April 29, 2024, came a few days after a busy weekend.
Leslie and I made the trip to Columbia, which was a deeper concern for me than I realized. This trip to Columbia for the Palmetto Gold Gala was my first time anywhere near the city since July 13, 2023. I was anxious about it. It didn't help that I had to speak as the South Carolina Nurses Foundation President in front of 750 attendees. This crowd was the largest I've ever spoken in front of before. A speech like this is anxiety-producing enough but add to it my past issues during the summer of 2023, that only made for greater concerns. On top of this, we decided to drive my truck down, which was the same vehicle we were in the day the Afib happened. It was a harmonic convergence to have all this come together the night of the gala, but that also seemed like the best thing that could have happened.
I drove down to the event without issue. I felt calm, for the most part, and did my speech well. It was a festive, lively evening full of fun and joy. There was no better way to break the cycle of my anxiety than an evening like that. I had returned to Columbia and came back without incident this time. That meant I was ready to have my heart checked out.
My appointment with the Cardiologist was at 8:50 AM that Monday morning, and our new refrigerator decided to show up at 8 AM that same morning. Nothing like stress on stress. I was already a little worried about the heart check-up, so why not add on our 20-year-old refrigerator dying and the new one arriving as early that morning as possible. I was in a mad dash, taking stuff out of the fridge and getting trash together before heading to the doctor. They got the new fridge in without issue, and I said, adios, then ran out the door.
I just arrived at the doctor at 8:50 and only had to wait a few minutes. But the whole time, I was calm. I was the calmest since last June when I came in for a 1-year check-up. I walked in and got my weight, sat down, let the assistant hook me up to the electrocardiogram (EKG), and had my vital signs taken.
My BP pressure was awesome, 123/86, with a heart rate 78. My weight was up to 219 lbs. On November 1, during that follow-up visit, my weight was 204 lbs. So, I had gained 15 lbs in 6 months. I didn't like that, but I have a reason that I believe is true. We'll get to that reason in a minute. After the EKG was finished, the assistant disconnected me, asked a few questions about my medications and other things, and then left the room. When the provider came in, everything was normal.
My EKG back in October showed Normal Sinus Rhythm but with still some mild ST depression. Now, to help you understand ST depression, it can have various causes. One cause is a blockage in the heart, which was ruled out for me. I had a perfusion test to see if blood flow in my heart was good, and everything came back normal. So, no blockage. Another reason is more psychological in nature. Anxiety, especially severe anxiety, can also cause ST depression and T wave inversion. I had both of these EKG changes back in September 2023. What this meant was I was suffering from severe anxiety as a result of the Afib. The anxiety was releasing cortisol and adrenaline and thus increasing my metabolism, too. I also started eating less. I began eating less to help with a potential blockage I thought I might have, so naturally, that made my weight go down. But, the anxiety was also making my weight drop.
Due to the fight or flight response that was in overdrive for me from the beginning of September through the end of December, I dropped weight rapidly. I spoke before about cool waves surging through me sometimes and almost minor panic attacks trying to happen if I didn't eat at certain intervals. All of that was anxiety-related. But until I had the all-clear on November 1, 2023, from the Cardiologist and came off the Eloquis, my anxiety wasn't letting up. Until we went to Jacksonville, my anxiety over going on trips wasn't letting up. Finally, until I stepped foot back in Columbia, SC again, my anxiety wasn't letting up completely.
But, finally, on Monday, April 29, 2024, I could say to my cardiologist, without any hesitation, I felt fine. After 9 and 1/2 months of a highly stressful situation unfolding that wasn't done until that day, I finally felt completely like myself again. I had begun to feel better almost immediately after returning from Jacksonville. Therefore, my metabolism wasn't on high alert anymore like it had been, and I was now only burning the sugar I consumed. That's why I had lower blood sugars a few times in January when I wasn't eating as much. I had to increase my food intake to help out. I had already been trending upward in weight about a month after the November visit. At my A1c visit on November 29, I weighed 205 lbs. On February 1, I weighed in at 210 for my kidney follow-up. So, it's no surprise my weight continued upwards because I was finally feeling good again. I was back at the weight I had been before the Afib hit in July.
With my EKG being normal, my blood pressure being normal, no Afib being present on the loop monitor for the whole 6 months, and everything looking and sounding good, my provider told me to come back in 1 year to reassess. That was a relief. It was truly a blessing to know my heart was essentially back to normal after all that happened that day.
But next up would be the bigger check-up--my next A1c on May 29. So, my goal is to lose some weight between now and then, but based on my blood sugar readings for the last few months, everything feels on par with what I usually do. So, I'm hopeful there is no upward trend. We shall see with that check-up in a month.
For now, it felt like smooth sailing, so much so that my wife and I decided to do something together we hadn't done in a while. We're doing a 5K again, this time in Columbia.
Tune in next time for 10: Nurse's 5K.
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