Bless her heart!!!

I met my friend Shannon when I was in nursing school in Milledgeville. While I was a mere 30 something, Shannon was only 21 when she started nursing school. For all practical purposes, we didnt have a lot in common other than the fact that we were in nursing school together. BUT....as life would have it, Shannon is one of my best friends now.
I dont remember exactly how things got started between us. I just remember that we began studying together a good bit. She was having a hard time with these tests that we had to take online. These tests werent so much a test of what we knew but rather a test of how well we could take tests! I think that we started out having psych together too. At any rate, I liked Shannon. She was the pretty, popular sort. She had a posse of other girls that she was already really close with because they all lived in the same neighborhood together.
While I was in our second year of nursing school, I began having some health/mental health issues. I wasnt sure which one was the source of my problems. My heart raced. I felt dizzy. I had chest pains and felt short of breath. I felt horrible. I thought I was losing my mind! When I went to see my primary care physician, he told me that I was probably just anxious being in nursing school, having a young baby at home and just being stressed. He told me that I just "need(ed) to get my mind right." He tried me on a couple of different meds for anxiety that didnt work for me. After having some terrible side effects from those meds, I went back to see the doctor and he just laughed at me. Literally. I didnt go back to him.
Anyway, I could spend a month telling of my 4 year journey going to see doctors for "anxiety." But I really want to tell you about Shannon. While we were in the Cardiology part of our clinical rotation in med/surg, Shannon began complaining of having chest pain, dizziness and not feeling quite right. I told Shannon that what she described sounded familiar and my doctors just told me that it was anxiety. Well, one day while we were at clinical dealing with people that had just had open heart surgery, Shannon was standing in the hall and stated that she just didnt feel right! Then she tried to pass out on us!
We whisked Shannon off to the ER! After many tests, a few doctors later (one at Emory) and about a month later...Shannon found out that she had a hole in her heart. She had to have the hole closed via open heart surgery. This took place in the last semester of nursing school. Anyway, she ended up finishing up nursing school after the rest of us... but she finished. What a huge battle.
About a year after the open heart surgery, Shannon began experiencing chest pain, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and a whole host of nasty symptoms. The doctors feared that something was wrong with her heart. She tried several cardiac meds. Nothing seemed to help. The doctors began telling her that perhaps SHE was just feeling anxious!!! EKGs looked fine. Every thing else looked fine.
So, one doctor went out on a limb with Shannon and decided that MAYBE it was her gall bladder causing the problem and not her heart at all. Gall stones will make you think you're having a heart attack! Once they went in, they found that her gall bladder was enlarged and full of stones!! YEA!!! So no more problems!!!! RIGHT?!?! Wrong....
She began having chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness and fatigue. She felt horrible!! She wanted to sleep all the time. Never mind that Shannon was now only 23 years old! Again they told her that it had to be just nerves from planning her wedding! Or maybe she was just stressed because her fiance Dave was overseas with the Air Force! One doctor told her that it was just in her head!
Finally, after several visits to the ER....Shannon's body decided that it would have an episode while she was working (she is a nurse by this time). One of her coworkers decided to take charge and contact an electrophysiologist. An EP is a doctor that deals with the electrical conduction of the heart. Dr. Segati (who is very well known and respected in Macon) took Shannon in and did an EP study on her. As it turns out, Shannon had SVT (supraventricular tachycardia). Her heart rate would surge up over 200 beats per minute (normal rate is 60-100). So Dr Segati performed an ablation (burning of the misfiring node in her heart).
I talked to Shannon last night and she told me that she has been one entire year without a single symptom or problem with her heart!!! And still no anxiety!!!!
Well, back to me now. Over the last 4 years, I have seen an Internist, a Cardiologist (a jerky one at that), psychologist (for my anxiety), a gynecologist and a gastroenterologist. Then when I moved to Athens, I began to see a different family doctor, a new psychologist (for my anxiety), a new gastroenterologist, a new gynecologist and a new cardiologist. I still had chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and palpitations. First, I saw a doc in the box nurse practitioner ( she was so awesome..she listened and took her time with me). She referred me to a surgeon to have my gall bladder removed. I too had gall stones! So a lot of the midsternal chest pain and horrible nausea resolved!
One day while I was working at Elbert Memorial, I ended up being admitted for an irregular, rapid heart rate. My new primary care physician, Dr Mize, noticed that I had an irregularity in my EKG. He referred me to a new cardiologist and a gastroenterologist. I have had Ulcerative Colitis since I was 17 so I just had to get a check up with this new gut doctor.
The cardiologist, Dr Woodard, talked to me for a long time. Then he sent me to see an EP doc, Dr Griffis. Dr Griffis decided that they would hook me up to an event monitor for about a month. About 3 weeks into wearing the monitor, the cardiology office called and told me that I needed to come in and see the doctor and begin taking a new medication. I tried the medication and it did not work for me. I felt horrible. So when I followed up with Dr. Woodard, he finally explained what was wrong with me. I had SVT! Just like Shannon! He recommended that I have an ablation done to "cure" the problem.
When I told Shannon about what happened she just laughed. She accused me of wanting to be just like her! I told her that I would do the gall bladder and heart thing but if she got pregnant, I didn't want any part of that! Until last night, I didnt even realize that she had had the same problem. I did tell her that I recently had a kidney stone...and she hasnt had one of those yet! And I haven't had open heart surgery...and pray I never do!
For years Ive been told that I just had anxiety. I have taken so many medications and had to see so many doctors. Ive had doctors laugh at me. Ive had doctors accuse me of being a hypochondriac. Ive dreaded going to the doctor!! I have had anxiety over the last few years...but its because I have been told so many things and I haven't been believed for so long that I did start feeling anxious!!! Now, is this SVT my only problem? No, my gynecologist thinks I have some hormonal issues (yea...thanks a lot EVE!! You just had to eat the fruit huh?). Then there is my Ulcerative Colitis. Some days I feel so worn down and old!! Did I mention that my bones creak too??
But through all of this, Shannon never doubted me. She always told me to keep trying until someone figured this out. She had faith in me even when I felt like I was about to fall off the edge. I really had some dark, hard times with this "anxiety" issue. And poor Shannon, she went through such a hard time when no one would believe that she was really having a problem.
Last night she told me that when has worked with some cardiologists that they almost always dismiss a female patient that comes in with cardiac complaints. If they run a few tests (blood and an EKG) and they dont see anything, they just dismiss it as anxiety. They dont take us seriously. But when a MAN comes in, they almost never dismiss them as having anxiety.
I cried a little when Dr. Woodard explained what I was dealing with. I told him that I have had a history of "anxiety." He said that anxiety would not cause SVT. He showed me on my chart where my heart rate went from a steady 60, shot up to 150 beats a minute and then fell right back down to 60 bpm. He said that anxiety wouldn't look like that and that the symptoms that I had were not my imagination. I was just in disbelief. I told him that my former cardiologist (Dr. Jerk) just smirked and told me to live right and exercise...I would be fine. Never mind that I felt like crap! Dr. Woodard told me that the only way to manage SVT is with medication (which hasnt worked for me) or ablation (which could CURE it).
Thank God that I know Shannon. She has been such a great friend to me for the last several years. Ive had a few great friends that have hung in there with me, prayed for me and offered a non judgemental shoulder to cry on. None of them just smirked and told me to get my mind right. None of them called me crazy (not to my face!) and stopped talking to me. Thank God for them too! And thank God that finally a few doctors actually took the time to listen and put forth the effort to figure out what was going on with me!
Now, will my anxiety go away completely? I'm not so sure about this. I have become a bit more of a worry wart than I used to be. Maybe now when my heart starts racing or I feel dizzy, I wont have to try to analize what's going on in my head to make me feel "anxious." I know its not in my head. And maybe in November when Im hoping to have the ablation, I will be cured of this SVT forever! Id love to send Dr Jerk a note and tell him that he can kiss my.......