Wired Again

I didn't expect this again, but it's going better than the last time. Yep, I'm wearing another event monitor. It's recording a week's worth of EKG to establish whether the ablation surgery did what it's supposed to.

I guess it's good that they check, since those procedures only work about 80% of the time. Still, I'm not sure just what they'll find out if they don't find anything. The last one, lasting 3 weeks, never showed any A-fib during that time. Back before it was properly controlled by medication, it only happened every several weeks or so at the most often. Monitoring between times would have recorded me as normal - however you want to take that. Normal except when you aren't is like trying to take the car into the mechanic when your problem won't manifest in the shop.

We've made one change with medication since the surgery. The last monitor record showed progressive bradycardia. Since that time, in coordination with my regular cardiologist, I've been cutting doses of the metoprolol, 1st, by half the morning dose, then by half the evening dose, and now gone altogether. That medication is supposed to control rapid A-fib by slowing the heartbeat. With each step down in dosage, my heartbeat sped up. Now it's usually a hair under 70 rather than under 50. If A-fib is still likely, it's more likely to show up now.

There is also the added bonus of fewer bottles in the medicine cabinet.

The medicine cabinet has another change as well: a dosage schedule for Warfarin is taped inside the door for reference, as it changes each day in a pattern that we've painstakingly worked out to maintain proper thinness in my blood. Regular dosages in the sizes available from the pharmacy don't do it, but cutting and combining various pills do. I could keep it all straight until the surgery, but for a while after - and hopefully no more but why risk it? - I couldn't always remember which dose on which days. Now it's right there instead of hiding under the cutting stone.

Anyway, I've digressed a bit. I mostly actually like this monitoring system. It's a different brand. I no longer have to restart its cell phone several times daily to prompt it to "find" a cell signal that never actually went away. The support staff who contact me speak English as a first language in an accent I don't have to fight through, and they can actually physically see what's coming in over the monitor rather than transferring me to somebody who possibly knows something in order to answer a question. It uses 4 leads which snap to little round sticky patches that stay on till they won't, rather than a strip I need to remove twice a day, more if I get wet.

The only drawback I can see is the possibility that I'm allergic to this adhesive, despite it being hypoallergenic. One of those sticky patches is itching. So we'll see. I'm not counting the fact that the little gadget which records and transmits has a tendency to fall off my waistband at odd times as an actual drawback. Either it dangles by its wire connectors and swings for half a minute, or only drops to the rug by the toilet. No harm, no foul, eh? I'm simply reminded to check it's properly clipped on, and take care when changing clothes, becoming active, etc. When too many hands are needed, the hard case it's in fits nicely between the teeth!

For several seconds, anyway. If I keep my head up, I don't actually drool.

As a final bonus, once my test week is over, the device signals me when I change the last battery that I'm done. Rather than boxing everything up and taking it over to UPS immediately to avoid extra charges, I just bring it in with me to my next appointment. For a little extra perspective here, that appointment is only about a third of the distance as the UPS store.

So says the retired driver used to 500 miles a day!