False Alarms. . .kind of

I was just about to post an update from the ER waiting room when Dr. Bromberg walked in for us, and I already typed all the events, etc. out once on a heart forum we belong to so you'll have to bear with me tonight. It is late and I am spent emotionally so I am just going to cut and paste.

We've had a roller coaster week. Wednesday night after the cardioversion, he did great and then woke up at midnight completely panicky. All day Thursday he was fussy, clingy, whiny and miserable. We called and went in for an interrogation. Better be safe than sorry, right. No flutter. Went home. By 4:00 he was a mess, sweaty, uncomfortable, no energy or appetite. Decided we'd call this AM if he had a rough night. He had a great night! Slept 11 hours. Woke up cheerful. Played, aggravated big sister. Seemed better. Then took morning nap (unusual). I had an eyebrow raised and had that behavior under a microscope but then he ate a plate and a half of scrambled eggs so I thought he was fine. Played all afternoon but again by dinner acted completely miserable and just like the day before, getting clammy and so on. He ate nothing at dinner but did have some chocolate milk. Two hours later bigtime vomiting. Called exchange and Dr. Goel (on call) called Dr. Bromberg right away. Dr. Bromberg called us back and said to meet him at St. John's and we'd go into the office in interrogate again. I feel like an idiot and like I'm wasting their time, but he reassured me that at this point, it is necessary and warranted. He thought the same thing when Dr. Goel told him Connie was vomiting-that he was in flutter again.

Connie is not in atrial flutter again, but is having symptoms of heart failure. We are home now but go back in Monday for the full work up; x-ray, echo, the works. Dr. Bromberg is now leaning toward the thought that it is not the flutter causing the CHF, rather there may be some worsening of the valve issues and it may be time to do something surgically about that. Since he is symptomatically as bad as he was in May with fussiness, sleepiness, vomiting and BNP over 7000, even with being out of flutter since 6/17 and only having three days in and out of it earlier this week, it is pointing more toward another cause. So now we wait and see. He said as we parted in the parking lot, "It's not going to be like this forever. We will get past this." I just keep trying to say that over an over to myself.

We appreciate your continued prayers and support. . .we'll update after we learn the results of Monday's examination and tests. I did ask Dr. Bromberg what happens if his echo looks the same as the last one, same as the one from November when he was clinically in very good shape, yet he continues to be symptomatic. He said that the echo is a tool, but it is not the only indicator and we won't let this go on much longer, meaning we'd have to do something. We just don't yet have a plan for what that "something" is.