So this past Friday night/early Saturday morning, I have what appears to be the onset of a heart attack.
Just 48 hours after I post: "What If I Died Right Now?".
Here's the story...I'm still not quite over it and the incident and aftermath has me a bit loopy still:
After "enjoying" a 12 pack of Bud, a large Chicken Pot Pie and many handfuls of potato chips and cheese puffs, dipped lavishly in spinach dip, I pass out around 1:00 am early Saturday morning. Nothing new here.
I wake up an hour or so later in order to go to the bathroom to take a piss. I proceed to take the opportunity while positioned standing over the toilet to go ahead and puke much of the contents of my stomach; a viscous greenish-brown sludge of semi-digested Pot Pie, junk food and beer, laden with many strings of dessicated spinach. Yum. Again, unfortunately, nothing new here.
But around 4:15 am or so, I wake in a startle because I am out of breath. Sleep apnea symptoms...have them often. Only this time my heart is fluttering very rapidly and is in arrhythmia.
Probably due to a likely rush of adrenaline due to the palpitation, I am quite awake, and quite sober. Though not freaked out totally, I know it ain't good. I try to relax to let it regain it's proper rhythm. Not working. After only 10 minutes I decide I gotta get to the hospital. I decide to drive.
In the ER they put the EKG nodes on me and see I'm fibrulating. It's so funny, I'm totally conscious and not in any pain so I can see everything they are doing...when they see the cardiogram and it's erratic-ness and call out stuff like heartrate 170 (yea, I guess 170 beats per minute...yikes), I can see their faces turning grave and serious saying "let's get the doctor down here".
I was lying there, not really upset (probably because of the drugs they were now pumping into me to slow my heart rate) thinking: "I guess I'm having a heart attack.".
Within a half hour or so, my heart finally calms down and regains it's normal rhythm.
Turns out it wasn't a heart attack. Palpitations.
They admitted me and originally had scheduled me for tests to find out what caused it, but when the cardiologist offered to have the tests either done while I stayed in the hospital or as outpatient visits, I opted for the latter. Hate hospitals. And though most of the staff there were really nice, I was hankerin to get home after 2 days.
I told the cardiologist the full story of the events leading up to the incident, including the drinking. He laughed saying that he doesn't know how someone can have 12 beers in an evening (oh Man, could I tell him stories! How 'bout the 6 pitchers plus a few shots the night I got my second DUI?)
He told me that other than the very old (75 and over), usually these palpitation incidents happen only in college kids after a night of binge drinking. Bingo. Now we know where it came from.
But frankly, the hospital staff were also worried about the multiple other problems as well. They changed my blood pressure medications to include a more potent one and diagnosed me with full-blown diabetes.
I have follow up appointments with my regular doctor and the cardiologist.
I think I'm gonna start taking my health matters more seriously. I think I have no choice.
Just 48 hours after I post: "What If I Died Right Now?".
Here's the story...I'm still not quite over it and the incident and aftermath has me a bit loopy still:
After "enjoying" a 12 pack of Bud, a large Chicken Pot Pie and many handfuls of potato chips and cheese puffs, dipped lavishly in spinach dip, I pass out around 1:00 am early Saturday morning. Nothing new here.
I wake up an hour or so later in order to go to the bathroom to take a piss. I proceed to take the opportunity while positioned standing over the toilet to go ahead and puke much of the contents of my stomach; a viscous greenish-brown sludge of semi-digested Pot Pie, junk food and beer, laden with many strings of dessicated spinach. Yum. Again, unfortunately, nothing new here.
But around 4:15 am or so, I wake in a startle because I am out of breath. Sleep apnea symptoms...have them often. Only this time my heart is fluttering very rapidly and is in arrhythmia.
Probably due to a likely rush of adrenaline due to the palpitation, I am quite awake, and quite sober. Though not freaked out totally, I know it ain't good. I try to relax to let it regain it's proper rhythm. Not working. After only 10 minutes I decide I gotta get to the hospital. I decide to drive.
In the ER they put the EKG nodes on me and see I'm fibrulating. It's so funny, I'm totally conscious and not in any pain so I can see everything they are doing...when they see the cardiogram and it's erratic-ness and call out stuff like heartrate 170 (yea, I guess 170 beats per minute...yikes), I can see their faces turning grave and serious saying "let's get the doctor down here".
I was lying there, not really upset (probably because of the drugs they were now pumping into me to slow my heart rate) thinking: "I guess I'm having a heart attack.".
Within a half hour or so, my heart finally calms down and regains it's normal rhythm.
Turns out it wasn't a heart attack. Palpitations.
They admitted me and originally had scheduled me for tests to find out what caused it, but when the cardiologist offered to have the tests either done while I stayed in the hospital or as outpatient visits, I opted for the latter. Hate hospitals. And though most of the staff there were really nice, I was hankerin to get home after 2 days.
I told the cardiologist the full story of the events leading up to the incident, including the drinking. He laughed saying that he doesn't know how someone can have 12 beers in an evening (oh Man, could I tell him stories! How 'bout the 6 pitchers plus a few shots the night I got my second DUI?)
He told me that other than the very old (75 and over), usually these palpitation incidents happen only in college kids after a night of binge drinking. Bingo. Now we know where it came from.
But frankly, the hospital staff were also worried about the multiple other problems as well. They changed my blood pressure medications to include a more potent one and diagnosed me with full-blown diabetes.
I have follow up appointments with my regular doctor and the cardiologist.
I think I'm gonna start taking my health matters more seriously. I think I have no choice.