SVT again
On Friday I had another bout of SVT (supra ventricular tachycardia) which was horrible horrible horrible. I was lying in my bed, reading at 5:30pm when all of a sudden my heart rate jumped to 160bpm and my o2 dropped to 84% — and I was using my supplemental oxygen at 5lpm at the time! It was awful. I waited 20 minutes to see if it would clear up (as instructed last time) but it didn’t so Marcos drove me to the ER.
They fiddled around for a while but when they decided it really was SVT they gave me the magical drug adenosine, which flatlines you for a moment so your heart can reboot. Wild, huh? I felt instantly fine again, just tired. They would ordinarily send a patient home at that point but because of all my other underlying stuff they kept me overnight for observation. I demanded that they remove both IVs and all the electrodes (because of the adhesive allergy) and they complied! I also informed them that I had brought all my own medication and that I would be dosing myself — and they complied without even much of a fuss! So that eliminated both of the major Hospital Headaches.
(The usual medication routine in a hospital is they take away all my meds and then give them back to me on THEIR schedule, which is different than MY schedule. Also my meds are so complicated that I always catch them making a mistake, and it’s stressful needing to monitor them.)
So then I was back home again by Saturday night, after waiting four hours between when the cardiologist said I could go home and when my discharge papers finally arrived. *eyeroll*
I’ve also had a little cold, so I didn’t get any sewing done for the last couple of days. But I think today I might have enough energy to sew a little bit! I’m working on two quilts at the moment: a green and white throw for my therapist and a beautiful quilt for ME which is made out of the most beautiful fabric! I will write about all that another time, but here’s a couple photos to whet your appetite:
Category: Blog 6 comments »
May 2nd, 2019 at 11:12 am
Your sense of design, just stupendous! 💕
May 6th, 2019 at 6:45 am
they are gorgeous! Thank you for the update as we are all thinking of you often xo
May 11th, 2019 at 1:03 am
Holy shit: 5 pm? FIVE??? That’s… a lot.
Good luck!!!
June 17th, 2019 at 7:57 am
Very scary Kara,
The supra ventricular tachycardia sound absolutely horrendous.
One of the “joys” of aging … I’ve had my heart cause me concerns at times.
I’ve switched from coffee to decaf. I drink more teas now, especially herbals.
I am also a vegetarian/vegan, avoid oils, processed food, and bread.
I prefer whole foods, vegetables and fruits.
I hope you feel better.
xo
Chrisentiae
Melbourne, Australia
PS
Check out my “Arya and Sandor – Off The Map” alt history continuation of Game of Thrones. :D A new episode each week. GOT never stopped for me coz when the show finished, I started witing the continuation. :D
June 25th, 2019 at 12:20 pm
Hi, I just want you to know that I have SVT too and have had to go to the ER for adenosine. Yes, it’s a very odd feeling to be “rebooted” so to speak.
The SVT alone (if you didn’t have your other conditions) is actually not very serious and rarely fatal. It’s a matter of learning what your triggers are and how to stop an attack.
I take 1/2 a 25 mg. tablet of Atenelol once a day and that has greatly reduced my episodes. But what has REALLY worked for me is this: As soon as I feel an episode coming on I drink ICE COLD water. Yep, just as cold as can be! It works in seconds! I’ve eliminated any more trips to the ER!
The other good tip is to reduce sugar (and of course eliminate caffeine) from your diet. Sugar is a trigger for sure! One tiny miniature cupcake was enough to bring on a 15 min. episode for me last year!
I will keep positive thoughts and vibes that your other conditions can be helped but at least know that while SVT is scary it is rarely dangerous.
June 26th, 2019 at 7:45 am
Hi Lori, thanks for the ice water tip! I’ll try that for sure!
I have enough underlying conditions that SVT is rather dangerous for me, so it would be great to be able to stop an attack before it gets going.