Thank God for Heartburn!

Since my hospital stay in Fontana a little over a week ago, I have continued to experience chest constriction and tightness, especially while lying prone. On Monday morning, I couldn't take the stress of this anymore, so I drove to the ER. I was worried that I was having cardiac problems and that these would prevent me from getting a kidney transplant. This was all that I could think about, so I wanted some answers. What was going on with me?

The docs at Harbor City Kaiser did a bunch of EKGs and tested my troponin levels every four hours to see if there were any signs of a heart attack. Then on Tuesday I was given a radioactive dye, underwent a resting and a stressed heart test, and had images taken of my heart. I experienced fairly intense chest pain during the stressed portion and had difficulty breathing. This really worried me.

A few hours later I got the results: no sign of any new damage to the heart! The docs felt I was experiencing intense heartburn or perhaps gastoparesis, the latter of which diabetics often succumb to. Right now, I am taking an antacid for 14 days and avoiding acidic foods and beverages. Gastoparesis can become quite serious and entail surgery, but I'm going to see that it doesn't get to that point.

I am so incredibly grateful that I have no more heart damage. I was going down such a negative road in my mind, while simultaneously praying for good news. I'm so glad the latter approach triumphed.

I am also glad that I did not listen to the doctors last weekend. I was getting the message from my cardiologist, the hospital cardiologist, and the hospital nephrologist that I should just take the blood transfusion and get the stress test immediately or get an angiogram. But I decided to wait until my hemoglobin had improved, then take the stress test. I am so glad I stood up for what I felt was right. Otherwise, I would have either had a blood transfusiont that could have jeopardized my chances of accepting a kidney or underwent an angiogram that is fraught with risks.

So, hooray, hooray, hooray!