Well I’m back in God’s country tonight!!! Made it back just in time to see the sunset...my favorite thing.☺️ It’s been a very long week...mentally and physically exhausting. But I’m thankful to be back up at my cabin for a couple days. As for a ‘medical update’, I’ll do my best to keep it short ‘n’ sweet but don’t count on it😬. If I had to name my week, it would be called ‘Pick Your Poison’... and if I had to pick a quote for the week, it would be ‘Adapt, Improvise, Overcome’.
I was sent to Mayo due to ‘severe mitral valve stenosis’ (this valve is one of my artificials). To sum it up, 3-5 is ‘mild stenosis’, 6-9 is ‘moderate stenosis’, and 10+ is ‘severe stenosis’...I was at a 16 when I had my appointment in Bemidji 3 weeks ago. This past Monday when I had all of my initial appointments, they ran all of their own tests to see what was going on, and to compare to Sanford/Bemidji’s tests...here’s where a ‘slight miracle’ may have happened. The same exact test that I had in Bemidji that showed the stenosis gradient at 16, was now showing an 8!!!! They were baffled...it didn’t make sense, as that is basically physically and medically impossible. Had my heart rate been much higher when I had the Bemidji test done, then that could have made that stenosis number higher...but there was only 3 beats difference. So that number dropping is what triggered the next day of appointments...and then another 2 days...as well as today. As far as that all goes, nothing could be found as to why that happened...and if Mayo Dr’s can’t explain it, well then it must be a higher power.😊 I am still in the moderate range however, and they said that whatever the reason for the change (for the good), it can change back (for the bad), just as fast. My options were/are to have the surgery, which is very (very) risky due to me already having 4 open heart surgeries under my belt...and the amount of scar tissue I have on/in/around my heart being the biggest issue, and making the surgery complicated. The other option (which they recommend) being to try to treat the symptoms and buy myself as much time as possible before having the surgery, which will eventually need to be done inevitably...just a matter of when. If a Mayo dr suggests something, I can’t help but think that it’s about as close to the gospel as it gets. They know their shit down there!!! So their recommendation is to put me on something to try to control my heart rate, which is currently out of control with the slightest bit of activity (brushing my teeth, walking from one room to the next, etc etc). The medication is Metoprolol. This would normally be a great idea, and would help most people but for me it causes other problems. This medication is used to control heart rate as well as being used as a blood pressure medication. I have been on this med several times, and have been taken off of it several times. For me who already has low blood pressure (ex: 100/60 average), it drops my blood pressure to ex: 70/40 on average. VERY low...and this causes me to pass out a lot, I get EXTREMELY lethargic, I freeze bad, terrible headaches, and just feel absolutely horrible. So...it’s not the most ideal choice but if it can get my heart rate down, control it, keep that valve from working so hard, and buy me some more time before it needs to be fixed or replaced...then I need to try it. They are trying me on a half dose twice a day vs the one dose daily that I’ve always been on in the past. We are all hopeful that this does the trick. This medication, along with the very strict guidelines/lifestyle that I have to now follow hopefully does the trick. Pray for my poor husband!!! This is not what he signed up for.😔 My ‘rules’ are: no stress (YAH RIGHT!!!🙄), no walking, no exercising, no lifting anything over 10# (not even a gallon of milk), no doing any activity that gets my heart rate over 100, no being outside if it is above 100 degrees (I live in AZ, it will rarely get under 100 from now until September)...all of this means I can’t even grocery shop...too hot out, too far to walk, can’t carry my groceries.😕 The dr, referring to my life, said to ‘pretend as if you’re carrying around an fresh egg, and you can’t let it break’. This is where the ‘Adapt, Improvise, Overcome’ thing comes in. So this will be my new life for awhile and we’ll see if all of this helps, and can buy me some more time. The biggest thing is to get my heart rate down without lowering my blood pressure to a dangerously low level. If it does not do what they are hoping, then I go back to Mayo and we reevaluate. Hopefully this all makes sense...if not, feel free to ask questions...I’m an open book.😊
Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers, good vibes, positive thoughts, etc etc...I do appreciate every bit of it!!!😘
I will be leaving back to Arizona on Sunday morning...and though leaving MN will be very difficult, I am so ready to be back with my husband and son, and my fur babies!!! And having a toilet, running water, a stove, and being able to shower every day will all be an added bonus too!!!😁