I am on a beta blocker, and you can not stop these abruptly, or you have rebound high heart rate. So over the next month I will just be taking half a pill. I have to watch my heart rate and Blood pressure very closely to make sure I am not going too high. If I am I may have to go to a higher dose on my other blood pressure medication. BUT.... I have also been going to the gym or getting outdoor exercise at least 4-5 sometimes 6-7 x a week which is about 60% more than I was before. I have started going to cycle class again, and pushing myself hard. I almost had a difficult time towards the end of the class last night because I could feel my heart rate very high and I was getting pretty dizzy, but I just took down the effort a little bit, closed my eyes and focused on my breathing to slow it down. I made it through the class and feel positive about me being able accomplish getting off of both of my heart medications with diet and exercise. Ive been logging everything I eat on my fitness pal app, even the bad stuff because it opens my eyes to how crappy it is. Im already down 6 pounds:)
We have an appointment coming up with Maternal Fetal Medicine May 9. Im having my Hematologist send all of his notes over to them, along with my OB's notes. I want them to have the entire picture of what has been going on with me in the past so they can give me the best most educated idea of what my risks really are. I didn't realize until recently that each pregnancy I have had, I never went to my Hematologist first. My biggest problem is in my blood. Im already looking into patient assistance programs on LOVENOX. My hematologist said the Heparin that I was on did the same thing , but he felt Lovenox is the most effective. Heparin can also cause a drop in platelet levels, and I already chronically have low platelets so my risk of bleeding is doubled. Only problem is even with my insurance it would be $1300/mo for 60 shots that I would need to take twice a day the entire 9 months($11,700). Supposedly there are programs out there that can help with the cost or if you have a condition like mine will supply the medication to you at no cost. Just gotta find them.
The best part about all of this, is that I am learning how to just keep on enjoying life and don't take anything for granted, and I also feel like its making me a better nurse, As a chronic patient myself, I know how important it is to get things done at work in a timely manner, make sure we have our patients come for follow up. Be available to help and offer information for things like patient assistance. You never know how important your health is until it has been taken from you and there's nothing you can do about it.
