A Bump In The Road

I guess things were just going a little too good.  Shortly after my last post I was out getting ready to drain my sprinklers and I leaned over to open a valve and the world started spinning.  Weird sensation!  I kind of toppled over on the grass until things normalized a minute or two later. A few days later I was going into the garage to get some gloves and the next thing I remember is waking up laying under the coat rack on a pile of shoes and boots.  Now I'm getting concerned.

I called, or tried to call my cardiologist. If you have dealt with IHC's phone system you know what a joke that is. When I finally got to the receptionist she said she would get a message to Dr. Pulsipher's  PA.  Come on!  I have had my chest ripped open and am now passing out and I get the opinion of a PA?  This was on Friday afternoon, so I had no hope of hearing anything until Monday.  I finally got a callback on Monday afternoon telling me to stop taking the metoprolol. I was taking at half a 25 mg tablet twice per day. I already had talked to Clay and he told me to half my dose again which I had done all week-end.  Dr. Pulsipher's PA wanted me to switch to metoprolol ER and take half a 25 mg tablet once per day in the evening.  Didn't make much sense to me but I picked up the prescription on Tuesday and took the first dose Tuesday night.  Wednesday I was working at the Temple.  About 10:00 am I was moving from a filing cabinet to a counter when I got a weird feeling and reached for the counter to steady myself.  I woke up on the floor with people kneeling over me asking if I am okay. I was okay, and my shift was about over so my replacement took over and after talking with Elma Lynne, Joyce came and drove me home.

I guess I hit my head pretty hard when I fell.  A friend at the recommend desk, which is through the wall from the office where I fell, said he heard the thump when I hit the floor. I didn't get a goose bump, but the left side of my head was tender and I kept getting headaches for a couple of weeks.  I am also dealing with some vertigo, which may be a result of the fall, or maybe something else.

I had an appointment already scheduled for Friday, Nov 9th, just two days away for a post-op visit with my surgeon, Dr. Bruce Reid, and the cardiologist on his team, Dr, Kia Afshar, in Salt Lake, so I decided to go off the metoprolol completely and just wait and talk to them about it. Interesting thing, Dr. Reid was of the opinion that I didn't need to take the metoprolol anyway, so he discontinued it.  Both doctors agreed that it may have caused the dizziness and passing out. Just as a precautionary measure they wanted me to wear a Holter Monitor for the next two weeks.

We spent Friday night at Joel's and Went to Jillyn's play Saturday night and stayed at her house Saturday night, returning home Sunday after church.  Things seemed to be going well, although I was still having some dizziness at times.  Wednesday I was again working a shift at the Temple when Elma Lynne called and told me Dr. Reid had called and wanted me at Dixie Regional immediately for a pacemaker implant.  Evidently the Holter Monitor had reported some electrical blockage, which they felt was very serious.  My shift was over when I got the message so I drove myself home and we packed up and went to Saint George.

Dr. Afshar had pulled some strings and had everything set up for me to be admitted and prepared for surgery the next morning. Everything went well but they wanted me to satay another night for observation so I was released Friday morning and we returned home.

What a pacemaker looks like, It about 1.96" x 1.85" x .24"thick.

The doctors will tell you that a pacemaker isn't a big deal, and that in a few months you will forget you have it.  That may be, but it is life-changing in many ways.  To start with, I can't keep my cell phone in my shirt pocket as it may interfere with the pacemaker. I have to stay away from anything that produces a strong electromagnetic field, including a welder!  Got to talk to my cardiologist about that!  There are quite a few other similar restrictions, not to mention that it is hooked to a monitor that is kept by my bedside and reports to someone, somewhere daily.  I suppose when I travel that I will need to take it with me, or notify them that it will not be reporting.  I have reason to question if they would even notice if it doesn't report.

Anyhow, life goes on and I am grateful for good medical care, even though dealing with IHC's phone policies can be very frustrating.  So is their Cardiac Rehab.  They scheduled me for 36 sessions, three per week for thirty-six weeks or there about.  I went for session nine this week, November 23rd.  I had a temple shift at 4:30 pm so I planned to go around 3:00.  I arrived there shortly after that and was told they don't take patients after 3:00 pm.  When I asked why I was told that it doesn't give them enough time to get you through all the exercise and the associated reports before they close at 5:00 pm.  Give me a break!  There was only one other person in the place. Why wasn't I told this before?  Well, I bit my tongue and left, vowing never to return.  I think I will do my own rehab.

As of today, Sunday November 25th, the headaches have gone away, but I am still dealing with some vertigo when I have certain sudden head movements.  I am also experiencing a lot of muscle stiffness in the back of my thighs and up into my hips.  This started prior to the pacemaker surgery and has continued for nearly two weeks.  Sometimes it is so painful I can hardly move in certain positions.  Sometimes it seems to be getting better, then it will return.  It does seem to be getting gradually better, though it leaves me wondering what caused it and why it is hanging around.