Health

I whine a lot here about being tired and not feeling well so I thought I let you know what exactly ails me.

I have dilated, idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Google that last word if you don’t know what it means.

Really scary!!

The term "idiopathic" means that the cause is unknown. No one knows why I have this problem, much less how to fix it.

Basically, this is what you have when you get a heart transplant, making the cure worse than the disease, in my opinion.

Here’s a good explanation:

http://www.cardiomyopathy.org/index.php?id=48

It’s a site from the UK but contains good definitions. Read ‘Ejection Fraction’.

I’ve been told by my doctors that a normal EF is 55 to 70%. Mine is 20%. Last December, when I felt like I was dying, it was <10%. I got a pace maker/defibulator implanted in January (We are the Borg! You will be assimilated!) and my EF has doubled since then. It’s twice what it was but still piss-poor.

As a result of all this, I can no longer do many, many things I enjoy: hiking, camping, dancing, taking a walk, nor many things I didn’t enjoy: house-work, shopping.

So, my house is a mess most of the time. I scrubbed my kitchen floor last weekend and it took ALL DAY!! I’d work for a few minutes, til I got out of breath, then sit for a little while, then work for a few more minutes, then sit some more. And this is with the nice FloorMate my SO bought me last year! I can’t even begin to scrub a floor by hand!

And I work full-time, as well. Some weekends, I don’t get out of bed til almost 11:00am! And my brother gives me a hard time about it, too.

Most people don’t ‘get’ it. Fortunately for me, my kids and my SO do and don’t expect me to be able to do things ‘normal’ people can do. I can’t even take a shower as often as I would like! I take 1 a week because it exhausts me so.

And I get NO exersize, so I’m overweight as well. Not something I’m pleased about, believe me! And the beta-blockers I’m on make me gain more weight. Lose-lose-lose. Everything except weight! L

If you’ve ever read Little Women, what I have is what killed Beth. It took her years to die after scarlet fever damaged her heart. That would have been me if not for modern medicine.