SVT, Pacemakers, and Other Junk

I've never shared my specific health problems with any of my Lovely Lurkers. Partly because I don't like to talk about it, and partly because I'm not sure it makes for very interesting reading. ;-)

However ... I have some (potentially) good news, and an answer to prayer, so I'm having a hard time containing myself.

In a nutshell, I have:

A pacemaker. This is due to going into complete heart block after open heart surgery to correct SVT. I've had the pacemaker for 20 years, almost exactly, and am currently on my third pacemaker (they have to be replaced once in a while). I also have mitral valve prolapse, which has never been corrected.

Digestively speaking ... I have gastroparesis and celiac disease.

And last, I have ankylosing spondylitis (early stages).

Instead of going into detail about each problem, I'll let you decide whether you'd like to clicky on the linky's I provided.

Ok, so here's where the juicy stuff comes in.

I've had some consistent and bothersome heart issues come up within the last month. So when I had my three month pacemaker check a few days ago, I just mentioned what was going on, and asked if I should be checked. The pacemaker tech said that he wasn't seeing anything significant that the pacer recorded, and that it was up to me if I chose to see the cardiologist. His suggestion was to indeed make an appointment if the symptoms were bothersome.

But I walked away from that appointment, not scheduling anything. I wanted to wait it out. I don't like doctors. I don't like having to convince someone that something is wrong. I didn't want the stress of it.

I went home and have been praying about it for a couple of days. I had my heart surgeries in Texas, and I was contemplating whether I should call them to see if they had any suggestions ... someone who would know whether this was heart related or intestinal.

As I was running over in my mind whether to make that phone call, my phone rang.

It was my cardiologist. Good ol' Dr. S. himself.

I nearly passed out ... partly because I wasn't sure if he was going to tell me something really bad (why else would he call me???).

To make a long story short(er), he didn't think the problems I'm having should be swept under the rug and wants me to have a 48 hour heart monitor put on next week. This is to try and catch an episode, so they can then see if it's heart related, or more of a digestive problem. (Turns out, the pacer won't record any episodes shorter than about twenty minutes long. Since my episodes happen frequently, but not for long periods of time, it's not recording it.)

I hung up the phone rather stunned that it had been that easy to get this ball rollin'. It's a long story (much longer than the one I'm telling here!), but I've not had good "luck" with doctors in my area taking me seriously when I say there's a problem. Sure, I have lots of labels for my illnesses now, but it hasn't always been that way.

I told Dr. S. my feeling is that my symptoms are related to the gastroparesis (I've experienced heart related problems from it before). But he said he'd like to rule out anything cardiac before pursuing anything else.

Okay.

I can deal with that.

So I'm feeling blessed to have received that phone call this morning. It's a direct answer to prayer. I know what to do next. I have no idea what they'll find out, if anything. But I at least know what the next step is.

And that's a good feeling.

~Brenda