This was not how I’d planned to spend the later half of last week…. Hooked Up.

I landed in the emergency room last Wednesday afternoon having heart palpitations.  As it turned out I was having a type of heart arrhythmia called Atrial Fibrillation. 

They transferred me from from triage to the ER very quickly and I was hooked up to about 5 different machines within minutes.  They did an EKG once, and then again just to be sure.  Yep, my heart was beating very fast and out of a normal rhythm. Talking while laying reclined winded me.

After about 10 doctors of all types, cardiology, OB, ER and several IV attempts, they all agreed I should be admitted.  OB came by because I’m 8 weeks pregnant with kiddo number 2, and that complicated things significantly.

After being admitted to internal medicine, I was given some meds to lower my heart rate, which was spiking to 150 just standing up.  After the drugs, my heart rate went down, but my BP tanked to almost dangerous levels.  Yeah. Not Good.

So after some more drugs, it started to become clear that this wasn’t working and they decided to move me to the Intensive Care Unit the next day.

So Thursday I had an echocardiogram to check for heart defects.  That at least was clear.  Labs came back and it wasn’t my thyroid causing all the trouble either.

So it was determined that I should undergo a cardioversion.  This is where they hooked me up to electrodes and shocked my heart to kick start it back into a regular healthy rhythm.  I was sedated, so there wasn’t any pain and there was no risk to the baby.

My heart went back to a normal rhythm like it was supposed to and I spent the night in the ICU recovering.  They let me out of the hospital on Friday afternoon, and recovery has been slow.   I’ve been mostly just tired and sore.

I have to give myself blood thinner shots for the next 3 weeks to stave off blood clots and after that I’ll be on an aspirin regimen for I don’t know how long.

For me, the really big bummer of all this is that now I’m considered high risk with the pregnancy, so I can’t be cared for by the Midwife Team and I’ve essentially been handed over to the High Risk OB Team.  Not, my ideal situation.

So I spent the later half of last week wired to an EKG machine, 2 IVs, a pulseox monitor, blood pressure cuff, and oxygen…. all hooked up.

I have to say that I’ve been heartily impressed with the outpouring of help from my husband’s unit’s FRG.  The wives really were outstanding help to my family and I haven’t had to cook a meal for days.  Thank you very much!  And ‘Thank You’ to the Unit for my lovely Easter Lilies, they brought bit of what I love into my room and made it a little nicer to be stuck in the hospital.

Tomorrow is my first day alone with a 2 year old all day since I’ve been home… it should be interesting.