Today is a typical summer day in Houston; rained earlier and now it's hot and steamy outside. I've been puttering around and feel pretty good for a change. I'm wearing my Fitbit more to keep up with my heart rate which has been bothersome since chemo started. My resting heart rate is usually 60-65 but since I've been having treatment it's hovering around 80. It doesn't take much activity to push it up over 100, though. I believe that combined with the chemo, my lack of activity lately isn't helping my heart. I'm going to try to get more steps in and make myself get up and move around a bit more. My husband got his second Covid shot today; so far he feels fine. The first one didn't seem to affect him at all. He was recently prescribed blood pressure medicine which came as a total shock to me since he is slender and has always had low BP. I guess age catches up to all of us in one way or another. Now that I have a surgery date penciled in, I'm spending all my free time canvassing the internet for information on the procedure and reviews of my three doctors (surgical oncologist, plastic surgeon, and anesthesiologist.) Soon I'll add the radiologist to the mix since I'll have radiation treatments after the surgery heals. Weird as it sounds, I'm kind of relieved to have the process moving along.
I don't believe so, Marci. I had a LOT of anxiety early on, but now I'm mostly calm except for the day before chemo and the day of chemo. Even when I'm sitting relaxing and reading, my heart rate is high. I'm going to wear my Fitbit to bed tonight to see if it stays high while I'm asleep.
I had kind of a meltdown day today. My heart rate is still high, so I thought I'd try a little exercise... bad idea. Apparently I need to just sit quietly in a chair and drink lots of water. I searched the BC forum for posts about accelerated heart rate with AC chemo and got pages and pages of search results, so it's apparent that this is not an unusual occurrence. Most people say that the problem resolves itself a month or two after chemo ends. I need to ask my surgeon if having a high heart rate will be an issue for surgery. I hope that doesn't get postponed but not much I can do about it. I have an echo-cardiogram on Wednesday which is not the best time... since I have chemo on Tuesday which means I'd normally be plowed flat on my back with barf meds on Wednesday-- so the 2-hour car ride is going to be torture. I don't know why this has to be so damn unpleasant.
Beth, have you tried doing some ECG’s with your Apple Watch ? I know that you monitor your heart rate, but doing an ECG every now and then might help you have more information to talk about with your doctor. I try to check my blood oxygen several times a day, and if the heart rhythm seem odd, or I am having bouts of tachycardia, then I also do the ECG.
Yes, I have. I get "sinus rhythm" so I guess that's normal...?? I don't know the first thing about the EKG or how to interpret it. My blood oxygen levels are good, 99-100. The only issue is my heart rate, which I've been reading can be caused by anemia.
The day started out very stormy; heavy rain as we left for the medical center around 6 a.m. Traffic was crazy, as expected. I had a good meeting with my oncologist; he postponed today's scheduled chemo until I have the echo-cardiogram tomorrow. If the echo shows heart damage I'm not sure what will happen next...I wish I had asked more questions about that. If the echo shows no damage then I'll have chemo Thursday and things will rock along. I have lost a couple of pounds according to the doctor's scale. Kind of surprising with all the ice cream I've been enjoying lately. I took a 2-hour nap when we got home. Getting up at 5 a.m. just wipes me out. I'm feeling pretty good for a change, though. My husband peeled some Gulf shrimp and we made a cajun shrimp boil for dinner. Thinking about making banana pudding later but maybe we'll just have ice cream instead. I have cut back my coffee consumption to a single cup in the morning. I know that caffeine increases the heart rate so maybe that will help my galloping little heart. I might even buy some half-caff (gasp). (Don't tell @Ken Anderson; he might ban me. ) I'm in the mood to buy something so I guess I'll scope out the department store websites.
If I were you...I'd be looking for some colorful and interesting wigs. *grins* And maybe the biggest prosthetic bra you could find. *hehe*
I have 2 wigs and can't stand to wear either of them; they are hot and scratchy. As for bras, I've been looking for a front-closure type that is recommended after surgery; apparently I'll have limited range of mobility in my arm for a while. I'm feeling pretty down these days and wish I could get my optimism back.
*Hugs ya tight* Hang in there lady!! I don't know how you feel about praying but God will listen. Night.