I have to believe…

I had to take my mother to a doctor’s appointment today. A cardiologist. I’m not really a big fan of cardiologists. Well, one in particular. When she told me her family physician had recommended one due to some dizzy spells she’d been having, my first thought was oh nooooooo, I think not. That was mainly due to who I thought she would have to go see. Dr. Name-Withheld-To-Protect-The-Guilty. Fortunately though there’s a new cardiologist in town. I wonder if her family doc changed who she’s referring her patients to. Apparently so. I’d like to think it was because of the incident with my sister, but I’m really not sure. Maybe I’ll actually ask her sometime. I wonder if Dr. Dread is still seeing patients here? I know some friends that work at the local hospital. I’ll have to ask around. Not that it matters, I’m just nosy. No, that’s a lie. Actually it does matter. I’d like to think he’s gone. Left town in utter shame. He’s the closest I’ve ever came to hating someone. Nope, nope, nope. That’s a untruth too. I’d have to add Marjorie and Neal to that list. Ugh. Another long, nasty story I may review sometime. As of now they’re better left in the closet.

Anywayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy… My mother went to see a cardiologist today. I had the distinct pleasure of tagging along. He thinks her dizziness could be a result of some of the medication she’s on, but he heard a heart murmur and he wants to further examine that. So, she’s going to be set up for a gamut of tests. An xray (no big deal), an echocardiogram (again, no big deal, ultrasound of the heart) and a stress test (very possibly a big deal). He told us that they would call to let us know the set up times for the extra tests. Now, I know a little about all the stuff he’s wanting to do. There’s several types of stress tests. Treadmill, non-treadmill, medicated, no medicine. The little box that’s checked on hers is adenosine. That worries me a bit. I know a bit about adenosine. We use it in babies that have SVT, super ventricular tachycardia, medical jargon that basically means their heart rate is WAY too high. Like around 300 beats per minute high. There’s things you can do to reverse said heart rate, meaning lower it. Like stimulate the vagal nerve by suctioning, or pressing on the eyelids. Putting a cold, slushy bag of ice over the eyes will sometimes even do it. Not always though, and instead of shocking them out of the rhythm, most docs will use a drug. A drug called adenosine. It’s a fast acting drug, and basically what it does is stop the heart… completely. Just for a few seconds though! There’s nothing scarier though when you’re watching a babies monitor and it’s just flying with a heart rate of say ~300 and then you give the adenosine and BOOM… that pattern slows to ~ 2 qrs’s (beats) crossing that screen. I stand there praying the whole time, c’mon, startback.startback.startback. And then whew (huge sigh of relief) it does, usually at a much normal rate of 100 - 150 (babies ya’ll - much higher normal heartrate than adults). Then you go change your pants and hope they don’t go in that rhythm again. Heh.

Anyhoooooooooo… back to my mom. I think they’re gonna use this drug on her and it’s freaking me out a little bit. No, a whole lot. It’s gonna hurt. Alot. I’m sure of it. It’ll mimic a heart attack for the most part and it frightens me. I told her a little about it but not the whole gamut. They better sure as hell be ready to administer her something for pain along with the adenosine if they plan on using that stuff or by God they will -not- be doing it. She’s not even had any complaints of chest pain, just dizziness and loss of balance. Honestly, I thought it was odd that she was seeing a cardiologist for that and not an ENT. But that’s just me and my ignorance about most anything outside of neonatalogy. My comfy zone for patients range from 12 ounces to 12 lbs. Outside of that, I’m pretty much lost.

If any of you out there know anything about this sort of stress test please don’t hesitate to comment. I may have it all wrong. I’m hoping I do.