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great news about the MRI results. hope the cardiac work up is also normal. you are so brave to post the pending stuff; brave and trusting. thanks for the update

We'll keep praying. Thank you so much for your inspiration.

Great news! I'll keep you up for the Thursday stress test. (aren't most days stress tests in some form or another?)
cheers

rlp,
Good luck with the test on Thursday. we are praying for you. Stress - I think it has its worst effects when there are no other options available to you to change. The other thought I had is that relieving stress always is presumed to have something to do with giving something up. Maybe there is something that needs to be added and taken on. Regardless, I always try to remember "Don't do today what can wait until tomorrow."
Peace!
SD Jones

Wonderful news. Heck, the relief of knowing it's not some diet coke fueled growth ought to be a major stress reliever.

Make sure the doc factors in the Spurs/Suns series...

I won't go into the concept of procrastination actually adding to stress.

Hit the bricks dude...start power-walking...and drag J along with you. Nothing beats it for price, efficiency and stress relief - and believe me I've tried a variety of other methods over the years :)

Thanks for the update.

Grace & Peace,

"Pepe"

Yea! RLP condones procrastination! Whoohoo! So now I can defend procrastinating on my thesis, by taking RLP's words completely out of context. ;)

If you notice "elation" in my comment, it is actually in celebration of what I believe is "good news"! - Compared to what could have been, of course. "Best news" would involve an "easy to fix" problem, and "stressing less" isn't exactly easy... of course, the jury (the doctor) is still out, the verdict comes on Thursday?

Great news - hang in there - prayers still going

Calvin: How do they know the load limit on bridges, Dad?

Dad: They drive bigger and bigger trucks over the bridge until it breaks. Then they weigh the last truck and rebuild the bridge.

Obviously if you're still upright, there's no stress problem. I say ditch the Diet Cokes, lay in a bulk order of Red Bull, and remember the overachiever's first rule:

If you eat enough, you don't have to sleep.

Thanks for giving us an update. I have to admit that your MRI post alongside your Diet Coke post gave me pause -- because most everyone I know who has a heartbeat/rhythm issue has been told to eliminate or severely cut back on the caffeine. Maybe your treatment can be as simple as that? [okay, as a diet coke addict, I know simple may not be the word, but I could more easily eliminate diet coke than other stressors in my life] good luck!

We continue to pray for you. I have gone through stress problems as well. One thing which begins to help, though by no means solves the problem, comes from going through "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. It's made a great difference in the past few weeks to help me feel like life is under control.

I'm so glad to hear that the tests came back okay. Yay!

Hey Rev...

I am glad to hear that the preliminary tests came back ok. But don't you hate when they attribute problems to "stress!" UGH!! I had a cardiac work up a few months ago. I had all those scans, pokes and prods. They put me through the wringer - for my pre 40 cardiac panel. I did ok, on the treadmill. If memory serves I did 10 minutes on the treadmill, I thought I was going to fall over. You are in my prayers. I came out of the tests with good results. My cardiologist cleared me.

I guess this means that a re-prioritization is coming. Now you have to figure out what is most important - like all of what you do isn't important. (Thoughts - does your antidepressants have any medical warnings to them 'side effects' in the long run treatment wise?) Since I am on massive meds for HIV and other hereditary issues as heart problems they take into account all the meds (as a whole) to see how they all interact in the long term.

Stress has wide parameters to look at. That blanket diagnosis is general enough to cover all the bases until they zero in on something specific. 14 years living with HIV has given me alot of insight into medical work, terminology and issues. "things that doctors don't say to us also informs what we need to look at ourselves." We are our best doctors, because we live in our bodies. So if you have personal observations, now it the time to take out your personal notebook to consult the issue at hand.

When they don't say a lot means they must be looking at something specific in some cases but they don't have enough data to make a specific call medically.

Just a few pointers from someone in the know.

Take care and don't go crazy. Remember to breathe...

Jeremy

Procrastination is an excellent coping device while waiting for test results. It's not like you can do anything about "it" until you find out what "it" is.

Stress is often our worst enemy.

Gordon,
If you and Jeanene need to get away, I can recommend a great church camp in the middle of nowhere in the middle of Georgia :-), and I know some folks who would be glad to welcome you both back to Georgia. Take care; you're all in our thoughts and prayers.

Blessings,
Landa and all the Georgia Disciples

Hang in there, preach. ... Glad you got some early good news.
Prayers,
Allison in Ga.

Hey Gordon--I HATE that "stress" diagnosis!! I mean, what am I supposed to do, quit my job? Seriously... Especially since you're one of the ones who *already* spends hours each day in prayer, so all those stress-relieving things you're already doing. :( At least *I* can spend 20 minutes focusing on my breathing every day and figure I'm doing *something* more than I was... ;) But if you're already doing that, it'll have to be the power-walking, like someone else suggested. Either way, I look forward to a less-stressed RLP. (GRIN)

Glad to hear the test came back good.

Great news!
Will continue to pray....
Erin

I agree. Why worry about something today when I can worry about it tomorrow.

Aw hell...it'll be alright.

My husband has what we've lovingly come to call "Starbucks-induced medical incidents." The worst was the day we signed on the dotted line to buy a new car, celebrated those payments with caffeine (mid-morning) and at MIDNIGHT, his heart was still racing. After a middle of the night ER run and all the requisite follow-up tests, poor Doug was proclaimed caffeine-intolerant.

As long as he keeps his intake down to a VERY low roar, his heart behaves itself. If not, watch out. He's fine with the diagnosis now, but at first, oh the emotional pain!! Praying your situation is as easily ameliorated!

Katy www.fallible.com

Hopefully it is stress induced - you can do something about that.

I experienced a similar thing - spent a lot of time being tested by the cardiologist, and then asked if I was under more stress than usual. Stress? Me? No, not anything that I can think of... Turns out when we finished the project at work, my heart arrhythmia's mysteriously stopped as well. Now I take those episodes as a warning sign to slow down & take a deep breath.

I'll be praying for you... - Betty from Austin

Dang it! You got me in trouble with my secretary...again.

"Stress? Okay, what am I supposed to do with that information?"

Sitting at my desk preparing for and dreading yet another committee meeting here at the church, I laughed so loudly when I read that sentence my secretary came to the door and asked, "Reading RealLivePreacher again?"

A doctor once asked me, "Are you under any unusual stress?"
Me: I'm a pastor.
Doctor: Oooh...never mind.

Praying for ya brother

I'm glad to hear "it's probably just stress"`(My mom's doctor used to say that`until he suffered from it.) I'm also glad to hear your doctor DIDN'T say "it's probably just stress" and did the tests and plans to deal with it. Hang in there and pay attention and all your friends in cyber-land will keep on praying.

It is not the stress we live under that hurts. Because all of life is related to stress. Stress is what adds to the zing of life. It is not to avoid all stress at all times, but to manage stress that we live with that is the challenge.

Pray, walk, pray, love your family, pray.

But then pay heed to what your doctor tells you, Gordon.

Blessings,
Mark Daniels

You are in my prayers, RLP.

Peace,

Tripp Hudgins

http://www.anglobaptist.org

good to hear it's gone well so far. Good luck with the test today.
-goat