So…I went home from the hospital with
no real answers, just the electrophysiologist telling me to make an appointment
to get a Holter Monitor from his office.
My wonderful husband who shall now be
named “Big Handsome” (Why, you ask? Because he is tall, dark and oh, so very
handsome) called the electrophysiologist and filled the prescription for the
Holter Monitor for 21 days.
He brought the contraption home and I
got “hooked up” so to speak. The following days were just a blur of feeling
like crap and pushing the button an inordinate amount of times. Every time I
felt weird (which back then was about every second) I pushed the button.
Bit of background on the Holter
Monitor. You place electrodes on your person in certain areas, they then attach
to a cellphone-type doohickey with a button that you put in your pocket. I was instructed
that I should push the button whenever I felt something that was not normal.
Once the button is pushed, you get a phone call from the company and you need
to tell them what you were feeling at the time of the “button push” and what
you were doing at the time. The company then records your incident, then all the information, including heart rhythms get sent to the doctor.
I distinctly remember very shortly
after my hospital visit that we, as a family went out to breakfast, complete
with in-laws. I walked into the restaurant and sat down and began to look at
the menu. Then, I could feel it coming on…the tingling, racing heart, et al. I
looked at Big Handsome and said, “It’s happening” to which he said, ok, don’t
worry lets go outside to the truck. I sat in the truck and tried to let it
pass. Still, I didn’t know what was going on; I just knew that my body was,
once again going haywire for no apparent reason. I pushed the button and
explained to the company what I was feeling and doing at the time of the push. Then
I sat in the truck with the seat reclined and my feet on the dash while the
rest of the family enjoyed their breakfast. Afterwards Big Handsome needed
something at the local hardware store. I really just wanted to go home and rest
as these episodes totally wiped me out, but I figured since we were out we’d
go; if I felt bad again, I’d just sit in the truck and wait. We soldiered on to the hardware store (my breakfast was boxed up and I ate a bit of it in the car) where I
pushed the button again (ok, maybe a few times more). We finally got home and I rested.
That was the beginning of my
monitoring. Sad start.
Bit of background on the family
history. My in-laws (whom I love dearly and get along with famously) were in
town to work. While they work, they live in our house. Suffice it to say that they
work at the same place as Big Handsome, but they work intermittently. So here I
was just out of the hospital for Lord knows what (I still didn’t have answers),
but I was told that I should keep my stress levels as low as possible. While my
lovely in-laws were staying with us they decided that it would be a
wonderful time for their granddaughter (my husband’s niece) and her family,
which consists of her husband and toddler to come for a visit. Now don’t get me
wrong, I love my husband’s niece and even helped to raise her for a year when
she was in grade school, however a visit was not even on my list of things to
do at that moment. You see, I was hooked up to electrodes and still trying to
figure out if I was going to have a heart attack at any moment. What was I
supposed to say…sorry, I don’t want anyone visiting since I don’t know if I’m
going to drop dead any second? Suffice to say the niece and family came (I
know, I’m weak).
The visit went off without a hitch;
however I still resent the lack of compassion towards my health at the time. I
felt like it was a slap in the face and the proverbial “buck up” was in the
forefront of my mind. Not only did I have to prepare my home for more visitors,
but I felt the need to act as if nothing was wrong…hello…I’m strapped to
electrodes!!
Anywhoo, I got through the 21 days of
monitoring only to follow up with the doctor whose first statement was “Do you
realize you pushed the button some 80+ times over the last 21 days?”
SERIOUSLY?!?! I was instructed to push the button anytime I felt weird.
He then told me that my heart rhythm
was fine and that my heart tended to speed up at times, but he saw no
complications. He then told me he wanted to schedule me for a Tilt Table Test.
We scheduled…
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