Wednesday, my follow up appt at St M's. I saw Deborah a CNP. And TH joined me, thankfully, as I was rolling ideas around in my head and wasn't sure I'd absorb it all. I think I did. Summary:
--I should be taking the statins, however, I'm still not on board with the idea. She said my LDL is "High, really high". Uh huh, at 318. And my TG and HDL are phenom, but that's being ignored? My argument is that I still haven't seen evidence that my bad LDL (the small dense type) is high. And until the LipoProfile or NMR is done, I'm not convinced. Her second attempt to convince me went along the lines of "statins lower inflammation", sorry but that's weak. I'm open to taking it, when the evidence is solid.
--the pain/pressure I'm feeling, worse today than yesterday but not bad like the attacks were. It's just a persistent and constant ... pressure? I think it could be anxiety too. It's definitely not my back, I can rule that out.
--My EKG (I think done to reassure me) was somewhat abnormal, but not such that they were concerned. And it's possible that it's still changes from 2 weeks ago events.
--NO ACTIVITY. No I can't ride my trainer, even in HR zone 0. Boooo. For a total of 8 weeks, full rest, dog walk only, and less than a gallon of milk. Boooo......
--My backpack was even weighed! Came in at 7.64 pounds.
--Testing for potential causes will be handed off to my PCP. There's many ways this could go for follow up: rheumatologist, more vascular, immune, metabolic/gut, and those further branch into genetic, environmental, functional, etc. So that's on hold until I see him October 1st.
--The only way to know if the 3rd tear is healing is by another catheterization. And there's no need to do that unless the symptoms indicate the need.
--I CAN NOT stop taking the anti-platelet therapy drugs. Do not miss a dose, do not stop taking them for dental work or surgery unless they've talked to the cardio office. They seemed amused and scared that I was "testing" my bruising abilities to see how much or how little pressure it took. Gotta know, right?
--What else.... ?
--I picked up my discharge record and got started on getting a copy of the catheterization procedure. I'll put that in another post once I have it all. I really want to know the details of what, why, where, how, and more. So I'm learning more anatomy and lingo.
Thursday. Still have pressure/pain in my chest, but figuring that "it's nothing" I went for another long walk and tacked on a super-easy no-resistance trainer ride. My hip appreciated that! Don't tell anyone.
Friday. Today, as I'm writing this. Seated, with the same chest feelings. It's no better or worse than the past few days, and I'm still telling myself "it's nothing" based on the EKG. I just need to learn to deal with it.
A few low moments this week when people react to my news. Most express shock, disbelief. I'm finding that I don't want to talk about it much. But I'm accumulating a list of things to NOT say to someone like me, including
-- read a book, or watch a movie. I nearly died. Or so I'm told. That's not going to help.
--you just need another hobby. Yup, it's a simple as that.
--you should pray more. So this is my fault for not praying enough? Seriously, I think God has it out for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment