Persistent Atrial flutter; a gynae procedure and my 14th cardioversion

Time for an update of the misery memoir!

 

Actually, happier this time!  I managed to get away for a few days to the seaside in Norfolk and also Suffolk, so that was exciting though it played havoc with my IBS (if indeed it is IBS).

I’ve been having bloating for years but it has got much worse – particularly after the SCAD and then even more so after the Minimaze.  I wonder if my gut biome has been affected by the cocktails of drugs I took after each of these events.  I got bloated before but never to this extent and this much pain and discomfort.  I did five weeks of the low-FODMAPS elimination diet which helped a little though a diet of French pastries in Paris reversed that.  I then followed a strict Fodmaps diet for another few weeks which made no difference. 

Now I have decided to try and improve my gut biome and have reintroduced fermented foods like yogurt, kefir plus some dairy milk in my tea (because its vile with any other ‘milk’ in it!).  Nothing seems to help.  Cake at the coast made it worse though.  Call me sad, but one of the pleasures of a long walk is the tea and cake at the end and I do not want to give that up – gluten-free doesn’t help either.

I’m going to have to go back to the GP and tell him fodmaps hasn’t worked.  Or go and see a nutritionist and hope they don’t just say “Do Fodmaps”.  One problem is that I have lost a load of weight – which is great as I had gradually increased weight since my Ablation #4, SCAD and Minimaze.  Now I’ve lost all that and more.  I don’t really want to get any thinner though – you look haggard (or more haggard!) at my age.  Plus, I’m eating so much cheese and mayo in a bid to fill myself up as pasta, bread, garlic (!), onion (!), a lot of vegetables, a lot of fruit plus dairy is not allowed.  I use to eat masses of vegetables and now I eat mouse portions.  Which is turn leads to constipation and makes the ‘IBS’ worse.  Annoying.

 

More good news - I survived the removal of uterine polyps (my god, that was a bit intense – far worse than I had expected – not painful, just weirdly very uncomfortable as they fill the uterus with water which causes very bad cramps).  I felt like I needed a badge saying “I was very brave today” afterwards!  The theatre assistant did say that I had done well and “not many people could have gone through that in one go” but I bet they say that to everyone.  I was reluctant to have a rest during the procedure, or give up, as I knew that would mean I would have to come back and that would be much worse – knowing what was in store.  I’m bragging about how brave I was, but I didn’t mention that I felt a bit faint after and had to have a rest on a bed in the day room!

 

OMG! After the weekends away I ran TWICE – the first one was 7 x (1 min run/shuffle; 2 min Nordic Walking) bookended with more Nordic walking.  The second was 11 (ELEVEN!) X (1 min run/shuffle; 1.5 min recovery walk). It was so exciting though I do not think I could run any further at the moment.  BUT I’m recovering much quicker and actually feel fitter and stronger (in my weight training) than since the Minimaze – which, when you think about it, is a pretty good achievement in Persistent Atrial Flutter.

The thing that made me feel really rough in the PersAfl was gardening – kneeling weeding, I felt sick for ages afterwards and very dizzy and faint.  Still did it though although only for 30 minutes per stint.

That same afternoon of my exciting run, I went into the Local Hospital cardiac day centre for my cardioversion.  I saw three nurses and an anaesthetist – all were very shocked when I joked that I knew all about Direct Current Cardioversion (DCCV) and could probably do it all by myself (joke!) as this was my FOURTEENTH.

Anyway, I was taken to the Cath Lab, zapped and awakened by nurses calling my name five minutes later – back in Sinus rhythm, though I could not notice to be honest. In fact, I felt worse than when I went in, but sedation will do that to you!

Now, if you read this blog, as you obviously do, maybe you think that I seem quite a nice person – I hope you do.  But here’s the kicker – I’m not at all – prepare for major bitching session….

…it makes me really want to vomit when I see these great big fat people waddling around, people sitting under the non-smoking sign chuffing on a fag – it’s so blooming unfair that I am fit, eat well, not overweight and yet I’ve had four ablations, a Minimaze, a SCAD, 14 cardioversions plus I have HHT!  I mean, I was the youngest person being cardioverted on the ward by at least 15 years!  IT’S NOT FAIR!!!!! 

And, I know, I’m being a real b*tch!

 

It’s now four days since the cardioversion and I feel worse than before.  This is normal, but I had hoped that this time, as I felt so well beforehand, I would feel great afterwards.  I tried to do a walk yesterday but turned back after two minutes as I felt so lethargic and tired.  A night sleeping on the sofa two days ago probably didn’t help. 

On the plus side, we have now dared to book a “road trip” to Denmark over Easter.  Exciting, though the Danish language looks a bit challenging!!

 


Happy Heartbeats everyone.  Check back soon or subscribe to get a reminder when new Misery Memoir is published.


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