I really do need to do this more often
I am such a slacker about posting on my LJ, and I don't know why. I find it cathartic to post and I have been so completely stressed out lately, that I should have done this sooner.
For those of you who have been following my FB and Twitter, you know most of this already, but I haven't really posted anything of significance here since Thanksgiving. Damn. Didn't realize that it had been that long. This is mostly going to come off as self indulgent whining, so I won't be offended if you skip it.
My medical odyssey is as follows...This all starts with my ignoring of random occurrences that only happened once in a while. Every time I attempted to mow the lawn and occasionally when I over did it at dance class. Most recently, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was helping Julia learn to ride her bike. I knew when I started trying to help her that I don't do well with running, and that I shouldn't over do it. And yet, two passes up and down the block and I'm wheezing like a bellows with spots in front of my eyes and experiencing Chest Pain (of the pressure sort). I happened to have a check up with my doctor shortly after this particular spell and so I remembered to mention it this time. And so it begins. The PA hooked me up for an EKG, which was normal, and did a Lung Function Test, which was not. They tried to see if my Lung function improved with a breathing treatment of Albuterol, and it did not, which makes me happy because it means that A) I do not have Asthma and B) I never have to do that shit again. It gave me the shakes for almost an hour. Unfortunately, it does mean that my lungs still suck (pun intended), so they gave orders for me to have a Chest X-ray taken, some lab work done, and suggested that I see a Cardiologist because of my family history. Lab work came back great - cholesterol is fine and everything else was normal. The Chest x-ray on the other hand, showed a Nodule on my Left Lung. {cue the panic attack} I had a CT scheduled to have that looked at last Thursday, but my Insurance took a little longer to approve it so, I have the CT rescheduled for Monday Morning. Here's hoping that the "Nodule" turns out to be a shadow on the X-ray or a blood vessel coming straight out the picture, or else benign in some other way.
And now, A whole 'nother set of worries. So, as recommended, I made an appointment to see a Cardiologist. First appointment was Cake. EKG and they took a history, and because of the fact that my Dad had a Triple bypass at 54, they want to give me a full work up. So, I get scheduled for a Cardiac Echo and a Stress Test. Echo went fine, absolutely no problems there. This past Friday Morning, I went in all ready to get sweaty and winded while walking basically uphill on a treadmill. It was going well, I got through the first three stages with no problems except for some heavy breathing, Pulse and Blood Pressure were both Fine. I hit where they wanted me to be, and when I got really tired, I asked to stop. This is where the problems started. Both my blood pressure and my heart rate dropped dramatically. I got nauseous and dizzy and had some really problems getting my breath. They had me lay down on the gurney with my feet propped up and all of the monitors still on while they waited for my pressure to come back up. Took about 15 - 20 minutes by my rough guess. Lost of doctors conferring with nurses and techs, and I was officially nicknamed Troublemaker by my doctors lead tech. The end result is, that while part of my problem may just be that I am out of shape, there were some abnormal readings on my EKG while I was crashing. And because of those, I will be going back to the Cardiologists on Thursday Morning for a heart catheterization. (if you don't know, this is where they make a small incision in your femoral Artery and snake a catheter up to the heart, inject a dye, and watch to make sure that it goes every where it's supposed to go). Yeah, I'm only a little terrified.
Is it any wonder that I have been a little bit stressed out lately? What kills me, is that every time I have gone in for a procedure, people have told me, "Don't worry, every thing will be fine," and every time, something else has happened. Makes it harder to believe people. I'm hoping that everything will be over and done with on Monday, and I can go back to worrying about every day things, like what to make for dinner, and how best to *not* damage my children beyond repair. :)
Everything else has been good and normal, btw.
For those of you who have been following my FB and Twitter, you know most of this already, but I haven't really posted anything of significance here since Thanksgiving. Damn. Didn't realize that it had been that long. This is mostly going to come off as self indulgent whining, so I won't be offended if you skip it.
My medical odyssey is as follows...This all starts with my ignoring of random occurrences that only happened once in a while. Every time I attempted to mow the lawn and occasionally when I over did it at dance class. Most recently, a couple of weeks before Christmas, I was helping Julia learn to ride her bike. I knew when I started trying to help her that I don't do well with running, and that I shouldn't over do it. And yet, two passes up and down the block and I'm wheezing like a bellows with spots in front of my eyes and experiencing Chest Pain (of the pressure sort). I happened to have a check up with my doctor shortly after this particular spell and so I remembered to mention it this time. And so it begins. The PA hooked me up for an EKG, which was normal, and did a Lung Function Test, which was not. They tried to see if my Lung function improved with a breathing treatment of Albuterol, and it did not, which makes me happy because it means that A) I do not have Asthma and B) I never have to do that shit again. It gave me the shakes for almost an hour. Unfortunately, it does mean that my lungs still suck (pun intended), so they gave orders for me to have a Chest X-ray taken, some lab work done, and suggested that I see a Cardiologist because of my family history. Lab work came back great - cholesterol is fine and everything else was normal. The Chest x-ray on the other hand, showed a Nodule on my Left Lung. {cue the panic attack} I had a CT scheduled to have that looked at last Thursday, but my Insurance took a little longer to approve it so, I have the CT rescheduled for Monday Morning. Here's hoping that the "Nodule" turns out to be a shadow on the X-ray or a blood vessel coming straight out the picture, or else benign in some other way.
And now, A whole 'nother set of worries. So, as recommended, I made an appointment to see a Cardiologist. First appointment was Cake. EKG and they took a history, and because of the fact that my Dad had a Triple bypass at 54, they want to give me a full work up. So, I get scheduled for a Cardiac Echo and a Stress Test. Echo went fine, absolutely no problems there. This past Friday Morning, I went in all ready to get sweaty and winded while walking basically uphill on a treadmill. It was going well, I got through the first three stages with no problems except for some heavy breathing, Pulse and Blood Pressure were both Fine. I hit where they wanted me to be, and when I got really tired, I asked to stop. This is where the problems started. Both my blood pressure and my heart rate dropped dramatically. I got nauseous and dizzy and had some really problems getting my breath. They had me lay down on the gurney with my feet propped up and all of the monitors still on while they waited for my pressure to come back up. Took about 15 - 20 minutes by my rough guess. Lost of doctors conferring with nurses and techs, and I was officially nicknamed Troublemaker by my doctors lead tech. The end result is, that while part of my problem may just be that I am out of shape, there were some abnormal readings on my EKG while I was crashing. And because of those, I will be going back to the Cardiologists on Thursday Morning for a heart catheterization. (if you don't know, this is where they make a small incision in your femoral Artery and snake a catheter up to the heart, inject a dye, and watch to make sure that it goes every where it's supposed to go). Yeah, I'm only a little terrified.
Is it any wonder that I have been a little bit stressed out lately? What kills me, is that every time I have gone in for a procedure, people have told me, "Don't worry, every thing will be fine," and every time, something else has happened. Makes it harder to believe people. I'm hoping that everything will be over and done with on Monday, and I can go back to worrying about every day things, like what to make for dinner, and how best to *not* damage my children beyond repair. :)
Everything else has been good and normal, btw.