Tag: cardiologist


You Get 99 Dollars, But You Shouldn’t Get 1

24
May

You know how I didn’t want to go to the cardiologist today because I knew that he would say that he couldn’t do anything and that he would mention that he wouldn’t (if he could) because of my weight? I was right. He told me that he couldn’t treat the high blood pressure spells because my blood pressure is still on the low side of normal some of the time. He then said that he wouldn’t do anything and he didn’t want to test anything because he feels that the problem is my weight and only my weight. He said my blood pressure may be going up because I’m anxious, which I never said that I was anxious. I’m not really that much more anxious than normal, so I think that was just a way he could ignore dealing with the problem and shift the blame to me. He did eventually decide that he was going to do one test: an echocardiogram.

He spent a grand total of maybe four or five minutes with me. In that time, he didn’t look at the list of medicines I was on, but was able to say that none of my medicines could be affecting my blood pressure or heart. He didn’t look at my chart. He lectured, listened to my heart, listened to my lungs, lectured, left the room, and came back for a second to mention the ECHO. That was it. He left his nurse, Carol Ann (not joking about the name), to finish up my chart. I don’t know why she was even in there, except that she does his chart-work. (I guess he’s too good to do his damn work.)

I don’t understand how he can get paid (or ask to be paid) $99 for an appointment that he doesn’t even really do anything at. If you get paid $99 to tell someone they’re fat and to listen to their chest, then what does he expect to get when he actually does work? I mean, I know when he does surgeries that he gets tens of thousands of dollars, but what about the rest of the time?

The ECHO was interesting. I had to wait a while (almost 2 hours) to have it done. They only seemed to do 2 people at a time, which I think is weird since they had 6 people to do them. (If you have that many people, shouldn’t you have the same number of rooms?) I’d never had an ECHO, but it was a lot like having any other kind of ultrasound. It was a little different, since they used the Doppler and since you can actually listen to your heart rhythm.

I have no idea what was going on in my ECHO or what the results will be. (They’ll probably be normal or “within normal limits”.) All I know is that (at times) it looked like I had a rat dancing in my heart. It looked like there was a head with two arms (the valves) kind of going up, like it was jumping. There was some clicking sound at one point. It also looked like (on the Doppler screens) some of the red was going back into the blue’s area. Of course, I may have been noticing things that meant absolutely nothing, so there’s no point in worrying about it, right?

Though I was disappointed with the rude attitude of the cardiologist, I was glad that I didn’t run into the lady I had seen yesterday at the Mental Health Center. I wore (after washing it overnight) the same shirt that I had worn to the appointment yesterday. Unfortunately, the shirt sometimes lifts up when I move my arms to adjust my hair. The woman yesterday saw me lift my arms and probably saw about an inch or less of my stomach. As I got closer to the building, she started ranting about how she “didn’t want to see” my stomach. When I looked at her, she (of course) snapped at me for looking at her. I was not surprised that she was the one who went to the intake side of the office, since it seemed like she needed some serious help. I know that my stomach isn’t nice to look at, but it wasn’t like I was trying to show it off. I thought her behavior was a bit uncalled for, though it was slightly entertaining.

Wow, and before I can even finish the post, I get a call about the results from the test today.  It’s normal.  I am not surprised.

Comment » | Alabama Weirdness, Confessions, Mental Health, Rants, Sickness and Health

I Promise I Will Be There

24
May

In the past I have had doctors and therapists who don’t do the reminder calls, so I’ve learned not to really expect them.  Sure, I prefer when I get them, since I’ve usually scheduled the appointment weeks (sometimes months) in advance.  But, for the most part, I understand that doctors don’t have to call.

Well, on Friday, The Heart Center called to remind me of my appointment and to do pre-registration.  That’s not really weird, since a call prior to the weekend, is normal for appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays. (Pre-registration is also pretty normal, since the Center is part of the Huntsville Hospital System, so my appointment is sort of like being checked into the hospital for a few hours.)  Well, yesterday morning I got a second call from them.  This time it was their computer system, which required me to confirm the appointment via their automated system.  About four hours later, I got another call from them.  I think that it was a person.  (My dad answered and confirmed vocally, so I’m guessing that it was a person.)  I’ve never had an appointment that required 3 confirmations before.  My mother suggested that it might be that the Center has me scheduled for multiple people or multiple procedures or something.  Who knows?

Of course the idea that I’m going to see more than 1 specialist or that I’m going to be going through procedures is a bit unnerving.  I’m used to the EKG stuff and Holter monitors being a part of my appointment, but they don’t usually do anything other than that when I visit.  There is a chance that this appointment will be different, so I guess I shouldn’t expect it to be just like the others I’ve had there.

I’m no longer certain that it is Serotonin Syndrome, since I’ve continued to have problems with my heart rate going extremely high and my blood pressure getting higher than I’ve ever seen it go before.  The high numbers are especially unexpected when earlier in the day I will have had a fairly low reading or a reading that it close to normal.  A few hours after the high reading, the lower readings will come back.

I’ve also had some massive headaches with and without the increases (and decreases) in pulse and pressure.  Yesterday, I had one of the worst headaches that I’d ever had, which is saying something since I’ve had headaches pretty constantly for 20 years or so.  This headache felt like the front of my skull, mainly in the forehead area, was going to cave in.  It also felt like there was this explosive or maybe implosive feeling in that general area.  It didn’t feel like my standard migraines, tension, and sinus headaches.  It was different, and definitely not good-different.  I know that I probably should have gotten it checked out, but if I had called my family doctor and told them, I knew that they would have suggested that I tell the cardiologist today or that I go to the emergency room.  The ER isn’t really an option.  I know that I can’t rely on them to do anything anymore.  And if I were told to just tell the cardiologist, then I would have basically wasted a phone call.

Sometimes I wish I still had a headache doctor, but I didn’t really appreciate the way that I was treated there and I didn’t like that they kept putting me on medicines that I had already had issues with.  Since there is only one headache specialist in the entire state, I guess I am kind of screwed in terms of looking for others around here.  Insurance might keep me from going to doctors elsewhere, not to mention gas prices and the angst that comes with the idea of really long drives.

Anyway, I hope that the appointment goes well today and that we figure out what the hell is going on.  Otherwise, I worry that I will worry myself to death over it.

2 comments » | Confessions, Sickness and Health

Suite Gothique Pour Grande Orgue

17
May

If you’ve read my blog for, oh, at least a year [1], then you should know that I’ve had some issues with tachycardia [2]. My cardiologist had said that I had an arrhythmia [3], but didn’t want to treat it because my normal blood pressure was around 100/70 or lower and because I have asthma[4]. I didn’t really like his response, but I went with it because (in part) I felt that it was the right decision. I think the tables may have turned, though.

Over the weekend, I was feeling kind of weird when I walked into the living room from the bathroom (not a long distance)[5] and I wanted to know if maybe my pulse was up. It was. The pulse was at 156. My blood pressure was at 128 over 100. (I thought at first that the top number was in the 150′s.) I got worried and, yesterday morning, I called the family doctor to see if maybe they could see me. (I really didn’t want to go back to see the cardiologist if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.)[6] One of the nurses at the family doctor’s office said that I should really talk to the cardiologist about this. She asked me to check my blood pressure while we were on the phone, and I did. My blood pressure (then) was 130 over 100. My pulse, which is what she was more worried about, was 116, then. She said to call the cardiologist, since it sounded like it was more likely something they would end up treating. I hesitated, though, because I, like I said, I really didn’t want to see him.

This morning, I decided that I needed to check my blood pressure again. I sat down next to my mom and Willow for about 20 minutes, which was longer than I had waited the past 2 times before checking it. When I checked it, it came back as 182 over 98 with a pulse of 116. That was the highest I had ever seen the top number, not just for me, but for anyone. Mom definitely felt that I should make the call to the cardiologist ASAP, which I did.

Unfortunately, when dealing with a practice with so many physicians, the wait can be really long to talk to a scheduler. It took, literally, 7 minutes to talk to a real human being. I thought that she was the scheduler, but no, she was in charge of routing the calls once you get to the department. The person I needed to talk to wasn’t available, so I ended up leaving a voice-mail. (And I know that when she hears it, she’s going to think I’m 5 because my voice sounded that squeaky and young.)[7]

I’m worried, though, which I know doesn’t help at all. Between this, the ongoing congestion-sinus crap, my period starting back a couple of weeks ago (it’s been light, so the length isn’t worrying me at all), my increasing overheating issues, my dad’s disability review being tomorrow, my mom’s neurological issues, and the regular stress that I encounter, I’ve just been quite a nervous person lately. I would say that maybe the blood pressure is high because of that, but I guess it is better to be safe than sorry.

So, now I wait.

[1] Good for you, you deserve a cookie. Of course, if you’ve read it longer, then maybe you should get a cookie cake or something.

[2] The definition came from The Mayo Clinic‘s page on tachycardia.

[3] The definition came from the National Institutes of Health‘s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute‘s page on arrhythmia.

[4] The definition came from PubMed Health from their asthma page.

[5] Unless ten feet is a long distance.

[6] He’s one of those doctors that makes it clear that he doesn’t see the point in treating overweight clients.

[7] I know that having a little kid voice isn’t really noteworthy, but it sometimes makes it hard for me to do things over the phone. People seem to be in disbelief that a person can have a little kid voice when they’re in their twenties.

Comment » | 10 Years of Madness, Confessions, Family, Sickness and Health

Epic Sucking, Extra Beating

3
September

My dad and I went to Walmart last evening (Wednesday) and we shopped for groceries. I had checked the online banking site before we left so I knew how much money I had that I could spend. I also knew that my SSDI check would come in at midnight, though the bank doesn’t always make it available to me right when they get it. I figured that I could pay for around $240 for groceries, but when I got up to the cashier, it was denied. It was denied more times than Jesus. (It got denied around 6 times.) And the CSM from Walmart was not exactly very nice about it. He was acting like I was trying to defraud the store or something. The whole thing was embarrassing, and I really just wish that it hadn’t happened at all…including that I hadn’t gone shopping. I now have to go shopping tomorrow. I really dread that because going to get groceries once a week just about eats up my energy reserves for the week, but going twice (and those 2 times being in consecutive days) is going to just about kill me.

Speaking of killing me, I got a call from my cardiologist’s office. They apologized for not having called sooner. (Of course, when they finally did call, they got the busy signal because of the phone/DSL problems.) The nurse said that other than the fast rhythm my heart rhythm generally looked healthy. She said there were some extra beats in it, but that the cardiologist didn’t really have a suggestion for slowing the rhythm or helping me from nearly dying when I move. So, I don’t know that I’m any better off now than I was before.

I called the bariatric surgeon on Tuesday. I got rescheduled for appointments to see if I can have the revision procedure done. My mom has been trying to convince me that this is a bad thing. She even tried to tell me that she thinks it would kill me and that that would ruin her life. (She does this with a lot of different things…ranging from health-related to recreational things. It’s basically the guilt trip that has been passed down from generation to generation.) I know that she’s afraid that something bad will happen, and the thought has crossed my mind, too. All I know is that I have to do something so that I can get to a weight that wouldn’t make all of my health issues that much worse. If I have the procedure, then it will help get enough weight that maybe I will be able to actually exercise without having my heart shoot up to some intolerable level.

Comment » | General, Sickness and Health

Grinding Bones to Make Bread

24
August

Okay, I haven’t written anything from the past few days. It’s not for lack of things to talk about, but more caused by the amount of stuff that was going on in my life. None of it was fun. None of it was anything I wanted to have to deal with. It was, though, things that were more important than blogging. If you’ve been watching the updates on my Twitter account or Facebook profile, then you probably have a pretty good clue of what is going on.

My mom fell on Saturday and broke her right ankle. According to the orthopedist who saw her at the hospital, it was weakened by having to stay off of it for the last 9 months. According to her family doctor, she was at an increased risk of fractures because of the vitamin d deficiency that is plaguing the family. Apparently, if her vitamin d levels had been checked and treated back when I was nagging my old family doctor about that kind of thing, then he could have treated her levels and she wouldn’t have broken both ankles, her wrist, and had such trouble healing. (D is essential for processing calcium. It doesn’t matter how much calcium you take in if your D levels are too low.)

Sunday, I was at the hospital from 7 AM until 7 PM. Mom’s surgery was scheduled for 9:30. The orthopedist was unable to get there until 11:30. Her surgery started within the next half hour. I didn’t see her again until 3:00 that afternoon. She wasn’t doing really well when she got up to the room. She had a fever and her blood pressure was around 193 over 80-something. I wondered why they weren’t giving her anything for pain. (Typical surgery protocol is either getting regular pain medicines via injection or having a pain pump. She was getting neither.) Apparently, the nurses didn’t think that she might be in pain. I guess it didn’t occur to them that she might actually hurt from having surgery or from having a broken ankle.

On Monday, I was at the hospital from 10 AM to 6 PM, except for the hour or so that I was at the cardiologist getting a holter monitor. (I kept having to reapply the leads every few hours because they were falling off.) Mom was doing much better. She was drowsy, but not yet whiny.

She came home this afternoon, and now she’s whiny because we’ve moved everything, even though we haven’t moved anything. So, I guess I’m looking at at least 2-3 more months of her whining and nagging constantly, with my dad spending every spare moment in the back of the house, and me left to do everything. I guess this has become my life.

Comment » | Facebook, Family, Sickness and Health, Twitter

Every Beat of My Heart

20
August

On Wednesday, I had the cardiologist appointment. According to the doctor, I have a fast sinus rhythm that appears to be “normal” for me. He said that he wants me to wear a holter monitor for 24 hours. The scheduler wanted me to do it this week, but I thought I was going to have the CRP done yesterday afternoon, which would’ve kept me pretty immobile for a week. I decided to go for early next week, because my brain didn’t compute that a week was 7 days long.

Of course, I ended up going to the CRP appointment and finding out that since I wasn’t having any dizzy spells (or any nystagmus issues) when I arrived for the appointment that I couldn’t have the CRP done. The audiologist told me that I could come back anytime I got dizzy, just to call first. (Once you’re approved for the procedure, it can be done for a few months after the approval.)

I’m not nervous about the holter monitor thing. I had one a few years ago, when I was going through the Geodon reaction. I hope that it stays on better this time. Last time, since it was also done in the summer, the stickers kept coming undone.

Oh, I enjoyed seeing the look the cardiologist made when he was trying to figure out the heart issue. He wanted to blame the typical obesity stuff and use the normal treatments, including high blood pressure medicine. Well, he noticed that my blood pressure was low, and I told him that it is *normally* on the low end of normal. He also noticed that my blood sugar was normal, the thyroid stimulating hormone is on the low end of normal (hinting at hyperthyroidism) and that the actual thyroid hormone is on the low end of normal (hinting at hypothyroidism). The look was one of those totally confused faces. This is a guy who was the head of cardiology at one of the top heart-care hospitals in the region, and he was bumfuzzled.

Comment » | Sickness and Health

Turn My Head with Talk of Summertime

17
August

I thought that I had a bruise on the corner of my eye Sunday night, until I found out that I had a stye coming up (the bruise was a shadow). I also have a sore developing on my eyebrow ridge. I haven’t had a stye in a long time, so I had forgotten how horrible these things feel.

I had tests scheduled at the ENT Monday morning. The audiologist decided to do a Dix-Hallpike test first. If it was negative, she would do the ECOG test. It was negative on the left side. On the right, my eyes had a nystagmus (involuntary jerking motion) and I got dizzy. So…I get to have a CRP (canalith repositioning procedure) to treat that. I’m really not looking forward to that because the positioning for this test was painful enough for my neck.)

On Monday afternoon, I saw the neurosurgeon. Fortunately, he said the problem wasn’t serious. He said it was just a strain. He wants me to do physical therapy, which I will schedule after I go to the cardiologist tomorrow. I don’t know if the therapy will help. My neck has never been strong. (Part of the reason I had to quit gymnastics as a kid was that they noticed that my neck was extremely weak.) I hope it will help, though.

After I got home yesterday, I ended up falling asleep. At first, it was for about 2 hours. I took some medicine, which kept me asleep for another 10 hours. I ended up taking medicine again when I woke up, which kept me asleep for another 12 hours. So, I was asleep in a medicine-induced nap for around 24 hours. I needed to rest that long since I had been up for what seemed like forever.

Comment » | Sickness and Health

« Previous Entries     

↑ Back to top