No Carvedilol - Day 2

4-5 half-lives.  So say the experts... before it's completely out of your system.  *sigh*  Ugh.  Don't feel any better today.  Woke up with usual weakness, breathlessness, chest pressure, sweating like crazy.

Phooey.

The half-life of Carvedilol is about 6-7 hours, so I have to wait about 4-5 doses to actually feel any different, give or take.  It all depends on the person, I guess.  Really weak today, though.  Not liking this at all.

On the bright side, my heart hasn't acted up, no racing or slamming itself against my chest wall (except when laying down)!  SO glad for that.  But then, my 'version' of AF is paroxysmal, so in the absence of persistent AF... I 'may not' have an unpleasant episode in the short time I'm off the beta blocker.  AND... paroxysmal AF is easier to ablate than persistent or permanent. :)  As for the persistent fatigue... I still have ye ole snake venom (lisinopril) on board, so that will add to the fatigue as well.

Phooey again.

Today is the last day I can have any caffein.  I've been a good kid in that respect, only having 2 cups per day.  T bought me a Keurig machine (LOVE IT!!!!) before moving here to Montgomery so I could control exactly how much coffee I drink without wasting anything.  AND, of course, I can make tea, hot chocolate, etc. with it as well.  But...I digress.  I'm to stop any caffein 24 hours before the procedure, so today is it.  And as much as a part of me wants to indulge past my 2 cup limit, I won't.  Excess caffein in the absence of heart rate control meds (coming OFF, cold turkey!) is a HUGE3 no-no!  That will probably trigger an AF attack and, well, I'm so not going to risk that, because I may not be able to get it to stop.  So my 2 cup limit stands.

I was a little surprised at my BP reading this morning, though.  92/62 with my HR at 59.  Very strange, considering the absence of Carvedilol.  Though my BP has been MUCH lower, scary low (but not remaining there, of course).  And there have been several times it's been up in the stage 4 hypertension range, both diastolic and systolic.  Also, my HR prior to being on any meds was WAY below normal, low 50's and often in upper 40's... with plenty of fatigue to go with it.  There could be more than one thing going on here, but... who knows.  Below normal HR under normal conditions, then 180-200+ HR when AF kicks in.   I have NO idea what that's all about.  One Cardiologist (intern) who was there during my TEE suggested I may have Sick Sinus Syndrome, where the AV node (the heart's natural pacemaker) may be malfunctioning.  Again, I've no idea.  First things first....

Okay.  My arms are aching from typing.  This is ridiculous.

I may make more entries if anything interesting happens.  Maybe.  We'll see.