Pregnancy Anemia

So I recently had my blood drawn at my 28 week appointment. I discovered 2 things. One, I failed my one hour glucose test, which means I have to go in tomorrow for the 3 hour test. I was gestational diabetic with my first daughter, and I'm expecting the same diagnosis later this week. I also discovered that I was anemic so I need to start taking iron supplements. One of the symptoms of anemia in addition to fatigue, shortness of breath, and headaches is...heart palpitations. Bingo. Maybe that's why I've been feeling so many of those nasty misbeats lately. And hopefully, now that I'm taking the iron pills, I'll see a reduction in the number of palpitations I get (especially before bedtime.)

Fingers crossed.

Left or Right Side?

I mentioned in my last post, that I tend to experience more palpitations when I lay on my left side before falling asleep. So, I usually find relief when I flip over and lay on my right side. I've heard conflicting thoughts about whether to lay on your left or right side. I'm of the mind, you do what works best for you.

But since I'm curious, do you find a better side to relieve heart palpitations when you lay down? I'd love to hear from you.

The right side vs. the left side???

And the Beat Goes On

I'm so sorry to all my readers. I have been an absolute horrible blogger recently. I got pregnant and that caused a whole myriad of things to prevent me from blogging regularly (nausea, fatigue, keeping up with a toddler, appointments, etc).

But I'm doing well, and I'm nearing the end of my second trimester. We found out that we are having another little girl (yay for sisters!) and she's due to arrive in mid November.

How are my heart palpitations these days, you may ask? Oh, they are a pretty active right now! Some women say that pregnancy makes them better and others say that they make them worse. In fact, many women first experience the sensation of palpitations when they become pregnant. This causes many anxious and frightened mama-to-be's to report this symptom to their doctors. Usually, the doctor reassures the mama that these are normal and for many lucky women, they go away after pregnancy.

Mine come almost every day. Some really scare the beejeezus out of me. But for the most part, I've come to accept their annoyances. They are especially bad as I lay down before I go to sleep. I've noticed that if I lay on my right side, they seem to diminish somewhat. And if they are really annoying, I'll sometimes prop myself up with several pillows and sleep upright. They are not too bad when I'm active, but no surprise there. Most of us PVCers are more aware of them when we are sedentary. That doesn't mean they don't occur when I'm up and about; I just don't feel them.

I'm most nervous about the heart palpitations during the post-partum period. Lack of sleep and caring for a new baby and a toddler is a recipe for stress-induced palpitations. I've mentioned before on my blog that my cousin Beth past away within the year of giving birth to her 4th child. There has been much discussion over the cause of her death, but most of her doctors think that she may have had Long QT syndrome, a condition that causes palpitations, fainting, and sudden death. Findings indicate that among women with LQTS who gave birth, the 9-month postpartum time is associated with a 2.7-fold increased risk of experiencing a cardiac event and a 4.1-fold increased risk of experiencing a life-threatening event when compared with the preconception time period. After this transient high-risk postpartum period, the risk of cardiac events reverts to the baseline pre-pregnancy risk. What does this all mean for me? I've been tested over and over and my doctors feel fairly certain that I do not have this genetic condition. So, I shouldn't worry about an increase risk of sudden-death during the post partum period. But when you have a family member die after giving birth, it does make you a bit anxious.

Sleepwalking Through Spring

I'm so sorry I haven't been posting as much. I literally have been a sleepwalking zombie the past couple months. Why, you ask? I found out in early March that my husband and I will be expecting our 2nd child in November. I'm about 9 weeks in and feeling every bit of it. Extreme fatigue, nausea, depression, lack of motivation, anxiety, mood swings, vomiting, heart palpitations galore, headaches...you name it, I probably got it. Since I'd rather not portray my weary self to the world, I've sort of been shutting myself away. I do hope to post more in the future. And all the prayers and well wishes would be greatly appreciated.

My annual appointment

to visit my cardiac electrophysiologist is scheduled for this coming April 1st. Yeah, April Fool's day. Not sure what I was thinking when I scheduled it for that day. Also, I haven't exactly gone in for my annual (making it my triennial?) the past couple years since becoming a mom. I'm hoping all will be well with my EKG. I'm currently trying to come up with a list of questions I'd like to ask my doctor. It's always a good idea to write down your questions that you'd like to discuss with your doctor; otherwise, you're likely to forget, and then you just blew your valuable co-pay. I promise to update after my appointment.

Update: All went well. My EKG looked great and my QT interval looked normal. They're always checking my QT interval due to my cousin's sudden death. I have to say I like my doctor a lot. He listens attentively and without judgment. He takes your concerns serious, but doesn't freak you out. He doesn't rush you out of the office, and he always makes sure I feel confident about everything before I leave. He is always so reassuring, that for weeks after an appointment I hardly give notice to the thumps and skips of my heart.

Fear of Danger

I recently stumbled upon this Daniel Defoe quote from his masterpiece Robinson Crusoe.

"Fear of Danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than Danger itself, when apparent to the Eyes; and we find the Burthen of Anxiety greater, by much, than the Evil which we are anxious about."

So fitting for a gal that suffers from Anticipatory Anxiety. The Burthen of thinking about the next palpitation episode is oftentimes worse than the actual episode.

As Seen on The Doctors

I was flipping through the channels this afternoon and (to my delight) caught a short segment about heart palpitations on the television show The Doctors (aka America's Medical Dream Team).

They had a young woman on the show named Sarah who complained of heart palpitations along with feelings of her heart racing, being unable to catch her breath, and feeling faint without actually fainting. The young woman was visibly quite scared.

The Doctors mentioned that the woman had an underlying cause that was most likely attributing to her heart palpitations. Want to take a guess of the cause?

If you guessed Mitral Valve Prolapse, you're right! I've talked a little bit about MVP before on my blog, but here's a crash course if you can't remember. Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) occurs when the valve between your heart's left upper chamber (left atrium) and the left lower chamber (left ventricle) doesn't close properly. When the left ventricle contracts, the valve's flaps bulge (prolapse) upward or back into the atrium. Mitral (MIE-truhl) valve prolapse sometimes leads to blood leaking backward into the left atrium, a condition called mitral valve regurgitation.

Dr. John Kennedy on The Doctors, said that most likely the regurgitation was "tickling" or "irritating" Sarah's heart and thus the heart palpitations.

Sarah wore a 24 hour holter monitor and completed a 30 day event monitor for prognosis. The results were that even when she was palpitating she overall had a normal sinus rhythm. Sarah was going to be okay.

The Doctors urged her to lower her stress levels whether it be "trying a yoga class" or "reading a book."

Disclaimer: When watching The Doctors, if you are a woman, you may want to use caution when looking at Dr. Travis Stork (a former Bachelor on ABC's The Bachelor). He has been known to make a woman's heart start palpitating.