Xmas Day - Day 10 : Not quite what I’d... - British Heart Fou...

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Xmas Day - Day 10

MWIC profile image
MWIC
8 Replies

Not quite what I’d expected - 2 days ago started to get some recurrence and yesterday at about 4pm Kardia advised Tachycardia and 160bpm - this continued and whilst I’ve never had an episode of Arrythmia that failed to terminate in its own, it stayed consistent all through the night and this morning and despite it being Xmas morning I decided I’d better head up to A & E - 2PM intravenous metoprolol and within minutes I watched my Heart rate come down from 160 to @ 80 - still a lot higher than my normal HR but happy with that- discharged and headed to sisters with my 4 kids and had a late but great Xmas dinner - god I love my Family ❤️❤️☘️☘️

Just back home and left the rest to enjoy the night - Turkey stuffed and on and repeat tomorrow - dinner hopefully not A&E 😂

Life sure has ups and downs but here’s to the Ups - Merry Christmas everyone and wishing you all an abundance of great health & happiness

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MWIC profile image
MWIC
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8 Replies
BeKind28- profile image
BeKind28-

Hello :-)

I am sorry your Christmas started of this way bit so pleased you are doing ok now and got to your Sisters in time :-)

I hope there are many up's for you to come :-) x

MWIC profile image
MWIC in reply toBeKind28-

Thank you - sure there are many Ups for us all - let’s grab em and hang on like hell - Merry Xmas!!

BeKind28- profile image
BeKind28- in reply toMWIC

:-) x

Plum53 profile image
Plum53

Hi, glad you got sorted in the end. Not where you want to spend Christmas Day but glad you had a lovely time in the end. Merry Christmas

Smitty1956 profile image
Smitty1956

Hi, MWIC,

It seems that Christmas truly can be a mixed bag of ups and downs. I am so happy that the hospital was able to get your heart rate back to normal so quickly. It is very scary when our hearts race uncontrollably on and on.

My mother (aged 85) and I spent all day Friday (Dec. 22) at an eye doctor’s office and then at the emergency room for hours and hours for tests. Sunday (Dec. 17th), my mom experienced what is called hemianopia. This is when one has a partial loss of vision in both eyes. Mom could look at a photo, or a face, and see half of the face with each eye. We learned that this is usually the result of a TiA, or small, warning stroke. She was afraid on that Sunday and didn’t tell me about her loss of vision for hours.

Well, she had an appointment with her regular eye doctor on Monday (Dec. 18), so, we waited to check with him about it. You see, Mom has recently been diagnosed with glaucoma, so she was having laser surgery to help release the pressure in one eye. That doctor wasn’t sure what was going on with her loss of vision, but he referred her to her regular GP—meaning that he called and got a quick appointment for Thursday (Dec. 21) with a GP. Her regular GP reported that he was too busy to see her, but she met with a young intern and supervising physician. They both felt that she had had at least one mini-stroke (TIA) and they set up an appointment on Friday (Dec. 22) with a different eye doctor at the Eye Institute.

On Tuesday (Dec. 19), I wasn’t taking Mom to a doctor, but I had an appointment booked at the vet’s office for my doggie. Izzy had had a small surgery on her anal gland the week before—so she had a checkup on Tuesday.

The eye specialist that we saw on Friday (Dec. 22), ran some tests and took photos of the inside of Mom’s eyes and the backs of her eyes. He confirmed that she had had at least one TIA in the occipital region of her brain, and he sent us over immediately to the emergency room of the hospital for CT scans, etc. That all took hours. We had not eaten since breakfast—we were exhausted and worried and tired. A neurologist came over around 10 pm to discuss the results of the CT scan.

Mom does have scattered plaque in her brain and she does have some build up in her carotid arteries. We don’t really know how bad yet. They wanted her to stay that night and have an MRI, but she was tired and scared. We both were tired—so we decided to go home for now. The hospital is supposed to call to set up an appointment for the MRI.

Anyway, it was a rough week with hospital and office visits—human and animal. My son and his wife could not visit for Christmas since they came down with the unmentionable C virus.

The up side is that my 16 year-old grandson came over and spent several hours with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we enjoyed that. He even volunteered to run some errands for us, which really helped.

One thing that I would like to mention for anyone with high cholesterol levels is to start taking a statin drug. My Mom had her annual checkup in August 2023. I noticed that her overall cholesterol level was high. At her doctor visit with her GP, I asked about this, and I asked if she should be given a statin. After all, I learned about the importance of lowering one’s cholesterol levels after having my heart attack.

Mom’s total cholesterol was the same numbers as mine had been one week before my HA. Mine were high and no one suggested that I should take a statin drug. So, I hoped to proactively keep Mom from having a HA or stroke. Her doctor told me that there was some value in my point about starting her on a statin, but he said that her good cholesterol was so high that it would likely keep her from having any negative medical events.

Flash forward six months after seeing her high total cholesterol level and asking for her to be put on a statin, and we learn that she has had at least one TIA and has plaque buildups. The statin could have been in her system and helping to lower her cholesterol for the past six months. I am angry that her doctor just ignored my request and concerns.

So, sorry for being long and for rambling on, but the last weeks have been a little rough. But I am pleased that you are doing some better and are on the up side.

I wish everyone a lovely holiday and a healthier 2024! ❤️

Quaddie profile image
Quaddie

Oh dear lots to deal with, wish you well

HHH2017 profile image
HHH2017

oh no not the pressie you wanted on Xmas day!!! Reassuring to know it could be sorted relatively quickly & you could return to family festivities. Hope you enjoy a whole day with your gang today - keep smiling as it comes through your message 🥰

Jedx profile image
Jedx

That wasn’t the sort of pressie you wanted on Christmas Day for sure, glad they got your racing heart rate under control though. Were you discharged with a dose of metoprolol for home? I dare say that you would have been. I was on them after my cabg l also had an episode of A/f post op it’s quite scary when your heart is beating outta your chest. The metoprolol is what they call a beta blocker it works on lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. It can also make you light headed even dizzy at times and you feel cold as well. I have just recently been taken off mine so am very happy about that. I guess my heart has healed sufficiently now. Good luck with it all and stay strong, regards Jedx

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