ER Visit

November 8 - Found myself in the ER this afternoon with atrial fibrillation.  I had worked all night last night, and then had to work at the school this morning.  I had drunk a Dr. Pepper during the night and drank a Nuun energy drink this morning at 5:30 right before I started passing meds.  After getting to the school, I had another Nuun energy drink at 9:30 to give me some extra pep.  Around 11:20, after serving lunch to the first group to come through, I started feeling my heart pumping out of my chest, lightheadedness, dizziness, and the feeling like I could pass out.  My apple watch was saying my heart rate was between 130-150 and it wouldn't go down. I sat down for a bit and drank some water to see if it would pass.  I even went back tot he pantry and played down on the floor.  Nothing seemed to help and I knew I couldn't stay at work.  Thankfully I was only passing out a rice Krispy treat so I figured they could handle me being gone.  I just took off my apron and walked out the door after telling Sandy I have to go.  On the way out the door, I tried calling Dave but he didn't answer, so I went downstairs and took my blood pressure.  This 1st picture is from that.  Dave called back and said he would come home.  After waiting for him a little longer, I just wasn't feeling any better and felt like I should go to the ER, so I texted him to meet me there.  When I got there, I had to pee like no other! The front entrance was closed for construction, so I went into the ER and said this might be an emergency but I really have to pee first...LOL!!!  After doing so, I explained the situation but wasn't sure if I needed to be admitted, so they let me talk to the nurse and after she took my vitals and heard my symptoms , she said I should be.  They hooked me up to an EKG, took some blood, and monitored my vitals while they pumped me full of fluid and metoprolol through an IV since I was also severely dehydrated.  After about 3 hours, and drinking a potassium drink cause I was low on potassium and taking a metoprolol in pill form, my blood pressure and heart rate finally leveled out.  They concluded that the combination of no sleep, not drinking enough water, and caffeine drinks were what caused it since all those things can increase heart rate and blood pressure.  I had also went non stop while working at the school and never once took a break that morning.  The told me to stay away from caffeine, get sleep, and drink more water.  At my follow up appointment at the clinic a few days later, the doctor said I should see a cardiologist, just to rule out any underlying conditions, such as thyroid issues amongst other things.  They were supposed to call me for a referral, but as of today (Dec.2) , I haven't heard from them and I haven't had any more issues, so I probably won't worry about it unless something happens again. He said since this has happened once, it's likely to happen again under those conditions, so  I've been drinking more water and haven't had any caffeine at all since then.  Doctor explained when heart is in atrial fibrillation, the heart can't pump the blood away from the heart, so it pools around it and the risk of a blood clot forming is really high, so when it does level out and the heart starts pumping again, it can push that blood clot out and that's when it can go to your brain or lungs and cause a stroke or possibly kill you.  So, he said if I ever start to feel weird again like that, use y fingers on neck or wrist to monitor heart rhythm and if it feels irregular, I should see the doctor again.  

Posted on BeReal while I was there so had all my kids and sisters worried about me, so had to explain everything through text.  My mom had me go to her house after I got home to have Josh give me a blessing.  She was all in tears and worried about me.  I now know I am not invincible and I need to take better care of myself!!!  So sad I can't have my Dr. Pepper or caffeine anymore, but it's probably something I needed to do a long time ago, so I feel this is a warning that I was heading down the wrong path and hopefully I can get on a better one before it's too late!!