I walked to church and back on Sunday. Haven’t walked there in a couple of months. Felt good. There was no pain, other that what came from the cold. Monday was a busy day and the beginning g of problems that have been building for three months, most likely. Saw my chiropractor first, came back had a cup of coffee at The Home then left to see my podiatrist. I was fitted for the brace for my left foot. I couldn’t believe it. The brace is light and yet it straightened out my foot immediately — and no pain. I was shocked.
I wore the wrong shoes for the fitting. I was told I would need a fair amount of room in the heel to accommodate the brace. Well, the loosest heel I have is on my slippers. Great, except my arch is high and with the brace I could not get in my shoe. So I left with my brace in the large sports bag provided. Very large! Promotion they call it.
I then rushed to physical therapy and had the hardest work out yet. We did a number of balance tests with my eyes closed and others with my head swinging back and forth. I got very dizzy. Since that was the end of the session I assumed everything would be OK. I felt a little woozy but drove to get a couple of prescriptions then picked up The Home newsletter. I went in to the dining room to fold the newsletters and hand them out. Weird is the only way to describe what I felt. I wasn't dizzy but a little lightheaded. I knew I was hungry as I only had a bowl of cereal and it was getting on toward 1:00. By the time I got back from distributing papers to the big building I thought I was having a sugar low. I sat and ate a muffin hoping that would help. I wanted something with more sugar, but couldn't find it. I got back to my room, grabbed a diet pop and a couple of pieces of candy and sat in my recliner. By this time my head was starting to spin but I was feeling better. I didn't plan on this, but I fell asleep. When I awoke my heart was beating fast and I was convinced I was having another sugar low. This time I got a glucose pill and everything seemed to settle down. But I could not walk back to the sofa. My head began spinning and I could not walk straight. Would have complained about being drunk had I drank anything.
I called my daughter to see is she could drive me to the hospital. She didn’t answer. Tried to get to the kitchen and could no longer stand or walk. My heart was now racing a 100 miles and hour. Lying there I decided I could not walk to any body’s car and called 911. It was my heart. I had atrial fibrillation. Paramedics rushed me to the hospital and they immediately tried to slow my heart down and thin my blood. I was held over night and this morning everything was back to normal. While there a nurse pointed out that I also had sleep apnea. My snoring and lack of breaths gave it away. That contributes to heart disease. Yes, new medications have been added, new food restrictions. I believe with only 2 or 3 new diseases and I will no longer be able to eat anything. No dairy, no salt, no leafy greens, no sugar and only decaf coffee. Whoa is me, for I am undone.
I am tried and now need to rearrange some meetings and appointments for new and more doctors. It was suggested I should have a sleep test, get a regular cardiologist, and more regular blood tests. I am considering getting a permanent room near these doctors since I may soon have I live there.
Three heart problems at three different times and none have resembled each other. I got immediate care and am being treated well. My growing exhaustion over the last few months was clearly leading up to this. I had no explanation why I was so tired. I hope that also gets better.
Now that I have spent an entire blog acting like an old person (I am one) and going over all my ailments, I will stop. Tomorrow I will go back to the Soap Opera which is The Home.
2 comments:
Holy cow! I'm glad your ok and that you were able to get medical attention right away. I will keep you in my prayers. Take it easy, eh.
Ok. I am going to be the RN that I am and give you some advice!
- next time you have symptoms, call 911 right away! If you have any numbness,weakness (esp one side of face or body)sudden vision problems, sudden severe headache, slurred speech, confusion...call 911 - it might save your life!You might not be so lucky next time!
- The Afib can cause you to throw off clots and cause a stroke so you will want to take the "blood thinners"or as we call them: anticoagulants as prescribed.
As far as the leafy veggies go, you don't want to take them in excess, but you don't have to eliminate ALL greens. The idea is to keep your diet the same so that there isn't fluctuations in your bleeding times when you go for testing. There is lots of Vit K in leafy veggies which counteract the anticoagulants - so when you eat your veggies, eat the same kind/amount every day as opposed to all veggies one day and none the next - that is what causes the problems - fluctuations in what you eat. Then you won't have to adjust your medication continually. :) So if you normally eat foods with Vit K in them, you don't need to stop, just make sure you continue with the SAME AMOUNT EVERY DAY. :)
As for sleep apnea...oh my. I did a blogpost on that - it can shorten your life...sleeping on your side makes it better if the prob is your tongue dropping down and blocking your airway. You can get (after sleep studies done) a CPAP to help u breathe at night which will make you feel more rested when you wake up. Stopping breathing at intervals makes your heart work harder...puts a strain on it.
I am sure they would have given you lots of info - but just in case - here is a good link. Especially take note and click on the "HOW" to take your medication safely bar:
http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/kb/content/actionset/aba5406.html
Sorry for all the info. I don't mean to be negative, but I always believe that knowlege gives you power. Anyway.....good news is, you are still alive!
If you are wondering about symptoms you are getting, you can go through this link to determine if it is serious or not:
www.healthlinkbc.ca and click on the body diagram where the symptoms are. :)
Take care! :)
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