This will be a very short post, as I forgot that Scott has class tonight so I need to get home! Neuro appointment today went okay. The man seems very nice, but really didn't listen at all and seemed in a rush. For as much as my insurance company is paying him, I was hoping for a little more understanding on both ends. Basically, he is doing a brain MRI on Tuesday, they drew blood today and I have to do a 24-hour urine collection (fun, right?) to check for something else but I've already forgotten what it is for because he went so fast. His main focus seems to be on my headaches, but I was really hoping for some info on the chest pressure, autonomic system, etc. We will see what happens. Right now, I could really use a long weekend somewhere warm. Anyone happen to have a condo or home somewhere warm I can visit? Oh, and if you happen to have a private plane to get me there, that would be just swell. :-)

Movin' On

Last week was a pretty rough one physically. The kids each were sick one day with a mild stomach virus (not the flu, thankfully) and while theirs only last 24 hours, mama was sick the whole week. On top of the virus, the chest pressure and pain was so intense, I had to physically make myself breathe. Not fun. I went to the regular dr. Thursday and he had no idea, and told me to call my cardiac EP Friday AM. He sent me to the ER, where I spent 5 glorious hours with the Dupont staff. Actually, the time went by pretty fast and while I hate being at the hospital, I have to say this was one of my better visits. The staff was very kind and attentive, which makes a world of difference. The only irregular thing was my d-dimer level was high, which can indicate a blood clot, so they did a CT scan of my lungs, which came back fine. Since my cardiac enzymes and everything looked fine, they felt I could go home even though they didn't know the cause of the pain and pressure.

This week has been better, but I find myself over-doing it, to make up for last week's marathon on the couch. I've been tracking my blood pressure and heart rate, and both are looking great, yet I feel the same. Not what we were hoping for, as that means something else is going on as well. I saw Dr. Devecci this morning, and he is pleased that my heart rate is lower thanks to the 3 prescriptions, but said I am a total mystery. He is thinking there is perhaps a neurological problem in addition to the heart issues since I feel exactly the same and the daily headaches are getting worse. He would like to have an MRI of my brain, and was able to schedule me with a neuro dr. next Wednesday. I am very thankful that I can see someone local and am praying that we get to the bottom of all of this soon. I hate living with the unknown, which is probably part of the reason God is allowing this to go on for so long. Daily I am reminded that He is in control, not me, which can be a hard lesson for me to learn!

Quick Update

I don't have a whole lot to say today, but hadn't posted in awhile so thought I'd give a quick update. Last weekend we switched the Rx to raise my blood pressure, as the first one gave me constant, dull chest pains in addition to the constant goose-bumps and chills. The new one doesn't give me either of those side effects, but so far doesn't seem to be working (I don't feel any better, and my blood pressure has been between 90/52 and 106/65). Starting last night, I'm having trouble breathing again. It feels like the elephant is sitting on my chest once again and I'm having issues with my stomach. I'm back to purposely breathing, which isn't much fun. I went to the regular dr. tonight and he said it isn't the flu, but he doesn't know what is wrong. He told me to call my cardiac EP tomorrow, as I am a mystery to him. In addition to praying for me, please continue to lift up Troy and Alicia Floor (Troy started chemo and radiation last week for his stage III colon cancer, cancer on one lymph node; questionable spot on his liver may be cancer as well) and Pat Sablic (Larry's wife... Larry lost his battle to cancer last week). Thanks for the continued prayers, Karin

Tilt Table Test

On Thursday morning, I went to the hospital for my tilt table test. When we started, my heart rate was 55 bpm, then when they tilted me up it nearly doubled (100 bpm). After 30 minutes of that fun, Dr. Devecchi gave me nitroglycerin to mimic my doing light activities. Within 2 minutes, my heart rate jumped to 150-160 bpm and it took all of my energy just to breathe. Apparently, that shows that in addition to the inappropriate sinus tachycardia, I also have postural orthostatic hypotension. What that means is when I go from laying down to doing activities, my blood pressure tries to bottom out. To keep that from happening, my heart pumps faster. Needless to say, I was not feeling too well the rest of the day. I have now started on a medication to raise my blood pressure (midadrine) and I will need to check my blood pressure often, as there is the possibility of it going too high. While I'm not thrilled to have a second electrical problem with my heart, I really feel like we are heading in the right direction. There is still the possibility that I have a problem with my autonomic system (the nervous system that controls the heart and lungs) as that is in the same family and same symptoms as what I am experiencing. We are taking it one step at a time and praying that the new medication makes a big difference. So far, I can't tell a difference (except for the constant scalp tingling, goose bumps and chills, which are apparently side effects??) but it is a fast-acting medication so we should know if it works or not in a few days. My next appointment is on October 21. Enjoy the weekend, Karin