Praying the medicine your Cardiologist put you back on will be the only "tweeking" needed to keep your heart beat stable @Yvonne Smith.
The new heart medicine seems to be helping. This morning my BP was 107/60 and my pulse was 84; so nothing is racing right now, although the a-fib is still present . Yesterday I went back to the Heart Center and they did a new EKG, and said that it looked much better than the one last week. The are going to give the meds a couple of weeks to really take effect before they try anything else, assuming that all goes well like it has been doing. Next week, I have an appointment to see the electrophysiologist , who is the actual doctor that preformed the heart operation 2 years ago, and I think that he will be the person in charge after I see him. I am already feeling much better, not so dizzy nor hands falling asleep, and last night I was able to walk down to the little convenience store with Bobby like we almost always do together. So, it is looking up, and hopefully, things will be back on track again by the first of the new year. Thank you again for all of the prayers and well-wishes, and just for caring about me !
Today was a busy, busy day ! We went for my appointment with the EP (electrophysiologist) heart doctor this morning. He is the one who performed the heart procedure for me just over 2 years ago. He said that things like inflammations and even stress can cause the heart to revert; but he feels that it just needs a "touchup". He made an appointment for me next week to check into the outpatient part of the hospital, and they will do another cardioversion to shock the heart back in rhythm. He thinks that the amioderone might hold it there , and if so, then they will either keep me on the meds, or taper if off later. If this doesn't hold the heart in rhythm, then he will schedule another small touchup procedure for me, probably early Spring. This gives him time to see how the meds are working, and just what the heart is actually doing. After just this short time, I am already doing better, and have a lot of my energy back again, and the fibrillation is not as pronounced as it was before. After that, we went to the fitness center and had our usual swim (for me) and workout (for Bobby). Then, home and had to get ready for Bobby's doctor appointment this afternoon. We are changing over to a new doctor who specializes in senior patients, and actually, that is all that he does. It is even much closer to where we live, so that is a blessing, too. Last week, they did an extensive lab work up on Bobby, and today, the doctor called us both in and spent well over a half hour going over all of the lab tests and explaining what they meant. We were both really IMPRESSED with this doctor, so I think we made a good choice for the primary care physician. Next week, I will be going in for my work-up, and then another appointment so he can go over those results with us. One of the doctors in the office is also a cardiologist; so that will be great for me, too ! So, all in all, a busy doctor day for both of us, and more to follow next week; but it is all good, and I am glad that we found this doctor.
@Yvonne Smith Very glad to hear this is under control! I cannot imagine how I would react, were it me, and you speak so nonchalantly about it! I would probably expire just from worrying..... Frank
It sounds like you are in very good hands with your heart Doctor @Yvonne Smith and that he has a solid plan for getting your heart back on track. I pray everything works out fine for you. Your new Primary Care Physician sounds great too. Especially the part about him specializing in Senior patients. I would like to find one like this for us also as "navigating" these Senior years has brought all kinds of surprises that I am having difficulty understanding and it would be good to have someone who can help "guide" and "care" for us through the Senior years of our lives.
We were actually referred to this doctor by another doctor that Bobby knows from working out at the fitness center, @Babs Hunt . He explained to the doctor that he works out with that he wanted to find a primary care physician who was more attuned to a senior patient that worked out and was actively interested in preserving (and improving) their health and physical abilities (as opposed to just prescribing drugs), and he suggested that Bobby check out Dr. Kahn. When we looked him up in the book, we were happy to discover that he was right down the road from us, and that he specialized in "elder care" exclusively. You might check your online directory for a doctor in your area who does this same kind of a thing. With as many of us Baby Boomers who are seniors, it would make sense that more doctors would specialize in this area nowadays. http://centerforeldercare.org/
That sounds like a wonderful health care center for Bobby and you Yvonne. I hope they have something like that over here and that is covered under our plan too.
@Yvonne Smith , how are you feeling, are you ok after your 'shocking'' treatment ? I hope all went well
I am feeling just fine today, and so far, my heart seems to be holding in the right rhythm. The last time they shocked it, it held for about 1-2 weeks and then went back into a-fib. This time, they have me back on amioderone, which is basically a drug that gives you iodine, and the iodine helps keep your heart in rhythm. I started taking Lugol's iodine drops after the operation 2 years ago because after they stopped the amioderone, I had low thyroid symptoms. My doctor prescribed Armour thyroid (I refused the Synthroid she wanted me to take) and I also started supplementing with iodine, and now my thyroid is back to normal. However, when that happened, I began to get lax in taking the Lugol's iodine drops because I was not worried about iodine deficiency. Apparently, I let it get low again, and this is probably why my heart went back into a-fib last fall. Now, I realize what I did wrong; but I don't dare take the iodine along with the amioderone or I will possibly overdose, which is not good either. At this point, I will have to wait until they take me back off of amioderone again, and then be sure to take my iodine supplement religiously and not slack off like I did last time. Here is a great article that explains the need for iodine to maintain good heart function, and it certainly helped me until I stopped taking it properly. This might be something that you would be interested in reading, too, @Babs Hunt . http://iodineresearch.com/files/west_2006_atrial_fibrillation_3_.doc
Right now all I'm really interested in is finding out if something is wrong...and if so....what that something is. Once I know what is what...I'll go on from there.
We are headed off to the hospital for the cardioversion, yet again. I should be back home by this afternoon sometime, and will try to check in with everyone here when I get back home, or at least Bobby will be able to update you, if I can't for some reason. It has been ups and downs with the heart rhythm since it went out last fall. This time, I am going to have another heart procedure, probably the end of July, or early August, and then gradually taper off on the arrythmia meds once my heart has stabilized again. For now, I am going to stay on the double dose of amioderone, and that should keep my heart working right until they can do the heart procedure ablation. They have a waiting list is why it takes so long to be able to have the procedure. I am starving, and missing my morning coffee; but I cannot have anything to eat or drink until after the cardioversion.
I wanted to let everyone know that I am back home again, everything went well, my heart is back out of a-fib, and it feels better already. Thank you for all the well-wishes and prayers, and just for being such a caring group of people. I am still a little groggy from the anesthetic, and I am going to go and rest; but wanted to at least stop by and let everyone know that I am back home again and doing fine.