Something new...

About two weeks ago, I went for a bicycle ride. After that, I went to work and after a few hours of work, my heart started having strong beats. This would happen only once or twice, and then stop. After that I started having chest pain. Mild, but scary. I am getting older, but with no history of heart problems, this couldn't be a heart attack. Or could it? I drank lots of Gatorade, hoping it was an electrolyte imbalance, also cut down on the caffeine. But the next day, and the day after it kept happening. Then I asked my mom, a doctor, to ask one of her friends to take a look at me.

I went to see the cardiologist. A polished man, with great shoes, a crisp white shirt, and expensive-looking pants (if I wear pants, he must wear trousers). Compared to the other doctor's offices, his was a suite, the waiting rooms were bigger and he had two offices (one specifically for the stress tests, and other tests). Despite the pressure he must have been under he looked good. He wasn't stressed out, although he was very busy. I remember meeting him in the past, he had several pagers going off, and he always seemed to be in a hurry. But that wasn't in front of the patients. Now, he was relaxed and confident, but not arrogant. Approachable.

He spoke to me and examined me. He knew my mom very well, they were (and remain) good friends. He examined me, took my blood pressure. Then he rushed me up to get an echocardiogram. After all this he took a baseline EKG. And gave me a beta blocker. After viewing the echocardiogram, he said I had a mild mitral valve prolapse. He said that people live to be 100 with this condition, and that I could climb mountains. Also he said it would be aggravated by stress.

After all the health problems I have had, there is yet another one. I wondered over the next week or so, about whether there was a thyroid or electrolyte imbalance. So far the blood work hasn't shown anything, but the complete results will be out later this week.

I also called my gastroenterologist, and asked him if it could be a side effect of Remicade. He said no. Plus, my last Remicade treatment was more than one month ago. So this all happened just before Thanksgiving. During Thanksgiving, my brother-in-law was over. This genius doctor, who has four, yes four, board certifications under his belt--meaning that he has reached the highest level possible in four medical fields. Well, he listened to my story and was surprised at all the things I have been through. To be honest, after telling all that, I felt like crying. Even the primary care doctor said, "You look so healthy." And I do. In fact, I am a little fat. But I have had septic shock, pancreatitis (three times), typhoid fever (twice), Crohn's disease, a fistula, amebiasis, and been admitted in the hospital twice. And now a heart problem. Nothing major, true, but something else to worry about. Maybe I need to have a low stress residency and life. Perhaps family practice, or something else low stress.

Why am I going through so much? Actually, I must say, I don't feel that bad. But thinking over all this it is scary. I guess God must have a special plan for my life. Not that I am special, but the fact that I could have died several times with all these diseases. Yet here I am.