Wow it's been longer than I thought! Where to start...
I worked from home most of January because the bus strike was still on. Somehow I had less time than if I were commuting! Maybe we were just really busy. Honestly, I can't remember.
We went to
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for a week in Feb. It rained for the first 4 days, and not the sunny - downpour - sunny type of rain, but the only sun until 9AM then pouring rain type. Luckily we had what they called a 'swim out' room, being on the bottom floor with a covered terrace (with hammock), then two loungers, then the pool. Regardless of the weather we frolicked in the water, and walked the beach every day. It was warm rain - who cares about rain when there was shovelling to be had at home? After the rain we had 3 days of sunshine. We went on a 'Jungle Safari' as they called it, a chance to explore some local villages and plantations in the mountains, then Macao beach, it was breathtaking. Learned how to make coffee and chocolate - Katie was happy we got to see that because she worked on coffee, chocolate and rice fields in Indonesia so we got to see what she did. On our last night we went on an ATV tour, but because the tide was too high (or something) we couldn't go along the beach. So we went by rice plantations and through a village. I saw the local jail - NOT a place I'd like to be! Oh! A funny... while were were shopping in a village I unknowingly scored a drug deal. When I realized what I had done I could not stop laughing, and Steve, who had been looking at paintings outside came in and said "what are you doing? can't leave you alone for a minute!". Funny how the vendor's voice turned all '
Cheech' too. Anyway, the vendor got a kick out of it too, he was really nice. Thankfully. Because I might have spent some time in that local jail otherwise!
Three days after being home I had my Catheter Ablation procedure. OH.MY.GOD. I knew I was going to be awake, but I thought I was going to be sedated and not really feel it. Um, no. They gave me some pain killers on a schedule but it's important that I be awake so that the
arrhythmia doesn't also 'go to sleep'. 5 hours later they had ablated the atrial flutter and the
SVT area. So glad they got the flutter as it only has a 50% success rate. What a freaky experience though, I felt the catheters going into my heart and getting positioned (think cats fighting under a blanket), and then they tell you 'we're going to speed up your heart now'. They didn't have to say it because you feel it alright! It was so uncomfortable. Once the heart is mapped and the sites to be ablated are noted, the ablation starts, a half
millimetre at a time. And that
freaken hurts. You feel the heat in the heart and it radiates up your throat and down both arms. Because you're loosely strapped down and your shoulder blades tucked under to open your chest, after 4 hours I could no longer feel my hands. Finally when they deemed the procedure a success, the catheters came out and they put pressure on the upper thigh. At which point I said "I don't feel so good" and they inverted the table slightly, the doctor put full on pressure on my leg and they put cold cloths on my face. I couldn't believe I was passing out, but they slowed the bleeding enough to get my blood pressure back up and all was good (that was a whole two minutes or so!). They put a sand bag on my leg and gave me strict instructions - can't lift my head of the pillow or move my legs for 5 more hours.
Soooo glad I brought my
iPod! I listened to
podcasts for 4 hours, then Steve came to keep me company. After the 5 hours I was given the
ok to walk laps around the nurses station for an hour, and then released. The other patients (one other was having an ablation, the rest were mostly pacemakers) were also doing laps and being sent home. I was stunned that pacemakers and defibrillator implants are day surgery!
My recovery has been harder than I expected - I am still fatigued but it's better every day. During the day I don't feel my heart at all anymore, though when I lie down I do a little. My
BP is normal and very consistent now, and resting heart rate in the high 50's. I did have one episode on Monday (5 days after the procedure) where I inhaled a cracker crumb and coughed/choked and my heart
went nuts. Anytime I had
SVT it never felt like this. I got home two hours later and the
BP monitor picked up the
arrhythmia. I was so
disappointed - thought the op failed. I was about to head to ER when I thought I'd try bearing down and it worked. It never worked before for me, but it was worth a shot! My
BP was high for the next 12 hours or so, then I couldn't feel my heart again. :D Since then I've been feeling great, I feel my heart every so often when I'm up, a little when falling asleep, but that's it. I'm still very tired and could sleep
alot, but it's improving. I spoke to my Cardiologist's office about Monday's episode and they assured me that it happens to some people but should stop within 2 weeks or so. They said that the
SVT had started, but the pathway is gone so it had to find a new pathway and learn how to beat normally. Bizarre. In two more weeks I am to try a cup of coffee (my biggest trigger) and see if it sets off. Fingers crossed.
Today I am going to try to run. Considering I would prefer napping I expect it's going to be hard. I was originally going to run outside but we had a flash freeze a couple of days ago after a big melt day, and the sidewalks are very icy. It will be hard enough today without worrying about slipping and falling, so I will hop on the treadmill instead.
First I think I'll take a little nap :).
Labels: sick, vacation, wenckebach
