On the second day of Eid, we were supposed to head off to KL to meet my brothers and sister, but something happened. I had some throbbing pain in my left part of chest and it grew numb. Complained about this to my other half and she decided to send me to Segamat Hospital (most private clinics are closed for Eid holidays) for which I got admitted on suspicion of a heart problem. They did an ECG, which I knew the right bundle branch block will appear and it did. This signal had appeared before in my previous ECG back in 2014 and in 2006, but it was diagnosed as inconclusive. In 2009, I had already done a CT angiography for which there seems to be no major blockage at the time. I wasn't sure this time and wanted to do the check back home in Seremban. So we requested for a discharge (at our own risk) so that if I were to be hospitalized, it will be nearer to home. Note also that at the time the hospital was so full that I was 'warded' along the corridor. The discharge (with a letter for the next hospital) came in late evening and thus we had to postpone our trip back home the next morning (Friday).
Reaching home on Friday late morning, we decided to postpone our intended trip to the hospital until Monday. The nearest hospital to our home is the private hospital, Columbia-Asia Hospital. If we were to go there on Friday, I'll be warded and the angiography will not be done until Monday. I will then be paying unnecessary expenses on my own. On Monday, we went to see the cardiologist in Columbia-Asia Hospital and him knowing that we will be paying our own, allow me to do the angiography as an outpatient (which still costs a lot to me). The process took almost the whole day partly because my heart-beat rate was too fast for me to undergo the CT process. Had to take the pill to slow down my heart beat rate twice before a successful scan is done. We finally got the results near 5pm. As I expected all along (though I hope I didn't), there were partial blockages in three arteries. I had been experiencing some throbbing and at times piercing left chest pains all this while but I have ignored them mainly because I have also gerd problems which can also show the same symptoms. Given the present results, I listened to the cardiologist's advice. He said there are two options: go on medication and see how this progress or take up angioplasty; both according to some studies abroad are equivalently effective for such cases like mine. We opted for medication. I was given a week's leave with me trying to adjust my 'new' conditions and the medication; one of them (imdur) is giving me frequent headaches.
Today was the institute's Eid celebration and I was invited to be there. I almost can't make it since last night, I was experiencing another numbing chest pain more severe than the ones before. At the time, we have already decided to do further check-ups at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre. In the meantime, I will rest as much as I could and am looking forward to an Eid gathering this weekend to see my brothers and sister.
2 comments:
My late father suffered the same problem and we opted the bypass surgery because his situation was far worse. Back then, the doctor promised us at least 5 years of his life. In the end, the surgery only prolonged his life for two years. While managing his funeral, we found out that he never followed the medication given by the doctor. This caused the new arteries to get blocked in just two years of time.
I'm not trying to sell fear or something, but please do take care.
Thanks for the caring thoughts. I certainly am not taking this without an effort to make myself better. Hope to do this systematically with the many suggestions we are given, for which we are grateful. But as most people know, there is no one size fits all solution, particularly with respect o personal well-being; I have to figure out what's best for me.
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