Now I can be away from my husband without worry for a few hours.
He has a watch with which he can quickly and easily check his heart rate. He has an automatic blood pressure gadget that he attaches to his wrist. These two things help us both deal with the "unknowns" of his heart problems.
He now has a firm diagnosis of cardiac sarcoidosis. Through thallium scan, gallium scan and echocardiogram the doctors have determined that he has 3 places in his heart that have been severly damaged plus 1 place that has an active sarcoidosis inflammation present. His ejection fraction is 30-35%.
So he started 60mg prednisone along with heart meds. We will be going to the cardiologist this week because they want to reprogram his implanted defibulator to also work as a pacemaker. The hope is that the inflammation will go down and that portion of his heart will not be too severly damaged. We plan to do some cardiac rehab therapy as soon as the doctors feel that his heart is ready to "play nice".
My husband and I are in a much better place now. We talk about things in short spurts because we both get choked up easily. We watch alot of rented movies. He plays his video game and I crochet or read. Like an old retired couple. :) :)
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Two months since SCA
- By crochet
- Posted September 22, 2008 at 1:03 am · 3 replies
- Shared with the public
Explore topics in this journal entry and replies:
Cardiac sarcoidosis Prednisone Pacemaker Depression Sarcoidosis
3 replies
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- By CathyK
- Posted September 22, 2008 at 9:34 am
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My heart and prayers go out to you both. Sometimes not knowing is less scary than the knowing.
Your husband is lucky to have someone who loves and supports him as you do.
- By shamrock
- Posted September 22, 2008 at 10:32 am
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Crochet - My heart and prayers go out to the both of you, also. You are in for a long haul, but God will be with you and will pull you through this. I pray that the dr.s will be able to make your husband's heart "play nice" (that's a cute way to put it) and that your minds will be put at ease. This is a hard thing for both of you to get used to, but you eventually will become somewhat "comfortable" living with it. One word of advice from a long term ICD spouse...please don't let your husband allow his ICD to become a crutch for him. This can lead to depression and for both of your sakes, he needs to remain as active as he can, although at times that may be limited, which is OK. Stay strong and make sure that you take as much care of yourself as you do of your hubby, so that depression doesn't get ahold of you, either. Even though you are not the one who is ill, you are VERY IMPORTANT. Never forget that. I think I did, and am trying to start remembering...
- By Mary1
- Posted September 22, 2008 at 4:53 pm
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Crochet,
I'm glad to hear you and your husband talk about things although you get choked up. It has been a little over two years since my SCA and we still talk almost daily about it. The impact has been so huge. We still even get teary sometimes. But that's OK. It helps us.
Shamrock, I agree you are important, too! My husband has been affected by my SCA more than me, I think. He's doing a great job of taking care of me, and himself, but we are in this together. Our volunteer work with the American Heart Association is one of our favorite things to do together.
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