Like I Said, Not dying

[lydy]

Well, at least, probably not.  

The doctor confirmed that PVCs are a benign arrhythmia.  I didn't happen to be having any when I saw him.  Blood pressure just fine, heart rate just fine.  12- lead EKG pretty fine.  There's a non-specific abnormality of the T-wave.  These things happen.  He agreed that the tightness in my chest and my shortness of breath were probably respectively muscular and asthma.  On the other hand, he also agreed that 6 to 12 PVCs a minute was a lot, and that maybe we should do some tests.

As expected, they want to do a Holter monitor (only 24 hours), and a stress test.  I am grateful he decided on the Dobutamine stress test, rather than the treadmill one.  He says that it will give a better picture of my heart.  It is also unlikely to give me an asthma attack, unlike the treadmill one.  Both are scheduled for a week from today.   

He also referred me to a tool to help monitor and adjust my drinking.  I know I drink more than I should.  I am also uninterested in becoming a teetotaler.  He said that AA has one model of dealing with problem drinking, but it doesn't really apply to everyone.  We bonded over the issue.  The site he recommends is Drinkaware, which is based in the UK.  They evidently have a nifty app for your phone...which is not available in the US.  WTF?  There's a website, and I'm exploring it now.  I've been bitching for years that I wanted some tools to help me moderate my drinking, but the only things I ever found were total abstinence sites.  So, here's a tool.  I hope it will help.  

Follow-up in two weeks to make sure that I'm really not dying.

All in all, a short, cheerful, useful encounter, with expected outcomes and an actually helpful conversation about one area of my life that I do need to do some work on.  

Oh, and he also doesn't think that Allegra is likely to be causing my PVCs, nor does he think I drink too much coffee.  I suggested, and he concurs, that the reason I'm seeing more PVCs between four and six in the morning is because that's my down time, and I'm just more aware of them.  

So, yay for good stuff.  Yay for being unlikely to drop dead.  

Comments

[gerisullivan]

This is how health care *should* work, if only you hadn't had to fight so hard to get the appointment.

[thewayne]

Congrats on the generally positive visit! It's always good to know that the odds of falling over dead are very low.

I, too, have a slightly abnormal EKG, and it might be the T, I don't recall. I had heart surgery when I was 18 months old, parent ductus arteriosis. It doesn't do anything except startle people reading my EKGs.

[pameladean]

Yay, good to know!

So weird that it took such a convoluted struggle to get to this point. I can't help wondering if insurance companies are involved somewhere.

P.

[mrissa]

Well done on the not dying. I favor you continuing to not die, if they come around to take a vote next time.

[bibliofile]

If you so move, I shall second.

[boxofdelights]

Yay for good information! Also for a doctor who 1. listens to what you say about your health and 2. recognizes that every intervention has its costs, and person who ought to choose whether or not to try an intervention is the person who has to pay those costs.

[guppiecat]

I have some ideas on how to get a UK app loaded on a US phone, if you are interested. (Success will depend on if the app is coded to require a constant UK connection and if I'm as clever as I think I am.)

We'd need to schedule some time for me to hack on it though.

[lydy]

That would be cool. I would like to try that.

[quadong]

I got told to call an ambulance about 9 years ago because of PVCs, despite having none of the other symptoms of a heart attack, very much like your experience. Unfortunately, I wasn't nearly as educated and so I did it. After an expensive ride and lots of waiting around, eventually got told to drink less coffee and maintain electrolytes.

Then this year on July 4 I was throwing what I thought were like 40 PVCs per minute. Pulled out the sheet they gave me 9 years ago, which clearly said to get seen if something like this occurred. Skipped the nurse line because I knew they'd tell me to call 911. This time I drove my own damn self to the ER to at least avoid the ambulance part. Not PVCs, but arterial fibrillation, which is actually slightly dangerous, but not really particularly to me in my current level of health (I know now). Came out of it by myself while they poked me with various needles. Have some drugs now to prevent it happening again. They make me light headed and anxious, which is super annoying. Have not gotten billed yet.

Anyway, if you want to commiserate sometime about heart arrhythmias, I can do that.

[bibliofile]

I know a guy in his 70s who has PVCs, as do a few of his friends. It hasn't killed any of them yet. This apparently came up in conversation last week, as one of them was just diagnosed. I gather that he left the conversation a lot less worried, as they're all old coots who are still pretty damn healthy. (One of them's undergoing treatment for his third variety of cancer.)

So yay for everyone's not yet being dead! May it take a lot more to kill ya, and not for quite a long time yet either.

[green_knight]

Good work on the 'not dropping dead', keep doing that.