On The Lupie Side Of The Street

Today I went and saw my cardiac electrophysiologist. Well, I felt like I was never going to see him. I kid you not, I was in the exam room for 45 minutes before he came in. I was falling asleep sitting up because I was so tired of waiting. Luckily, he was much nicer than my old cardiologist. I think my old cardiologist thought he knew everything and because of that, since he couldn't find anything wrong, that I was crazy. Well guess what people? I wasn't crazy! I'm the proud owner of inappropriate sinus tachycardia. It's not life threatening, under normal circumstances I will not drop dead of a heart attack. All it basically means is that my heart is going to beat faster than a normal heart. In order to have it, you have to meet the following criteria:

• All other forms of sinus tachycardia have to be eliminated.
• Supra ventricular tachycardia (SVT) has to be eliminated.
• A resting sinus tachycardia tends to be present.
• A normal P wave is observed.
• Inappropriate heart rate with minimal exertion.
• Hypotension tends to occur.
• Fainting spells.
• The mean heart rate for 24 hours must at least be 95 bpm.

You know the other week when I was in the hospital and they gave me beta blockers? And you know how they sent me home and I ended up right back in the hospital? You want to know why that happened? Because people with IST tend to be immune to beta blockers. IST is so rare that most doctors have never even heard of it. Even my first cardiologist didn't recognize the symptoms. I suppose it pays to go see an cardiac electrophysiologist!

The good news is, I'm not going to die. The bad news is, there is not much they can do for it. If ever it gets to be unbearable, I can have a pace maker put in. They don't like to do it for IST, but it can be done. I can exercise, but I can't go out and run a 5k, I mean unless I feel like reaching 180 bpm? I'll be living with the chest pain, shortness of breath, dizzy feeling for as long as I live. Goody, goody gum drops! It stinks that there is nothing much that can be done but at least I don't have a crazy heart defect that requires surgery. Thank goodness for ativan! So yes, my heart is technically fine, it's just a little overly ambitious when it comes to beating. I've just got to keep my life on the low key side. I suppose running for President is officially out of the question.

On a different note, I am in love with Reglan. It's a medication that is forcing my digestive tract to digest food. I have been hungry a whopping four times in 24 hours! For those of you who know me, hunger is not a feeling I associate with very often. It's so cool to want to eat food, to have it sit OK, to digest it! People really take for granted being able to digest food but I'm in love. I think I'm going to officially get fat now. Even though I'm not supposed to get fat because it's bad for my lupus. What to do, what to do? I suppose I'll keep on with my no process foods diet and take up yoga. I just ate some rice cakes and I'm hungry again! This is too much fun for me! It's like an awesome party in my tummy!

Hm, what to eat next? I suppose I should chew a piece of sugarless gum. That's what people on diets do to keep the cravings away. Oh, and I should drink some more water too!