Turning Point

On December 28, 2016 I went to the ER.  I was having heart palpitations for over a half hour before I finally asked my boyfriend to take me.  For a few weeks prior to that I had gradually increased frequency in hot flashes.  Up until that night, I accepted that I was peri-menopausal and that I was entering a new stage in my life.

That night, the ER doctor told me that my blood work showed an elevated TSH, which meant my thyroid wasn't working hard enough so my body was over producing hormones. Between that and the irregular beats of my heart, he ordered a chest x-ray and to have me admitted to the hospital.

By this time, we'd been at the ER for over 4 hours and I told my boyfriend he needed to get home and get some rest.  My xray came back normal and I waited to be transferred upstairs.  The general practitioner came in later that day and told me that I would see a cardiologist.  When the cardiologist came in, he ordered an echo cardiogram, which would be performed the next morning.  He also believed that the GP would recommend/refer an endocrinologist to come in to see me about my thyroid.

The next day, my echo was done early in the morning.  The GP came in after that and said I was good to go home, if the cardiologist said I was OK after reviewing the echo.  I asked about the endocrinologist referral and he stated that my TSH level wasn't of concern.  When the cardiologist came in shortly after, he was surprised by that.  The nurses were surprised by that.  The cardiologist said he could give me a blood pressure medication, that I could take to regulate my heart beats, even though my BP was fine.  And...if it made me light headed or dizzy, I could just stop taking it.  SO...that made me feel like I didn't even need it.

But, my echo was good and I was cleared to go home.  There was a bunch of phone tag throughout the day and by 8pm it looked like I wasn't going home.  By this time, I was irritated and insisted on leaving.  I signed myself out and decided to follow up with an endocrinologist in the near future.

But, I'm not one to sit back and just let things happen to me.  I prefer to be proactive...

So I did some research and made some changes...


To be continued