It's been 2 years. TWO YEARS!!
I'm kind of in shock. I think since my ablation in 2018, I've been waiting for the ball to drop. It's always been in the back of my mind that even though my ablation was successful, it's possible that my SVT could come back, that my burned node could possibly reform. As time passes, I get a little more comfortable that it won't. I think that's good for my mental health for sure.
I'm not sure how I'm doing in terms of other health issues. Nothing crazy or terrible, but I did find out that like my mother and grandmother that I have high cholesterol. At 31. My mom told me that she was put on cholesterol medication at 30, so I guess it's to be expected. I attempted to change up my diet, which was difficult because I already ate a lot of the things that I researched that could help lower bad cholesterol and raise good cholesterol. I have limited red meat and bacon/pork/ham/sausage and I think that was the biggest change.
Another thing that supposedly can help is losing weight. I am overweight. Not by a lot, but I am still overweight. In order to lose weight, I'm watching my calories (something I said I'd never do) and trying to do more vigorous exercise. That has been scary and why I'm including it in my SVT update. One of the things that has scared me is purposefully making my heart rate increase. As is to be expected, it freaks me out.
I invested in a Fitbit after my sister-in-law let me borrow her old one with an unreliable battery. I was wearing it solely for exercising to monitor my heart rate. I treated it like a hot potato at first. I didn't look at my heart rate while it was on. I wore it to exercise and then took it off and checked my app to see what my heart rate did while I worked out. I eventually worked through my anxieties of seeing the number and now wear it full time. It's been a grounding tool for me. If I get stressed and have those little "skipped beat" feelings that are actually PVCs - where you have a heartbeat slightly early and weaker and then there is a pause and then a strong heartbeat. I can look at my heart rate and see that I'm not in SVT when those happen. If I start feeling anxious, I can check my Fitbit and see what the number is and relax. It's really been a saving grace for my peace of mind.
I've been happy to see that my resting heart rate has lowered over the past few months. I'm talking resting heart rate down from the mid-80s to the low 70s.
In the past year, I've had one panic attack. And it was on Christmas Eve. I was super stressed and looked at my Fitbit and my heart rate was 142 and that set me off immediately. So while I am happy about the Fitbit and it can ground me...that's only when my heart rate is under 120 while not exercising. I already know that my heart rate can be up to 120 when I'm stressed. I wasn't in SVT, just really really really stressed. Overall, this past year has been way less stressful and anxious. I've been moving and doing way more than I used to and I'm happier for it.
I just started my masters program in accounting and I'm excited for all the things in my future that I didn't think would be possible without getting the ablation. Once again I have to say that I am so happy that I got the ablation.
I may update next year. I may not. We'll see :)
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