a blab by idle

I went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital's ER on the morning of Friday, 9 December 2005, and shortly admitted to the hospital.

I was then discharged yesterday (Saturday, 10 December 2005) evening.

I was diagnosed with atrial flutter and had some significant medication changes which brought the pulse down, hopefully allowing the flutter to self-correct. They are also worried about my kidney function. I will be following up with the clinic tomorrow, Monday 12 December 2005, and we'll see where to go from there. If the flutter has not self-corrected in 4 weeks, they will cardiovert to forcibly correct it.

I'm sore, I'm exhausted, I'm reeling, I'm congested, I'm bruised, I'm upset, I'm shell-shocked, I'm going to be on anticoagulants for the foreseeable future, and I still have a cold. But at least I'm home.

More updates later. Right now, I'm just trying to breathe.

Yes, for all those who have been asking: I am finally going to get a MedicAlert bracelet (or, more likely, necklace). I know I should have had one for a long time now — and sort of had a home-brew version for a bit back in Arizona until it broke — but now that I am on Coumadin I absolutely cannot afford not to.

So, I will be ordering that.

Yes, I will also be updating my wallet info card as soon as I have access to a decent printer again (and can find my medicard templates, which should just require artful use of Spotlight).

This is cute beyond the capacity to reason. This has the killing power of cuteness.

It is totally worksafe, unless it might unsafe to melt into a little puddle of goo if you are susceptible to cuteness.

http://www.cuteoverload.com/

Thanks to Kit for this gem.

Three sweet letters.

Normal sinus rhythm. NSR.

Which means, no messing with cardioversion, no zapping me with paddles, no nothing. Just a friendly "well done, keep doing whatever it is that has worked so far" from the EP docs, and I'm done with them.

Moreover, they've updated one of my diuretics, Aldactone (spironolactone) to a more modern form, Inspra (eplenerone). Since eplenerone is far more selective as an aldosterone antagonist than spironolactone, some of the side effects should abate. Hopefully, some of the resultant tissue changes will also abate (though I've been warned that will take months, if it happens at all).

They also transitioned me from generic warfarin to name-brand Coumadin. That'll be a bit expensive, but so it goes. I won't mess with a DAW order from a cardiologist. (Well, not a Fellow, anyway. A resident would get a debate, and an intern, a full-out argument, I suppose.)

So anyway… woot!

Now I just have to file the paperwork with the court, buy and receive all the oils, finish the curriculum, and work on the website by January 9….

There still might be room for doubt, but I think it's not worth testing any further.

Memo to self: You are allergic to certain (but not all) raw walnuts. You may be allergic to certain (but not all) raw honey. You are most definitely allergic, as a result, to baklava. The nature of that allergy is, most likely, "anaphylaxis." Please avoid in the future.