"Healthy"
Figured I should update my journal. Many of you probably haven't heard...
On May 10th, I woke up to a "pins and needles" feeling on my left arm, which quickly spread to my chest, face, and the left side of my tongue. This feeling persisted ever after I got to the ER, fading gradually over about ten hours total. Preliminary tests suggested I'd had a TIA. At my age, a TIA probably means a clot, so in addition to an MRI, they gave me a full cardiovascular workup. They also kept me in the hospital overnight.
Analysis of the MRI has since clarified that it was a stroke, not a TIA. I was *very* lucky. Motor control, vision, cognitive ability all normal. All that happened was the "pins and needles" feeling. My face and arm still feel weird sometimes; a vague pressure sort of like I'm lying on my left side even when I'm up and walking around. But that will likely fade with time.
Here's where it gets weird. The cardiovascular workup included a cardiac stress test the next morning. They hooked me up to an EKG and put me on a treadmill to get my heart rate up to 150 beats per minute. I started at 126, so they sped up the treadmill. That got me up to 142, so they sped it up again. That got me to a little over 150. Then, without warning, my heart rate jumped to over 200.
Analysis of the EKG confirmed I have an electrical heart condition (entirely unrelated to the stroke) called AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). That's not a good thing, but it won't kill me. I'm kind of lucky they found it. If they hadn't, I'd be getting tired very quickly during exercise, and I'll need to exercise to lower my risk of having another stroke. Fortunately, AVNRT is correctable using a procedure called RF ablation.
So, I went in with a stroke and came out the next day with a heart condition. I'm now on BP meds, cholesterol meds, and anti-stroke meds. I'm also reducing my intake of saturated fats.
It's funny: People tell me they hope I feel better. It's odd to hear that, because I never felt sick. "Pins and needles" during the stroke, yes. Tired during the tachycardia, yes. Tired because I didn't really get much sleep in the hospital, yes. Headachey and irritable when they first started me on the anti-stroke meds, YES YES SO THIS MUST BE WHAT A MIGRAINE FEELS LIKE PLEASE KILL ME VERY YES. But sick? Nope.
(The headaches have since faded, which is a relief. Down to a minor headache, about a half-hour per day.)
The other really strange thing is that I've apparently joined a secret society. Many of the people I've known for years have fairly serious health conditions they only talk about with people who've also had fairly serious health conditions. It's kind of cool to know I'm not alone, but it's surreal to learn that even healthy people have medical issues.
So, to recap: Health scare back in mid-May. Lots of followup appointments and tests since, with more to come. But all in all, I'm actually pretty healthy.
On May 10th, I woke up to a "pins and needles" feeling on my left arm, which quickly spread to my chest, face, and the left side of my tongue. This feeling persisted ever after I got to the ER, fading gradually over about ten hours total. Preliminary tests suggested I'd had a TIA. At my age, a TIA probably means a clot, so in addition to an MRI, they gave me a full cardiovascular workup. They also kept me in the hospital overnight.
Analysis of the MRI has since clarified that it was a stroke, not a TIA. I was *very* lucky. Motor control, vision, cognitive ability all normal. All that happened was the "pins and needles" feeling. My face and arm still feel weird sometimes; a vague pressure sort of like I'm lying on my left side even when I'm up and walking around. But that will likely fade with time.
Here's where it gets weird. The cardiovascular workup included a cardiac stress test the next morning. They hooked me up to an EKG and put me on a treadmill to get my heart rate up to 150 beats per minute. I started at 126, so they sped up the treadmill. That got me up to 142, so they sped it up again. That got me to a little over 150. Then, without warning, my heart rate jumped to over 200.
Analysis of the EKG confirmed I have an electrical heart condition (entirely unrelated to the stroke) called AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). That's not a good thing, but it won't kill me. I'm kind of lucky they found it. If they hadn't, I'd be getting tired very quickly during exercise, and I'll need to exercise to lower my risk of having another stroke. Fortunately, AVNRT is correctable using a procedure called RF ablation.
So, I went in with a stroke and came out the next day with a heart condition. I'm now on BP meds, cholesterol meds, and anti-stroke meds. I'm also reducing my intake of saturated fats.
It's funny: People tell me they hope I feel better. It's odd to hear that, because I never felt sick. "Pins and needles" during the stroke, yes. Tired during the tachycardia, yes. Tired because I didn't really get much sleep in the hospital, yes. Headachey and irritable when they first started me on the anti-stroke meds, YES YES SO THIS MUST BE WHAT A MIGRAINE FEELS LIKE PLEASE KILL ME VERY YES. But sick? Nope.
(The headaches have since faded, which is a relief. Down to a minor headache, about a half-hour per day.)
The other really strange thing is that I've apparently joined a secret society. Many of the people I've known for years have fairly serious health conditions they only talk about with people who've also had fairly serious health conditions. It's kind of cool to know I'm not alone, but it's surreal to learn that even healthy people have medical issues.
So, to recap: Health scare back in mid-May. Lots of followup appointments and tests since, with more to come. But all in all, I'm actually pretty healthy.