Dr. Nishime came to see me yesterday morning.
She has an even stronger suspicion that I was on too strong a dose of diuretic. She said my heart is picky and doesn't like to be too wet or too dry.
I'm feeling much better today, so she said there's no need to rush ahead with the IV dopamine, we can wait to see if its indicated after the right heart cath.
The nurses strike is throwing the complication into getting the right heart cath scheduled. The lab is fully booked for tomorrow, and if it doesn't tomorrow then I have to wait until Thursday.
Doctor Nishime has an idea. She says that since they are only doing right heart caths an emergency basis today and tomorrow, perhaps if she can find me a bed in the ICU we can have it done there either today or tomorrow.
So now I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything on the off chance that I get to have the right heart catherization soon. I'm passing the time keeping my mind off my hunger and thirst by watching Gilmore Girls on my Kindle Fire.
UPDATE: It's a no go
So they are not going to be able to get me in for the right heart catherization today. Rather than keep me here until Thursday, it's been decided that I will go home and come back for my original appointment at the cath lab, to have the test done on an outpatient basis.
Another cardiologist from the heart failure clinic, Dr Parek, came by to see me with a student fellow from Stanford, Genevieve (she is French Canadian, and her name is pronounced John vee ev). Genevieve is studying under Dr Ashley at Stanford, who is the west coast's leading expert in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and consults with Kaiser's team on cases like mine. (Check out Dr. Ashley's presentation on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, it's about an hour long but I found it fascinating ... especially with his Scottish accent!)
They performed a ultrasound of my heart and the abdominal blood vessels. It showed that the vein wall was collapsing slightly, which indicates low blood volume, confirming the theory that I'm too dry.
After reviewing my daily weight, sodium intake and blood pressure log, Dr. Parek recommended that I increase my sodium intake slightly to at least 1500 milligrams per day. She also recommended that I only take Lasix on days when I have gained 2 full pounds or more overnight.
Another cardiologist from the heart failure clinic, Dr Parek, came by to see me with a student fellow from Stanford, Genevieve (she is French Canadian, and her name is pronounced John vee ev). Genevieve is studying under Dr Ashley at Stanford, who is the west coast's leading expert in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and consults with Kaiser's team on cases like mine. (Check out Dr. Ashley's presentation on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, it's about an hour long but I found it fascinating ... especially with his Scottish accent!)
They performed a ultrasound of my heart and the abdominal blood vessels. It showed that the vein wall was collapsing slightly, which indicates low blood volume, confirming the theory that I'm too dry.
After reviewing my daily weight, sodium intake and blood pressure log, Dr. Parek recommended that I increase my sodium intake slightly to at least 1500 milligrams per day. She also recommended that I only take Lasix on days when I have gained 2 full pounds or more overnight.
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