I had a slew of tests done today, all involving echocardiograms. One was a bubble test to confirm the hole in my heart, the other was just a standard thoracic echo to check for other problems. What it came down to was 2 hours of people grinding ultrasound wands into my ribcage and bruising the heck out of my left boob. But I guess now it’s confirmed that I have the hole, next step is to see if insurance will pay to have it closed, or if I’ll have to stay on blood thinners for the rest of my life. Which might happen anyway, because after having a stroke at age 29, hole or no hole, I’m high risk for another one. This week has been very busy, after seeing my pdoc on Tuesday, my therapist on Wednesday, then my physiatrist this morning followed by a trip halfway across the state to Hershey to get these tests done, and I STILL found time to spend with friends and loved ones. But now I’m spent, tomorrow I don’t have to get up for anything so when I go to bed I’m just gonna sleep as much as I need to.
I’m sorry you had such a harrowing week. If you have the surgery, what is the down time? Was the whole genetic?
The hole is actually fairly common, and by itself rather benign, but with someone who is prone to clots, it can send a clot straight to the brain, bypassing the lungs which act as a filter. It’s not exactly genetic, but it’s something I was born with.
It’s heart surgery, so I would have to stay in the hospital for a while, but it’s not like they’re cracking open my chest and taking my heart out completely, it’s done with a catheter in a leg vein so there’s no scar and no stopping the heart. Of course, there also IS an option for open heart surgery, but the catheter surgery works fine, it’s just not FDA approved so it’s tricky getting it covered.
@RowanAmethyst, so sorry you need heart attention…hope you’re not too scared about it. I have bad hearts in my family.
lol i messed up the spelling of hole. sorry. How long will it take to find out if your insurance will let you get the surgery?
I’m sorry you are going through that. I’ve always felt that we deal with enough with sz that we should be spared from physical ailments. My physical ailments are popping up as a result of being on the meds for years. I hope your insurance covers the surgery and I wish you well. 
Yeah my physical problems are a direct cause of the psych meds I have been on for years - I do wish you all the best @RowanAmethyst i am sure you will be alright
I’m sorry you have to go through this. I have a feeling you’ll come through very well. Your a strong person and the procedure is pretty common these days.
But the anxiety level of being poked and prodded… and then the doc pauses and says things like… “interesting” and “That’s different”
That is what makes me want to jump out of my skin.
I hope this gets resolved quickly and you can get back in action soon.
Sorry you are dealing with this stuff. I am glad that you found out what was going on, and it can be fixed.
Enjoy relaxing tommorow.
Ugh, went to two gatherings today, one a tribe meeting for my Family of Choice (which was fun but overwhelming), the other just a cookout at a friend’s house. I left the second one and went home without saying goodbye because they started playing a “strip” version of Cards Against Humanity, which I think is really juvenile and idiotic. My boob is STILL bruised from Thursday, and I have no new information about my course of treatment. On top of that, the hallucinations continue to get worse, especially the auditory ones, and I’m starting to zone out more. I am not a happy little tree.
I am sorry this is hitting you. You have been amazing in fighting through all this, and the stroke.
I am still in awe of how active you are and how many things your involved with and can do.
I am rooting for you to get better and find something that works for you.