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okay, this is just too long
so there i am, friday afternoon, sitting here post-lunch, minding my own business...i had had a pretty decent (read: large) meal, good conversation, the ubiquitous cup of coffee, and even a free back massage in the campus center (they have folks come in during finals week and sometimes before :) as i was sitting here, staring at my screen, i felt the familiar THUMP-THUMP-THUMP of a very fast heart beat.
i had had these before. the cardiologist had said that if such things ever happen, i'm to go SOMEPLACE and get it checked out, because they won't be able to tell anything about it if i'm not hooked up to an EKG machine. at the time, i was just there for the forgettable heart murmer (forgettable b/c my parents never seem to remember i have one), and duly noted this recommendation.
since then, of course, i would have THUMP-THUMP-THUMP from time to time, and just about the time i thought to myself "Hm...i wonder if should get that checked out?" it would go away. i felt fine, and there was no use in going if no one could detect anything....
so back to friday...THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. "well, that's damned annoying...let's see if it goes away." I work on a few more things....
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
no, huh? hm...well, maybe i should go get it checked out. (usually this works)
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
hm. at this point my hands are getting a little tingly, and i feel like my heart is, quite literally, in my throat. chest hurts too...yay.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
okay, fine. i have to drive past the hospital on my way home. if it's still doing it by then, i'll stop, but it'll probably be done by the time i get to the car.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
in the car...driving there....THUMP-THUMP-THUMP...okay, i'm GOING, i get the hint.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
so, i get there (expecting it to quit at any time, so this is a colossal waste) and walk up to the desk,
"What is the trouble?"
"My heart is beating really fast."
an interesting thing about hospitals...i could be sitting there with a machete coming out of my hand, and i get to take a number. tell 'em something is wrong with the heart? you jump to the FRONT of the line. next time i twist my ankle, i'm going to tell them i'm having a heart attack, and oh, by the way, my ankle hurts too...
so they plop me in a wheel chair (okay that's a bit much, i think) and wheel me into the room where two techs take your vitals. one puts the finger-pulse thingy on me, the other takes my blood pressure. in unison they both go DO YOU SEE THAT???? and immediately whip stuff BACK off me and whisk me back to the ER, telling me that my heart rate is really high, like at 180 BPM...and they need to bring it down NOW...
i'm now officially Concerned...
up on the bed i go, taking clothing off ("This is no time for modesty!" "not a problem, i'm not modest...i mean...." some laughter) i get all sorts of sticky things placed in various parts of my torso (and ankles...see, i KNEW the ankle thing would work!) with wires sticking out of them. the doctor is trying to explain what is happening to me, but all i can think is "wow...this always looked so cool on ER...but really, not so much...." i focus in on the two BIG things they are sticking to me... i KNOW what that is....THAT, friends, is a defibrillator machine...
I'm now officially Panicked. i tell them this is so NOT the way to bring my heart rate down. they don't listen....evil doctors. he is telling me if i can't get it to go down on my own (dude, i've been TRYING) that they'll have to give me medicine thru the IV they're going to give me now....
okay, screw the heart thing....NO IVS!! i hate needles unless there is ink or jewelry attached. they stick me anyway (bitch) and at that point....
my heart beats normally......swell. all they had to do is wave a needle at me. they decide to keep me there to make sure it stays that way...why waste a good needle, after all. and check my blood for my electrolytes and thyroid (and probably cocaine and crystal meth too).
the official diagnosis is Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. read all about it here cos this is long enough. they don't know what causes it in most cases and it may never happen again, but when i tensed for the IV i prolly stopped it (they don't know why it stops in such instances).
so now that my heart is beating normally...i'm basically abandoned.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seamus_mcnasty gets there, convinced i've had a heart attack, which i have not. post tach, the heart went back to it's normal rhythm (actually normal-abnormal for me...i have an inverse pattern, whatever that means), and so i passed what the doc described as a stress test. great.
and now i have a prescription and get to be one of THOSE PEOPLE who carries her heart meds around...i feel odd about that, but it would have been nice if i made it to 40 before all this.
so, very long story, but bottom line is i'm fine, and i'm more or less amused by the whole experience.
so there i am, friday afternoon, sitting here post-lunch, minding my own business...i had had a pretty decent (read: large) meal, good conversation, the ubiquitous cup of coffee, and even a free back massage in the campus center (they have folks come in during finals week and sometimes before :) as i was sitting here, staring at my screen, i felt the familiar THUMP-THUMP-THUMP of a very fast heart beat.
i had had these before. the cardiologist had said that if such things ever happen, i'm to go SOMEPLACE and get it checked out, because they won't be able to tell anything about it if i'm not hooked up to an EKG machine. at the time, i was just there for the forgettable heart murmer (forgettable b/c my parents never seem to remember i have one), and duly noted this recommendation.
since then, of course, i would have THUMP-THUMP-THUMP from time to time, and just about the time i thought to myself "Hm...i wonder if should get that checked out?" it would go away. i felt fine, and there was no use in going if no one could detect anything....
so back to friday...THUMP-THUMP-THUMP. "well, that's damned annoying...let's see if it goes away." I work on a few more things....
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
no, huh? hm...well, maybe i should go get it checked out. (usually this works)
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
hm. at this point my hands are getting a little tingly, and i feel like my heart is, quite literally, in my throat. chest hurts too...yay.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
okay, fine. i have to drive past the hospital on my way home. if it's still doing it by then, i'll stop, but it'll probably be done by the time i get to the car.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
in the car...driving there....THUMP-THUMP-THUMP...okay, i'm GOING, i get the hint.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP
so, i get there (expecting it to quit at any time, so this is a colossal waste) and walk up to the desk,
"What is the trouble?"
"My heart is beating really fast."
an interesting thing about hospitals...i could be sitting there with a machete coming out of my hand, and i get to take a number. tell 'em something is wrong with the heart? you jump to the FRONT of the line. next time i twist my ankle, i'm going to tell them i'm having a heart attack, and oh, by the way, my ankle hurts too...
so they plop me in a wheel chair (okay that's a bit much, i think) and wheel me into the room where two techs take your vitals. one puts the finger-pulse thingy on me, the other takes my blood pressure. in unison they both go DO YOU SEE THAT???? and immediately whip stuff BACK off me and whisk me back to the ER, telling me that my heart rate is really high, like at 180 BPM...and they need to bring it down NOW...
i'm now officially Concerned...
up on the bed i go, taking clothing off ("This is no time for modesty!" "not a problem, i'm not modest...i mean...." some laughter) i get all sorts of sticky things placed in various parts of my torso (and ankles...see, i KNEW the ankle thing would work!) with wires sticking out of them. the doctor is trying to explain what is happening to me, but all i can think is "wow...this always looked so cool on ER...but really, not so much...." i focus in on the two BIG things they are sticking to me... i KNOW what that is....THAT, friends, is a defibrillator machine...
I'm now officially Panicked. i tell them this is so NOT the way to bring my heart rate down. they don't listen....evil doctors. he is telling me if i can't get it to go down on my own (dude, i've been TRYING) that they'll have to give me medicine thru the IV they're going to give me now....
okay, screw the heart thing....NO IVS!! i hate needles unless there is ink or jewelry attached. they stick me anyway (bitch) and at that point....
my heart beats normally......swell. all they had to do is wave a needle at me. they decide to keep me there to make sure it stays that way...why waste a good needle, after all. and check my blood for my electrolytes and thyroid (and probably cocaine and crystal meth too).
the official diagnosis is Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. read all about it here cos this is long enough. they don't know what causes it in most cases and it may never happen again, but when i tensed for the IV i prolly stopped it (they don't know why it stops in such instances).
so now that my heart is beating normally...i'm basically abandoned.
seamus_mcnasty gets there, convinced i've had a heart attack, which i have not. post tach, the heart went back to it's normal rhythm (actually normal-abnormal for me...i have an inverse pattern, whatever that means), and so i passed what the doc described as a stress test. great.and now i have a prescription and get to be one of THOSE PEOPLE who carries her heart meds around...i feel odd about that, but it would have been nice if i made it to 40 before all this.
so, very long story, but bottom line is i'm fine, and i'm more or less amused by the whole experience.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 10:29 pm (UTC)From:Anyway, I feel for you (and
no subject
Date: 2006-03-13 11:00 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:02 am (UTC)From:i commend you for getting yourself to a hospital. a lot of people would have brushed it off as stress or a panic attack or something.
hope it never ever happens again!
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:02 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 01:59 am (UTC)From:I have an undiagnosed arhythmia. Undiagnosed because it never happens when a doctor is present (it's like taking your car to the shop). But nurses have commented on it, as did my exercise physiology lab partner. The heart can do some strange things.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-14 04:04 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2006-03-15 12:33 am (UTC)From:But it never lasted as long as what you describe. That sounds very scary. Glad to hear you are feeling okay now.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-15 08:31 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2006-03-16 06:41 pm (UTC)From: