The ridiculousness

 You have to laugh or you just might lay down and cry, you know?
It's all so dang ridiculous.

At the end of December, after an entire year of maladies and feeling crappy, I got a blood draw and found out my testosterone level was close to non-existent. After researching what that actually meant, I learned that testosterone is involved in not only muscle health, but cognitive function, energy levels, motivation, creating red blood cells, etc. You know, just all the things I have struggled with for AN ENTIRE YEAR. It's cool.

My GP said no to hormone therapy. (For many reasons.)

My psychiatrist basically said "Well no wonder you've been feeling this way." Because ADHD meds aren't going to touch the issue when my hormones are working against me.

My cardiologist/electrophysiologist said no to testosterone replacement therapy, as it would definitely up the chances that I would have heart issues again, like the ventricular tachycardia I had in June.

Cool. Cool, cool, cool.

So what did they tell me to do? Exercise, eat protein, take magnesium, sleep.

Great.

I had been told ALL OF 2022 to "take it easy" and not exercise and please don't lose weight (as that is what caused the flood of estrogen and started all the drama). So I got the OK from my doctor to start working out again. (He said that he doesn't think it'll happen again because of the hormones I'm on now to counteract all that crap, but I'm also at a better starting point now [e.g., not anemic] so we can more easily combat it if it happens.) And then I asked my electrophysiologist during my 6-month follow-up if he was good with that plan, too. Got the OK there, but was told to watch my heart rate and take a break at 120 BPM. I was also told that if I get any weird heart issues again, please email over an ECG and they'll take a look. Ok, great.

Ok, so here's what is going on now. Because apparently there always has to be something...

I started a higher dose of my ADHD medication (which I also got the OK for from the electrophysiologist, at the direction of my psychiatrist. Trying to do it right.) about two weeks ago, which also is right when my son was diagnosed with bronchitis, and the doctor told me to have my little dude use my inhaler. We all had had colds, so I used my inhaler to show my son how it works. Then I used it a couple more times in the following days.

On Friday, about 8 days ago, I noticed my heart was racing when I wasn't doing much. I walked outside to the driveway and back into the house and my heart was 142 BPM. Saturday it continued, I walked downstairs to do a haircut and my heart rate was 151.

Also massive, deep headaches every single day.

Over the weekend Derrick told me to take it easy and not do anything I didn't actually need to do, basically. He asked me to message the cardiologist office, so I did. I explained the annoying heart rate and clarified that I was told to rest if my heart rate was over 120, and asked should I avoid exerting until this stopped? I also explained that I am symptomatic when it's that fast, I'm shaky and starting to sweat if I do anything.

Monday? no reply.

Tuesday afternoon: A call asking me to clarify some details, like do I experience heart palpitations? shortness of breath? (Yes.) She asked me to send an ECG from my watch, so I took a few steps down and back up the staircase and my heart was immediately 140+, so I took the ECG and emailed it to them.

That night I was searching online why in the world this might be happening, and was reading the side effects of my ADHD medication when I came across a warning that it should not be combined with albuterol. Oh yay. More searching about it, and more warnings about how it is a terrible idea and it not only doubles the effect of rapid heart rate and increased blood pressure, oh no, it more than triples it. Cool.

I shot an email off to the cardiology department, to update them on the probability of this being the culprit. 

Wednesday? no reply. 
Derrick mentioned that it must not be a big concern, because they're not acting like it is. Slightly reassuring.
I did a little bit more than I had been -- I wiped off the table and dished up leftovers for the kids for lunch. My heart rate was about 125ish. I reached into the freezer for ice for my drink and suddenly felt what I first thought was just a heart palpitation, but it was sustained, so I worried it was another ventricular tachycardia. I put down my cup and the ice and tested my heart rate on my Apple watch: 199.
CRAP.
I recorded an ECG on my watch and caught the moment it suddenly dropped from 199 to about 116. 

I sent an email with the ECG over to the cardiology department, and explained what happened, and that luckily the reading seems to show it was a supraventricular tachycardia, rather than the ventricular tachycardia I had last year. (in the upper chambers rather than lower. annoying rather than chance of sudden cardiac death. All over way better, in my uneducated opinion.)

Thursday morning: Derrick asked me to call. I really hate calling places who say they'll get back to me. I figure they'll do it when they are ready to, and my calling them is just me annoying them. But hey, those are just some of my fun anxieties.
The woman I spoke with was very kind. I explained that I don't know what I'm doing and if I'm doing the correct thing by emailing like I was told, or if I should be asking for an appointment. She said that they have my communications and the ECGs have been printed and the doctor and his team should be going over them soon and getting back to me, but I could make an appointment if I felt better that way. I said that if this is the routine and they are going to look at it and call me back, then I'm all good.

Thursday afternoon: The electrophysiologist's MA called and said, "The doctor says you're in sinus tachycardia." Um, no duh. "And what he recommends is cardiac conditioning." I asked what that entails, and he responded "30 minutes sustained even ground walking."
MY HEART EXLODES WHEN I WALK FROM THE COUCH TO THE BATHROOM, AND HE WANTS ME TO GO ON 30 MINUTE WALKS?

I explained my concern that my heart rate is HIGH when I'm walking around and it's making me not feel well... but is it ok if I do that for 30 minutes sustained? Like, that's not going to create more problems?

The MA said, "Good question. Hold off on the 30 minute walks for now. I'll ask the doctor about that and get back with you."

I explained that I have exercise-induced asthma, and I need to keep my inhaler around if I'm working out, so I'm really just needing to know if I am needing to stop ADHD medication altogether? 

Again, told it was a good question, he'll confer with the doctor about this and get right back with me.

Friday: Derrick was adamant I needed to call. I did not want to call. I called.
The woman explained that calling/hounding is sometimes needed, especially going into the weekend. She said they have a break from clients in late afternoon and she'd let them know I'm following up and my specific question of if I should still be avoiding taking my meds.

Friday evening: Got a call stating that the doctor said with my many questions, I should be coming in for an appointment. * GIANT FACEPALM, EVERYONE. GIANT.*
So I was set up with an appointment for late next week. sigh.
The woman on the phone said I could possibly be seen sooner, if I wanted to see the RN instead of my electrophysiologist. I said I don't care who, as long as they can answer the question of if I should be taking my medication or not. She said, which absolutely killed me, "They'll have to go over everything you're taking and make sure there wouldn't be any interactions or anything."

I just... 

It's just...

LAUGH OR YOU WILL CRY, that's all it comes down to.

This is the same electrophysiologist who I spoke with about the mildly pinched aorta that was discovered on my echocardiogram, and I asked if it is something to be concerned about and he said no, because if it was I would already be symptomatic. I said that I learned the symptoms of it mirror exercise-induced asthma, which I've had for 20 years... And he replied that often when people think they have exercise-induced asthma it is all this extra weight I'm carrying around.

:O

I told him that I haven't always presented as the size I am today, and I was symptomatic when I "was a kid and more like 5'5 and a buck thirty."

So it's just another fun interaction with this whole team.