Have you had to wear a heart monitor?

[CheshireVal]

I had a meeting with the cardiologist today to try to figure out what's causing the high blood pressure. He put me on a 24 hour heart monitor.... it's very bulky and REALLY itchy, and I can't take a shower or bath til it's off tomorrow afternoon.

I am taking the day off work tomorrow because of the basic discomfort (and I don't want everyone asking me what it is all day).... but I'm kind of feeling guilty about it. I just can't imagine going in without a shower though-- I'd feel so yucky all day!

If you've worn one of these things, did you go to work?

 

[helenk]

I wore one a few years ago, I was having alot of dizzy spells and just feeling weird. I did go to work, but I worked in a small office and most people knew that I had not been feeling right. Some people asked about it, but I just told them what was going on.
You can make it through one day, it is worth it to find out what is wrong.
I was lucky, my problem actually turned out to be anxiety attacks, nothing related to my heart.
Good Luck

 

[Feralpeg]

Yes, I went to work, but I felt stupid. Everyone had to ask me about it. I wanted to crawl under my desk. I have extra heartbeats. Turned out to not be a big deal. Hope things work out okay!

 

[nativetxn]

I've worn one and I went into work. I don't remember being very uncomfortable.

 

[Cruisin]

I wore one once and carried on with my regular day. It was in the winter time though and I just wore a sweatshirt and no one even noticed it. I don't recall it being uncomfortable. If the tape is too tight, try to loosen it just a little bit.

Did they tell you to stay away from microwaves?

 

[DisneyJules]

Yes, I had one in grade 12. I unfortunately wore a v cut shirt, bad idea! they put wires and tape ALL over my chest, so I had to sling a sweater around my neck to hide it all. The worst part was taking the tape off, sticky stuff it is!

 

[elgerber]

I had to wear one last year. I did go to work. It was January, so I wore a long sleeve shirt with a polar fleece jacket type shirt over it. I kept all the wires taped up and no one noticed. The tape was very uncomfortable though, and taking it off was even more fun! I was more worried about people hearing the sound of the tape that was recording it all than seeing the wires.

Erika

 

[aprilgail2]

I had to wear the one you wear for 4 days....every time you feel the wierd heart beats you press the button...after 5 times you call a number and put the phone by the monitor and it sends over your data...I did that for 4 days straight. I was getting blistered under the sensors that are stuck on you so my friend gave me this stuff that you put under it, looked like a thin piece of plastic but it stopped it from getting my skin any rawer.

 

[DVC-Don]

Yep, had to wear one for 4 days while in the hospital in 2001. They thought I had a heart attack, but it turned out it was a reaction to some medication I was on. Baycol, it was pulled from the market about a week later. One fell off in the middle of a night and several nurses with crash cart appeared suddenly. False alarm.

 

[CheshireVal]

Wow-- I didn't realize so many other people would have had to go through this too. Misery loves company, anyway!

Thanks for the responses-- I'm feeling like a total heel for taking the day off tomorrow, but I have the sick days so I guess it won't make a huge difference either way. I work in a middle school and really don't want to have to answer a zillion questions from the kids.

I gotta say, you guys are all much braver than I am since you went into work!

 

[Pop Daddy]

pic

 

[aprilgail2]

I went to work both times I had to wear it....one was big and I wore it in a hip pack type bag and the other was smaller and I wore a shirt wit ha pocket and just stuck it in there...that one the wires came out of the top of my shirt and I looked like I was wired for sound LOL...the other one came out the bottom of my shirt.

 

[tigercat]

I was to wear one for 3 days. By the end of the 2nd day I was not just blistered I was raw. It had eaten away at my flesh. It took a couple of weeks and lots of calundula cream to help it. It was not the best of times. I did however go on with my day but I don't go into work. I went to my parents house and they never knew I had it on.
tigercat

 

[huey duey & luey]

I had to wear one once after I fainted driving and crashed my car. This was in 1988, so maybe things have progressed by I remember I couldn't go near a microwave.
Tara

 

[huey duey & luey]

sorry double post
Tara

 

[arminnie]

No, but I had a test for acid reflux once where they put a tube down my nose through my esophogus to my stomach. The tube outside my nose was taped to my face and then wires went to this little recording device. I had to wear it for 24 hours - they told me to just eat normally!

I went to work just to gross out my boss who never had sympathy when I took a sick day. I looked AWFUL!

 

[MScott1851]

I had to wear the kind that monitors continuously for two days, then switch to the Holter, where you push the button.. I'm sensitive to tape, so they put the monitor in a little bag with a lanyard type thing and wore it around my neck like an idiot.

Maybe if I were cooler I could have passed it off as the next jewelry fad, kind of like the Carrie necklace...

 

[Tulirose]

CheshireVal - Please don't just sit around and relax tomorrow with your Holter monitor. You are suppose to go through your daily activities.

My son had to wear one recently and the Med.Tech. told me that too many times people decide to take the day off and stay home watching T.V. and just taking it easy. Then the HM ends up showing nothing out of the ordinary but that's because the patient rested all day.

That being said, I wouldn't want to go to work without a shower either. I might be tempted to stay home also. However, I would decide that that would be the day to vigorously clean my house!

P.S. - Teenson did go to work wearing it but fortunately had his put on in the a.m. prior to work and then taken off 24 hours later and had time to go home and take a shower prior to that day's work. He also has a sick sense of humor and told co-workers that he was wired with a bomb. However, they already knew what it was but I still was not happy to hear that he said that.

 

[Disfan1]

I had to wear one once & Dr. MADE me go to work I think he thought my problems were stress related & wanted to see if my heart would "act up" more during office hours. Turned out to be a minor sinus node problem that is corrected w/ meds.

 

[DocRafiki]

Originally posted by CheshireVal

If you've worn one of these things, did you go to work?

Yes. Since stress and activity triggered my arrhythmias, I had to wear it on a day when I went to work. It was no big deal.