Shock Through the Heart...

Did I put Bon Jovi in your head? Consider that my gift to you. I love double meaning post titles. I can't resist them. This one was a no brainer.

On Tuesday I went back to Cooper for another EP Study. Check my recent posts for the back story. My appointment was for 6:30am which meant that they were definitely going to work on me until they were satisfied with the results. There was one detail that I was not prepared for though. I would not be sleeping very much this time around.

I got my IV and other prep stuff done in a separate room, then we took the walk down the green mile towards the lab room, which looked exactly the same as the first time and still very cold. I laid down on the bench at about 8am and endured more prep gymnastics from the nurses. Once again, they were a great crew and made sure that I was doing alright. I did get some relax juice but it only let me drift in and out of sleep. They started working around 8:45.

I could tell immediately that things were different this time because I could hear the conversations and sometimes I felt the catheters shifting to the will of the doctors. As best as I can remember, they were able to zap the main problem a few hours into it, maybe noonish. I felt my heart racing as they pumped in Isoproterenol through the IV. Using this drug was one of the reasons they could not let me sleep this time around. I also think that I felt some heat when they actually did the ablation, which took 3 zaps to get the whole thing.

For the rest of the time, the team worked to get after my 2nd case of tachycardia. They found this one very close to my main cluster of electric circuitry. This location creates much higher probability for complications, so they had a difficult task ahead. The lead doctor had discussed this situation with me beforehand and we all agreed that it would not make sense to risk those complications (I'd need a pacemaker) if the 2nd case was not easily reachable. I believe that she tried to find a way to safely navigate to the 2nd location but ultimately realized that it wasn't going to work without possibly damaging the main cluster.

They backed everything off and got me off the table around 2:30. I have to say, 6 hours on my back got to be very uncomfortable. I felt soreness in all my limbs and my lower back after just a few hours. Plus I had to relieve myself so bad that I was sweating and eventually had to ask for a bottle to relieve myself. I was trying to hold off but I realized that they weren't finished with me yet so I quit trying to be a hero. Probably TMI there, but that's the way it went down. The next couple hours are kind of fuzzy to me now. I don't remember being transferred to the bed or back to the room. Maybe they juiced me up before they disconnected me. I don't know for sure but eventually I remember texting people and saying that I was all done.

Kim came by after work and spent the evening with me. I was able to get out of bed at 7pm, which allowed me to start the recovery process much sooner than last time. Also, I felt much more confident since I had been through it before. They moved me to my overnight room at 8:30 which interrupted American Idol. That was not cool but I got over it. I spent the night getting interrupted by nurse visits for myself and my roommate but morning came soon enough. No tests were needed. Doctors came to recap the events one more time and I was dressed and out the door by 9:45am. They told me I could not drive for 48 hours, lift no more than 10 pounds until Monday and not go back to work until Monday. The funny thing is, I physically feel less damaged than last time and I don't think I'll be honoring all of those restrictions.

So far, I don't think I've had any palpitations but it will be in the back of my mind for a while. If I do have one, it means that the 2nd case does impact my rhythm and I might have to do something about it. Either some sort of procedure or medication. I'm hoping and praying that the 1 that was zapped is the one that was the problem and #2 is just there, not causing any trouble. Thanks to my family and friends for your support, concern and prayers. Now go ahead and enjoy the Bon Jovi! It's alright.

It's worth the click, trust me.

Choose Wisely

Round 1-part 2

I'm led into the EP study lab by a nurse. This place looks like something out of a sci-fi movie or a tv drama series. One table in the middle with gadgets all over the place. A 6-screen monitor on wheels and nurses turning on some "jamming" music to keep their energy levels up while they work on me. It felt like it was about 55 degrees in there and I was dealing with the paper-thin gown and footie socks. They were terribly inadequate for insulating me from the elements.

I hopped onto the table, which was as wide as a weight bench, and to lay all the way down, I had to lean back while curling around some thing that was suspended over the table. They brought me a couple of warming towels to cover me which was nice but the heat wore off quickly and I had to ask for another set after a couple minutes of prep time. I couldn't shake the cold and I was a little bit nervous too.

They were slapping me with those electrode pads from every angle. They numbed my entire hip area with an iodine, roll-on deodorant looking tube. They strapped my wrists down with velcro cuffs so I wouldn't interfere with their work. The procedure involves putting tiny catheter tubes into the veins in the groin. The veins let them get up to the heart where they map the electrical circuits and try to pinpoint irregularities. To my right was the computer room. A few folks were behind glass where they had computers and other equipment to read my heart's electric map. There were a lot of people involved in this procedure and it's nice to know that they are really good at their jobs. I have no complaints about Cooper Hospital.

The next thing I know, I'm waking up to my two happy prep nurses, counting to three so they can yank me off the table, onto a bed. I guess I'm done. I was rolled away to my room where Kim was waiting. This was around 7:30pm. I don't remember a lot about the next few hours, but my doctors came in and give me their results. They did find Atrial Tachycardia in my heart, but since they started working on me so late in the day, they couldn't do the Ablation procedure. The verdict is... they need to do the EP study again in a month and do the ablation to wipe out the problem, hence my title "Round 1". I need a few weeks to heal up before they can go poking holes in my legs again.

All in all, there was very minimal pain involved. The worse part was on Tuesday morning when I had to rip off all those electrode pads. I got an Echo test and my discharge papers by 11am on Tuesday morning. 25 hours or so and I walked out, slightly hunched over and shuffling along. Nothing really got fixed but at least I know what the deal is with my ticker. Next time, it should get resolved and I can move on.

Choose Wisely

Round 1-part 1

Monday was a long, long, long day. Kim and I arrived at Cooper just before 10am. First up was the tilt table test. They strapped me to a bed and hooked me up to a heart monitor and a blood pressure thingy. They tilt the bed up to about 80 degrees but it still feels like you're standing up straight. 45 minutes just standing there chatting with the nurse while he records my blood pressure every minute. Next, they put me flat and start pushing adrenaline through the IV. My normal rest rate was in the 60's so they needed it to be above 90 before they could stand me up again, this time for 15 minutes of bp readings. The adrenaline definitely felt funny since I wasn't running around or exercising to build up the rate on my own. But it wasn't too bad, only got up to about 125 bpm, mostly between 100-115. 15 minutes was enough of that though. Thus ended the tilt table test, they laid me back down to relax for a few minutes before I dismounted and headed carefully for a chair (little bit dizzy). This puts us around 12:30

They didn't really learn much from the tilt table, lots of people can pass out from it but I've never had symptoms that lead to passing out or even feeling dizzy. I just have a palpitation and some heart racing issues that aren't normal but aren't too severe either. Anyway, we started chatting with the Doctors about what to do next. Eventually we decided to go ahead with the EP Study and the Ablation procedure if they found something worthwhile. That's what we planned on doing and it didn't seem right to get to that point and just walk away without learning anything new. Now we're up to 2:30pm.

waiting around... waiting around...

4:45 the Fellow for the EP study lab comes in to chat a bit and get more info.
5:00 the nurses arrive and take me away to the lab.

more later...

Electrical problems

I wanted to put a quick note out there because I haven't blogged about some health issues I've been going through for the last few months. When I was sick with flu-type stuff around Christmas and visiting my doctor, I made a casual reference about feeling some heart palpitations, or "blips" or whatever you want to call them. Things sort of snowballed from there... cardiologist visits, stress tests, heart monitors. This all leads up to tomorrow.

In the morning I'll be going to Cooper Hospital to get some tests and/or procedures done to try and fix my problems. As far as I understand, and in completely non-technical terms, I have some miscommunication between the different electrical nodes in my heart. Sometimes I have a "blip", where my heart speeds up for a few seconds, and sometimes my heart races and I don't know it's happening. That's about the best I can break it down for you. I'll be getting a tilt table test and probably the EP Study. I'm sure I'll understand it a little better once I talk to the doctors who actually do these things. I'll try to report on more of the details when I can make sense out of them.

I'd be lying if I said I'm totally relaxed about this stuff. Mostly, I have tried not to think about it too much, which only works sometimes. I like to think I'm not a worrier and I can handle all the stress that is built up by this issue, not to mention my job stress, which has snuck up on me quite a bit lately. But at this point, it's not just stress that's got my ticker all messed up. I need to get these things done and put it behind me.

My appointment is at 10am on 3/16. I'll do my best to send an update ASAP. I might have to stay over 1 night but I won't know that until it's done.

Choose Wisely

USA, USA, USA!!!

Already back from the voting booth. Kim and I got there for 6am, when the doors opened. There were about 150 people waiting outside. It was surreal, driving up and seeing the line from the door of the church go all the way to the road. The sun wasn't even up yet, so I couldn't take a picture. I've never seen anything like that before. It felt like going to a concert. I just wanted to say, I'm proud of our country today. One way or another, God's in control, and people are doing their best to make things better around here. Maybe that's naive, but I don't care. I'm thankful that I have the freedom to vote and I'm satisfied with that.

Choose Wisely

Knuckle Ball

That's what I'm about to throw at you. This virtual knuckler will unveil my choice for November 4, 2008. It's a knuckle ball because I plan to give you no spin at all. That's right, my pick with no digs on candidates and no advice for swaying you, the reader. Let's get to it.

I will vote for John McCain. The #1 reason for me is I believe in his philosophy on economic growth. I think that in these times of global economic development, the US must make it a priority to retain employers. These days, companies and their employees are more capable than ever before of picking up and moving to friendlier circumstances. It is important to reward entrepreneurship and hard work, promote growth and give incentives for production.

Secondary reasons include abortion, balance of party power at the federal level, experience (mostly consideration of military), trustworthiness, and dedication to national interests.

You can check out my brother's opinion here. There are some excellent comments there as well.

I hope you all will be voting on Tuesday. Who's name will you check?

Now more than ever, please Choose Wisely.

Townies Unite!

9:05-First question-economic crisis? Obama starts by reestablishing his stance on new regulations for Wall St. McCain brings up his platform of energy independence and cuts for government spending. He also lays out a plan to reevaluate mortgage values.

9:08-Who will be your Secretary of Treasury? McCain names Meg Whitman and Warren Buffett as “types” of people who are qualified. Obama also names Buffett but then goes into more details of his economic plan.

9:11-Bailout concerns? M points out that he stopped campaigning so that he could investigate the bailout plans. Fannie and Freddie are the biggest culprits. O says deregulation was the biggest culprit.

9:16-Worse before better? O says no. M says it’s possible if certain action doesn’t take place. Not exactly a great answer but a bit more effective than O’s.

9:18-How can we trust the parties? O compares the federal spending budget to the average family budget and the basic principles that don’t seem to apply to the government. Then he goes off on his negative dredging of history, but redeems with some details of his plan. M talks about non-partisan work and its importance. Points out O’s potential spending increases.

9:23-Priorities? Health, energy, SS & Medicare-M wants to tackle all at the same time. Rattles off some details that we’ve heard before. O puts energy at the top and compares his resolve to Kennedy’s goal to put a man on the moon. If Americans decide to go for it, it will happen.

9:28-What sacrifices will Americans have to make? M says some programs may be cut. Defense spending, earmarks, spending freeze. O hints that people need to make small adjustments to energy use. Also, double the Peace Corps.

9:33-Too much personal debt? O says government has set a bad example for Americans. O says CEO’s will get 700k in tax cuts under M’s plan and does not think that’s fair for sharing the burden. M does some attacking on O’s tax plan.

9:37-Score 1 for Mr. Brokaw, no O, we’re moving on.

9:38-SS & Medicare? O says these programs are tied to tax plans and proceeds to give his plan’s details. M says SS is easy to fix-just gotta work across the aisle to get it done. Medicare needs a commission of smart Americans to come up with a plan.

9:43-What would you do in the first 2 years to deal with climate issues? M claims nuclear power is the key to making progress. O wants to invest in new technologies.

9:48-What do we do to develop the technologies? M defends his voting record on rejecting certain alternative energy bills because they were loaded with pork.

9:49-Is healthcare a commodity? O says people will be able to keep their current plans if they want to. Others can buy into the same plan as Senators. Then he takes a few shots at M’s plan. M gives a few ideas on efficiency minded changes. He also takes a few shots at his opponent’s plan. Then he explains the opportunity to open cross-state benefit plans.

9:55-Is healthcare a right? M doesn’t like that wording. O thinks it is a right.

10:00-O no! Time for foreign affairs again. I don’t know how much more I can take of this. M says we are challenged to be peace makers but need to be smart about the choices we make in getting involved. O rants about M’s poor judgment and lays out all the money we spend on war activities and how we need that money here at home.

10:04-Use of Force? O says we have a moral obligation to be involved where things are bad. Need to mobilize the international community better. M rehashes O’s position on Iraq and how wrong he was. Some other details that I’m not going to summarize here.

10:08-Pakistan? A pretty long back and forth about the situation and how to get Bin Laden. I think these guys are going to really polarize their supporters with this debate.

10:19-Pressure Russia? M-Putin is hooking up with KGB and doing bad things but getting away with it. It is unacceptable behavior. No Cold War coming. O declares our need to support threatened countries with economic support. I wonder how that sounds to America considering our economic status. Also, do a better job anticipating the actions of Russia and other threats. Also, energy is key in the same battles.

10:23-Is Russia an Evil Empire? O says their actions are evil. M says maybe.

10:24-Defense of Israel? M would not wait for UN before taking action if Israel was attacked by Iran. O says we cannot allow Iran to build up nuclear weapons. We need to use all the tools at our disposal to avoid conflict. Reduce energy use, increase sanctions, direct conversations with friends & enemies.

10:29-What don’t you know and how will you learn it? O-big, unexpected challenges ahead. Then we hear about how tough his life was and how he overcame it all. M-doesn’t know what’s going to happen at home & abroad. Unexpected times. Then we get his story of tough times and how he wants to continue to serve America.

One more debate to go next week. I’ll see you then.

Choose Wisely