Psoriatic Arthritis Journal - 2.5 year Update Page 63

[Lesliec1]

Oh, I didn't realize that your DH still had to go to work for now. That must be extra torturous. Poor guy to have to go there still.

Those "you only had one job" photos are so great! Have you seen the blog of unnecessary quotations? That's one of my favorites.

[nicoles]

Hey Leslie - no I haven't seen that blog! I'll google it.

It is a little torturous still working there for him, but there are some benefits, including paid time to look for work.

Also, he has a bunch of friends there who are gunning for him, and they sometimes make his boss squirm a little because they are higher up than she is. If she was paranoid about his documenting, then she's definitely paranoid about those high-up friends of his.

[nicoles]

I was just over at Moonwatcher's blog, and her most recent post is so true to my experience and so timely for me right now that I just have to quote it in my journal here so I can keep it with me, always

This often happens during hard times since I’ve been eating this way—I notice something is gathering strength, force, momentum, quietly in the background, and that the adjustments do involve pain, but they go in the direction of healing and restoring function. And maybe when the body is working so hard to do that, it is especially important to rest more, not run away from the seemingly unpleasant reality of having to do less, and catastrophize it as meaning I’m getting worse, when I’m trying to get better, and making progress with it. However slow, it’s real and comprehensive. And the (subjective, but nevertheless real) proof is in the pinkie!”

[nicoles]

I hate to be a downer, and I still believe in eating this way, but at least for me, I also believe that stress plays a huge part in my disease activity.

I am very stressed, despite stretching, meditation, positive outlook, doing things towards good outcomes, etc.

I am also in a terrible flare up right now. Getting worse each day. Can't walk, can barely function, and am so, so fatigued. I wish it were not so, but there it is. As soon as I can wrap my mind around it, I guess I'll do a fast.

Disappointing and scary, but who said life was fair?

[Lesliec1]

Oh no. So sorry to hear that! Keep us posted. How long does a flare usually last for you? Or does it vary a lot?

[nicoles]

Hi Leslie,
Usually a flare can last maybe a day or two, but this is already dragging on, so I don't know.

Doing some research on the link between stress, the gut, and immune function. Did you know that stress can actually increase intestinal permeability? At least it looks like that from what I am reading. Not to mention mess with other digestive functions. Interesting stuff.

[eri]

Ugh Nicole! Take it easy ok? Hopefully this will blow over soon & not drag on.

[nicoles]

Thanks Leslie and Eri. It looks like I may be at a plateau or cresting the apex of the flare - it feels like it is calming down, even while it is still going on. I am just going to keep resting and trying not to wallow in stress.

[nicoles]

My Dad's surgery was today. They had to stop it an hour into it because they found a clot in the coronary artery. he has been eating this way for a year, but he had a shrimp dinner last night. Might not have been a good idea to do that.

OK, stress is still big time here. I hate being so far away!

[eri]

You must be a big ball of stress right about now. I'll be praying everything goes well for your dad & that you come out of the flare soon. Maybe a nice bubble bath would make tou feel better. Calgon take me away & all that... *hugs*

[nicoles]

Thanks Eri! I am channeling my Tasmanian Devil of stress right now into research on things my Dad might be able to do after he recovers from this. Learned a lot so far.

update: My Dad is now awake and might even go home tonight. Apparently he is pissed - my Mom did not let me talk to him but I could hear him yelling in the background. I'd be pissed too. He was scared as sh*t about that surgery and really hoping he'd only have to do it once.

[eri]

Well, hey, he must be feeling halfway decent if he has the energy to yell. LOL

[nicoles]

Well, hey, he must be feeling halfway decent if he has the energy to yell. LOL

Exactly!

Also, my DH sent me this today, to cheer me up. It made me lol.

[Lesliec1]

What does that mean they had to stop the surgery? They'll have to go back in? If so, when?

[nicoles]

They had to stop the surgery because they would have dislodged the clot and caused a heart attack or stoke.

Cardiac ablation is laproscopic, so they were threading a catheter in through the vein or artery to then attach electrodes to each and every cardiac vein (I think, or perhaps muscle, I am not clear on that) to see where the electrical misfiring occurs that causes the irregular heartbeat, and then they were basically going to kill that small part of muscle , or zap it, so it does not function at all, and thereby stops the irregular heartbeat. I think the catheter would have dislodged the clot, so they had to stop.

Their plan is to do it again in a month after breaking up the clot with high doses of Coumadin (aka warfarin, aka blood thinner). I am not in love with this plan, but what can you do? Apparently there is only a 30% success rate for people with his kind of a-fib, so this might have to be repeated multiple times.

And of course, the surgery takes 4-6 hours, and the patient has to be under general anesthetic the whole time. Like I said, I am not in love with this plan.

I am even less in love with his cardiologist, who based going in for surgery yesterday on a CT scan from 3 months ago, not recently, in which there was evidence of the very same clot they found! I want to have faith in doctors, really I do. But they are not meeting me halfway.