Heart to Heart

So about three weeks ago, my heart palpitations got really bad. For those of you who didn't know, I've had a periodic ventricular fibrillation since I was about 19. I was on beta blockers for it until I got pregnant, but then, like everything else, I had to stop. So, my OBGYN referred me to a cardiologist. The news is mostly good. The echo/sono showed no physical defect of my heart, which is wonderful news. But the fact remains that I still have an extra beat every now and then. A halter monitor revealed this - which is what I've been trying to get a doctor to believe for almost a decade (apparently people my age don't EVER have heart problems...) So since I can't take my meds still, we're trying a few other methods of control. First off is diet, which I was already practicing for the most part. Low sodium, no extra salt, bladahbladah. It's harder than you think. Just take a look at the sodium content of the things you buy that the grocery store, and then consider that I am only allowed 1600 mgs a day (which is not an unreasonable request for a healthy person.) I'm also walking again, five days a week at least. I had been doing that before I got pregnant, but the lack of energy sort of squashed that. I'm also on a potassium and magnesium supplement, which sparked a rather annoying argument with a pharmacy tech who thought I should know that MagOx was OTC and not prescription with no prior knowledge of the blasted thing whatsoever, and then refused to help me find it. And inevitably I found out the hard way that you aren't supposed to take that stuff on an empty stomach. Running through the church foyer to ensure that you don't lose what little breakfast you did eat all over the sanctuary is not a good way to start the morning. Then again, neither is blogging while you're supposed to be recording service.