My health issues have kind of exploded recently.
My colonoscopy and endoscopy showed nothing about what my GI tract is dealing with. The mental health crud I’ve been facing isn’t getting much better. And, now, something scary is happening.
At my initial digestive health appointment, the NP mentioned that my heart rate was pretty high. That combined with things like dizziness were setting off her red flags. As it’s not her specialty, she suggested I follow-up with primary care.
A few weeks later, I had my IUD recheck and brought this up. That NP didn’t think it was a big deal as I always tend to run higher, at least in that health system’s records. “Specialists worry more,” she said, “because they don’t deal with this regularly.”
I ran late to last week’s rheumatology appointment. I made the mistake of going to the wrong clinic because I didn’t check my calendar correctly. By the time I got across town, I was about 15 minutes late but they were fine with that.
The MA goes to get my vitals and the machine says my pulse is 130. And it’s not calming down. She decides to come back at the end to check it. During the appointment, though, doc became really concerned. My heart was still racing incredibly fast. When I brought up that the machine during my endo/colonoscopy yelled at us for tachycardia, doc shot me a look. Her demeanor changed as she asked questions… and promptly ordered an echocardiogram and Holter monitor.
By the time the MA came back in, my pulse was still high but had calmed. The bigger problem at that point, though, was that my heart began beating irregularly. Instead of that traditional bumbum bumbum, I was exhibiting bumbumbum bumbum.
The MA and I went through my meds list to see if there was anything that might be causing heart stuff. Nortriptyline can do that, and so can Lyrica. A friend just had to go off nortriptyline because it was making it look like they needed heart surgery. Since we just upped that to 30 mg each night, I could definitely see it being the culprit.
But I’ve also been sitting with some scary feelings about what if this isn’t the case. I can feel my heart racing and, if I’m honest, I thought it was my anxiety causing this. As I write this, feeling every racing and irregular beat, I’ve been sitting for over half an hour. There is no legitimate reason for my heart to be so upset.
It’s scary. I’m scared. I worry about what this could mean for my future. I shouldn’t be a thirty-year-old pondering mortality, but here I am. My MA and I worry about if this could also be due in part to biologics – which haven’t been researched enough to truly know their side effects… And that’s especially true with Anakinra/Kineret and adult patients.
So, tomorrow morning, I get to have a heart ultrasound. After my appointment, they’ll give me a Holter monitor to track my pulse for the next 48 hours. This week is a rough one already with appointments I have – I also see ENT for a swallowing test and have my GI follow-up on Thursday.
Of course, I’m still dealing with several undiagnosed issues right now, too, including what we think might be Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). Of course, that can bring with it cardiovascular issues which could explain my heart stuff, too. The arrhythmia and tachycardia my rheumy’s office witnessed are both telltale signs, especially along with allergic and dermatologic reactions I keep having.
For now, I’m placing bets that my heart issues are caused by medication(s) or MCAS. If not, though, I don’t know what will happen. I just hope the actual worst is not as bad as my fears lead them to potentially be.