Okay, I Admit It, I Am Scared.

After going through a quadruple bypass, then having 2 stents afterwards, watching both your sisters and your Mother die, you tend to get a little paranoid when you have chest pain. I am talking about little twinges, some pressure after you eat or walk in the cold weather, to waking up in the middle of the night feeling like someone just punched you in the chest.

Since I have now out lived my family on my Mom's side, every twinge of pain I get that "is this it" nagging feeling in my head. I continue to tell myself, "NO", and walk it off, turn over and go to sleep, get on the computer...anything to take my mind off of it to see if it goes away. If not,I pop a nitro or two, and that usually does the trick. (so far)

Six weeks or so, I started on a medication called Domperidone, nope, not the alcohol...then 3 weeks ago, I started on a medication called Savella.

Okay first the domperidone. This medication is not FDA approved, so I am going through a "study" in order to receive it, and then it comes from, well, not here. In the past, when it was FDA approved, when used IV it caused heart attacks. Yeah, I know, of all people to be taking this..but the use for this medication is because I have been diagnosed with something called "Gastroparesis". This is when your stomach stops digesting your food, and it just sits in your stomach, causing you a great deal of pain, vomiting, and your stomach gets huge. This, for me, lasts for hours. I was vomiting food that was over a day old. (too much information huh?) So, my cardiologist and the Gastrologist decided I could try it, as long as I had regular EKG's etc.

Next the Savella. This medication is FDA approved for Fibromyalgia. I started taking it 3 weeks ago. Have no doubts, this is a rough medication to take as well. It caused a lot of nausea, stomach pain...even while I am taking the Domperidone. But, I've made it to week 3, the maximum dose.

Now, here comes the scary part. My pain clinic doctor, the one that prescribed the savella to me, advised me that this medication could cause my heart to increase..."7 beats or so", and "your blood pressure to increase some". She told me to call her if this happened.

Now, what has been happening is....My heart rate, though it has been faster than most normal people, which I take 2 different types of medication to keep it down, has been jumping up to around 130, at which time I cannot breath, and I am extremely exhausted!! This is a tad bit more than the 7 beats she warned me about. This only happens... some times, and during those times, I am up moving around, or moving my arms around such as washing my hair. After I sit down and rest, I calm down. This has been happening for a couple of weeks now. My blood pressure, has never gone up, but actually is very low...lower than normal. It's been running around 90/50. So, my pulse and blood pressure weren't doing "exactly" what she warned me about....Ok, I am stretching it here, I know.

I haven't called my pain clinic doctor to report this to her, but I did make an appointment with my cardiologist. (2 weeks) I already had an appointment with my pain clinic doctor, actually tomorrow.

For anyone that has Fibromyalgia, I would suggest Savella. I have been amazed that the "all over" body pain, has been cut literally in half. I have cut my Vicodin use in half as well!! The only pain that it is not touching, what so ever, is the pain in my hips, from the SI joint fusions. (Hmm, still not thinking that fused SI joints are from Fibromyalgia, maybe that is why Savella isn't working on them??) Since I cannot take Advil, or any type of NSAIDS, Vicodin is all I have right now to get to the pain, but I have cut down to 1 in the morning, and 2 before bedtime. Great, great improvement!! (maybe some of the nausea and vomiting was withdrawal??)

Don't be surprised, it doesn't come without some side effects though, but when I asked my doctor and CVS about it, they both said, most people give up by time they get to the maximum dose, but it you can handle it for a short time, the side effect do go away. I agree, at least for me.

This heart issue, I believe is either a mixture of the 2 medications, and I will probably have to give up 1 of them, or my heart is having problems again. I see the cardiologist on the 21st, and hope to just have an EKG to find out. I have had over 10 heart caths now, and I hope not to add to that list, but if that is what needs to be done to find out if it's my heart or the medication...lets jump to it.

So, until the 21st..I'll keep taking my medication, resting when I can, and waiting for the results to see if my heart is failing more, or I need to stop one of the meds...hmmmm, which one???