I've been here at blog-city for a LONG time in various forms, and now it has come time again to reinvent myself, only THIS time I'm moving to a new place, entirely.  It's always possible that for whatever reason I might want to pop back here to Extraordinary Girl and add a few witty lines of my own unique banter, but in the meantime, check out:  One Girl. One Boy. Two Cats.

My new home, home on the virtual range. 

See ya there!

I've heard for days now, all of this apparent "fuss" over Susan Boyle and her performance on Britain's Got Talent.  I'm not at all a fan of these sorts of shows, so I ignored every possible news story and moved on, it was the same thing each season, right? 

Wrong.

Finally today I succumbed to the madness, clicked on a link, and was absolutely stunned.  The voice of an angel came out of a plainly dressed, ordinary 47 year old woman from Scotland, who lives alone with her cat, Pebbles.

I've been meaning to update this page for a good while now, but time and having nothing notable to say have held me back.  Today I found something so much more amazing than any little "ditty" I could type up and throw out.

Thank you, Susan Boyle, as it was mentioned by Amanda Holden, the female judge on Britain's Got Talent, it WAS (and still IS, as I've watched this video over and over now) "a complete privilege" to hear you sing this song.

Not so plain now, is she?  Not so laughable, huh?  I hope she's made you think twice, all of you who laughed when she walked out.  Shame on you all.  That woman is more a star, more a hero, more an inspiration than any of you lot.

Follow this link to see the entire video.  Incredible.  I'm so glad you're alive and in this world, Susan Boyle.

It's been such a strange week, and this is just a post to throw out a few random, unrelated things that I've experienced/found out/ gone through in the past seven days.

Here goes:

As it stands, so far I'm taking my palpitation med without any problems.  I'm so pleased about that.  Hopefully this is the correct dosage and all, but if I have palpitations while I'm taking it, I'll just try to remember that we're still tweaking everything, and I'll try to not freak out, thinking my heart's going to fall out of my ribcage, or something like that.

I found out that my aunt also has palpitations, and that she's dealt with them --without meds-- for many, many, many years.  I didn't even know.  She's one of those "steel magnolia" type women, so I figure when she feels palpitations coming on, she probably just tells them to stop immediately, and they do.

My cats are sick.  Both of them.  At first, I thought maybe Tattie had eaten something he shouldn't have, but I can't see where that would have them BOTH getting sick.  It's almost like they're depressed, but they're not so disinterested in EVERYTHING.  I don't know, it's about to worry me to the brink.  The last time I had any interaction with an extremely sick cat, I was caring for my Dhonn in the final days of his illness from cancer.  So when I see a sick cat, unfortunately my mind goes straight to the worst case scenario.  One of my inlaw's cats died a few months ago, they'd not known what was wrong with him, either; he'd had some seemingly neurological problems, though, but still, no one knew what had happened, and finally the best decision had to be made for him.  I know that still haunts my inlaws, even though they did the right thing, and it sticks in the back of my mind as something supremely scary.

I have to take a "life in the UK" test in the beginning of December.  In February I'll have to renew my visa, stepping it up to "indefinite leave to remain" status, which will allow me to be out of the UK a little longer than I can presently.  The test will be nothing hard, and I know I'll be fine with it, but I'm one of those who feels the need to study for a test even when she knows the answers, so I've been reading my preparation book.

Meh.  That's about it.  If I feel like adding some stuff later, maybe I will.

So I went to my cardiology appointment today.

The appointment letter didn't say WHERE in the hospital to go, so I went to the area I'd gone for the last appointment.

That's not where I was supposed to go.  So they sent me to the next place.

Who sent me on around the corner.  Who finally told me to sit in a --seeming to me-- crazy spot, to wait on the cardiologist.

Finally I saw the doctor, an associate of the original cardiologist I saw initially.  He was a great guy, and immediately put me at ease.

We discussed what I knew about paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and then set about discussing how to approach it.  The doctor suggested medication, as I knew he would based on the research I've been doing, so it was no surprise to me.  He gave me two choices, one, the "pill in the pocket" method of carrying the drug with me, and taking a tablet when I feel an episode of palpitations coming on, or, going ahead and keeping the medicine in my system by taking it twice a day.  Ultimately we decided that twice daily would be the best way to start, seeing as we need to find out if I can in fact take the medication easily and without side effects, and if the prescribed dosage is the correct dosage for me.

The doctor suggested flecainide, a class IC anti-arrhythmic.  Flecainide is a sodium channel blocker.  VERY BASICALLY, a sodium channel blocker is a drug that interacts with the integral membrane proteins and ion channels of a cell's plasma membrane.  So, again, very basically, flecainide is an anti-arrythmic drug used to suppress fast heartbeats by effecting the electrical components of the heart.  Until 2004, so sayeth the E.M., 3M had the trademark on flecainide which they produced under the brand name of Tambocor.  The doctor suggested this drug instead of a beta blocker because of my asthma, seeing as beta blockers can effect a person's asthma, and as he said, "It will be easier to treat the heart problem, instead of the heart problem AND asthma."  I couldn't agree with him more.

So after several questions about flecainide, I felt satisfied with the doctor's answers, and he wrote out a prescription for a low dose daily aspirin, and the flecainide, 50 mg, twice daily.  Of course now that I've been home and researching it, I see a few places where it mentions that the first few times you take this drug, you should be in a hospital setting in case any side effects present themselves, or you have any sort of reaction.  I'm going to call the doctor's secretary tomorrow, and find out more about this.

The whole appointment went quickly, and I think that's partly due to the fact that I had a basic overall idea of PAF, and its treatment, and was able to ask a lot of specific questions, whereas if I hadn't done any research, I'd have had to ask the doctor more general questions.  He DID ask me a bunch of things, too, to make sure I understood what he was trying to tell me as well.  I really liked the doctor, and I feel like we worked well together on my health.  Overall, I'm pretty alright with trying this drug, especially if it will take the palpitation episodes down to possibly none.  The only reluctance I have is having to take something that affects the way my heart beats, and not knowing before I take the first tablet if I will respond positively or negatively to the medication.  Hence, the call to the doctor's secretary in the morning BEFORE I go putting any sort of meds in my mouth. 

If this practically removes the palpitation episodes, I'll be all about it!  Wow, who knew that after today's visit, the ball would start rolling so quickly?!  I have to go back in 3 months to see the cardiologist again --unless of course I have problems with the meds, and I have to get in touch with the doctor before then-- and I'm scheduled to have a "jelly scan" next February which I take to be a sonogram on my heart.

We'll see how this all turns out.  I'm pretty confident about today's events, and like I said, if I handle the tablet well and without side effects, and it stops me having further heart palpitations (it can't "cure" the palpitations, or why I have them, but merely cut down/stop my having them) then I'll happily swallow my little pill every morning and evening.

Keep your fingers crossed for me, I'll let you know how it goes. 

So off and on for years, I've had butterflies...

...in my heart.

I don't remember when they first started, but I know that for years and years, my heart has decided to skip and jump a little bit, evey once in a while, here and there, off and on, from time to time, until it was ready to get back to business, pumping my blood efficiently through my body.  That cannot have been very easy for it at times in my life, I've not always eaten healthy like I do now, and my weight's never been this low before --I'm still losing a few more, but my health has improved immensely since I dropped the majority of the pounds.  I guess that's one of the major reasons I started getting REALLY concerned when, even though I've got a perfect blood pressure and the resting heart rate of an athelete, the heart palpitations didn't go away.

This past summer, when I was smack in the middle of the craziness that was my exit portfolio, I had a LOT of episodes of heart palpitations.  I tended to agree with my sister in law, Girl, that it was probably just panic attacks and stress from having to write so much, and fight so hard to officially be granted my B.A.  But the university powers that be gave me the official nod on my B.A., I was finally cool as a cucumber, and basking in my hard work and job well done, but I was still having episodes of palpitations.

I started telling any doctor I saw that I was having these episodes.  Several didn't really pay attention to me, one shrugged it off and said she didn't "know what it could be" and that was the end of that, but one FINALLY said she'd refer me to a cardiologist after I told her I'd gone to the emergency room for palpitations, and they had suggested I go see the doctor in my area the very next day.

So I saw the cardiologist, and it was decided that I would have a 24 hour EKG monitor, to try and "catch" any signs of palpitations.  Well, being MY heart, of course the damned thing acted all nice and polite in front of company, and never once in the close to 24 hours I was wearing the blasted monitor, did it make a palpitational peep.  So back to square one. 

I didn't hear back, and didn't hear back, so finally one morning I call the cardiologist's office to let them know that I'd not heard anything from them about any further appointments.  The night before I had had palpitations, asked the E.M. to take me to the emergency room, and of course they stopped before I was able to even get inside.  This was how it usually happened, whether I called the ambulance, and they showed up right as the palpitations subsided, resulting only in arrousing the interest of my curtain twitching neighbors, or the E.M. and I went in our car to the emergency room, the palpitations always stopped before anyone could get me hooked up to any machines to try and get a trace of my heart.  After speaking with the cardiologist's secretary that morning, I worried that they were going to just drop me, and I'd not get another appointment with them, even though I have some minor surgery waiting on the outcome of all of this cardiology carfuffle.  I stressed out over it all day.

That night, I had palpitations.  I had just gotten off the phone with my mother, taken my last trip of the night to the bathroom, and was getting in bed, all snuggly and warm, when I felt them come on.  Immediately I told the E.M., rather flatly and frustrated, "Call 999 and get an ambulance sent out, MAYBE they can finally catch this crap if I stay perfectly still until they get here."  So after what seemed like an endless barrage of questions from the emergency call center, they FINALLY told the E.M. they'd send someone out.  They finally arrived, and I was still having the palpitations!  I had to walk down to the ambulance, and I thought "Okay, this is it, this is when they stop, and we're back to square one again."  They didn't stop, though!  I've NEVER been so happy to know that my heart was going all crazy and abnormal.  They actually did get a scan on the ambulance!!  Well thank goodness. 

I almost got sick in the ambulance, actually, because I was actually scared then; I mean, the palpitations had always stopped by then, what if they weren't ever going to stop now, and I'd have to live with that feeling for the rest of my life?!  What if this was it, and the palpitations were finally going to kill me?  I was freezing in the back of the ambulance, riding backwards made me feel sick and that I was going to fall off that little narrow bed with every turn of the vehicle; my palpitations were still going, and watching my crazy heart rate climb and drop without any sign of stopping was freaking me out.  I was wearing an oxygen mask, and feeling almost giddy:  Was it the oxygen making me feel that way, or was my heart finally giving out on me?!  I was scared, cold, sick feeling, miserable, and after what had seemed like an eternity, we were STILL on the way to the hospital.  I didn't even know if I was still having palpitations, so I asked the guy in the back of the ambulance with me. 

"Do you still feel them?" he said. 
"I don't know, I don't think so?" 
"Yes, you're still having them."

So the very excellent ambulance guys got me to the emergency room, and they HAD gotten a successful scan of the episode!!  I was beside myself with that happy fact, and now that I was out of the back of the ambulance, I wasn't feeling sick anymore.

So now it was just to wait to be seen by a doctor.

Which didn't take long, actually.  And we ended up really lucking out, because the head resident was actually the doctor who months earlier had suggested it could be paroxysmal atrial fibrillation during one of my failed emergency room attempts to catch the palpitations on a scan.  (She even ordered an xray of my heart that night, and it was clear and clean as a whistle.  I have no heart problems at all, and never have.  I've had various scans and tests throughout the years and have always had a healthy heart.)  The E.M. had seen her when he came in, and asked me if that was the same doctor.  I said yes, and we both watched her like a hawk, not wanting her to get away.  Finally I heard her say something about being off in 15 minutes, so the E.M. went over and spoke with her.  SHE REMEMBERED US!!  She came over and looked at the scan from the ambulance, and said that it was paroxysmal atrial fibrillation according to what she saw when she looked at the scan; she showed me the print out, and where the little funky blips were, and what they meant.  I asked her a BUNCH of questions, and even though she was officially off the clock by then, she stayed around to talk with us about it, and to answer all my questions patiently so I understood.

So that's where we left off with that.  The next day, the resident wrote a letter to the cardiologist, and while I was in the US the cardiologist sent a letter with an appointment date.  That appointment is tomorrow.  I'm feeling pretty good about it, I swear a weight's already been lifted with just the palpitations being caught finally where others can see them!

I'll be letting y'all know what happens.

In the meantime, here's a rather interesting FAQs page about paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.  This FAQs page even addressed some of the symptoms I've had that had stumped the office doctors each time I told them about them.  The doctor who shrugged off any problem even looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned it.  HA HA HA on HER!! :P