Not a lot of people know that I have been having some medical problems, but after reaching my breaking point of passing out while I was talking to Marie, I decided it was time to have some serious testing done. Now, don't freak out a whole lot, because the passing out incidents are thankfully few and far between... we're talking 5-ish times since Justin and I have been married.
So, I went to see a cardiologist on Wednesday and he did a tilt-table test. Basically, they strapped me to a table, hooked me up to a bunch of monitors, and moved the table to differing degrees of elevation. The point of the test is to make you pass out so that they can see what happens and try to understand why it happens. It worked. I passed out at the very end of the test, so they were able to get all the information they needed.
Results? For some reason (maybe my birth control, maybe something else), my heart rate is always varying from 70-170 beats per minute. My body does a really great job of adjusting my blood pressure so that my really fast heart beats don't cause me any trouble most of the time. That is until my heart rate goes up to 190. Then, I basically have no blood pressure, and I pass out. Therein lies the problem.
For now, I am taking some medicines to try and fix this. We're not sure of the cause yet, so we will have to play with different treatments until we find one that works the best. Until we find the cause and best treatment, and even after we do, I would really appreciate prayers. I'm way too young to be falling apart like this!
And, Marie, thanks for taking great care of me during the last episode. Justin and I are so grateful for you!