Tuesday, July 11, 2017

all good news


And now I am done with all of the testing. They moved my 10 AM appointment today for the stress test up to 8 AM and I am not an early riser. I had less than a half hour between waking up and leaving the house. Did I mention it's a good hour's drive to see this cardiologist? It's on back roads though so no traffic and better scenery. So I drove to his office yesterday morning and got the heart monitor which I wore the rest of the day and the night and it is a pain to have to sleep with what with the five wires stuck to you and the little box in a pocket on a neck strap so I didn't get a great night's sleep between it and the cat who seems to consider it her life's mission to wake me up at least three times every night.

Today I returned the heart monitor and underwent the stress test. The first thing was to get my IV in so they could inject the radioactive tracer at the proper time. I was the tech's first stick of the day, I guess, and he had to stick me three times before he could get the IV in. The first one he just couldn't get. The second one he jabbed me a good one or two (still have a painful lump there and a deepening bruise) and then accused me of moving my arm and still didn't get it in. I told him basically that I'd had enough IVs and blood drawn in my life that I knew not to move my arm. The third time he switched to my other arm and did a perfect job but the whole thing didn't do my stress level any good considering the poor start to my day on an empty stomach and no coffee.

Next I was led to the room with the treadmill and they stuck 8 wires to my chest and buckled the box to my waist and from it went a cable or two to the monitor and I could see my heart beat rhythm jumping away on the graph. And, yeah, that's totally me in the picture unlike all those other old people in the waiting room.

image via: https://www.healthtap.com/topics/stress-test

They took my blood pressure which was a little on the high side (because the guy had just fucking stuck me three times and I didn't want radioactive anything injected into my blood) and again during the three different speeds on the treadmill and as the speed increased, so did my blood pressure. About halfway through the 8 minutes on the treadmill, they injected the nuclear tracer into my blood stream. Done with the treadmill, they unhooked all the wires, took out the IV, and sent me to the next room which was the x-ray machine where they attach three wires and you lay down on a bed of sorts and they push you into the working part and you lie still for about 10 minutes while this thing rotates around you and looks at the tracer flowing through your heart. 

image via: http://www.fredcardio.com/services-procedures/stress-testing/

Then they sent me into the waiting room where four other people were waiting to undergo the tests I had just had.

After a while they came and got me for my face to face with the doctor who said everything looked good, monitor had one little blip that he wasn't concerned about and the stress test was good, no sign of any blockage, good heartbeat, didn't even mention the AFib episodes and when I brought it up at the end he sort of waved it away as nothing to worry about. He was more concerned with my rising blood pressure during the test but not so much that he was going to suggest medication. Just monitor it at home and come back in a couple of months. I've never had a problem with my blood pressure until this year with first time visits to two doctors and lots of invasive tests with possible heinous results so if my blood pressure holds steady for the next two months, I'll probably put off the return visit.

One thing this whole experience has done has gotten me really in tune with my heartbeat. Sitting here, resting, I can close my eyes and sense my pulse, feel it throbbing along. I expect that will fade after a while when I return to a less vigilant position concerning my general well being.




21 comments:

  1. What fun! Not! I just hate them needing to test for all the blippity-blips. Life is full of them. Someone needs to put them in order, I suppose.

    ReplyDelete
  2. odd , that you had to do all of those tricks and they did not even address the A-FIB...weird- and of course you are OK. A mighty fine picture of good health!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope your blood pressure holds steady and you can put off more tests for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Replies
    1. haven't in the past but in the past I wasn't going for anything that could turn out to be scary. I expect it will settle back down now that fears have been allayed.

      Delete
  5. Stay away from the latest Cheeto related news. That will not help blood pressure!
    I am glad to know you made it through the hoops and came out unscathed. Except for the bruises from missed IV's!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. boy, ain't that the truth and I have. focusing on all that stuff and making lists does nothing so I'm putting my trust and faith in the FBI and their investigations. I just wish they would hurry up.

      Delete
  6. OMG, I just went thru this too! Except my stress test was done thru injection because I was in the hospital for some things. I'm glad you're ok but it's frustrating when you feel odd and they say it's nothing. My blood pressure was/is erratic and this has never happened before! I am to follow up with a Cardiologist but the hospital doc checked my heart out thoroughly and it seems fine. I hope we are both fine. Let us know how you are as this is figured out. Joanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my mind is at ease and I'm avoiding doctors for the rest of the year.

      Delete
  7. I'm glad the results came out relatively benign, but don't you end of feeling like a slab of meat by the time they're done with you?

    ReplyDelete
  8. You just went through it all with grace. I swear. That whole thing would have killed me. I'm so glad that all is well. Now- carry on with your life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the whole scene with the tech and the IV was almost enough to make me walk out. he did apologize, said he didn't mean to hurt me.

      Delete
  9. Fun times! Glad your heart is ok!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You must have a great heart to go on that treadmill for 8 minutes. I don't think I last 2. With my knee and the incline and faster, I was getting nervous. It is the gold standard so don't worry about it. For now anyway. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. glad you walked it instead of the chemical. I have one every year

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yeah... I have always been able to control my blood pressure ... until I had a clinic visit two weeks after the last election... ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. right?! I've had to lay off the political news.

      Delete
  13. I'm glad you did the walking one. My mom had the chemical stress test twice, and said it was -- well, unnerving. But it sounds to me like all is well, and I think you're smart to let things simmer down now, and just bump along for a while. I need to get out and start walking. I don't think there's any way I could do 8 minutes on a treadmill.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Well, it's good to know there's nothing obviously wrong -- no blockages is good news! It's pretty cowardly for a tech to blame the patient for not being able to stick a blood vessel!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Phew! Glad to hear this good news. It's a pain to follow up but important if something is not right. A friend felt silly following up on an irregular heartbeat but it was critical she did - not a heart issue but leukemia. Her chances are excellent;)

    ReplyDelete

I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.