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Hi y'all!! I've finally made it back, although I've not yet had the chance to read through all the new posts since I left (..I suspect that is going to take me quite a while!!..). I hope everyone has been OK and I haven't missed anything major.
I actually got back from my vacation a few weeks ago, but things have been a madhouse here ever since. The break was great (for the most part). My S/O and I went back to Kalgoorlie to visit a bunch of friends and family, and also to check out his property there which we have decided to sell. Luckily for us the property market is currently going through the roof and we were VERY happy with the appraisal price (looks like we'll have some cash flow for renovations in our "new" house over here - yay!!).
Caught up with some friends of mine in Perth before heading to one of our most famous wine regions (Margaret River) for a wedding. It was a beautiful setting, but sadly a couple of parrots flew into the lovely big windows of the restaurant during some of the most touching moments of the ceremony which was incredibly unfortunate timing. The rest of the wedding was great fun and it ended all too soon!
After that we toured the rest of the south-west corner of WA and visited with some of my family. My mother managed to put a damper on the end of the trip by showing up and being her usual selfish, drama-queen self, but at least now my S/O knows why I no longer have anything to do with her (..long story!..). Meanwhile, it was great to see some rain since Victoria has been going through quite a bad drought - although it started raining about 2 weeks ago and hasn't really let up much since then. Seems winter is officially here to stay!
Anyhoo, after we got back, the "in-laws" turned up on our doorstep about 15 minutes after we got home. This wasn't such a big surprise - it had been arranged - the suprise was when they announced they were going to stay for longer than the week I THOUGHT they were going to stay. What can I say... they're absolutely delightful people in moderation!! So after 2 and a half weeks, I was more than ready to have my house back to myself. Mind you, we tore up the front yard while they were here and since then we've laid the first part of a path and planted some hedges, so we've made some great progress, but it put me way behind schedule on my studies - which is what I've madly been trying to catch up on... and that wasn't helped by my computer/email throwing a hissy fit and deciding not to work (Grrrrr!!).
In the meantime, I've had another trip back to Melbourne to clarify the last letter from my cardiologist (..the one that said everything was "fine"..). This time I took the S/O and she was much more responsive. Whenever I "downplayed" my symptoms (..and I don't even know that it's so much "downplaying" as it is you get so used to conditioning yourself to the changes that they really don't seem so drastic..) he would jump in and say "but Anna, you used to do [insert activity] and now you struggle" (etc), so I think it really helped her to see that far from being a hyperchondriac, I really DO have some issues for concern.
Still, she remains adamant that my problems are not related to my heart function. I told her some of the reasons my original cardio had wanted me to have surgery (before changing his mind) - largely the QRS duration, but apparently that is back at acceptable levels. She definitely thinks I'll be facing a PVR at some point, but not for a while. Apparently my right heart function is still very good (despite all the other issues) and until that decreases she doesn't belive my heart is causing my symptoms. AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!! I explained my frustration at being shunted back and forth from GP to cardio and she actually seemed to "get it" this time. Even the letter I got back (which I didn't have to chase up - OMG!!!) was far more explanatory and acknowledged how I felt. YAY!!!! The only thing that did annoy me was the assertion I had no edema of the ankles on the day when she never even gave them a look!
SO, in it's own way, it was a positive visit - but still enormously frustrating for still not having any answers. I have since been back to a NEW GP who seemed to be VERY helpful (..which is pretty funny since he has a pretty bad reputation around town as a butcher (he is a surgeon, but is apparently pretty rough!) and I had a few people tell me they wouldn't send their dog to him!
..). Anyhoo, he asked me what has and hasn't been looked at and assured me that he wouldn't draw any conclusions about anything until he had investigated all the basics. He also told me he was more interested in talking to ME about how I was feeling and what I was experiencing over reading other doctors notes - which was a breath of fresh air. I was sent off for about a million blood tests and I see him tomorrow to discuss the results and where we go from there. For the first time in a long time I'm feeling that little ray of hope that something might get resolved.
And that is the Reader's Digest synopsis!!
Hopefully I will have some positive news from tomorrow's appointment to relay.
Cheers for now,
Anna : )
I actually got back from my vacation a few weeks ago, but things have been a madhouse here ever since. The break was great (for the most part). My S/O and I went back to Kalgoorlie to visit a bunch of friends and family, and also to check out his property there which we have decided to sell. Luckily for us the property market is currently going through the roof and we were VERY happy with the appraisal price (looks like we'll have some cash flow for renovations in our "new" house over here - yay!!).
Caught up with some friends of mine in Perth before heading to one of our most famous wine regions (Margaret River) for a wedding. It was a beautiful setting, but sadly a couple of parrots flew into the lovely big windows of the restaurant during some of the most touching moments of the ceremony which was incredibly unfortunate timing. The rest of the wedding was great fun and it ended all too soon!
After that we toured the rest of the south-west corner of WA and visited with some of my family. My mother managed to put a damper on the end of the trip by showing up and being her usual selfish, drama-queen self, but at least now my S/O knows why I no longer have anything to do with her (..long story!..). Meanwhile, it was great to see some rain since Victoria has been going through quite a bad drought - although it started raining about 2 weeks ago and hasn't really let up much since then. Seems winter is officially here to stay!
Anyhoo, after we got back, the "in-laws" turned up on our doorstep about 15 minutes after we got home. This wasn't such a big surprise - it had been arranged - the suprise was when they announced they were going to stay for longer than the week I THOUGHT they were going to stay. What can I say... they're absolutely delightful people in moderation!! So after 2 and a half weeks, I was more than ready to have my house back to myself. Mind you, we tore up the front yard while they were here and since then we've laid the first part of a path and planted some hedges, so we've made some great progress, but it put me way behind schedule on my studies - which is what I've madly been trying to catch up on... and that wasn't helped by my computer/email throwing a hissy fit and deciding not to work (Grrrrr!!).
In the meantime, I've had another trip back to Melbourne to clarify the last letter from my cardiologist (..the one that said everything was "fine"..). This time I took the S/O and she was much more responsive. Whenever I "downplayed" my symptoms (..and I don't even know that it's so much "downplaying" as it is you get so used to conditioning yourself to the changes that they really don't seem so drastic..) he would jump in and say "but Anna, you used to do [insert activity] and now you struggle" (etc), so I think it really helped her to see that far from being a hyperchondriac, I really DO have some issues for concern.
Still, she remains adamant that my problems are not related to my heart function. I told her some of the reasons my original cardio had wanted me to have surgery (before changing his mind) - largely the QRS duration, but apparently that is back at acceptable levels. She definitely thinks I'll be facing a PVR at some point, but not for a while. Apparently my right heart function is still very good (despite all the other issues) and until that decreases she doesn't belive my heart is causing my symptoms. AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!! I explained my frustration at being shunted back and forth from GP to cardio and she actually seemed to "get it" this time. Even the letter I got back (which I didn't have to chase up - OMG!!!) was far more explanatory and acknowledged how I felt. YAY!!!! The only thing that did annoy me was the assertion I had no edema of the ankles on the day when she never even gave them a look!
SO, in it's own way, it was a positive visit - but still enormously frustrating for still not having any answers. I have since been back to a NEW GP who seemed to be VERY helpful (..which is pretty funny since he has a pretty bad reputation around town as a butcher (he is a surgeon, but is apparently pretty rough!) and I had a few people tell me they wouldn't send their dog to him!
..). Anyhoo, he asked me what has and hasn't been looked at and assured me that he wouldn't draw any conclusions about anything until he had investigated all the basics. He also told me he was more interested in talking to ME about how I was feeling and what I was experiencing over reading other doctors notes - which was a breath of fresh air. I was sent off for about a million blood tests and I see him tomorrow to discuss the results and where we go from there. For the first time in a long time I'm feeling that little ray of hope that something might get resolved. And that is the Reader's Digest synopsis!!
Hopefully I will have some positive news from tomorrow's appointment to relay.
Cheers for now,
Anna : )
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