Your story sounds very similar to mine. I was also born with a congenital heart defect. When I first went into heart failure at the age of 36, the first doctor I saw told me my shortness of breath was due to my weight and told me to lose weight and I would feel better. No EKG. As it progressed and I rotated through my family doctor, urgent care, and eventually the ER, I was diagnosed as having the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, and pregnancy. Apparently, my distended abdomen from congestive heart failure had to be a baby. Eventually I received the correct diagnosis, but the damage was done. I am now living with my second heart transplant.
Over on my page, I write about my journey of healing. Come over and visit sometime!
My younger brother has ALS and in the very earliest stages had to practically had to choke the first specialist he got an appointment with to order the needed tests. He's now ten years into his journey of ALS and is coping as well as could be expected. But without the advocacy of his family and the ALS Foundation he would be in a very bad way. Be your own best advocate.
So glad you resisted the urge to not seek medical attention! While I don't have any significant diagnosed health issues at this point, I do have to advocate for my health, which can be exhausting. While I live in Canada and don't have the insurance challenges, we do have system challenges that create major healthcare issues, leading to the need to advocate for your health when you don't have the energy for that advocacy. My sister-in-law is a great example - she was having increasingly horrible migraines, which she had never had before. I have an acquaintance who had this similar experience and it was a blood clot. I urged her to get checked out because this wasn't normal for her. Her doctor laughed, scoffed that "it's not like you have a brain tumor", but sent her for a scan. Turns out she has a brain tumor and was in a coma for a couple of days following her diagnosis. The lesson, you need to pay attention to and listen to your body. I recently experienced my own scare which led to getting a brain MRI, which the doctor said I'll eat my hat if anything show up, and lesions showed up. At this point they seem benign, but they're there, and they could be something.
Holy hydras...what an unintentional "plot twist"...from a suspected chest cold to a pacemaker. I'm very glad you decided to endure that clinic. Here's hoping you have another 50 years and more!
I, too, have Bradycardia, but mine is mild enough it needs no medical attention. My wife, on the other hand, had a brother who died of a heart attack when he was 29. Then our second son who was a Navy Arabic linguist was given a physical as part of getting qualified for submarine duty. The Army doctor reading his EKG told him his readout looked like a disease she had just read about and she wanted to send him to an electrophysiologist who was an expert in that condition. The expert was supposed to give him a stress test, but the morning of the test he said my son was such a textbook case of Brugada that he needed to go straight to the operating room to get an Installable cardioverter defibrillator or ICD. (A combination defibrillator and pacemaker). Brugada turned out to be a genetic arrhythmia formerly called Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. This was because the most common first symptom was a fatal heart attack.. My wife and I had to be examined and then genetically tested to see which of us gave it to him. That's how I found out I have Bradycardia. My wife, her mother, and sister all had Brugada. My wife, Keitha, was told by her first doctor that she had it, but since she was a woman, over 50, and had never passed out (one of the very few symptoms of the disease other than suddenly dying of a heart attack) she should forget about it and go live her life and come back in a year. We decided to get a second opinion. Doctor #2 agreed with my son's doctor, who said she needed n ICD as soon as possible. She asked if it could wait a week or two so she could get through Christmas. He said "no, you might not live that long." So three days later she had an ICD. One reason for the hurry was that first brother who died of a heart attack. It could have been Brugada. It turns out it's a good thing we got that second opinion because a few weeks later Keitha got shocked out of ventrical fibrillationI Without the ICD she could have died. I hope your pacemaker works as well for you.
Kevin, liked your expose' on the heart condition. It was probably a very challenging experience as it would have been an attack on many core beliefs of what it is to be a man. I think we are sometimes led to believe that we are bullet proof, which for many men allows us to do extreme things because "that's what real men do". Hollywood has latched onto this mantra, but it is far from the real truth of the matter.
I'm sure most men are content to do their job well and be well rounded in all areas of life. If we are challenged we can rise to the occasion, but for the most part we are happy enough to just get on with our life and with those around us who we hold near and dear.
This situation would have been quite terrifying, but the lifestyle change, etc could be for you a real source of learning and may even open up new Vista's for you to explore in your life, writing and other pursuits.
Brill, Kevin! I’m betting you’re friends with Brene Brown - she’s a skillful teacher about the benefits of vulnerability, just the courage you write about today. Thanks for the encouragement. Paul
Your story sounds very similar to mine. I was also born with a congenital heart defect. When I first went into heart failure at the age of 36, the first doctor I saw told me my shortness of breath was due to my weight and told me to lose weight and I would feel better. No EKG. As it progressed and I rotated through my family doctor, urgent care, and eventually the ER, I was diagnosed as having the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, and pregnancy. Apparently, my distended abdomen from congestive heart failure had to be a baby. Eventually I received the correct diagnosis, but the damage was done. I am now living with my second heart transplant.
Over on my page, I write about my journey of healing. Come over and visit sometime!
My younger brother has ALS and in the very earliest stages had to practically had to choke the first specialist he got an appointment with to order the needed tests. He's now ten years into his journey of ALS and is coping as well as could be expected. But without the advocacy of his family and the ALS Foundation he would be in a very bad way. Be your own best advocate.
So glad you resisted the urge to not seek medical attention! While I don't have any significant diagnosed health issues at this point, I do have to advocate for my health, which can be exhausting. While I live in Canada and don't have the insurance challenges, we do have system challenges that create major healthcare issues, leading to the need to advocate for your health when you don't have the energy for that advocacy. My sister-in-law is a great example - she was having increasingly horrible migraines, which she had never had before. I have an acquaintance who had this similar experience and it was a blood clot. I urged her to get checked out because this wasn't normal for her. Her doctor laughed, scoffed that "it's not like you have a brain tumor", but sent her for a scan. Turns out she has a brain tumor and was in a coma for a couple of days following her diagnosis. The lesson, you need to pay attention to and listen to your body. I recently experienced my own scare which led to getting a brain MRI, which the doctor said I'll eat my hat if anything show up, and lesions showed up. At this point they seem benign, but they're there, and they could be something.
Don't EVER stop being your own strongest advocate.
Holy hydras...what an unintentional "plot twist"...from a suspected chest cold to a pacemaker. I'm very glad you decided to endure that clinic. Here's hoping you have another 50 years and more!
I, too, have Bradycardia, but mine is mild enough it needs no medical attention. My wife, on the other hand, had a brother who died of a heart attack when he was 29. Then our second son who was a Navy Arabic linguist was given a physical as part of getting qualified for submarine duty. The Army doctor reading his EKG told him his readout looked like a disease she had just read about and she wanted to send him to an electrophysiologist who was an expert in that condition. The expert was supposed to give him a stress test, but the morning of the test he said my son was such a textbook case of Brugada that he needed to go straight to the operating room to get an Installable cardioverter defibrillator or ICD. (A combination defibrillator and pacemaker). Brugada turned out to be a genetic arrhythmia formerly called Sudden Adult Death Syndrome. This was because the most common first symptom was a fatal heart attack.. My wife and I had to be examined and then genetically tested to see which of us gave it to him. That's how I found out I have Bradycardia. My wife, her mother, and sister all had Brugada. My wife, Keitha, was told by her first doctor that she had it, but since she was a woman, over 50, and had never passed out (one of the very few symptoms of the disease other than suddenly dying of a heart attack) she should forget about it and go live her life and come back in a year. We decided to get a second opinion. Doctor #2 agreed with my son's doctor, who said she needed n ICD as soon as possible. She asked if it could wait a week or two so she could get through Christmas. He said "no, you might not live that long." So three days later she had an ICD. One reason for the hurry was that first brother who died of a heart attack. It could have been Brugada. It turns out it's a good thing we got that second opinion because a few weeks later Keitha got shocked out of ventrical fibrillationI Without the ICD she could have died. I hope your pacemaker works as well for you.
Kevin, liked your expose' on the heart condition. It was probably a very challenging experience as it would have been an attack on many core beliefs of what it is to be a man. I think we are sometimes led to believe that we are bullet proof, which for many men allows us to do extreme things because "that's what real men do". Hollywood has latched onto this mantra, but it is far from the real truth of the matter.
I'm sure most men are content to do their job well and be well rounded in all areas of life. If we are challenged we can rise to the occasion, but for the most part we are happy enough to just get on with our life and with those around us who we hold near and dear.
This situation would have been quite terrifying, but the lifestyle change, etc could be for you a real source of learning and may even open up new Vista's for you to explore in your life, writing and other pursuits.
I wish you well on your next great adventure.
Ken
Brill, Kevin! I’m betting you’re friends with Brene Brown - she’s a skillful teacher about the benefits of vulnerability, just the courage you write about today. Thanks for the encouragement. Paul