they give you a menu and take orders, so you only end up with something you absolutely don't want via delivery error or via arriving too late to order and being given a meal that was cooked but not wanted (my guess is soup guy was the latter)
― mark s, Sunday, 22 September 2019 12:10 (four years ago) link
post-consultant update:
— it wasn't my consultant it was a flunky >:( — none of the info had come thru from homerton to barts yet so i had to fill them in on the whole thing (luckily i also had a copy of the post-homerton report) — in conclusion, steady as she goes viz
(i) my heart's rhythm is now reliably regular, so the ablation did actually do what it was meant to (ii) i seem to be experiencing ATRIAL TACHYCARDIA, i.e. my atrial chambers are beating fast they they shd be (iii) when they were in there zapping the misfiring nerves they may have missed some, bcz the relevant area is dilated (iv) i am still in the "blanking period" after the ablation, the 12-ish weeks when things can actually get worse rather than better lol (i don't think 'd been told this quite so bluntly before now, just that "you may experience palpitations") (i threw my version of the homerton's doctor's theory outlined above at him, and he didn't demur) (v) so this may just sort itself out without further intervention (tho meds stay raised for now) (vi) see the consultant again in december to decide future action, including possibly coming off digoxin and reducing bisoprolil again (vii) if i do have further episodes while on these damping meds, then maybe another ablation? except there will once again be "blanking period" risks, so this has to be taken into account (viii) none of this wiil actually kill me, and i'm on blood thinners which will fend off strokes (ix) so here we are -- me paying attention and them aware is a good combo, apparently
― mark s, Monday, 23 September 2019 10:42 (four years ago) link
all fine as it goes -- i went to check up with the nurse abt my blood pressure meds (and in fact adjust them) and she noted that the excellent set of bloods i had from my stay in the hospital made clear that everything else, kidneys, platelets, cholesterol levels, i forget what else, is EXCELLENT. So that was nice.
We also discovered that the humming noise of the blood-pressure reading machine actually makes me tense and anxious and drives up my heart rate -- without me being aware of this (I assumed I was totally chill about everything all the time but this entire adventure has revealed to me I'm actually quite stressed much of the time -- and that taking my own blood pressure is one of the things* that stresses me)
anyway there's a another machine with a squeezy bulb which for some reason stresses me less so we used that
*being on-line is almost certainly another thing that stresses me but i will never log off :(
― mark s, Wednesday, 9 October 2019 16:18 (four years ago) link
i loved the squeezy bulb as a child, do they still put the armband on you
― imago, Wednesday, 9 October 2019 16:31 (four years ago) link
mark supplies his own armband AND jackboots iirc
― to regain his mental focus, he played video-game golf (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 9 October 2019 16:36 (four years ago) link
gold spiked helmet
― imago, Wednesday, 9 October 2019 16:37 (four years ago) link
Thank you for this thread, my boyfriend had what was probably a bit of atrial flutter last weekend and it really freaked us both out.
His health insurance is a very low level of coverage, so he refused to go to the ER on the basis that it would probably end up costing him his full deductible of $4000 and the med stop nearest his town doesn't accept his insurance at all. So, so far he's done nothing. Which doesn't seem satisfactory.
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Wednesday, 9 October 2019 16:42 (four years ago) link
"Atrial fibbing" is something your cheating heart would do.
― Hideous Lump, Thursday, 10 October 2019 06:11 (four years ago) link
first full pot of coffee made in my own kitchen since the ablation, as i'm on major deadline today and need to be fully focused
(hence posting like an mf on ilx obv)
― mark s, Tuesday, 7 January 2020 11:21 (four years ago) link
(will update my condition when this draft is sent, i hope today)
retroactive update: so on 30 dec i had a big post-ablation consultation -- hoping to hear that (a) the ablation had broadly worked after a hiccup that sent me back to hospital during the so-called BLANKING PERIOD and (b) i could change and reduce my medication, esp. my beta blockers (BISOPROLOL) which absolutely leave me tireder than i feel i ought to be feeling, also the RAMIPRIL (for blood pressure) leaves me headachey and the only thing that honestly counters the headache is the caffeine in ANADIN EXTRA (but caffeine brings its own problems)
(a) consultant notes that the ablation did NOT really work, that i've ended up post-procedure with ATRIAL FLUTTER which is contained and controlled by my meds as is (b) meds not to change for now (c) in a few weeks another CARDIOVERSION) (stop heart and restart via electric shock) to see if it can be jumpstarted into its proper rhythm -- so far cardioversions haven't been effective at all, my heart has been described as "healthy but stubborn" (which is good i guess) (d) after that we can revisit my level of meds (e) consultant muttered more or less to self "i'd like to bring you at least a couple of years of normal heart function" -- dude don't say the dispiriting stuff out loud plz(f) but realistically i am caught between two consultants of very different opinion -- one (who did the last ablation) who thinks the procedures are basically a waste of time and i shd be controlling all this with meds and my life can be long and productive that way, and mine, who is gung-ho abt procudures but also now i feel disappointed (probably in me, for not being a success for his appproach) (he is nice in person, has a good and funny consultant manner)
the tiredness i guess i can learn to live with: after all i'm going to be 60 this year and i believe that's a thing! the headaches are a bore but i probably need to lose weight to tackle blood pressure and to reduce intake of RAMIPRIL, and exercise is a bit counter-indicated by tiredness, which is physical as much as mental.
(during the return to coffee noted above i was pleased to note i was not getting palps or other amplified symptoms -- to start i felt p good in fact, focused and un-achey etc. toward the end i was getting the usual morning sliuggishness and coming off caffeine i got the usual headaches, which have only just now dissipated tbrr, a week after requitting. basically my coffee counters the beta-blocker tiredness at point of consumption but then leaves me even more tired later plus less likely to sleep soundly. off coffee i sleep well and increasingly sleeping well is a deep pleasure for an ageing fellow)
― mark s, Saturday, 18 January 2020 12:12 (four years ago) link
Sorry to hear this Mark, and I especially sympathise with the last clause.
― Andrew Farrell, Saturday, 18 January 2020 12:17 (four years ago) link
when it's available and possible, sleeping well is basically one of life's great gifts.
after next cardioversion - if it fails - will funny yet dispiriting procedure-happy consultant perhaps start to take view of the other one?
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 18 January 2020 14:18 (four years ago) link
i think the alternatives are further ablations or controlling it with meds
further ablations *ma*y finally jab all the misfiring buttons in the right way to shut off the misfiring, but risk further misbehaviour during the blanking period (which is basically when the scar tissue isn;lt yet grown in to muffle the misfiring)
meds: when i mentioned the tiredness to the other consultant (as my main reason to want to go ahead with the ablation) he said that different beta blockers might not have the tiredness effect? so i guess that's what i need to look into
― mark s, Saturday, 18 January 2020 20:32 (four years ago) link
what is a
-checks text from mmac-
heart echo check
and why
-double checks text from mmac-
do "they" want me to get one?
― BSC Joan Baez (darraghmac), Wednesday, 12 February 2020 12:31 (four years ago) link
mmm possibly "they" are reading my posts all week, tbf
― BSC Joan Baez (darraghmac), Wednesday, 12 February 2020 12:32 (four years ago) link
Echocardiogram. Dunno. But it is painless!
― mom tossed in kimchee (quincie), Wednesday, 12 February 2020 13:26 (four years ago) link
the suggestion i need one isnt!
― BSC Joan Baez (darraghmac), Wednesday, 12 February 2020 13:27 (four years ago) link
this is a hard q to answer w/o knowing more abt yr earlier communications and interactions with them -- or did they just slide into yr DMs on twitter?
ecgs are useful for many many observsations in and around the heart obviously -- sometimes just to rule out something where you have a symptom that's very likely benign but might be an indicator of something it wd be smart to pre-empt? (i have gone from being a total snowlake abt this organ -- WHAT IF IT JUST STOPS! -- to very admiring of its rugged meaty pertinacity -- OMG IT JUST KEEPS ON GOING! -- but mine has been routinely determined, after many of same, to be v-healthy-if-somewhat-wayward…
― mark s, Wednesday, 12 February 2020 14:27 (four years ago) link
on foot of an uncle, completely bolloxed after a life of hectic drinking, showing up something in a scan recently
issue could be related to his chosen career but could also have a genetic element so the icy finger of probability has poked out a text as detailed above and hit send, the dick
― BSC Joan Baez (darraghmac), Wednesday, 12 February 2020 14:43 (four years ago) link
my mum was convinced i'd be male-pattern bald by 35 based on genetics, she looked at my tousled head aged 45 (me) and said "that's the one thing i've ever been wrong about"
it's a lottery is what it is and peeking inside the works can do little harm unless yr a worrier
― mark s, Wednesday, 12 February 2020 14:50 (four years ago) link
coincidentally last week my doctor strongly recommended that I get one soon based on a health issue last january, which could either be anemia (probably likely, my iron is historically bad but I thought it was under control) or some other unrelated heart issue
― like, I’m eating an elephant head (katherine), Thursday, 13 February 2020 01:52 (four years ago) link
I've had intermittent atrial fibrillation (lone atrial fib) for 12 years now. It was originally treated with a right heart ablation. That is not now considered the definitive treatment, but that in combination with flecainide it has kept me mostly free of it
The weird thing is that my older brother has had almost exactly the same experience
― Dan S, Thursday, 13 February 2020 02:22 (four years ago) link
does anyone else run around bumping into people for an hour three times a week
i somewhat dread being informed that is a thing not to do anymore
― BSC Joan Baez (darraghmac), Thursday, 13 February 2020 08:04 (four years ago) link
5-a-side? Dodgems?
― Ngolo Cantwell (Chinaski), Thursday, 13 February 2020 09:17 (four years ago) link
the polycule regrets
― mark s, Thursday, 13 February 2020 10:12 (four years ago) link
xp think of a hybrid version basically yeah
― BSC Joan Baez (darraghmac), Thursday, 13 February 2020 10:21 (four years ago) link
so it's being said ppl with heart issues are at risk covid-style but i don't know if this includes fibbing? i keep being told my heart is basically v healthy, it's just like keeping time badly
― mark s, Saturday, 14 March 2020 16:01 (four years ago) link
Sigh. I don't know either but my bf had an extremely scary day of recurring episodes two weeks ago, potentially connected to working out at the gym? With no chance of insurance anytime soon he was considering flying to another country and paying for private care just to find out wtf is wrong with him but that's off for now, so...very worried, yes. My sense is no one really knows much re covid so far?
― There's more Italy than necessary. (in orbit), Saturday, 14 March 2020 16:31 (four years ago) link
i was on a AF mailing list until december which gathered all kinds of info -- no idea how reliable -- but (a) it all just went into a mailbox i never looked at and (b) i seemed to have been signed off it since jan so i'm none the wiser
― mark s, Saturday, 14 March 2020 16:43 (four years ago) link
so anyway i am lined up for a cardioversion in a few weeks (no date yet) which in routine times is an unproblematic and unrisky heart procedure, in-out in an afternoon, at worst overnight if they schedule you for an evening op, just an electric bump to see if they can nudge it back into proper rhythm for a while
i'm guessing it will simply be postponed bcz urgent stuff will be overwhelming the system in all other directions (tho barts doesn't have an A&E so maybe not) (except my last one was at homerton, which very much does).
anyway i guess wait and see what i'm told -- maybe this is how i will find out how at risk i am
― mark s, Saturday, 14 March 2020 17:18 (four years ago) link
In an example of terrible timing my dad's just been told he'll need a pacemaker fitted within the month. Doctor asked him if there'd been any sudden deaths in the family...
― koogs, Sunday, 15 March 2020 14:57 (four years ago) link
yikes, best of luck koogs
― mark s, Sunday, 15 March 2020 15:13 (four years ago) link
He had a tiny stroke before Christmas which affected his peripheral vision and he had to surrender his driving licence for a year (at least) so now he spends even more time watching the sport on TV. Or would if it hadn't all been cancelled. He needs a hobby.
― koogs, Sunday, 15 March 2020 15:22 (four years ago) link
Good luck to all.
― Frank Kogan, Monday, 16 March 2020 13:45 (four years ago) link
Yup.
― xyzzzz__, Monday, 16 March 2020 16:01 (four years ago) link
barts just called to say that my prep appointment next week for the upcoming repeat cardioversion is indeed postponed, until when they don't know
not startled to learn this, and in fact somewhat relieved
― mark s, Tuesday, 17 March 2020 16:43 (four years ago) link
Hope fibbers get a bit of clarity soon (and remain healthy!)Mark today fb reminded me that it is a year since ur book and attendant goodies arrived at my door 🙌
― felt jute gyte delete later (wins), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 16:59 (four years ago) link
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSUtkUyuiK8/Tc13_bGMJsI/AAAAAAAALnY/UHcdt2yaU5Q/s400/Fibber%2BMcGee%2BAnd%2BMolly.jpg
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 17 March 2020 18:21 (four years ago) link
just saw this, thx wins :)
yes, its actual real public birthday has been making me combination happy and sad tbh
― mark s, Wednesday, 18 March 2020 12:55 (four years ago) link
― mark s, Saturday, March 14, 2020
I think this is right
― Dan S, Friday, 20 March 2020 02:41 (four years ago) link
(dad had his pacemaker operation on Thursday, but even as an out patient op I find it odd that they went ahead with it. Was complaining on Saturday of bruising and that the external monitor wasn't finding a signal, but otherwise fine)
― koogs, Sunday, 5 April 2020 21:51 (three years ago) link
all the best koogs
in AF and me news: patient (me) reports no change, all seems fine
― mark s, Monday, 6 April 2020 10:22 (three years ago) link
a couple of nights now i've woken with the flutter at some intensity -- where generally sleeping damps it down.
the first i couldn't get back to sleep properly and when i did get up (earlier than intended) i discovered i'd forgotten to take my beta blockers the evening before and evening plus morning dose sorted it well enough.
the second it sorted itself out by itself and i went back to sleep and slept well and late. in each case during the wakefulness i lay worrying that i would have to go back into hospital to get it regularised (which there are now other reasons to not want happen). anyway fingers x-ed it's mostly a mix of anxiety and intense dreams.
― mark s, Tuesday, 28 April 2020 11:21 (three years ago) link
like i feel absolutely fine and normal right now but during the wakefulness i could somehow sense the beginnings of every CV19 symptom lurking but i know this is a very normal state of mind for everyone awake at 4 in the moming
― mark s, Tuesday, 28 April 2020 11:24 (three years ago) link
lol yes :/
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 28 April 2020 13:19 (three years ago) link
since this began ive hugely favoured lying on my right over my left side when trying to get to sleep: on my left (heart side down) my flutter was more evident and this made me anxious and less likely to sleep, but also i'd get a thing where as i did drop off i'd often seem to get a heart skip and this -- real or imagined -- woke me up again in a panic.
now i find i'm *entirely* favouring sleeping on my right (heart side up) bcz the other way seems actively to exacerbate the flutter? i mean i know yr ribs protect yr heart from being actually squished but
anyway this is all so borderline between symptoms real and dremt that i never get good answers when i ask the specialists or (don't do this) try and google it
― mark s, Thursday, 30 April 2020 12:34 (three years ago) link
every now and then i wake early bcz the flutter seems high, like i just necked an espresso in my sleep to jolt myself awake -- and cant get back to sleep
(this time after a stressful dream abt conflict at work) (knowingly caused by me i might add lol)
― mark s, Sunday, 17 May 2020 09:02 (three years ago) link
a weird thing is that caffeine seems not to heighten the flutter, quite the opposite in fact
― mark s, Sunday, 17 May 2020 09:09 (three years ago) link
lol i just got called to be told the revised date for my repeat fibrillation is exactly a fortnight from now, which GOOD i guess but also uh oh (in hospital but not overnight unless something goes awry)
― mark s, Monday, 29 June 2020 15:15 (three years ago) link