Weekend Shopping Trips

I was going to post this weekend but Michael and I spent a lot of time just enjoying each other's company so I never got around to it.

I had awesome shopping trips this weekend. See below:

This is from a place I mentioned in my last coupon post. The place is called Bargain Foods. They get overstock and damaged items from stores and sell it at a reduced cost. What you see here is $72.27 worth of groceries for $40.32. I LOVE THAT PLACE. The only thing is they don't accept coupons. But it's okay. I save enough there anyway. 

I loved my Publix shopping trip. As you know, I have two dogs. We need lots of dog treats. So, I spent $11.39 on $58.01 worth of stuff. WOW. Now, of course these were dog treats, ice cream, taco shells, and Maalox, nothing to make a meal with (except for the Taco shells). However, these were things we need.

 This is my shopping trip from Bilo. It's not the best I have done at BiLo but it was good. I got some meat that was on sale. Plus, I got some cleaning stuff. And more Maalox. I spent $36.41 on $60.95 worth of stuff. Like I said, it wasn't the best I have done but I didn't have any coupons for the meat. 

And this is my shopping trip to CVS. I am still working on perfecting my CVS shopping but I'm getting better. I spent $35.76 on $84.58 worth of stuff. I am really happy. I got free toothpaste, toothbrushes, and Listerine. I was excited. Plus, I got some Valentine Day stuff for my valentine.

So in total this weekend, I spent $123.88 on $275.81 worth of stuff. That's a savings of 56%. I'm pretty stoked about that. So what is my tip for the week?

Get rainchecks. That's how I rocked it out at Publix. I had awesome coupons but the week I needed the dog stuff, they didn't have it. I got a raincheck and went back when I had other stuff to get and got the dog stuff. GET RAIN CHECKS when the store is out of the product you want and go get it before your coupons expires.

SON days

Wordless Wednesday

So what exactly happened?

Sunday October 4, started like any Sunday afternoon does for me and Michael. We went to his parents to eat Sunday dinner and spend some time there. His parent's home is like my second home. I feel completely at ease and comfortable there.

While we were there that Sunday my heart started "acting up" at lunch. I stopped eating and put my head between my hands. I do a fairly good job at controlling my heart and breathing during these times. I concentrated on that while Michael and his parents looked on concern. I finally gave up on eating and sat on the couch. "It will go away" I told myself. It always does and this time is no different. I have atrial fibrillation. Take a minute.

See, it's nothing life-threatening at all. An hour later I finally called my mom to bring my carelink monitor. I sent a transmission to my doctors at MUSC here in SC and laid down. I was so exhausted because of the a-fib that I just wanted to sleep. Plus, sleeping has made it go away in the past so why should this time be any different?

I woke up three hours later and it was still not gone. Yep, emergency room time. I called to make sure I was doing the right thing and I was. I walked into the emergency room on my own accord and told the lady at the desk I would like to check in. When the words "atrial fibrillation" came out of my mouth I was whisked away to a room. In the room I was hooked up to several monitors and what not. Fast forward about an hour and a half....

They had played around with some ideas as to what to do for me and decided that Diltiazem would be the best avenue for it. Before they could start me on the medicine, my heart took off. And BAM, my defibrillator shocked my heart to try to slow it down. And AGAIN. And AGAIN. And three more times it went. It was so surreal. It was happening to me but I could see it happening to someone else, like it was happening on TV. The cardiac ER doctor was awesome at keeping me calm. She finally put Diltiazem into my IV after the second time of my defibrillator going off. She kept up with me the whole time, kept eye contact me with me. I remember looking around and seeing at least 15 people in the room during that time.She was finally able to get my heart rate to go down...after LOT of Diltiazem, Morphine, and Zofran. Yes, I was so drugged I could not see straight. However, that didn't keep me from worrying about how fast my heart was going. For an hour, even after it had slowed down, it was a matter of peace of mind for me to know it was okay. In fact, at one point it had began to creep up again and I was able to tell her before she even saw it on the monitor. Some more Diltiazem later, I was stable. After that, I definitely had a hard time trusting that they were watching my heart rate. That's when I was introduced to Ativan. And I lived on that for the next 24 hours. Good stuff.

My heart may have slowed down but it never corrected itself out of the abnormal rhythm. Monday morning my electrophysiologist decided that cardioversion was needed to correct the a-fib. So, after drugging me up on some Versed they shocked my heart so it would go back into rhythm. When I woke up, I didn't even realize it was over. They only thing I knew was my heart was back to normal. And I was grateful.

I'm not going to lie. I'm terrified now. I have always depended on my defibrillator to stop these types of rhythms. Although my defibrillator was implanted for the purpose of ventricular tachycardia, it had always worked in the past for the purposes of a-fib. I guess I figured (or had hoped) it would continue to be the case. It's not. My defibrillator did nothing for me that Sunday. The WONDERFUL ER cardiac doctor and her medications is what stopped the episode. And I can't get that out of my mind. I can't get the picture in my head of me coming off the gurney with every shock from my defibrillator. So much so that I was sent home with Xanax to help with the anxiety. I'm scared. I'm constantly aware of my heart rate and heartbeat. And I'm not sure how to be normal again. I'm not sure how to forget this happened and go back to normal.


***This was written shortly after my hospital stay. While I am still very aware of my heart beats, things have gotten better as you will see with future posts.

SON days

 

 This is a song that I have really grown to love. I was raised in a Christian home and kind of got away from that for awhile. When I realized how important God was to me in my life, I have definitely "ran back to his promises" and it has surprised me, just as the son said. I now take great satisfaction in reading my Bible and praying that God will lead me to where he wants me. 

No Shopping Trip This Week

One thing that I have learned while couponing is that you don't ALWAYS HAVE to shop every week. I always look at the sales on Southern Savers and if there is nothing I know that we will use or just simply no good prices, I will not go. That's one of the biggest things I will say about doing this. Look once, if there's nothing there, don't try to find something. Know what you have in your kitchen and know what you need. Don't buy to be buying and don't buy it if you aren't going to use it (unless you are donating). Going one weekend a month without going to the store, is not going to deplete your stockpile. Use what you have and check back next week. You'll be surprised by how much you will save.

My First Panic Attack

When I was a teenager, I always had anxiety about being around a lot of people. I hated going to Walmart because I always felt like I was drowning. However, I never had, what I like to call, a full blown panic attack. I was always able to keep everything under control long enough to get what was needed and get out. 

October 15 I was getting ready to go to bed and started feeling my heart race. My mind went blank and all I could think about was dying (seriously). I screamed for my husband but because he was so tired from working that day, he did not hear me. Looking back on it now, knowing what I know now, I could feel fear welling up in me. But I only thought about my heart. It only lasted a few seconds, but I ran to get Michael (that should have been my first clue right there-if it had been my heart, my defibrillator would have discharged with the rapid movement). I told him I had to go to the ER right then because I was afraid of my defibrillator discharging. 

When I got to the ER, they hooked me up to a heart monitor. My heart was in normal rhythm with no problems. My heart rate did rise but it was because I had another panic attack. While it felt like it was going really really fast, in reality it was only going 120-130 beats a minute. (Keep in mind that my heart has the ability to go 250 beats per minute). Seeing the doctor took forever this time (because I was fine) but they did give me a Xanax to calm me down while I was waiting. While it did calm me down some, I still was very shaky. 

This was my first actual panic attack. I went on to have about 7-8 more. One time, I had one in my sleep. I called 911 and again I was fine. Another time, I was driving down the road. I began having a panic attack and called 911 again. Again, I was fine. 

I have learned to recognize the symptoms of a panic attack, what happens in the minutes before and the minutes after. Learning to recognize the symptoms have taken the scariness out of it all. 

My first step is to evaluate. Feel my heart beat..it may be fast but is it in normal rhythm? If yes, proceed to Step 2. My second step is to breathe. It sounds simple but really does make all the difference in the world. If I can get myself past these first two steps, I am fine. If not, I go to Step 3. My third step is to call my mom. My mother is wonderful at helping me get through panic attacks. She can ramble on about nothing and it really does help. My fourth step is to take a Xanax and pray. Because when all else fails, God and Xanax will do the trick.