After the surgery in September from that broken defibrillator lead I never really felt like I got back to the energy level I’d had before that. I spoke to the doctors at St. Paul after that third surgery in December and they recommended an AV optimization (programing the defibrillator to have the top and bottom chambers timed exactly right). I was finally able to have that done at the end of April, but afterwards I didn’t feel any better. Actually, I almost felt worse. Then, in May, I started having problems with major ankle swelling. I called my cardiologist to set up an appointment and was told the first available would be June 9th (that fit with my schedule, that is). So I set the appointment, knowing full well I’d probably not be able to keep it due to the babies. Sure enough, the babies arrived the day before the appointment. I rescheduled and yesterday was that appointment.

Well, I explained what had been going on the last year, basically, and I am so lucky because my cardiologist is always up for figuring things out, no matter what it takes. She never makes me feel rushed (of course, we were the only patients there the entire length of our visit) and she never makes me feel like my concerns aren’t completely valid. She listens to everything and starts piecing together possible scenarios, and explains to us what she is thinking. She doesn’t just sit back and wait for things to sort themselves out, or say I’m just going to have to live with it, or any of that sort of thing. No, she’s proactive. And when she doesn’t know the answer, she always looks for people who might. She knows just about everyone in the cardiology field and can put in a call to the top people and get results. Can you tell I love the woman?

Anyway, as I was explaining what was going on, she talked about various possibilities, one of which was a possible concern with my mechanical valve. I truly don’t believe that is where the problem lies, and she’s not saying it is, just that she wants to check and make sure it is working well. I’m set up for a MUGA scan on Friday (I get one every year to check my heart function) and hopefully that will give us some information about what is different from last year.

Then she listened to my heart. She got a funny look on her face. Then told me to stay where I was and pulled out her PDA. As she looked through my file (yes, on her PDA) she explained what she heard. Instead of the usual one sharp click for every heart beat, she was hearing two. Very odd. She came back and listened again and it was perfectly normal. This started us thinking that perhaps I was going into an atrial arrhythmia and she asked me to go over to my EP’s office to get a defibrillator reading. Low and behold… nothing. No explanation for what it could be. But at least I’m not the only crazy one, feeling something “funny” and not knowing what it could be!

Anyway, before we left her office she said she was going to present me to the cardiology conference that will be tonight and see what others think. Then, of course, there’s that MUGA scan on Friday. Hopefully we’ll find an answer that is as simple as reprogramming my defibrillator just a hair and I’ll be as good as gold! Well, we can pray that’s it, anyway. And failing that, I’ll take a tweak in meds. But please, Lord, no more surgery! I know I can’t handle that AND taking care of twin infants.

Oh, and she did one last thing before we left (at my request). She took a listen to the babies’ hearts. She said they sound great! So at least I have peace of mind on that!

I’ll update when I know something. Which I’m warning, will probably be awhile. So try not to worry until then. I’m functioning just fine, just hoping to be back to the energy level I had last year if at all possible.