2 Months Post Op

Two months after my Open Heart surgery I have hit the wall. I have not gotten any further donations on my fund web page (see 'GoFundMe.com' post), which means my car still declines in condition and I struggle to find ways to keep it rolling. I turned 19 on Saturday which was more of a gloomy day than a celebration as I lost my NH Medicaid insurance and had no health insurance whatsoever (too poor for Obamacare). I tried to enjoy a weekend's worth of activities (see 'Boston Aquarium Trip' Post), which resulted in a return of old symptoms like muscle spasms in my neck and weakness in my legs causing them to give out altogether.

The previous Tuesday, I attended cardiac rehab and was informing the exercise specialist of the situation with my insurance when she suggested a new idea. She thought that if I was going to be working out at a gym on my own, I should first push myself while on their holter monitors to see what my heart does under that sort of pressure and if it cools down at a normal rate. She encouraged me to push myself on the stationary bike and after about eight minutes and a heart rate of 160 she encouraged me to slow down to make sure my heart rate dropped at a normal rate. It dived to a point where my blood pressure could not adjust to the rapid change and I ended up feeling dizzy on the floor. I was picked up off the floor by the director of the program who promised to make some calls and get my financial assistance application pushed to the top of the priority list. After sitting through the nutritional class and drinking a few boxed apple juices, I felt well enough to go get the blood work done that my Lyme specialist ordered a few days earlier. Ten vials were drawn along with a urine test to thoroughly check out my systems before the end of insurance coverage that weekend. I felt good enough to head out to lunch with a friend at Friendlys and then was picked up and driven to my disability determination appointment. The appointment was short and sweet and I had no idea how well or poor it had gone, as the doctor encouraged me that I would be hearing from Social Security eventually. I walked back to the car with my head down, slightly concerned that maybe I did not describe my situation well enough and maybe he had not had a full picture drawn of what my symptoms are when I'm in really rough shape. This of course all was happening before I declined that following weekend to a point where I had trouble walking and holding my head up straight after a weekend of birthday activities. I also had started a new anxiety medicine called Klonopin which was affecting me so severely that two hours after I took it I could not function until around lunch time the next day. This was resolved when I began cutting the dose in half after a few nights. I also just started biotin, for my nails and hair which is a healthy supplement for me since I do not drink regular milk and only can handle almond milk.

My total medication list when completed looks a little something like this:
~Vitamin D-3(for energy)
~Biotin
~CoQ10 (good for the heart)
~Magnesium (I tested deficient, great for the gut and detoxing)
~Probiotics (great even when not on Antibiotics)
~Lopressor (blood pressure and heart rate medicine)
~Aspirin (blood thinner)
~B12 (also good for energy)
~Carafate (stomach coating, helps with ulcers)
~Clonazepam (Klonopin, anti-anxiety and depression aid)
~Orthotricyclene Lo (for ovarian cysts)
~Nystatin (chronic yeast overgrowth)
and in the near future because of my worsened symptoms we will be adding treatment for Bartonella, Babesia, and neurological Lyme in the form of three antibiotics and a tincture:
~A-Bart (added to water to treat Bartonella)
~Rifampin
~Clarithromycin
~Omnicef
I have quite the pill box to put together tonight, and it will get fairly confusing as 2 of those are refrigerated, 2 are dissolving, 2 go in water, a bunch must be taken with food while other away from each other, and one is even four times a day away from all other medicines and food. It will get crazy keeping up with it yet again, and just in time for a busy summer where I want so badly to be normal.

My chest is recovering nicely, with only some muscle soreness and collar bone pain as it pops in and out of place. I do cardiac rehab three times a week and just started working on weighted arm exercises and yoga type stretching. I also still do the stationary bike and walk the treadmill. My improvement is visible and I am doing better than a lot would at this point in their recovery, but I am declining with my Lyme symptoms thanks to the Prednisone which ended this week. It allowed the bug to run wild in my system long enough to need a tough bite back.