Friday, September 21, 2012

Tremor Meds No Bueno

Chris had a heart flutter yesterday during his graduation visit to Phase 2 of Cardiac Rehab. 

Today, he his head was freezing cold, clammy & wet to the touch, but he said he was burning up.   This was at about 11:45am.   We were planning to go to DaVita for our 2:00pm appointment, so he decided not to go to the emergency room.   He did have me check on him later, and he seemed fine.   We went to DaVita and explained to Jen what had happened.   She recommended that we call Dr. Lyons today and consider discontinuing the Primidone.   Chris was concerned about his heart rate and some of the other readings that our home blood pressure cuff is giving us, so we'll take it in to Jen next week (appointment on Thursday afternoon) for her to check it.

Chris called Dr. Lyons and he wasn't in.  The doctor he spoke to said hastily to "stop the medication immediately" and that Dr. Lyons would call Chris on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, I'll be calling Heidi, the transplant coordinator at U of Utah.   I need to make  follow-up appointments with her transplant team and also with a cardiothoracic surgeon.   (Dr. Gomez-Abraham is no longer with the university, so we'll need to find another surgeon who will check Chris' progress.)


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Tremor Diagnosis

Chris has had a tremor that has affected his hand coordination and movements for his entire life.   It has gotten progressively worse, so he got a referral to see a neurologist to see what it was and if anything could be done.

The doctor said Chris has a Benign Essential Tremor.   He did get a prescription for antiepileptic primidone, and we'll see how well he tolerates it.   We have an appointment in mid-October to see how the treatment is working.

Chris' last phase 2 Cardiac Rehab session is tomorrow, so he'll be having his graduation and getting a T-shirt.

DaVita appointment coming on Friday.