matters of the heart
about a month ago, i had a really stressful weekend. it was full of drama and misunderstandings, and i was REALLY upset about it. when i went to sleep that sunday evening, i was still very unsettled, and waking up the next morning proved that it was still an issue! i made it to school alright, but i felt like i was on speed (note: i have never done drugs, but i would imagine this is what it feels like to be on speed). during first period (our off period), i started wondering if i was having a panic attack - my heart was racing, i couldn't breathe, i was all shaky, and i felt like i had just chugged 14987973 cans of red bull. within an hour, the feeling somewhat subsided, but not completely. the rest of the day i just didn't feel well. i checked my pulse during our teaming period (keep in mind all i was doing was sitting) and my pulse was 102. just sitting. not moving. (most people say "that's not high!", but for me...it kinda is. normal for me is in the 70s) i checked it again during aim, when i was just standing in the back of the room, leaning against the wall, not moving. it had gone up to 108. i never checked it while i was up moving around actively teaching (hmmm wonder why?!) but i am kinda glad i didn't - probably better not to know ;)
after school i was still feeling odd and my pulse was still high, so i called the doctor. they were able to get me in that afternoon and they ran all sorts of fun tests on me. they took my blood pressure (excellent) and did an ekg (mostly normal). 2 things they noticed on the ekg - 1) my pulse was still quite high (i was almost asleep when they ran the test), and 2) i had some strange, random heartbeats. it was like my heart was beating normal, but then it would just spaz out and beat really hard all of a sudden, and not in time with the other beats. this is apparently normal, but for some reason, my heart was doing it more than what it should.
my doctor proceeded to ask me questions such as: "are you on any flu or cold medicine?" (no...i am not ill...), "have you had a lot of caffeine?" (no...i actually haven't had any...i don't drink coffee, tea or soda), "are you stressed?" (yes...now that you mention it, i think i am!) she decided it must be stress but wanted to run some blood work to make sure i do not have a hyperthyroid disorder (i have also lost between 10-15 pounds since moving, but have not really tried). to conclude our appointment, she put me on what i fondly refer to as my heart-stopper pills (some medicine to slow my heart down) and sent me on my merry, shaky, spastic way.
a week and a half later the medicine still had not seemed to fully kick in. every morning before i got out of bed, my pulse was already over 90 and my chest was beginning to hurt pretty consistently. so i called the doctor again and explained my situation. they doubled my medicines and told me to schedule another appointment. i doubled my medicine, and my pulse was STILL above 90 before i got out of bed every morning, but my chest didn't hurt so much, and i didn't feel like i was going crazy anymore.
this past tuesday i went back to the doctor and they checked the vitals again - blood pressure (still excellent), pulse (still high), and oxygen levels (because i always feel like i can't breathe...but they came out normal). she asked me all the same questions again: "are you on any flu or cold medicine?" (no...i am still not ill...), "have you had a lot of caffeine?" (no...i actually haven't had any...i still don't drink coffee, tea or soda), "are you stressed?" (yes...i suppose). then she followed up with a new question: "are you taking any supplements or natural herbs/remedies?" (no...). she was clearly at a loss as to what is causing my problem. she informed me that she doesn't believe i have any serious condition (always nice to hear, especially when your heart is concerned!), but she wants to send me to a cardiologist for an echocardiogram, which will tell us if my heart is anatomically correct. supposedly the cardiologist was supposed to call me (i don't even know which office it is), but that never happened. therefore, i get to call them tomorrow and see what is going down!
the strange thing is, i don't feel stressed. i don't sit here and think about all my troubles all day long. i don't worry. i am still on double my initial dose of heart-stopper pills, and my pulse is still high, and my chest constantly hurts! so...please pray that i get a hold of the cardiologist and they figure out why my body refuses to work the way it is supposed to! :)
after school i was still feeling odd and my pulse was still high, so i called the doctor. they were able to get me in that afternoon and they ran all sorts of fun tests on me. they took my blood pressure (excellent) and did an ekg (mostly normal). 2 things they noticed on the ekg - 1) my pulse was still quite high (i was almost asleep when they ran the test), and 2) i had some strange, random heartbeats. it was like my heart was beating normal, but then it would just spaz out and beat really hard all of a sudden, and not in time with the other beats. this is apparently normal, but for some reason, my heart was doing it more than what it should.
my doctor proceeded to ask me questions such as: "are you on any flu or cold medicine?" (no...i am not ill...), "have you had a lot of caffeine?" (no...i actually haven't had any...i don't drink coffee, tea or soda), "are you stressed?" (yes...now that you mention it, i think i am!) she decided it must be stress but wanted to run some blood work to make sure i do not have a hyperthyroid disorder (i have also lost between 10-15 pounds since moving, but have not really tried). to conclude our appointment, she put me on what i fondly refer to as my heart-stopper pills (some medicine to slow my heart down) and sent me on my merry, shaky, spastic way.
a week and a half later the medicine still had not seemed to fully kick in. every morning before i got out of bed, my pulse was already over 90 and my chest was beginning to hurt pretty consistently. so i called the doctor again and explained my situation. they doubled my medicines and told me to schedule another appointment. i doubled my medicine, and my pulse was STILL above 90 before i got out of bed every morning, but my chest didn't hurt so much, and i didn't feel like i was going crazy anymore.
this past tuesday i went back to the doctor and they checked the vitals again - blood pressure (still excellent), pulse (still high), and oxygen levels (because i always feel like i can't breathe...but they came out normal). she asked me all the same questions again: "are you on any flu or cold medicine?" (no...i am still not ill...), "have you had a lot of caffeine?" (no...i actually haven't had any...i still don't drink coffee, tea or soda), "are you stressed?" (yes...i suppose). then she followed up with a new question: "are you taking any supplements or natural herbs/remedies?" (no...). she was clearly at a loss as to what is causing my problem. she informed me that she doesn't believe i have any serious condition (always nice to hear, especially when your heart is concerned!), but she wants to send me to a cardiologist for an echocardiogram, which will tell us if my heart is anatomically correct. supposedly the cardiologist was supposed to call me (i don't even know which office it is), but that never happened. therefore, i get to call them tomorrow and see what is going down!
the strange thing is, i don't feel stressed. i don't sit here and think about all my troubles all day long. i don't worry. i am still on double my initial dose of heart-stopper pills, and my pulse is still high, and my chest constantly hurts! so...please pray that i get a hold of the cardiologist and they figure out why my body refuses to work the way it is supposed to! :)
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