Glad it went well, Skald. Chin up!
I can commiserate. Pending the results of genetic testing, I’ve got long QT syndrome, which is an electrical problem in the heart. It can cause fainting and sudden death. The genetics help determine how to treat it - there are about a dozen different subtypes, with underlying mechanisms ranging from simple dietary insufficiencies, on up to more complicated causes that need an implanted defibrillator.
It’s just that “sudden death” part that has me all weirded out.
Can I borrow a time machine, so I can go back and offer support? I wasn’t online yesterday.
I promise I only need it for a millisecond.
I’m glad you’re doing better after your appointment. I think weirdness around medical appointments when you have a serious issue is pretty normal. Some people are all gung-ho about vanquishing the beast; some are scared and some are like me. I don’t think any reaction is wrong. I had cancer two years ago and am supposed to have a CT scan now about once a year. I was having them every few months for awhile. The earlier things are caught the better, as we all know! Yup. So what do I do? I put them off for as long as possible because if there’s something there I don’t have to deal with it. Makes no sense and is stupid, but that’s how I’ve been about them. So far everything’s been clear.
I’m 58 and have had an artificial heart valve for 16 years. I LOOOOOVE going to my cardiologist! I’m always the youngest person in the waiting room. That’s the only place that I’m ever at where I’m the youngest person in the room! Makes me almost giddy!
Hope things are going great for you. Chin up!
I’m year behind on a colonoscopy. Wait, make that almost 2. Last time they found pre-cancerous polyps and colon cancer runs in the family. I know I should do this, but somehow it’s not getting done.
Good on you for moving ahead Skald.
I’m glad you went and that you are feeling less despair. life is hard. 
I’m happy to hear it. Trust me - I know cardiologists are scary (as are a lot of other specialists!) I have a few stories of my own about trying like hell to pretend medical issues don’t exist - in fat, a few months ago, my sister asked me, a bit out of the blue - hey, didn’t your doctor say you’ll need a valve replacement before you’re 50? Been following up since that is less than a decade away now?
God damn it. How did I manage to completely push that out of my mind for so long? Oh, yeah- denial and avoidance.
I am glad you are not practicing avoidance and denial - or at least, you’re not letting them get in the way of your health. Keep the courage up!
I felt the exact same way, and came within hours of my appointment still considering cancelling and “rescheduling” it. After all, you aren’t really sick until you are diagnosed.
Mine was something the GP picked up on with some blood tests that bothered him and he suggested I go to a specialist for follow up. He made the same suggestion for four years. Finally the fifth year he scheduled it and told me I couldn’t come back unless I went.
Found out I had a hereditary condition, and I was within a year or less of having multiple organ failures.
I won’t lie… the weekly treatments for several months (now down to monthly) were/are not fun, but it saved my life, and I now know that my kids need to be tested so they can be treated in advance if they have the mutation (I didn’t even get a super power with my mutation so I feel cheated.)
I hope your results turn out as well, and on a positive note… I’ve met a bunch of really nice nurses. Just be careful… when in a lot of your stories you reference your nurse by her first name your wife may get a bit upset. 
I know how you feel (I posted earlier that I had a test showing either something benign or bowel cancer.) I went for further tests and got the all-clear.
Please go for your colonoscopy:
- if you’re cancer-free, you can stop worrying
- if you’ve got cancer, the sooner you get treatment, the better your chances.
I know it’s hard, but not doing anything is the worst possible option.
My mother, a retired RN of all people put off seeing her cardiologist until is was almost too late.
A second on this.
My MIL died of colon cancer needlessly. She was not diagnosed until it was way too far advanced for treatment.
(I wasn’t all that upset as I didn’t like her much anyway, and she did live into her 90s, but still it was really dumb not to get regular screenings. My daughter misses her.)