Heart aflutter again.
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Wow so much has happened since the last post. I did end up in the ER again with Afib. This time the Metroprolol wouldn't do diddly even with an increased dose rate. They were loathe to electronically cardiovert me back into a rhythm for a 3rd time and I had to stay overnight to see a cardio specialist the next day.
Que, fire alarms! They went on for ages with nurses shouting over them what patients to evacuate. My BP and heat rate went up thru the roof and they gave me Valium to settle me down a bit. Of course it was a false alarm but none of us knew that.
The next day the cardiologist saw me at 10am and suggested Sotalol which I had been on years ago and poo'd the aspirin blood thinner of only $2.50 and put me on Eliquis which is $40 a month. At 3pm they finally coughed up one Sotalol pill to try and get me into a rhythm and after an hour and a half it had done absolutely nothing. My BP was still up and my heart rate and it went higher every time someone came in to my cubicle.
Then they finally suggested after two days, maybe we could electronically cardiovert you back in to a rhythm again? But hang on, now its been so long out of rhythm, there is a 1 in 300 chance you could stroke out. They are telling me this while there is a stroke patient in the bed next door to me and she did not sound good. Please sign this waver for the procedure. Oh, and you had lunch, oh sorry they said as they took away my water bottle, you have to fast now for 6 more hours.
I lost it then and a kindly nurse came in to see what was wrong. I blubbered about having to fast for another 6 hours because I ate something after a day and a half of not eating. She said oh bull! So now I had conflicting advice on what to do.
In the end I disconnected myself from the machine, got dressed and demanded to be discharged.
Suddenly there were my long awaited scripts for my meds and a waver to sign to discharge. My son picked me up and we just made the chemists to get the scripts filled before closing.
I took another Sotalol on the spot and went home to a herbal cup of tea and you know what? The heart went right back in to rhythm lol.
Since those awful couple of days in hospital I have seen a psychiatrist who said my subconcious is in a constant state of fight or flight flux and it is setting off the heart rate. He prescribed an antidepressant which of course with my luck gave me diarrhea for a week and the GP gave me a capsule to combat that. Well the antidepressant also had my lymph nodes getting sorer and sorer and when I took it at the same time as my Sotalol pill, it negated the Sotalol and increased the heart rate. I took another Sotalol later on and got back in to rhythm but I cannot take the antidepressant Sertraline again. The anti-diarrhea capsule did the same thing, increased the heart rate and again I had to take a Sotalol so that treatment is out too.
My GP has now increased the dose rate of Sotalol and the blood thinner which the hospital had put the incorrect dosage on and so far although my heart does go off occasionally, the Sotalol puts it back into rhythm.
I am also seeing a new psychologist who kept saying oh no wonder, when I listed all my worries and traumas so I have a really nice understanding woman helping to put things in to perspective now.
I am also doing a Panic course online recommended and payed for by my psychiatrist from This Way UP which is developed by St Vincents NSW.
It has been two weeks ER free and only one more week to go until I see my new Cardiology specialist and get all this nonsense sorted. Until then my GP has banned me from any stress, physical or mental. Life is pretty boring this week.4 -
Good grief! That’s a scary tale for anyone, most of all you! It’s hard to avoid a feeling of staff just trying one thing after another, which is not confidence inducing. I frequently am grateful I have a very good cardiologist. Best wishes for next week, at least the psychologist sounds like a step forward. You could possibly accommodate a bit of boredom after all that.1
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You poor soul, @Brenda5 - I'd be a sobbing mess on the floor if this was me - so well done YOU for doing so well over such a long period of time xx
Long may the ER visits be 'far apart' and I hope all stays in sync .... and all the best for the psych next week xx
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Oh shitsticks @Brenda5 !
If you didn't have a heart and anxiety problem before, that performance would bring them on.
I've always enjoyed your candour and humour, and I hope those two personality traits will help you drag yourself through this.
You are nobody's fool and it is just wrong to that you have to second guess everything then get the default answer, when they can't figure it out, its all in your head'
Yep, it can be all in our heads. But rarely. It would be nice to see all other avenues investigated before that decision is made.
Good luck. You are, as me granny used to say, a good egg. Mxx1 -
I saw the long awaited
cardiologist yesterday. He also poo’d the $2.50 aspirin I was on as a blood
thinner so I am stuck on the $41.50 a month Eliquis/apixaban.He decided he didn’t
like the Solalol (which was the only one which was stopping the Afib), confiscated
the tabs I had left, and put me on a half a tab of Metoprolol twice a day. When
I told him at one and a half twice a day it didn’t work, he said he would also
prescribe a new pill as well.He said all that psycho
mumbo jumbo was just smoke and mirrors and he doesn’t believe any of it. My own
subconscious mind couldn’t possibly send the heart into Afib. I should have asked; then why did the beta
blockers suddenly stop working after a few years on them?The new magic pill is
Flecainide/Tambocor which is supposed to regulate the heart rate and is twice a
day like the other two tablet sorts I take. Imagine my surprise when I got the renewal
scripts for those two plus the new script filled in yesterday and the total was
$96! That is enough dose rates for only one month so I am not a cheap chickee
to keep now according to my husband.He has ordered a heart
ultrasound for July 5th on my heart. Fair on my 60th
birthday I might add and it’s no longer a free service. It will cost nearly
$500!I see him again in 3
months.2 -
@Brenda5
Possibly the only more annoying thing will be if he is right! My guy didn’t want to increase the sotalol, but metoprolol keeps working for me and that was the necessary part about going off sotalol altogether. So try the new regime and see how it goes. Best of luck!1 -
You are in the wars, @Brenda5 ... OMG .... I would have thought 'the mind' would be the first choice for sending heart rhythms awry!
I hope you can change that heart ultrasound date to just BEFORE you 60th birthday - and get it as a 'freebie' .. every $$ adds up - & when living rural as well & having to travel distances to get to specialist appts .... the stress adds to it as well as the financial!
Check if there is Can Assist (or Qld equivalent) up your way? I would think most States may have a group like that (different name). They are a philanthropic group who help out those with cancer by way of petrol & food 'cards' ..... and may take care of big bills too ..... Definitely worth a check - not sure if it is a Social Worker who may need to refer you ....
take care.1 -
@Brenda5
Doesn't sound very encouraging. As per @Afraser, it would be nice if new dude was right. But then it's unlikely he'd admit it if he wasn't and only time will tell for sure, but hanging around hoping for the best would do my head in.
A bit off topic, but a number of years ago my mother suffered a life threatening incident. We thought she was a goner after weeks of what was meant to be palliative care. She survived, after a fashion, but once she could speak she refused all but two of her meds. Which cut about ten out of the program. Said she was sick of taking drugs to manage drugs. Was told that attitude would kill her. Evidently not.
It seems she picked the right two, but I was bloody horrified and wonder if her quality of life may be better if she did what she was told.
I am curious about the lack of appetite for comprehensive, and independent, medication review for all patients with complex health issues. Most good chemists can give you some idea if there are contraindications, but how does the average Joe comunicate that to a whole phalanx of specialists? Had problems myself.
I'd love to push a reset button and figure out what I need and what I don't, and Im not in your difficult position.
Hang in there. Mxx1 -
Brenda, fingers crossed this suggested regime of treatment works for you!
Our bodies, at times, certainly put us in a spin - the heightened awareness after everything you've been through previously
Take care0 -
I've had to give up my morning coffee. Monday I had a short stint of Afib until the heart pills kicked in. Scared me enough to swear off morning coffee.
I am still waiting for my Newstart Centerlink to be approved. Phone appointment due 3rd May so it doesn't look like it is happening soon.
I am also looking in to my adoption records, in particularly my original birth registration which should have my birth father Barry recorded. He was half aboriginal and once registered I may be able to get my medications a lot cheaper or even for free. More than one way to skin a cat.
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I have had another couple of Afib episodes but thankfully about 2 hours after I take the heart regulator pill and the beta blocker it comes back in to rhythm. It seems to not only kick off due to me doing a bit much physically (cleaning house) but also due to stress which is jolly hard to keep under wraps in life. There is the risk of stroke so I am on a new blood thinner called Apixaban.
We are listing our beach front house for sale. Due to my husband unbeknownst to me drawing on the $440k line of credit against the house and buying shares with it and then losing most of that money on the covid stockmarket crash we only have about 50k left in shares. It is an interest only loan which costs almost 2k per month so those shares are all that is paying the interest. While I was in hospital I did manage to get the broker to sell some shares so the interest money is in the loan for several months and I don't have to worry about it right now.
No way we can pay that loan back with me nearly 60 and hubby with the start of Parkinsons trying to hold down a domestics job.
Because of the shares, which if anyone follows the stockmarket, are reduced in value by about 2/3'rd of their value in a bear market, Centerlink Jobseeker will not be paying me any income at all until from 17th June. They seem to thing I should sell the shares and live on that but then how the heck would I come up with the 2k every month for the interest payments? So the house has to be sold.
I am trying to clean the place up a bit after being ill since 2015 when this breast cancer and now heart thing all started. It is not easy as I still get bone tired.
My phychology dept and my new GP Dr are looking in to assessing if I would be suitable to apply for a disability pension but the way it is rigged, unless I could qualify for 20 points on just one table, I would have to register for disability job seach and be on that for 18 months and then get reassessed. The effort and the stress of it all just seems not worth it.
I put in for my adoption records to be opened to trace my birth fathers aboriginal lineage but the gov't dept said its usually 6 weeks wait and add another 10 weeks to that as they are behind.
I hope our house sells soon and for enough money to clear the loan and have enough to buy a modest house in this area. I can't even put our funiture and boxes in storage as storage companies up here are all full of peoples stuff who cannot find a rental. So renting for us is out as well, even if we did have the income to cover it, which we don't.
Sorry I have written a dear diary here. In October it will be 2 years since I last had a mammogram so I guess I will have to book myself in for one in a few months. Lets hope the BC never rears its ugly head for me again.3 -
@Brenda5
No wonder your heart is fluttering - all of that is enough to set anything off. No point in repining, what’s done is done and wisely you have set your mind to what needs to be done next. But a turn for the better is surely long overdue? I do hope things go according to plan and you can resettle as you wish. Also that you may be able to access some help (maybe council services?) with the work involved in preparing for and actually moving. Best wishes for your mammogram - some reassurance there will be welcome.1 -
Gawd!! I had a husband that remortgaged the house without me knowing with the result that when we divorced (after I found out) I was considerably disadvantaged. Never forgave that. You're a better woman than I am.
It's probably worth jumping through the hoops for the DSP, even if the very thought is exhausting. Time, as we know, passes regardless of circumstances, so it may be something you are pleased you put the effort into now.1 -
Oh dear, @Brenda5 .. that is a shocker - I am SO sorry it has come to this .... make sure you take him off having any legal authority over ANYTHING to do with money, your house, your next house - your bank accounts - ANYWHERE.
Maybe it is the Parkinsons that has sparked these debts - but you need to protect yourself & the boys xx
All the best for the MG - fingers & toes all is good there. xx3 -
I have finally gotten a good psychologist I have been regularly seeing. Not going to help is the gov't decreasing the 20 subsidised appointments back to 10 in the New Year. She is so good I think I wouldn't mind paying for the extra appointments if I can. I should have been seeing someone waaay back when I was a kid but at least I am getting help now.
The breast cancer saga was just the straw that broke the camels back and I should have asked for help then but I didn't. Well, we didn't have any psychologist here at the time so years down the track I am finally getting help. My mental health team are not confident that I will ever work again however they are confident that with help I should be able to live a happy sedate life.
I have applied to disability but as usual it's not a fast thing and I have another interview in the New Year. Praying I don't have a panic attack in the middle of the thing as its so embarassing!
My heart was fairly settled and meds working until I visited my mum (who has the same Atrial Fibrillation as me) in hospital. The whole, I've been down every corridor in treatment there was so alarming and I thought I would faint but I got through it.
Wouldn't you know it, that night while I was asleep and no control on my mind, the Atrial Fibrillation came back. I gave it a few hours but my heart refused to go back in to rhythm so I did what the Cardiologist said to do and took another heart pill. Then I had to sit up for an hour or so to make sure it didn't actually stop my heart but it did pull the racing part down and I went to bed again. Sometime in the couple of hours left in the night my heart went back into rhythm thank goodness! I need to stay away from stressful situations.
Tentatively our house is sold. Just waiting for it to go unconditional on contract. I will have to leave my lovely beach front house and go and live somewhere else. We didn't get what we wanted in price but we cannot sustain the $2,600 in interest payments on the loan either and we need to get out of that debt. There is a tiny possiblity that we can buy with the proceeds a house outright without a loan but prices on everyone elses have gone up so we will probably need to get a small loan to complete a purchase. My sons will be going on any purchase agreement and/or borrowing with us just in case hubby becomes unbalanced again.
Good news! My breast scan came back negative for cancer! I think a positive one would have finished me lol.3
