OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
I went to one of my cardiologists yesterday. I had to wait three months to get an appointment at that office (I made the appt in Feb), but last week I had two days of what I thought were atrial fibrillation episodes. The first day prevented me from being able to do much of anything. So I'm glad I had an appointment scheduled. I had a cardiac ablation 9 years ago to correct the problem. It is slowly starting to return, though very mild. This cardiologist actually told me almost 2 years ago that the correction lasted longer for me than most.
Getting to the appointment was stressful. I ordered an Uber and chose the Wait & Save option. I shouldn't have; that was mistake #2. I had to wait 10 minutes, unlike Lyft, where the wait and save has never been more than 4 minutes. Mistake #1 was booking the appointment for 3:00 p.m. Due to school letting out and rush hour traffic starting around that time, there's a lot of congestion.
We were literally at a standstill for about 15 minutes. I had called before the driver got here to say I'd be about 15 minutes late. Four minutes before my ETA of 3:15, we were still only a block and a half from my apartment. When we were about 5 minutes away, the doctor's office called and said they had to cancel the appointment because I was so late and the doctor had to be at the hospital.
When I told her I was almost there, she checked and said since I was so close, the doctor would wait. When I got there, finding the office, which is in a large building with other medical offices, was a trip. It's in a long, wide atrium. I knew I was on the right floor and called again just as I saw where it is. To add to the confusion, the office sign does not bear the same name as the medical group. Now I know I can use this foliage, pictured below as my guide.
I was so stressed by the time they took me in that i just knew my BP would be too high, but it was 120/86. The doctor, who didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, heard what he termed extra beats, but wasn't sure I was in A-fib, so he ordered an EKG. That took about a minute. Good news he said...I wasn't in A-fib, but he wants to know exactly what's happening with my heart on a daily basis so he can prescribe the best treatment plan for me.
The monitors sure have changed. The Holter monitor I had to wear a couple of decades ago was about the size of a Walkman. It was in a case with a shoulder strap and I had to wear it for a month. The last one I had was much smaller, but still had wires to watch out for. This one sticks to my chest, is wireless and I'm told I can shower normally.
Before applying the monitor, the PA wiped the area with a scrubby thing, then she wiped it down with alcohol. I knew what was coming....boy did that sting!
Right now, it's slightly itchy. All I can do is pat the area for relief. I have to push the button when I feel symptoms. I only had to push the button once, so far, when I felt very mild symptoms last night.
Getting to the appointment was stressful. I ordered an Uber and chose the Wait & Save option. I shouldn't have; that was mistake #2. I had to wait 10 minutes, unlike Lyft, where the wait and save has never been more than 4 minutes. Mistake #1 was booking the appointment for 3:00 p.m. Due to school letting out and rush hour traffic starting around that time, there's a lot of congestion.
We were literally at a standstill for about 15 minutes. I had called before the driver got here to say I'd be about 15 minutes late. Four minutes before my ETA of 3:15, we were still only a block and a half from my apartment. When we were about 5 minutes away, the doctor's office called and said they had to cancel the appointment because I was so late and the doctor had to be at the hospital.
When I told her I was almost there, she checked and said since I was so close, the doctor would wait. When I got there, finding the office, which is in a large building with other medical offices, was a trip. It's in a long, wide atrium. I knew I was on the right floor and called again just as I saw where it is. To add to the confusion, the office sign does not bear the same name as the medical group. Now I know I can use this foliage, pictured below as my guide.
I was so stressed by the time they took me in that i just knew my BP would be too high, but it was 120/86. The doctor, who didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, heard what he termed extra beats, but wasn't sure I was in A-fib, so he ordered an EKG. That took about a minute. Good news he said...I wasn't in A-fib, but he wants to know exactly what's happening with my heart on a daily basis so he can prescribe the best treatment plan for me.
The monitors sure have changed. The Holter monitor I had to wear a couple of decades ago was about the size of a Walkman. It was in a case with a shoulder strap and I had to wear it for a month. The last one I had was much smaller, but still had wires to watch out for. This one sticks to my chest, is wireless and I'm told I can shower normally.
Before applying the monitor, the PA wiped the area with a scrubby thing, then she wiped it down with alcohol. I knew what was coming....boy did that sting!
Right now, it's slightly itchy. All I can do is pat the area for relief. I have to push the button when I feel symptoms. I only had to push the button once, so far, when I felt very mild symptoms last night.
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Sounds like a very stressful day!
I wish for you expedient resolutions to the health issues you are having, so you can feel good all the time.
