Hi Tom,
Since April, floating between my Cardiologist, Electrophysiologist, and Family Doctor, I got a month of bliss, only to be thrust full steam ahead into a recurrence. Learned a new word, Quintageminy, or a PVC every 5th beat. That was this outbreak's weapon of choice. These outbreaks are like a cheap horror film, you always know, after a serene period of time, the villain or monster shoves his ugly presence back into the scene, and this stupid scenario is played out over and over in cheap horror movies, always the false sense of victory, then wham, the villain returns.
The family doctor thinks it's tension, of course he thought my thyroid cancer was tension, but, of all the doctors, he tries to consider a broader range of possibilities. But to give an indication on the importance of our involvement in our health care, I present the following.
Of all the doctors I've seen, Podiatrist, Family Doctor, Cardiologist, Electrophysiologist, which did the most comprehensive blood work-up?
Give up?
The Podiatrist. I have numbness in my toes, he's checking the whole shebang, blood work wise, deficiencies in calcium, B-Vitamins, Folic Acid, Sugar, Complete Blood Count, the works. He's doing a Liver Function Test, as liver issues, purportedly can contribute to peripheral neuritis.
The blood tests offered by the Electrophysiologist? None.
By the Cardiologist? Potassium and Magnesium.
The family doctor? Phenytoin Levels, Calcium, and Liver Function Tests.
I have no thyroid, it was removed due to cancer. Hanging on the Thyroid is the Parathyroid Glands, They had to be excised from the Thyroid, balanced there, and wished the best of luck to continue functioning. The Parathyroids are responsible for calcium regulation, and improper calcium levels can lead to arthythmias.
Why doesn't the Electrophysiologist test for deficiencies or surplusses. Why didn't the cardiologist do the same, except for this recent outbreak and the potassium and magnesium levels. I take Phenytoin for seizures, Phenytoin is also used, infrequently, as an Anti-Arrhythmic drug. Was no one interested in the Phenytoin levels? The Electrophysiologist tried to give me an Anti-Arrhythmic drug. After I had several times pushed the issue, he suddenly had a revelation, the Anti-Arthythmic medication he was attempting to prescribe was in the same class as Phenytoin and probably wouldn't work.
Phenytoin, what else does it do as a side effect? It reduces Folic Acid levels, and subsequently B-12 is reduced as well. Do these have an effect on the heart.
Is there any conceivable reason that Cardiologists and Electrophysiologists don't routinely order blood tests in conjunction with other testing?
Some of the Prescript
ion Medications I take could cause an arrhythmia, each independently, and taken together, the possibility of side effects becomes more confusing.
Back to your topic, these outbreaks. I feel like Charlie Brown and Lucy, where she promises to hold the football for him to kick, but just as he's running to kick it, assured this time will be different, that this time, he'll succeed, but yet Lucy maliciously pulls the ball away again and Charlie Brown lands on his back. Though my Family Doctor does refer patients to my Electrophysiologist, my Family Doctor agrees that ablation could possible make it worse. It's a complex world with complex choices.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=MmFfTJlIvhQ