Quickie update. Luckily, my doctor is conservative and wants to fully evaluate my condition before throwing a bunch of meds at me so I have been strapped into a monitor for the next 30 days. I will be wired and harnessed for a month. Good thing I am a little tech savvy for the booklet is bigger than the one for my Direct TV DVR.
It is a bit awkward to wear and a bitch to put a bra on around all the electrodes and wires but hopefully it will discover the problem. I am getting better at the bra thing and it should be second nature soon. We humans do adjust.
At first I just went braless but after I had worn it a while I was getting a strange pain in my upper back and I started thinking "come on---now what?" Then I had some errands to run plus a friend to visit and at my age, braless in public is not a good thing unless it is winter with heavy clothing. "Perky" is no longer in my vocabulary. So I suited up, tucked the sensor into my bra and went forth.
Oddly the back pains just quit and I realized that the extra pound or so hanging from my neck in the form of the sensor was causing the pain since just going braless has never been a problem before. Again--simple solutions. No more being braless--no more pain.
Guess that takes being a rap star off my bucket list. I'd never survive the heavy neck bling.
So far, no new episodes, my new diet has me contentedly losing weight and all is well.
Thank you all for your caring and informative comments. You are the best.
Now for the inappropriate laughter.
Sometimes choking back inappropriate laughter can be life threatening. While I was waiting in a doctor's office recently I overheard the following. The chairs were back to back in the waiting room so my ear was available for the conversation of the people directly behind me. No straining required.
An older gent was filling out the new patient form when he turned to his wife.
"You know," he said in a tone loaded with irony, " I have had diarrhea for over a year now and I still can't spell it."
Not sure how I kept from barking out a heehaw. I sat there with shoulders jerking, belly jumping and basically suffocating. Suppression just makes it so much worse. That he had diarrhea for over a year was not funny but the fact that he still couldn't spell it after all that time cracked me up.
He might feel better to know I just had to resort to spell check to get it right. Karma??
Ever get the giggles at the wrong time?
"Guess that takes being a rap star off my bucket list. I'd never survive the heavy neck bling." You are so funny!! Hope the results are good and you can avoid the chemical cocktail they offer to deal with A-fib.
ReplyDeleteOnce, in church, my first husband took my niece (about 10 months old) from my sister so my sister could settle in the seat. My niece grabbed his mustache and pulled. Pulled hard. Sitting beside him it looked like a cartoon stretch of improbable proportions. A tear came to the man's eye, but I was having convulsions trying to keep the giggles under wraps.
After Al (of our hiking group) finished 48 hours of the Holter monitor, I can certainly commiserate with you needing to wear it for a month. But you are nothing if not resourceful. I'm glad to hear everything seems to be getting better, and yes, inappropriate laughter as caught me a time or two. I wish I could have witnessed the whole scene, though. :-)
ReplyDeleteDear Patti,
ReplyDeleteWanted to comment on your original post, but could not find the comment button then; so now I would like you to know I empathize with your need for a monitor and condition at the same time!
But you made me snort with laughter. You would make a wizard rap star, I bet!
And as for 'perky'- nope, gravity hits us older gals hard, but our temperament could be called very perky, I believe?!
Best wishes from the Wetlands,
Renée
Oooh...inappropriate laughter is a real problem for me. I find the humor in so many things and most are inappropriate. The problem is trying to tell someone...one of those "had to be there" moments.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with laughing inappropriately began in early childhood. For some reason my Uncle Will prayed with an extremely slow voice. When we gathered there, my cousins and I waited for Uncle Will's "Deeaar Looorrd" and knew we would have to try to suppress the laughter. Anticipating it made it all the worse.
ReplyDeleteI tend to laugh a lot, following those wise words someone said, "You know you are going to laugh about this situation later. Might as well go ahead and laugh about it now."
I agree with the "you have to have been there" thought. So many things that happen are inappropriate but funny non-the-less. When one tells it, it never retains the humor, but the memory for me pops up every once in a while and I still laugh to myself. My brother used to make us all laugh till we cried... I do miss him.
ReplyDeleteMy siblings and I always had the "inappropriate laughing fits" at family gatherings for religious events and holidays. I remember once at the Passover table laughing uncontrollably while my mother glared at me across the table. Her look made me laugh even harder. And years later at my cousin's bar mitzvah, my siblings and I were seated in one long row. We were laughing and laughing, and my mom pinched my brother (not hard, just enough to get him to try and stop) and told him to pass that down the row. That made us laugh so loud we had to leave the synagogue. Thank you for asking, Patti, I haven't thought of that in years!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to good news from your heart monitor.
Even more ridiculous, I can never spell divorce correctly the first try.
ReplyDeleteHi, sweet Patti! Sorry to hear about your heart ailments and your having to wear the monitor. Hope it finds out what is going on and you can get all fixed up.
ReplyDeleteAs for the laughter I think of something that happened when I took my hubby to the doctor for a check-up he was 80 years old. The doctor asked how he had been doing. Hubby says to him "I am feeling much better since you gave me the Viagra." The doctor fell silent and looked over the top of his glasses at hubby and then at me and said "I gave you Viagra?" He was trying so hard to talk without laughing and I was about to burst at the seams but after a few seconds I was able to tell the doctor that hubby meant Lipitor. The doctor said "I didn't think I prescribed you Viagra." He was able to hold his laughter but I bet later he could no longer contain it because he was really struggling to not laugh.
Miss getting to read your posts but I will drop in from time to time and see what is up with you. Hugs, Maggie
Olga,
ReplyDeleteHa ha, your cartoon visual made that image just too funny. The tear also helped. It is such a helpless feeling isn't it?
Djan,
Often it is just the "where" that makes it all so darn funny. Trying to suppress it only makes it much worse.
Renee,
Thank you. Our two formats are difficult to navigate for the other. Glad you kept trying and that I found your funny bone.
turquoisemoon,
It is the "being there" that is mandatory. The setting plus the inappropriateness of laughing makes it impossible not to snort and giggle.
NCMountainwoman,
Ha ha, we had one of those at every large family dinner also. My BIL can really make a blessing last long enough that dinner gets cold but he leaves nothing un-thanked:))
Rian,
You are right, the situation is what made it funny in the first place. No way to recreate that but like you said, we still smile long after the event.
Robin,
Oh how funny,though maybe not for your mother. It is almost impossible to stop inappropriate giggles especially when you have co-conspirators egging you on. Glad you got to revisit some neat family times.
Joeh,
Ha ha, even with all your experience??
Maggie,
Now that is just too funny and I bet the doctor has told that story a few times. At least you both got a good story out of it.
I know you have such a full plate taking care of Shug so I am just happy when you do have a few minutes to stop by. Stay strong my friend.
I have had many times I could not stop laughing. You are right, it's rough trying to hold it in. Usually mine were in the most inappropriate places, like church or a funeral.
ReplyDeleteAt my wedding our preacher who we've had for years did the ceremony. There was a part where he was supposed to say "God bless their affections" but he said "God bless their infections" Hubby and I could not stop laughing and we couldn't tell why! No one caught the mistake but us and our best man and maid of honor.
I am glad your doctor is checking everything before medication.
Oh, and I need that diet!
Good to hear you're being thoroughly checked out before the meds are prescribed. Fingers crossed it isn't anything major.
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh....your perky comment is so spot on, and I'm not certain how you possibly kept from laughing at the man at the doctor's office.
Inappropriate laughing - many times. One that springs to mind - we were at my former sister-in-law's wedding (she was married to my older brother, divorced him and married his best friend). Her parents refused to attend the wedding so my mother and my uncle stood up as the parents of the bride. One of the guests turned to mom and gushed, "I just knew you and S were mother and daughter, you look so much alike". I was about 17-18 years old and just couldn't contain my laughter. My mom shot me a look that could have killed me and I quickly recovered!
LOL, LOL....Oh, yes. I think I might have just laughed out loud at that---and I too would have to resort to the dictionary....! I hope they will get all the info they need from this month long test----I had to wear one of this for 48 hours many many years ago---The results were good!.....Keeping Good Thoughts for you, my dear Patti, and hoping your results will be good, too....!
ReplyDeleteI can't spell it either. I am frequently reminded that I speak a lot more words than I ever write. Thank goodness for spell check.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are being monitored and that you are coping with it. I think you are unsinkable.
You have a great attitude, and I always think that makes a big difference in how we respond to stressors. Keep up the goodness sakes ALIVE! Hugs.
ReplyDeleteMy sister had to wear one of those thingabobs- and every time she had an episode she had to stop what she was doing and call in..I forget all, but she hated it. I hope you get good results soon, or at least an answer.
ReplyDeleteDiarrhea for a month? Egads, that couldn't have been fun.
I hope your hear good news from your monitoring. I've had to wear one about 3 different times and they are no fun. Mine was for the PVC's that the doctor had checked out to make sure that was all that was going on. Poor guy with diarrhea for a month! I agree with him that it is tricky to spell. :) Take care, Patti, and stay well! It's rainy here again and am wondering if the sun will ever shine again. Remind me I said this when we have those awful hot, humid days coming up in July and August!
ReplyDeleteI still can't spell it so I keep stocked up on Imodium so I don't need to spell it...
ReplyDeletePatti, I can certainly empathize with your Holter Monitor experience and hope that you will be okay. I've been away from blogging due to some work and family issues lately, but will hunt up your first post about this. I'm sorry that this test is necessary, but hope the results will be good or at the very least, manageable!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I get the giggles easily. Hmmm... I had to really think about where that h went if asked to spell diarrhea. Diarrhea for a whole year... truly not a great thing.
ReplyDelete