Still not feeling good

Amanda felt pretty rough before bed last night. I’m not sure if the new medication was still wearing off or what. Either way, she didn’t feel the greatest. All day yesterday, she just felt crummy. When I got up this morning, she said she felt okay, but she didn’t look it. She seems tired today, too. We’d seen the ICU team, but there was not much we needed from them. I meant to ask about the echo results. They must have seen something; they added an IV dose of the diuretic to get some fluid off. 

As I was going to get coffee, I worried about the cardiologist coming by while I was gone. They always come by when I’m gone, but surprisingly, I haven’t missed them that much this stay. Before I reached StarBs, Amanda texted to say the cardiologist was on the floor. Of course, they were taking forever to get my coffee, too! He must have taken his time because he hadn’t been in the room long before I returned. 

Amanda had already asked about the rate, which was one of our big questions: what rate were we looking for? He said, ideally, between 90 and 100 would be best. She has been running 115 to 120 after all the other medication wore off. He said they were going to add another anti-arrhythmia medication today. Amanda also mentioned that she had her pacemaker before all the previous ablations. I’m unsure they understood that since many get pacemakers after sinus node modification. She hesitantly told him that if we needed to go in to ablate close to sinus node she be ok with it. I asked about the echo; he hadn’t looked at it yet. The IVC (the lower large vein that dumps blood in the right chamber) was slightly enlarged. That’s why the ICU team ordered the IV diuretics. He also mentioned they’d probably move us to the transplant floor tomorrow. I’m dreading packing up!

Amanda’s Uncle came by with his wife and daughter. They were on their way home to Fort Worth and wanted to stop by. It was good to see them, and Amanda was glad they did. Her aunt is fighting her own battle; she mentioned she had a cancer treatment tomorrow. 

The new med has made Amanda feel terrible all day. She hasn’t been as dizzy but was super nauseous. It was so bad when she walked to the bathroom and had to sit down. After that spell, the ICU nurse practitioner ordered an EKG and labs. She started feeling better as the medicine wore off, and then it was time for another dose. She took the second dose, but we both agreed that if she felt bad in the morning, she wouldn’t take it until she talked to the EP.

Amanda looked at her MyChart and saw the echo. It showed that her ejection fraction (EF) and the percentage of the heart pumps was lower than before. The EF was 40-45; before, it was 45-50. Below 40 isn’t great; it should be 55 or above. Our cardiologist said it was lower due to the rejection, so hopefully, it will start trending the other way.

These anti-arrhythmia medications seem to zonk her. She was out this afternoon and just doesn’t seem herself. I’m sure she’s just ready to be out of the hospital. It’s not like she’s getting decent sleep. I was thinking it would be best for us to trial and error the drugs here to see what works. At this point, I think we might be best at home as long as her pain is under control. I’m hoping that it gets under control here. We’ve gone home before the pain was well managed with oral medication, and it’s not fun. She still needs the IV pain med, but not like I was before the ablation; at least we improved on that a little.

With the nausea, Amanda wanted something easy on her stomach. I ordered pho from the place I did from a few days ago. After dinner, she started feeling bad again, but it was chest pain this time. It was so bad she needed IV pain meds. This was the first time she needed any all day. I think it was a give and take; the anti-arrhythmia made her rate lower, and she didn’t have chest pain, but she was super nauseous and felt crummy. Hopefully, we can get this medication thing figured out. I feel like we might make a little headwind tomorrow when the head EP is back.

At this point, I really don’t know how to pray. I don’t know the answer, I don’t know the problem, and the doctors really don’t know it at this point. It is eerily close to the rhythm problems we had in the past; that scares me, and I know it scares Amanda, too. We’ll just have to lean on the Holy Spirit to be our intercessor. This reminds me of the verse in Romans saying the Spirit intercedes for us with groaning deeper than words. I’m looking for those groaning now because I don’t know how to pray—but thanking God for all those interceding on our behalf, as well.