ReallyRick's Week Long Hospital Scare

Hello Friends,

*sigh* What an eventful week I have had. 3 weeks ago I started having a lot of naseau, headaches, feeling very tense, not being able to sleep or eat and some very minor tightness in my chest and shortness of breath. Last Monday the symptoms got more severe and I ended up calling 9-1-1.

The paramedics hooked me up to an EKG and stated, "Hmmm you have a bit of an abnormality." They said said it could just be from the fact the equipment in the ambulance wasn't that great. They did it a second time and it was still there so they reccommend I got straight to the ER at Baylor University Hospital. (One of the top hospitals in the USA).

Anyway I get there and immediately they start threating me like I had a heart attack! The give me asprin, they spary nitroglycerin under my tongue and give me a shot of Morphine and some thing I cannot remember. I freaked out! Could I really have been having a heart attack?

When the cardiologist looked at my EKG he said I had something called a "Bundle Branch Block (BBB)" and that I would need to be admitted into the hospital for further tests. For the next week they ran every test imaginable. Sonogram of my heart and gall bladder. Catscan of my stomach and pelvis. Injected me with some radioactive solution and then took pics of my heart in another catscan/MRI type machine in their nuclear medicine department.

Then THE WORSE THING OF ALL, was something called a Dobutamine Stress Echo Test. OMG it was the most uncomfortable, almost painful experience of my life. If that is what a heart attack feels like, God help me I dont ever want to have one. Since I could not run on the treadmil they basically give me a solution in my IV that simulates like my heart is getting a major workout. Thought I was going to die! LOL

Anyway, after a 8 days in the hospital and God knows how many tens of thousands of dollars bill (thank God for insurance) come to find out that this Bundle Branch Block thing is probably not a big deal. Probably? LOL They said I will have it the rest of my life and that there really isn't anything you can do about it? WHAT? The only thing they did tell me was that my bad cholesterol is 176. Whoopee!

Mostly likey they attribute all the symptoms I was having to stress. LOL Stress. I had gone through so much the past 2 months and now was worrying about every thing I was making myself sick. Hehe. So now I am ordered to take it easy and they got me on some nice tranqulizers! WOO TOO!

Today I looked up BBB online and I am so damn confused I don't know what to think about what it is. LOL Some websites say it should be followed up on always becasuse it could be a precursor of a major heart problem in the future. Others said just forget about it.

SO...just curious if anyone else has ever been told they have a BBB and what sorta stuff are you doing for it?

Thanks,

Rick

Aww, Ricky, I'm sorry to hear about what you went through. I haven't ever had that sort of problem, so I can't answer that part of your question.

I did spend three days in the hospital last week, after a relatively minor surgical procedure, though, so I sympathize with you in that area.

Dr. Phoenix's cure for stress: more hanging out with your buddies in Second Life.



Hope everything gets back to de-stressed normal soon.

P2

Wondered where you went off to.
Welcome back.

Hi Rick,
Sorry to hear about your scare. In my experience, there are two good sources of information about medical problems. Support groups for particular diseases and problems can often be a good source of information and advice, so I would see if any of the heart support groups, or the Amercian Heart Association, has information about the BBB.

Secondly, people working on research often have the best information..so if you can find someone researching this, then I would get in contact with them. In these days, it is far easier to find people's research interests...and easier to get in contact with them.

In the UK, the official route back to information would be to go to the GP and ask for a referral to a heart specialist with expertise in this area, to enable you to get better information. As I know from having supported family members through serious illnesses, the type of information you get during a hospital stay when being investigated, is completely different from the information you may get if you go to a consultant for background information...as long as insurance pays for that sort of thing, that's the third way to go.

Highlky recommend yoga and meditation if you want to de-stress with fewer drugs...
best wishes
Cali

Glad to see you're still with us buddy. get a 2nd and maybe even a 3rd opinion and take care wont be the same SL with reallyrick

Wow! Sorry to hear about this ReallyRick, but I second this opinion.

Last week must have been the week for hospitals, cause I spent a day there too - when seizures drove my blood pressure way up.

Watch the stress - it is the precursor to all ills.

Stay well.

.

Rick, sorry to hear about your troubles. I found this info on webmd.com:

International Bundle Branch Block Association
National network. Organized 1979.
Provides support and information to help bundle branch block persons and families cope. Educates the public. Sporadic newsletter. Pen pal program, informal phone support system. Guidelines and assistance for starting groups. Voluntary dues $10 (more for professionals).
WRITE:
Int' Bundle Branch Block Assn.
c/o R. K. Lewis
6631 W. 83rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90045-2875
CALL: 310-670-9132
VERIFIED: 5/9/2005

Good luck!

Hey Rick!

Sorry you had to go through all that ((Huggss)) Glad to see you are back

Sure they always tell you to take it easy...then 3 weeks later you get a bill for more than your house is worth. Try to relax

Wow guys, thanks so much for all the kind words and information. I am constantly amazed and the truely genuine caring that sometimes comes out of the Second Life community. Tya it is VERY good to hear from you again.

I ended up calling the cardiologist who worked with me at Baylor University Medical Center and he tried to reasure me that my type of Bundle Branch Block (BBB) was common and pretty much meant nothing. Baylor Hospital is ranked the 26th best heart hospital in the country (the best in Dallas) so I figure they got to know what they are doing.

Anyway he said it could lead to me having to have a pacemaker implanted when I am much older, but other than that it is NOT a sign of any heart disease or other cardiovascular problems. *whew*

Right now after a God knows HOW huge bill from Baylor ($50,000 easy I would imagine) I don't know if my insurance would spring for a second opinion especially since the first one came from such a prestigious hospital. I havent yet given them a call to check into it, I am sure I will when I get the bill because I might have a heart attack then. Hehe.

I'll keep ya all informed on whats going on and I SWEAR I will be back in SL soon! Just waiting....

Sorry to hear of your health trouble Rick. Hang in there!

Two of these will fix you right up....

Glad to hear you made it thru ok, Rick. Hopefully the docs are right, and BBB is nothing to worry about.

Welcome back, take good care, feel better! Certainly if you don't go the second opinion route, make an appointment with your primary care physician and set up a plan of ongoing observation and check-ups.

(Remedy to lower stress, guaranteed to work: avoid the SL forums!)

lol, thats very true vivi, and maybe theres some Second Heart at some SL store hehehe.

Hey Rick, it's good to see you back. I am sorry to hear about your scary week, but so happy that it doesn't sound serious. I would still try to get that second opinion, if you can. Hope to see you around Second Life soon.