Trinityheart8891
Well-known member
Hey Guys,
its Morgan, I wanted to pass an update, I know its a long time since I've been around here, I've been mostly lurking, up until the last few months I was doing pretty well with plenty of good things happening including getting engaged and starting to plan our wedding, and starting to blend into my new family as well as introducing Roland into my family. He has been extremely supportive whenever I ask him to, so its been awesome. . .
but I'm still having a hard time lately. On top of everything outlined below I have been having GI/swallowing issues from my nissen, I had a scope in december to dilate my esophagus, which has made a huge difference, I have one more on 1/25, this one is a more involved procedure, and I'm hoping that will be the end of this. prior to this from the middle of october to the middle/end of november I had a bad bout of bronchitis which didnt help things, anyways. . .
I knew I was having SVTs (I think) as far back as last winter (feb/march), we tried metoprolol and fiddled with the dose a little and its not working, and, well, I'm having the whole work up again because we haven't been able to pinpoint the arrhythmia yet (I have had a few episodes of sustained tachycardia, one as long as about 10 minutes with pulse so fast I can't count, and getting light headed/weak/short of breath, as well as increased ectopy and ventricular bigeminal spells, but none on tape yet, of course :roll: )
Anyways, he (my awesome EP) wants to probably take me to the EP lab for an EP study/ablation, but in the mean time he needs some indication of where to start. He thinks it could be A-fib/A-flutter because of the history of it and the way it sounds, plus I am at risk with the surgeries I've had. He's hoping that the holter that I had yesterday will help show what's possibly going on by showing him what my normal ectopy looks like cause, of course, we havent been able to catch one of these spells on tape. He wanted to take some time to think about things because my case is pretty complex, but he also wants to implant an implantable loop recorder as well.
We discussed some of the treatments of AFib/flutter which he thinks is probably whats going on, so I have a few ideas of what to expect there, but he cant rule out ventricular arrhythmias with the history of VSD repair and known ventricular ectopy/bigeminy, so that will be a whole other discussion on treatment plans.
I feel alot better now that we have a plan, hope to have things set into motion by the end of this week/beginning of next week after the holter is read. My EP is awesome, he's got the best bedside manner around, he's listened to me and made me felt heard and believed. He's listening to my suggestions and we're working together to come up with a plan that works. I'm not excited about the possibility of A fib or ventricular arrhythmias, but psyched to feel like things are being taken care of and I am being listened to/taken seriously and I dont have to keep fighting to prove myself/get heard, I feel like I can pretty much hand it over and I'll be taken care of...
I'm still having a hard time dealing with things though, the only thing I can focus on is whats going on with my heart, and getting answers. I'm being impatient and I hate not having control! thats a huge part of why this arrhythmia stuff drives me insane; I am scared because I never know when its going to happen, and I am scared its going to happen at work in the middle of a critical care situation! Also the whole fear of the unknown, what is this and what am I in for? Nervous for the implantable loop recorder insertion (how painful is it going to be, what's the procedure like? what's it going to look like when it's in? Are they going to give me pain meds to go home, how long will I be out of work, which device are they going to use) I'm just point blank nervous to figure out whats going on and I am starting to realize that it may not be as easy as just an ablation to get rid of it like it was last time...
Another part of whats going on is this is messing with my self confidence and my body image. I know its "not that big a deal" but its getting hard for me to fake the whole normal facade with wearing holters/monitors, and slowing down, and needing procedures, and getting my first implant; its proof that things arent "ok" right now. . . Also, the loop recorder is going under my left breast, (my EP is great, he wanted to take this approach so its not visible, without me even mentioning concern, I guess the cosmetic part of it never really hit me till now) I am really self conscious. Maybe cause its my first implant, but I'm really nervous about how much pain, and how it will look (more scars/bumps, more proof I'm not "normal", I guess, its probably psychological) but I should just use it as an opportunity to feel safe in the fact that no matter what the episodes will get caught, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, its my first implant. . .
Please Help!!!
its Morgan, I wanted to pass an update, I know its a long time since I've been around here, I've been mostly lurking, up until the last few months I was doing pretty well with plenty of good things happening including getting engaged and starting to plan our wedding, and starting to blend into my new family as well as introducing Roland into my family. He has been extremely supportive whenever I ask him to, so its been awesome. . .
but I'm still having a hard time lately. On top of everything outlined below I have been having GI/swallowing issues from my nissen, I had a scope in december to dilate my esophagus, which has made a huge difference, I have one more on 1/25, this one is a more involved procedure, and I'm hoping that will be the end of this. prior to this from the middle of october to the middle/end of november I had a bad bout of bronchitis which didnt help things, anyways. . .
I knew I was having SVTs (I think) as far back as last winter (feb/march), we tried metoprolol and fiddled with the dose a little and its not working, and, well, I'm having the whole work up again because we haven't been able to pinpoint the arrhythmia yet (I have had a few episodes of sustained tachycardia, one as long as about 10 minutes with pulse so fast I can't count, and getting light headed/weak/short of breath, as well as increased ectopy and ventricular bigeminal spells, but none on tape yet, of course :roll: )
Anyways, he (my awesome EP) wants to probably take me to the EP lab for an EP study/ablation, but in the mean time he needs some indication of where to start. He thinks it could be A-fib/A-flutter because of the history of it and the way it sounds, plus I am at risk with the surgeries I've had. He's hoping that the holter that I had yesterday will help show what's possibly going on by showing him what my normal ectopy looks like cause, of course, we havent been able to catch one of these spells on tape. He wanted to take some time to think about things because my case is pretty complex, but he also wants to implant an implantable loop recorder as well.
We discussed some of the treatments of AFib/flutter which he thinks is probably whats going on, so I have a few ideas of what to expect there, but he cant rule out ventricular arrhythmias with the history of VSD repair and known ventricular ectopy/bigeminy, so that will be a whole other discussion on treatment plans.
I feel alot better now that we have a plan, hope to have things set into motion by the end of this week/beginning of next week after the holter is read. My EP is awesome, he's got the best bedside manner around, he's listened to me and made me felt heard and believed. He's listening to my suggestions and we're working together to come up with a plan that works. I'm not excited about the possibility of A fib or ventricular arrhythmias, but psyched to feel like things are being taken care of and I am being listened to/taken seriously and I dont have to keep fighting to prove myself/get heard, I feel like I can pretty much hand it over and I'll be taken care of...
I'm still having a hard time dealing with things though, the only thing I can focus on is whats going on with my heart, and getting answers. I'm being impatient and I hate not having control! thats a huge part of why this arrhythmia stuff drives me insane; I am scared because I never know when its going to happen, and I am scared its going to happen at work in the middle of a critical care situation! Also the whole fear of the unknown, what is this and what am I in for? Nervous for the implantable loop recorder insertion (how painful is it going to be, what's the procedure like? what's it going to look like when it's in? Are they going to give me pain meds to go home, how long will I be out of work, which device are they going to use) I'm just point blank nervous to figure out whats going on and I am starting to realize that it may not be as easy as just an ablation to get rid of it like it was last time...
Another part of whats going on is this is messing with my self confidence and my body image. I know its "not that big a deal" but its getting hard for me to fake the whole normal facade with wearing holters/monitors, and slowing down, and needing procedures, and getting my first implant; its proof that things arent "ok" right now. . . Also, the loop recorder is going under my left breast, (my EP is great, he wanted to take this approach so its not visible, without me even mentioning concern, I guess the cosmetic part of it never really hit me till now) I am really self conscious. Maybe cause its my first implant, but I'm really nervous about how much pain, and how it will look (more scars/bumps, more proof I'm not "normal", I guess, its probably psychological) but I should just use it as an opportunity to feel safe in the fact that no matter what the episodes will get caught, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, its my first implant. . .
Please Help!!!
