Remember right before my due date, when I had that funny thing happen with my heart? When I talked to my midwife about it, she said yeah, sometimes pregnant women have tachycardia episodes. But she added that mine was atypical for two reasons (one was that it lasted too long and I've forgotten the other) and that I should talk to a doctor about it.
We had only been in town a month; I didn't have a doctor; I had read that arrhythmias can be hard to pin down because they have to happen while you're being tested for the test to be useful. I didn't call.
But then I had another episode a few weeks after Pete was born, and another one a couple of weeks later. Oh, and did I mention the chest pain? Not painful-painful chest pain, but nagging chest pain. It was getting harder to ignore: happening more often, lasting longer, becoming more intense.
I googled for information on heart problems in young women and found a story about a 34yo woman who keeled over dead with no previous history of heart trouble. I called for an appointment.
"I am here a little sheepishly," I told the nurse practitioner. I have no risk factors for heart disease, aside from an uncle with abnormal heart wiring. Was I being a hypochondriac? Was she going to recommend a jillion tests to cover her butt, or was she going to laugh me out of her office?
She did neither. She tested my thyroid and ordered a stress echo. It was yesterday.
I was not very happy about the test. I thought it would end up being several hundred dollars' worth of inconclusive. It was my first separation from Pete. (I know, I know -- how many women have been back at a full-time job for two weeks by the time their babies are this old, and I'm spazzing about a one-hour test? I just like to stay close to my babies when they're this little.) I lay down on the table feeling like a fraud.
After a series of ultrasound pictures, they put me on a treadmill. I was walking slowly, and then a little faster, as the doctor asked me about the arrhythmias. Suddenly, only about a minute into the test, I noticed he wasn't paying attention to me; he was too busy watching the screen. "Stop!" he ordered. "I see it." I think I saw it, too, a messy squiggle where there had been tidy lines. I didn't feel a thing, though.
They rushed me over to the bed with some urgency, but the abnormal rhythm quickly receded. Part of me said, "Hey! He saw it! I'm not a hypochondriac!" and part of me said, "Ack! He saw it! There's something weird going on with my heart!"
His thinking is that I also have some abnormal wiring in my heart, which has only recently begun to cause me problems. (Let's see... could it be... STRESS???) "Is this benign?" I asked him. Usually it is -- it's treatable with medication or with a straightforward surgery. (What "straightforward" means to a guy accustomed to quintuple bypasses is not something I'm going to think about right now.)
He sent me home with a Holter monitor to get a 24-hour recording. I will take it off as soon as I finish this post, and return it to the clinic. They'll follow up with me next week.
I'll keep you posted.
You will be in my prayers ...
Posted by: Kara | June 25, 2005 at 07:27 AM
You're in my prayers as well-- try not to freak out too much!!
Posted by: Maggie | June 25, 2005 at 08:04 AM
Take care of yourself and let us know how it goes. I'll pray for you.
Posted by: mary | June 25, 2005 at 08:35 AM
Also in my prayers - hoping for the best results for you!
Posted by: Melissa | June 25, 2005 at 08:44 AM
Oh, Jamie, I'm praying for you. Please keep us posted.
Posted by: Arwen/Elizabeth | June 25, 2005 at 08:56 AM
Jamie, I know this probably won't be particularly reassurring since I don't have all the details, but a good friend of mine went through a very similar situation after the birth of her 4th child. It resolved itself after a course of medication.
Prayers for the best possible outcome.
Posted by: Katie | June 25, 2005 at 09:57 AM
Yikes, hope you get good results back (or good news rather).
Posted by: Julie | June 25, 2005 at 02:32 PM
yikes! arrythmias can be very scary. they run in my dh's family, so far I have had two kids that have needed the 24 hour holter monitoring done. thankfully they both resolved after quitting caffeine....
Be sure to write down the nedical terms they give you (or ask for a copy of the official results). feel free to email me at any time if I can help interpret stuff.
The lactation consultant that helped me with baby #4 (23 years ago!) had 2 sons who both needed pacemakers to correct their arrythmias. They suffered from familial long QT syndrome. Other arrythmias can be treated with beta blockers (which are usually OK for breastfeeding) or in some cases a form of electrical surgery is done to destroy part of the heart's nervous system that is misfiring.
Of course, if the problem is due to an overactive thyroid gland, then that needs to be fixed first. But somehow I doubt that is the issue.
Posted by: alicia | June 25, 2005 at 08:00 PM
I'll be in prayer for you, Jamie.
I also don't like to separate from my new babies. After a new one comes home, I'm cheerfully waving "goodbye!" to all of the other kids, but the new baby holds a special place in my heart. I'm usually not ready to leave the baby until about 4 months, and that first time is always hard.
Posted by: Carmen | June 26, 2005 at 11:24 AM
keeping you and your dear heart in mind.
Posted by: Sarah | June 26, 2005 at 03:30 PM
prayers coming from our house to yours. let us know?????
Posted by: TiaKay | June 26, 2005 at 09:09 PM
I'll keep you in my prayers.
Posted by: Sarah | June 27, 2005 at 05:45 AM
I'm so glad you went to the dr! Our friend had a similar heart condition, his heart would race like crazy. He needed surgery, but it wasn't an open heart surgery it was the kind where they threaded something into his veins, cut the extra nerve pathway (I think that's what it was?)and off he went.
Posted by: Amie | June 27, 2005 at 09:32 AM
You are in my prayers, can I make a request too?
I am making a desperate prayer request. My dearest friend's father (56) has been recently diagnosed with colon and lung cancer with tumors in his liver. Upon x-ray the lung cancer looks like snowflakes. This is beyond any surgical help. His name is Pete.
Posted by: Lauren | June 27, 2005 at 05:01 PM
Hi,
I was sent to your site by Linda (indigo girl) because I was having problems with my bm supply. I hear you are the expert ;)
This is the first post of yours I have read and it hits alittle too close to home. A very dear friend of mine passed away suddenly in February from a heart attack. She was 33 years old and the mother of a beautiful 2 yr old daughter.
She had no history of any heart problems or any other health problems to note. She would occasionally get light headed and alittle weak, but we never though much of it. It was just very sudden and shocking to all of us. I am still trying to come to terms with her being gone. Things like this make me realize just how fragile and precious our lives are.
I am a first time mom to a 9 mo old baby girl. I often worry that something will happen to me and I will not be able to be here with her. After this happened, I vowed to live each day to the fullest, as cliche as that sounds. Everyday I have with my daughter and husband should be special because life is too short to worry about who is going to do the dishes or take out the garbage.
I commend you for taking the initiative to go get yourself checked out. I hope that you are ok and that you will get better very quickly. I wish you and your family well.
Posted by: Linda B. | June 27, 2005 at 09:29 PM
My thoughts are with you.
Posted by: chasmyn | June 28, 2005 at 02:01 AM
Hey! How are you feeling?!
You know, you might want to stay away from the garlic for now - the passion might be too much for ya! ;-)
You've got my prayers too!
Posted by: blestwithsons | June 28, 2005 at 08:13 AM
okay, it's the 29th. And I am wondering if you know anything yet? My dad wore a Holter monitor a couple of weeks ago, but passed that particular test.
I'm sorry that you're dealing with this. And check your e-mail! I wrote you about my trip to your neck of the woods.
Posted by: Tracy | June 29, 2005 at 05:39 PM