Comments | eg22: good bye, mr. intervention cardiologist.

eg22

good bye, mr. intervention cardiologist.

Nov 09, 2007 17:02

I've decided to take my current cardiologist out of the equation in terms of my health. He's unable to answer my questions about the whys and hows of my problem simply because he doesn't bother to listen to my questions. It's infuriating and terrifying all at the same time: this is MY life, this is MY body. I'm not asking you to unravel the ( Read more... )

Comments 6

yellowfingers November 12 2007, 18:58:21 UTC

I hope you find it.

anonymous November 15 2007, 00:28:53 UTC

i'm sorry for prying.. just surfin livejournal and ran across ur page... but it seems as though you are a relatively young woman (young meaning early to mid 20's)...why are you even seeing a cardiologist??? and if u are seeing him/her because of a "feeling" he/she may be thinking along the lines of: " here is a perfectly healthy 20-some-odd year old young lady who comes in complaining of a weird feeling... no past medical hx of a heart condition, no palpitations, no dizziness, chest pain, loss of consciousness, no substance abuse (i assume), no murmur, no congenital heart defect, no thyroid problems, no pain, no shortness of breath....nothing... and she is complaining of a weird feeling that may as well come from stress, anxiety, asthma or acid reflux" what is the doc supposed to do with that ( ... )

eg22 November 15 2007, 13:10:55 UTC

An echo cardiogram in February of this year revealed a injection fracture rate of 30% in my lower left ventricle. A repeat echo in September this year shows no improvement after discontinuing consumption of alcohol (I have been abusive of alcohol in the past- for about 4 years- though consumption had been moderated a least a year before 'diagnosis'. I passed a stress test (just barely, though). You should know that this time last year I was running and jogging in the park nearly daily as part of an exercise routine. No passing out on the field then ( ... )

anonymous November 16 2007, 03:15:52 UTC

hi eg... ok i see... there are underlying things going on with you. First, I want to say that I understand the duress you are feeling. It's hard to feel powerless against your own body... adn for that your cardiologist (or should i say former cardiologist) should be a bit more sympathetic .. esp since you are young.

The one way to help with ur weight is to change diet... a serious excercise routine woudl not be advisable with a decreased ej. frac... which basically means that your heart would not be able to keep up with the added demands that exercising would call for... so maybe walking would be good. low impact exercises are not the answer... low impact would be good for ur joints but your heart would still be pumping harder.. i would say work on your walking like you were doing before... but always consult with a cardiologist before you do anything new.

its not a bad idea to get another opinion.

best of luck

~WS

eg22 November 20 2007, 16:52:30 UTC

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm really enjoying our dialog, actually.

I have been walking more and more lately, in fact. I work only 2.5 miles from home, so I've been walking half-way to work and sometimes all the way home from work many days a week.

Diet is tough because I walk for an hour then I reward myself with some kind of sweet or an indulgence of fatty foods, thinking, "Oh, well, I've already burned the calories that this will add, so I break even." But that doesn't make any damn sense as I'm trying to LOOSE weight, not break even.

My greatest fear is that this heart problem is an indication of a greater issue in my body. In my opinion, my doc hasn't done enough to poke and prod around me to make sure that this isn't a symptom of something much more serious (cancer, degenerative disease, etc.). I.E. I want Hugh Laurie on the case playing House on me. Not that I WANT something to wrong with me, but if there is, I want to make sure we catch it early rather than later.

anonymous November 15 2007, 18:37:54 UTC

well, my two cents is something you already know.
you, missy, are the one that should try and stop the anxiety about this. you, should work out, in order to strengethen your heart and body.

you have to listen to yourself and trust yourself. and you will be able to answer most of your questions yourself. and then you should work with those answers.

what kind of questions do you have? maybe i can answer them

(this is maja btw in case you didnt notice. ;) )