ward and for the procedure I needed to be in the high care ward, but there weren't any beds there currently so I waited and waited while they juggled patients around to find me a bed. Finally at about 2:30 I walked into the high care ward, much to the disgust of the other patients who were variously wired up or being beaten by physio's. I was soon to be wired up myself, but mercifully there was no physio to beat me... or perhaps...

Anyway as I lay there on the monitors one of the sisters came and asked what the problem was, I dutifully answered the usual questions, and then she said, "But you're in sinus rhythm", which was kindof what I though from my appointment on Wednesday morning. Anyway they were most puzzled and said you couldn't cardiovert someone in sinus rhythm blah blah blah. Eventually the doctor came and was a little puzzled himself, but a few minutes he returned and concurred that he thought I was in sinus and could go home. At first I thought he was joking, but apparently not!

Seems the amiodarone has done the trick for now, and I should keep taking 1 of these nasty tablets for the next month! But the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I will only know for certain whether his call is right once I go for a test drive so to speak. I'm gonna give the drug some more time to do it's work and only go for a walk on Monday, then I should know the true verdict.

Another visit to the doc

The past few weeks haven't seen me improve much, infact nothing has changed, I can't run and when I walk fast uphill my heart goes ballistic. I decided perhaps it was time to go see the doctor again. So I phoned up early on Monday morning and had an appointment for just an ECG this morning. The ordinary ECG didn't show much, just that I had an eptopic (unusual/unexpected) beat every now and then, well probably every 5 beats actually.

Fact is, day to day I feel fine, it's just when I exert myself that I feel shody. So they put the ECG cables back on and put me on a treadmill. After 3/4mins I was walking fast at a relatively steep gradient and I could see the ECG measuring between 180 and 210 beats per minute. My heart should never go that fast! Anyway, I think what happens then is my blood pressure drops and I start to feel terrible. So once I'd cooled off I went to speak to the doc again and he said he thinks the bad signals are originating in one of my pulmonary veins and that I should go see an electrophysiologist (I think) to talk about a possible PVI (Pulmonary Vein Isolation). Another option however is a drug which I mentioned in an earlier post which modifies heart rythm but is only available in SA towards the end of the year, not too long to wait I guess...BUT if I'm on those drugs I'm on them for life, if I have a successful PVI then I won't need those specific drugs.

Decisions decisions. Whats happening in the meantime is I am already preparing for ANOTHER cardioversion on Friday. I'm taking amiodarone which is the nasty brother of the other drug coming onto the market. So hopefully things will be better again by the weekend. Whats more I seem to have picked up another cold which is getting me down a bit. Oh well, I think I'll get into bed and try write some software, or some thesis.