101 ~ An ocean connotation ~

Rare disease patients become Dr’s without diplomas to keep some “professionals” from killing them with ego & nonsense.

– Patient Worthy

(Please spare a bit patience as I attempt to explain the latest cardiac results in the simplest manner told to me

Thank you everyone!!!

I know this chapter has been anxiously awaited)

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After the no name attack transpired, we called a Dr who keeps a tab on my condition & is able to provide an opinion when need be.

He then stated it’ll be best to come home.

I become ecstatic when he visits because he listens attentively, open to questions, receptive to different modes of treatment, senior by age & understands the most part of my condition.

In the beginning of 2018, we intended to pay him a visit, but he prevented us because his apartment has a long flight of stairs.

“As much as she wants to come, I cannot allow her to climb the steps for her own safety”

(Now tell me more about going to gym.

sarcasm)

< 03/10/2018 >

*Dr walks in*

Assalaamu Alaikum (Peace be upon you)

How are you doing?

How you feeling?

*Takes a seat then inquires regarding my overall condition*

After being briefed about the appointment & everything else prior…

I show the last 2 ECG’s & put a few queries forward..

In chapter

https://kayborninmay.wordpress.com/2018/06/03/63-two-culprits-caught/

The second last ECG proved an abnormality termed –

Right Ventricular Strain abbreviated as (RVS) :

When the right ventricle (heart muscle) becomes deformed – Muscle mass increases & is thus enlarged.

It can be caused due to a number of reasons briefly noted in that chapter.

** Dr first recapped by saying:

The right heart muscle is responsible for pumping blood to the lungs so it can be oxygenated.

The lungs return the blood to the left side & is then pumped out to the remainder of the body.

Continues in such a cycle.

So if Right Ventricular Strain is detected, it implies that side of the heart is under pressure & slowly weakening / failing.

No wonder my jugular vein jumps & shakes with force upon exertion. The JV transports blood from the head, face & neck back to the heart.

(A short video of chapter 86 was recorded as the vein violently shook. Scary sight for others. Normal for me)

Now because I already have Congestive Heart Failure & pulmonary Edema from a weak left ventricle..

It could either mean the right side is failing due to pressure from the left side

Or another added condition.

Hence, the need for further invasive investigations!

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*Dr then moved onto ECG number 2, conducted at this last cardiology appointment*

I quote:

Results here prove, the usual Mitral Valve Prolapse & Tachycardia

Along with a new entity titled:

Right bundle branch block – (RBBB) !

(My mind leaped:

See??? These concerns are not of paranoia!!!!)

So what does Right Bundle Branch Block promt?

Heart beats are conducted by a formation of electrical impulses that travel along the hearts tissue route in a regular pattern that makes it virtually contract in a simultaneous manner.

If there’s a delay or blockage along the pathway, the impulses have to travel longer to reach its end point

Result being; the heart cannot contract in co-ordination & so it becomes harder for the heart to pump blood out to the remainder of the body.

Which leads to further weakening of the heart long term.

It is termed right or left bundle branch block – according to which particular side of the lower pathways are blocked / damaged – referring to either ventricle.

(I’ve explained these terms a dozen times before, but if you’re lost, please don’t hesitate ask)

Here is an image to understand better.

What causes RBBB?

It could be from Right Ventricular Strain itself, or

Alike RVS the suspected reasons are many, but which definite one?? Unconfirmed.

At this point it’s also important to remember: electrical impulses are controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

Dr then expressed utter disappointment over the fact; this “professional” did not even suggest or decide a pacemaker should be inserted for me.

(He is not my Dr nor is he a specialist cardiologist, so he doesn’t have any authority over issuing a decision as such. All we can get from him, are honest opinions)

Apart from Tachycardia

To lessen the long term effects of severe RBBB cases that involve & have a history of fainting (syncope) or near fainting episodes,

• A pacemaker is recommended. It’s a compact device implanted under the skin of your upper chest with two wires that connect to the right side of your heart.
• The pacemaker provides electrical impulses when needed to keep the heart beating regularly.

Dr: You can’t do excercise, but you can do stretches to keep your bones, joints & muscles mobile, more so, to prevent deconditioning. Medically, the term used for muscle wastage is atrophy.

*Then he stood up & illustrated simple & practical movement guidelines*

Advised a few points regarding dietary measurements with Gastroparesis.

I should be on the look out for ways of ensuring my body receives sufficient protein.

A dietician may be best to monitor.

(I had noticed fellow GP’s in UK being instructed to have routine follow ups with dieticians)

If readers know about anyone good, please shout out. Recommendations would be highly appreciated.

People often highlight egg as one, but egg is out of my boundaries. It does not digest – with all meds.

We try & do our best but during flare days it catapults out of control.

*Last he inspected my daily basket load of medicinal supplies*

The main cardiac support capsule I term as the Miracle Capsule spoken about in chapter 18 – has a blood thinning component

So I should also be safe from further Pulmonary Embolism (lung blood clot) threats.

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And when the voice inside me scram:

“This is abnormal”

“Something is different”

It never proved me wrong!!

Prior to the onset of a syncope (fainting episode), I always felt my heart tremble an inordinate manner.

Now with the piece of RBBB fitted into a missing part of the puzzle, it makes absolute sense.

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The universe doesn’t reveal all the answers we seek, to examine our level of faith & trust equally

The minute I silenced an argumentative mind that presented disputes, this heart here – beating in various fashions – cracked mysteries & related stories.

Retreat into brief periods of silence..

Then listen

The heart will articulate

Ohhh!! What a tale it will begin to tell!

A life of illness does not necessitate an end doomed to sadness.

The sky hailed torrents

Floods drowned my being

Thunder walloped my heart

Whenever a fraction of me died, another bounced up revived.

I take a vast range of medication to manage these maladies

Whereas the illnesses as a whole, became potent remedies.

A life force pumped & aspirated into my soul

Since blood struggled to flow through the arterioeles.

Ironic to note:

The day I was diagnosed with the first lethal ailment, true living emerged

I thought I understood life as fugitive, not until my health dispersed

After everything I’ve undergone,

I am alive

I have survived

And i am satisfied

I am not where society decides

But where the sovereigner destined

With abounding morals being derived

Despite uncommon cardiac issues with enforced limits

I am not only passing days, but living in a way that befits

There are times when the vim dims / dies, but for most, it lits

(** Only doings of the 1 unto whom I belong)

Alive.

But living?

An ocean connotation.