I apologize for the delay of this update. I have been without Internet access for almost a week. But now, I am up and running. First of all, I must say that I was totally impressed when we visited Emory Heart Failure Therapy Clinic last week. We, meaning my mother and my boyfriend, Dale (otherwise known as "sweetie"). We spent 2 1/2 hours with the doctors - yes, plural- doctors. First there was the cardiac nurse - who honestly knew as much if not more than my regular doctor in Savannah. Next there was an intern, who already had M.D., and Ph.D, behind his name and he said he was still studying medicine for another 2 years and then 4 years in a specialty like heart failure. He had already been in school 8 years. Finally Dr. Laskar came in to see me. He had more initials after his name that I didn't even know what they all meant and I surely wasn't going to embarrass myself and ask! He even had his initials embroidered on his coat sleeve! (Sweetie noticed this.) Nonetheless, he also checked me over and ran me through a thorough exam and questionnaire all on his own.
The doctor suggested that I double my dosage of Coreg (not too happy about this because of the side effects) and that we wait 3-6 months to see if it will improve my heart function. If we see some improvement in 3 months, we will keep waiting for another 3 months to see how much it will improve my heart function. If there is no improvement after 3 months, we will go ahead and schedule to have a pacemaker/defibrillator put in. My EF goal is around 40%. So, we will wait a little while longer.
It made me feel really great that Dr. Laskar didn't contradict anything my Cardiologist in Savannah had said. Dr. Laskar even commented that my medicine cocktail and information I knew, was right in line with his proposed course of treatment for me. I just love my doctors!
So, we wait... at least a few more months. I am hopeful that the Coreg will improve my EF and we can forgo the pacemaker/defibrillator for a while. Nothing like having electrical stuff implanted in you at the ripe old age of 32! Woo-Hoo!
Feel free to ask questions in the comments sections if I forgot to tell something you wanted to know.
3 comments:
Hi there, what is EF? And I sure will continue to pray for you, it appears that you have such wonderful doctors and it's great to hear that they are all on the same page. Welcome back to the land of internet, I know when I was down for four days it was horrible! But good news is, I managed somehow! lol
Hi Darlin, that's a great question. EF stands for Ejection Fraction - the fraction of blood ejected from the heart with every given beat. No one's heart ejects 100% of the blood with each beat, but a normal EF is 50-75%. Mine is currently 25%. My goal EF is at least 40%, that would postpone the pacemaker/defibrillator for now.
Hey hon', did you get my message on FB about insurance? Let me know if any other changes happen. It was great to talk with you the other day. Can't wait until our schedules actually permit us to at least get some coffee together.
Love ya,
Jamie
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