Christina L
Well-known member
Hi all -
Well, we just got back from the cardiologist. I am going to try to remember most of what Dr. Cullinane told me. Let me just say first of all thank you to everyone for your support and empathy for what I was going through and to tell you that I am now 90% RELIEVED! I still have my 10% that I'd like to hold on to in the worry department, but that is going to be worked on majorly now as a result of this latest crisis - I need to stop the worrying. BTW my blood pressure in the office today was 140/80 something - usually 120/70 something.
Before I go on, just to defend myself, my cardiologist last week did say "you have a slightly dilated right atrium" and asked if I was having a-fib - he looked concerned. It was a "hit and run" as Karlynn put it. He told me this little tidbit of information out of context of the big picture, SO I freaked.
Today, Dr. Cullinane told me that he had been going over my records and that I have ALWAYS had an upper limits of normal/borderline sized right atrium and right ventricle!! HELLO! I didn't know that. I thought this dilated right atrium and right ventricle came out of the blue. Dr. Cullinane also told me that the reading of an echo by a cardio is subjective and that the numbers are only slightly larger than before - there again, tech error or tech differences in how they do the echo (?). He said some docs may look at my echo and say "upper limits of normal" and some would say "mildly dilated." He said it took 20-30 years to dilate my heart to its size with the mitral regurgitation and that my heart was under chronic stress all those years and after the surgery it has been under acute stress. He told me that my heart is strong and that I do not have pulmonary hypertension (at least not now) although this is the 10% that I will still worry some about, but I will not pursue internet information or ask to be seen by a specialist. I will try to put the worry aside until next year when I have another echo and God forbid it might show something more worrisome.
Trying to think of what else he said...he said that I had as perfect of a mitral repair as a person can get and that I need to enjoy my life that I have been given RIGHT NOW because of my successful surgery.
Dr. Cullinane is the antithesis of Dr. Larson - so personable and talks and talks with you. Like Wayne said (who was there with me and we hugged and cried after the doctor left) Dr. Cullinane is the kind of cardio I need. I will be changing cardio groups, though, as I am going on Wayne's insurance, but already have a cardio in mind who is like Dr. Cullinane.
You can all say "I told you so" as Wayne did to me, but I think it was understandable how freaked out I got. HOWEVER, the internet IS the devil - stay away from it!!! That is what got me in trouble, but it was my natural instinct to try to find information and I went to the wrong place to get it - I should have sat down with a doctor several days ago.
As Wayne said, the last seven days have been hell on earth. I told him he has NO idea what I was going through - he may have been in hell, but I was in purgatory, which is really probably a crummier place to be. I literally was planning my demise - it was an awful feeling.
Again, you all are the best. Wayne said "this isn't the first time you have done this you know" and I'm sure you all know how crazed I get at times, but this was definitely the worst time for me personally. It was so awful, it will take several days to get over it.
Wayne went out and bought a new VCR/DVD player for our basement room (the last two got zapped by lightning) and it is yoga and meditation time again!
Oh, another thing Dr. Cullinane did seem a tad concerned about was when I told him that ever since my surgery I seem to have a lot of problems with salt and I retain water majorly. He said he doesn't usually see people having that problem AFTER surgery, but he said it was not unusual for a woman of my age to have problems with fluid retention or anyone, but he seemed a little perplexed by that statement of mine. SO, who else out there on VR.com has a problem with eating too much salt? BTW, I am cutting the salt back at least 80% in our diets around here.
Well, I need to go get on the treadmill and send "up" mega thank-you's to "you know who." I don't know if God changed the outcome, but He helped me through it, as you all did. Thank you 100x over. I also need to thank my husband who was everything a husband should be at this time. I couldn't have married a more wonderful person. Gotta go, I'm getting verklempt.
Christina L
Well, we just got back from the cardiologist. I am going to try to remember most of what Dr. Cullinane told me. Let me just say first of all thank you to everyone for your support and empathy for what I was going through and to tell you that I am now 90% RELIEVED! I still have my 10% that I'd like to hold on to in the worry department, but that is going to be worked on majorly now as a result of this latest crisis - I need to stop the worrying. BTW my blood pressure in the office today was 140/80 something - usually 120/70 something.
Before I go on, just to defend myself, my cardiologist last week did say "you have a slightly dilated right atrium" and asked if I was having a-fib - he looked concerned. It was a "hit and run" as Karlynn put it. He told me this little tidbit of information out of context of the big picture, SO I freaked.
Today, Dr. Cullinane told me that he had been going over my records and that I have ALWAYS had an upper limits of normal/borderline sized right atrium and right ventricle!! HELLO! I didn't know that. I thought this dilated right atrium and right ventricle came out of the blue. Dr. Cullinane also told me that the reading of an echo by a cardio is subjective and that the numbers are only slightly larger than before - there again, tech error or tech differences in how they do the echo (?). He said some docs may look at my echo and say "upper limits of normal" and some would say "mildly dilated." He said it took 20-30 years to dilate my heart to its size with the mitral regurgitation and that my heart was under chronic stress all those years and after the surgery it has been under acute stress. He told me that my heart is strong and that I do not have pulmonary hypertension (at least not now) although this is the 10% that I will still worry some about, but I will not pursue internet information or ask to be seen by a specialist. I will try to put the worry aside until next year when I have another echo and God forbid it might show something more worrisome.
Trying to think of what else he said...he said that I had as perfect of a mitral repair as a person can get
and that I need to enjoy my life that I have been given RIGHT NOW because of my successful surgery. Dr. Cullinane is the antithesis of Dr. Larson - so personable and talks and talks with you. Like Wayne said (who was there with me and we hugged and cried after the doctor left) Dr. Cullinane is the kind of cardio I need. I will be changing cardio groups, though, as I am going on Wayne's insurance, but already have a cardio in mind who is like Dr. Cullinane.
You can all say "I told you so" as Wayne did to me, but I think it was understandable how freaked out I got. HOWEVER, the internet IS the devil - stay away from it!!! That is what got me in trouble, but it was my natural instinct to try to find information and I went to the wrong place to get it - I should have sat down with a doctor several days ago.
As Wayne said, the last seven days have been hell on earth. I told him he has NO idea what I was going through - he may have been in hell, but I was in purgatory, which is really probably a crummier place to be.
I literally was planning my demise - it was an awful feeling.Again, you all are the best. Wayne said "this isn't the first time you have done this you know" and I'm sure you all know how crazed I get at times, but this was definitely the worst time for me personally. It was so awful, it will take several days to get over it.
Wayne went out and bought a new VCR/DVD player for our basement room (the last two got zapped by lightning) and it is yoga and meditation time again!
Oh, another thing Dr. Cullinane did seem a tad concerned about was when I told him that ever since my surgery I seem to have a lot of problems with salt and I retain water majorly. He said he doesn't usually see people having that problem AFTER surgery, but he said it was not unusual for a woman of my age to have problems with fluid retention or anyone, but he seemed a little perplexed by that statement of mine. SO, who else out there on VR.com has a problem with eating too much salt? BTW, I am cutting the salt back at least 80% in our diets around here.
Well, I need to go get on the treadmill and send "up" mega thank-you's to "you know who." I don't know if God changed the outcome, but He helped me through it, as you all did. Thank you 100x over. I also need to thank my husband who was everything a husband should be at this time. I couldn't have married a more wonderful person. Gotta go, I'm getting verklempt.
Christina L
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