PSA: Part Deux
Hospital internet: the wave of the future. Live from Room 808 at St. Joseph's Hospital, with my laptop thanks to E. Hoping to get out of here today or tomorrow! Wanting cupcakes.
The problem is my heart rate. Until yesterday when I was finally given beta-blockers, I'd lost control over my heart rate. At rest it was 120 beats per minute, and when I stood up, it would skyrocket to 160 beats per minute. At one point it got so bad that I was on permanent bed rest (not even allowed to stand to use the bathroom) getting shots of blood thinner in the stomach, so I wouldn't form and throw clots, and two liters of oxygen, because my oxygen saturation had dropped into the 80s because my heart wasn't pumping blood efficiently.
I kept setting off my telemetry (heart monitor) so I spent some time in the cardiac ICU. Finally, unable to hold off any longer, they had to give me beta-blockers, because even being quite young, I couldn't physically tolerate my high heart rate anymore.
Everyone I think was quite frustrated, and it is frustrating. All my tests were normal, so I had to talk to the head of psychiatry and convince him I wasn't anxious, even though throwing all the anti-anxiety agents in the book hadn't done a thing for my heart rate.
I told my rheumatologist (who had me transported to the ER after I collapsed onto his nurse) flat out, "It's my nervous system, not my heart." He said he knew, he could tell, but the test that could detect the suspected de-regulations in my nervous system didn't yet exist, so it can't be recorded as the official diagnosis.
Doctors get so upset when they can't find a physical cause. I want to say, it's okay to not know. And don't take it out on me, please!
But my friends have been awesome bringing me books and snacks, and my mom flew in early this morning!
The problem is my heart rate. Until yesterday when I was finally given beta-blockers, I'd lost control over my heart rate. At rest it was 120 beats per minute, and when I stood up, it would skyrocket to 160 beats per minute. At one point it got so bad that I was on permanent bed rest (not even allowed to stand to use the bathroom) getting shots of blood thinner in the stomach, so I wouldn't form and throw clots, and two liters of oxygen, because my oxygen saturation had dropped into the 80s because my heart wasn't pumping blood efficiently.
I kept setting off my telemetry (heart monitor) so I spent some time in the cardiac ICU. Finally, unable to hold off any longer, they had to give me beta-blockers, because even being quite young, I couldn't physically tolerate my high heart rate anymore.
Everyone I think was quite frustrated, and it is frustrating. All my tests were normal, so I had to talk to the head of psychiatry and convince him I wasn't anxious, even though throwing all the anti-anxiety agents in the book hadn't done a thing for my heart rate.
I told my rheumatologist (who had me transported to the ER after I collapsed onto his nurse) flat out, "It's my nervous system, not my heart." He said he knew, he could tell, but the test that could detect the suspected de-regulations in my nervous system didn't yet exist, so it can't be recorded as the official diagnosis.
Doctors get so upset when they can't find a physical cause. I want to say, it's okay to not know. And don't take it out on me, please!
But my friends have been awesome bringing me books and snacks, and my mom flew in early this morning!