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Did I focus on the negative, no doubt about it. But, the layoff also allowed me to attend my nephew's wedding and visit my oldest son in Baltimore, not restricted by return dates.
This time last year, I was just getting the blog underway and packing up my youngest son's dorm room. A sorrowful event to be sure, but one that brought unexpected delights because we were able to travel without deadlines.
So, welcome to the second half of My Year of Dangerous Living. We're just under halfway through 365 posts. So a bit of catch-up since Christmas.
C and I had a lovely Christmas at my daughter's home in the Springs.
My eldest son was planning on being there as well, but that didn't quite work out. He had an automobile accident that totaled his car and he is still dealing with the aftermath (and yes, he was a-okay as well as the others involved).
Shortly after Christmas I had an appointment with my cardiologist that has left me confused and and a bit frightened. It also has me looking for an alternative doctor, one who will listen to and thoughtfully answer my questions.
Late last month I had a cardiac event. I was having difficulty breathing and my heart was painfully pounding. When I checked my blood pressure it was an astonishing 209/118. C and I went off to the ER and I was admitted overnight where they drew blood regularly to check for an enzyme that would indicate if I had had a heart attack. I did not, thankfully.
During this process the hospital doctor (not the ER doc) changed my medicine from Metoprolol to Carvedilol. Initially, I thought this change was made because I was supposed to cut the Metoprolol in half. When I did this, I did not get an even half and the other portion of the medication was smashed beyond use. I explained this to the hospital doc who said don't worry we'll get you something else. So, that is why I thought my medication was changed
They released me after making an appointment with my cardiologist, but I couldn't get in to see him until a full month later!
When I checked in over the Internet for
my appointment the software asked if I had any questions. Well, heck ya. But the doc didn't answer them and so I brought them up.
The first one, I thought was pretty straight forward.
ME: What caused my heart to go all nuts the way it did?
DOC: You had a heart attack.
ME: I know I had a heart attack (Prior to the summer of 2015). What caused the heart attack?
DOC: You have a blocked artery.
What???? I have gone through every heart test I can think of and no one, I mean no one, has ever said that I had a blocked artery. I was told I had a heart attack, and I was sort of given a diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure (which wasn't initially told to me, I found the diagnosis on a bottle of pills I'd been prescribed).
Happy Camper? I think not.
ME: Why haven't I had any procedures done to remove the blockage?
DOC: Like a stent? Your kidneys are too compromised and if we tried that you could go into kidney failure. You wouldn't want to be on dialysis now, would you? Your quality of life would be significantly diminished.
All I could do was gape like a carp.
Then he started in on the medicine.
DOC: Why did you go back to the Metoprolol?
ME: Because the Carvedilol wasn't working and they only changed it in the hospital because I couldn't cut the pill in half.
DOC: How do you know it wasn't working.
ME: Because I tracked my blood pressure and it was staying in the high 170s over the high 90s.
DOC: You shouldn't have done that. Metoprolol is hard on your kidneys.
Heh? You prescribed that medication to me and you knew this?
This was exactly why I fired my endocrinologist. He prescribed me a new medication that caused symptoms of gastroparesis. When I told him I was sick he said that GERD and acid reflux were part and parcel of being a diabetic. But that didn't stop him from ordering an endoscopy. And when we discussed the results...oh, Victosa is known to cause a decrease in the churning of your stomach. Uh, gee do you think that could have been the problem to begin with?
Folks, you have to be on top of your symptoms, tracking stuff, and making sure someone listens to you. One of my friends's husband kept complaining to his doc about chest pain. The doc said it was nothing to worry about and gave him more nitro. Guess what - the angina attacks got worse and worse. The man needed a stent put in and he'd been trying to get the doctor to address his complaint for a year.
My daughter says I'm too compliant when I'm at the docs. I know I tend to be - they are the experts, right?
All I know is I left that appointment so angry that I made sure to check my blood pressure after (it was okay).
So that was how the year ended. Wait until I tell you how the new one started.