Just got back from the Doctor!!

[Sunshine47]

Well I went today for my check up about my PVC's and PAC's. He changed my meds back to Atenelol and kept me on Xanax and uped my Effexor XR. If there is not a considerable change in 2 weeks I have to have ablation again. He feels that my troubled spots have either came back or I have developed new ones and that it is best that I have the procedure before I get any older. He says like any sx or procedure you bounce back better if you are younger. I didn't have not one the 2 hours that I was at his office. He feels sure that mine have different triggers but I get to visit the Cardiologist again if they don't slow down. I am scared because of my experience I had before so please say a prayer that this will help. I know that I will never be healed from my DEMONS but at least I can have peace with so many of them.I told him about you guys on here and he said that it was good that I could have a support group to know just what I was feeling. I talked to him about Calcium blockers and he said they tend to lower your BP and I would have to be monitored regularly if he went that route. He mentioned Cardizem. Does anyone take that? Also I plan on shedding some unwanted pounds and maybe that will help to. I hope that the next 2 weeks are free from the hiccups. But in a way if I am will I wonder when they will return or would it just be best to let them do their procedure and be done with it? I need advice!!! Thanks everyone for being here for everybody. Not that bad of news but not what I wanted to hear either. Also, off the beaten path my hubby went to the Doctor today after several test and they have discovered that he has focal polyps in his gall bladder and scars on his liver. He goes to a specialist to determine what it is. One more thing, My brother goes tomorrow to Baylor in Dallas Texas to see the Neurologist to see if he has ALS!!!!! He said if he did he was going to end his suffering. Can I ask you guys to say a little prayer for them? No wonder my heart is a mess. Thanks once again. Maybe something positve will happen in my life. It can't get any worse.

[Sunshine47]

Thank you so much for your prayers. My family is in desperate need of them and I too am hoping for the best. I love this site and the wonderful people that I have found on here. You guys are very nice people with great big HEARTS <3

HUGS TO YOU TOO !!!!!!!
Karen

[Barbmag]

I am thinking of you and hoping for the v best for you and your family!!! Hang in there and let us know if there is anything we can do....you are in my prayers!
Hugs to you~~~
Barbara

[Sunshine47]

I have been keeping up with your progress on here and I know that you have had a hard time. My thoughts and prayers have been with you daily. I am glad to see you are on that up hill climb regaining your health. I know that there are times when I think that I am the only one with problems and I get on here and see that I am not alone. Everyone has been so kind to me and so compassionate about my health. You must really be a strong person.

About what they woman said to you was so unkind but people don't think before they speak. You expect a child to look and say things but it is appauling when an adult blurts out hurtful words. I bet you are beautiful. No matter what your face looks like and missing hair. It is not what is on the outside that counts. It is inner beauty that makes a person.

I pray for your speedy recovery and thanks for your response. I have turned it over to God and whatever happens it is his will and plan for me. I trust him.

Well we don't have any elephants over here in Tennessee so I can't give you elephant hugs back but I can give you Bear hugs. LOL

Take care sweety and I will talk with you soon.
Karen

[Thinline]

I just wanted to know that you are in my thoughts each day.  I’ve been through hell these past few months so I can relate to how you are feeling, I hit rock bottom, but I’m definitely bouncing back now.

My prolonged hospital stay – seven weeks – really got me down and since I got home I’ve struggled with getting on one day at a time.  Some days I felt I just didn’t have it in me to go on, but now I’m starting to feel positive again.  Even losing my hair doesn’t seem so bad anymore, that why there are hats, I think I’m getting used to the pain I’m in, or maybe it’s the stronger dose of morphine I’m on, but even that isn’t getting to me as badly as it was.  I’ve been having severe asthma attacks sending me into bronchospasms for the last two days, but I’ve been nebulizing and using oxygen all night.  My hideous new look – balding, red-moon faced, hump backed whale – is something I’m going to have to accept and come to terms with, and I’m getting there.

Yesterday I went to the lab to have blood drawn and the woman there said with utmost shock and horror “OH MY G_D!!!  WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOUR FACE?????  Nice, I was about to slap her but then thought better of it.  For some reason her reaction to me actually made me feel stronger.

I’ve gotten through this and I’m still going through bad patches by being strong and keeping my sense of humour as much as possible.  Also the people on this forum helped me more than I can say and I’m so grateful to them for their support.  

I think you are going to get through all the hard stuff the same way.  I’m not going to start spouting “keep positive” words, because its impossible to be positive when you feel so negative – it’s just too hard sometimes, and that’s what is going to get you through this – accepting that you can’t always be positive but that you will keep going on and at some point you are going to realize that you have hit rock bottom and now you are back on your way up.

I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and I look forward to reading about when the tide turns for you and you are back on track again.  Big Elephant Hugs across the cyber world all the way from South Africa!

[Sunshine47]

You are such a kind man with such knowledge. You always amaze me. My brother went to the Doc  today and he told him that he had diagnoised 300 cases of ALS and one yesterday and he was 99.9% sure that this was not my brothers problem. He said they could do a test if he wanted them to(he did not suggest that he needed it only if he wanted) that would be read and performed by the number 1 neurologist in the US and he felt sure that he would tell him the same thing that it is NOT ALS. My brother is still convinced that he has it and he will not have the test done. The doctor told him there are other causes for his symptoms and that they are almost sure that Lou Gerigh did not die from ALS. That they think that he had a condition where spurs grow on your spine and debilitate you and he said they could check him for that and could fix it. But he said no. He is so stubborn.I feel better about him whether he does or not. My hubby is a different story. I don't worry as much about the gall baldder polyps as I do the liver spots. That bothers me. But I am staying positive. I would never let him know that I am worried. It would only add to his anxiety and he is a insulin dependent diabetic and that would only make his sugar worse from worry.
As far as for me I am looking forward to a better future with my problems. I am scared but I am hopeful. I know that the docs will make the right decision.I have been free from my little DEMONS for about 5 days now. That is actually only one every now and then, To me that is free from having thousands in a day. I never say it out loud in fear of jinxing it.I am being very optimistic about the whole thing. Thanks to you guys on here you have helped me so much. For that I am grateful.

I am not going to let it get the best of me. I will do whatever it takes. Thanks for your concern and your kind words.
Karen

[Artaud]

Hi,

The muscle twitchings are known as fasciculations. Please look up, or have your brother look up, the following on Wikipedia and elsewhere if he wants. [ fasciculations wiki ] without the brackets and pasted into the Google search field, should give you the Wikipedia article on the subject. Although they list ALS, it is listed as being rare. They give other problems that may lead to fasciculations.

Many years ago, I was PLAGUED by fasciculations in various areas over my entire body. I would visit a Neurologist several times a year for the fasciculations and a strange impediment in gait that I would periodically develop. The Neurologist was from Stanford University and I had confidence in him. No cause was ever determined. I would get these several times a year, and they would come and go. In these pre-Internet days, somehow I had stumbled across the ALS connection, and told my Neurologist of my concern. He said "you don't have ALS". I told him I would research the issue. He said "go ahead, you still don't have ALS". I guess he was right.

I wish the best for your Husband, keep your hopes up. Too many of us have suffered from the fear of things that never happen, or that happen to be much less significant than we believed.

Be sure to take care of yourself along with the others, these are stressful times that hopefully will soon be behind you.

Best regards too all in your family.

[Sunshine47]

I knew that I could count on you to respond to my post. I am trying to take your advice and not focus on my heart. I told my doc today that I think alot of it is mind over matter. I am going to just let things happen and try to stay calm.
The question about my hubby is he has been throwing up for a month and stomach pain and has lost 26 pounds and went for an ultrasound and they seen things that they didn't like so they sent him for a nuclear test and discovered that he has polyps in his gall bladder which are rare and some scars on his liver. They will be sending him to a specialist on the 16th I think. I hope that it is not malignant. My brother has muscle twitches and cramps and all over and it is making him want to commit suicide. He is convinced that he has ALS. I think that the Zocor that he has taken for 5 years has played a role in his problems. I told him to quit taking it and take some Potassium and Magnesium and CO-Q10 and see if he got better. He is a prominent businessman in Texas and works 18 hours a day. He went to visit his family doc and he told him that he did not feel that he had ALS but my brother has read so much and researched so much about it that he is convinced that he is dying. I am scared for him and what he might do. Hopefully tomorrow we will have good news from Texas that it is not ALS. I pray so hard and I really wished my mom was around so that she could talk to him. She always had a knack for helping you through rough times.Thanks Artaud for asking about my family members. I will let you guys know how it all plays out. Thanks for being such great friends,
Much love from Karen in Tennessee

[Sunshine47]

Thanks for your big hugs, I need them. Yes you are right. I had a terrible experience. I know what to expect and it scares the **** out of me. I wish it was all over with and I could get back to some normalacy. I will be sure to keep you posted on the outcome.
Big hugs back to you Maria.
Thanks,
Karen

[mommyto4]

hey hon, i am hoping the best for you!!!!! good luck with the meds, and keep us updated!!!!
you also had a "not" good ablation experience???
big hugs
maria

[Artaud]

Hi,

I wish the best for you and yours. Try not to focus on your heart rhythm problem. I can't tell you how many times I had no problems all day, but as I sit down to write on this forum, my heart starts to act up. Nothing serious, but I always wonder if it is because my focus is on heart related problems. Be positive about the Atenolol, you may not think that attitude can make a difference, but if you would research the Placebo Effect, giving people sugar pills and seeing some of them improve significantly, you may think otherwise.

Of course, the possible problems with your Husband and Brother are going to be rough on you as well.

How did your husband discover his problems and what makes your brother fear that he might have ALS?

Best of success to your family.