Following what has now come to be know as "the Fall", things changed a bit. I no longer wanted to go anywhere alone. Partly because I felt dizzy still, and mostly because I was afraid of failing again, and not having anyone there. So, now I don't shop alone, or really go anywhere alone, except work. I still have to make sure I stay right next to Greg or the shopping cart, just in case I start to go down. I don't get dizzy so much anymore, but I do have a tendency to stumble, and if I turn to fast, I lose my balance. So, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
The next Monday (10.7.13) I had my first test scheduled. It was for an Echocardiogram. I've never had one of those before, and if you haven't either, here is what WebMD says about it,
Greg had a conference or something that day, so he asked his sister Shaina to go with me. She was sweet enough to pick me up from work, walk me into the hospital, and sit for an hour or so while the echo was going on. I'm grateful for family members who are so willing to help out.
I stripped off my shirt and put on a gown, and the guy doing the test had me lay on my side. Oh my painful. My hips were so incredibly sore by the time we were done. I can't lay on my side for long periods of time anyway, so it was a test in and of itself. Next time I'm taking a pillow to put between my knees. It was also freezing so that didn't help me from shivering both from pain and cold. Lessons learned.
He put that goopy stuff on and got to work. He checked it from the left and right sides, then underneath and above. I was able to watch the screen as he did it. It was quite interesting. I had no idea what he was seeing, but he seemed to know, so I guess that's all that matters. Overall it lasted about an hour. It seemed to take longer because of the hip soreness, but it wasn't really that bad. It was a bit relaxing in someways.
Those tests came back normal, with a slight elevation in blood pressure in one of my arteries (? I think that's they said, lol. It was a while ago.) I just know my heart is good and still beating.
After the echo we went and got the chest X-rays I was supposed to get the previous week. It was quick and painless, and those came back normal as well.
That Wednesday (10.9.13) I had a Pulmonary Function Test. (Just click on that link to learn the technical terms.)
Before that I took a six minute walk. They couldn't get the oximeter to work on my finger (it never does), and had troubles getting the ear one to work. I don't know how the test actually went, to be honest with you. I literally just walked, as fast as I could for six minutes and had to rate how hard I was breathing. All I know is that part alone cost $135.
While I was waiting for my heart rate to get back down to normal, I snapped these.
He's always so good to go with me to my appointments. Thank you hospital for having free wi-fi.
For the PFT you put your mouth really tightly around this mouthpiece, and breathe in when she says breathe in, and out when she says out. There are a few different tests, but that's basically what it is, just repeated. The hardest part for me was getting my mouth around the mouth piece. She kept offering a smaller one, but I was too stubborn to say yes. Next time I'll for sure say yes. My mouth was so sore, and I think it made it a lot harder too. I wish I could remember what she told me about what was going on, but she said things looked okay, but that it did look like air was getting trapped. It was a fun experience.
Other than the slight air trappage, everything else seemed to be okay, but they wanted me to do a CT scan to make sure. I went in on the 16th and had that done. That, too was a new experience for me. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic or anything! JK, it really wasn't that bad. They had me raise my arms above my face while breathing in and out when told to as they took me in and out of the machine. Plus, I got a warm blanket. It was awesome.
Picking up a prescription. Dr. Walker said I was iron deficient, so he had me start taking an iron supplement as well, and then we headed up to Star Valley for a fun, relaxing fall break. Crazy it's been almost 4 months since then. So crazy.
Here is a picture I took of my swollen ankles. One of the side affects of the amlodipine is swelling. They got massive, so I was told to cut them in half. (The pills, not my ankles.)
Like I said, though, this was a month of new things for me. I'm grateful for the technology we have no days that can check things inside our bodies. I'm also EXTREMELY blessed that the scleroderma has not yet hit my lungs. I hear stories about people whose lungs are affected, and my heart just breaks for them. I have a hard time coughing as it is, so to have coughing fits would just be so hard. Keep praying that my insides will be strong enough to fight this blasted disease!
The next Monday (10.7.13) I had my first test scheduled. It was for an Echocardiogram. I've never had one of those before, and if you haven't either, here is what WebMD says about it,
An echocardiogram (also called an echo) is a type of ultrasound test that uses high-pitched sound waves that are sent through a device called a transducer. The device picks up echoes of the sound waves as they bounce off the different parts of your heart. These echoes are turned into moving pictures of your heart that can be seen on a video screen.Or in simpler terms, an ultrasound of my heart.
Greg had a conference or something that day, so he asked his sister Shaina to go with me. She was sweet enough to pick me up from work, walk me into the hospital, and sit for an hour or so while the echo was going on. I'm grateful for family members who are so willing to help out.
I stripped off my shirt and put on a gown, and the guy doing the test had me lay on my side. Oh my painful. My hips were so incredibly sore by the time we were done. I can't lay on my side for long periods of time anyway, so it was a test in and of itself. Next time I'm taking a pillow to put between my knees. It was also freezing so that didn't help me from shivering both from pain and cold. Lessons learned.
He put that goopy stuff on and got to work. He checked it from the left and right sides, then underneath and above. I was able to watch the screen as he did it. It was quite interesting. I had no idea what he was seeing, but he seemed to know, so I guess that's all that matters. Overall it lasted about an hour. It seemed to take longer because of the hip soreness, but it wasn't really that bad. It was a bit relaxing in someways.
Those tests came back normal, with a slight elevation in blood pressure in one of my arteries (? I think that's they said, lol. It was a while ago.) I just know my heart is good and still beating.
After the echo we went and got the chest X-rays I was supposed to get the previous week. It was quick and painless, and those came back normal as well.
That Wednesday (10.9.13) I had a Pulmonary Function Test. (Just click on that link to learn the technical terms.)
Before that I took a six minute walk. They couldn't get the oximeter to work on my finger (it never does), and had troubles getting the ear one to work. I don't know how the test actually went, to be honest with you. I literally just walked, as fast as I could for six minutes and had to rate how hard I was breathing. All I know is that part alone cost $135.
While I was waiting for my heart rate to get back down to normal, I snapped these.
He's always so good to go with me to my appointments. Thank you hospital for having free wi-fi.
For the PFT you put your mouth really tightly around this mouthpiece, and breathe in when she says breathe in, and out when she says out. There are a few different tests, but that's basically what it is, just repeated. The hardest part for me was getting my mouth around the mouth piece. She kept offering a smaller one, but I was too stubborn to say yes. Next time I'll for sure say yes. My mouth was so sore, and I think it made it a lot harder too. I wish I could remember what she told me about what was going on, but she said things looked okay, but that it did look like air was getting trapped. It was a fun experience.
Other than the slight air trappage, everything else seemed to be okay, but they wanted me to do a CT scan to make sure. I went in on the 16th and had that done. That, too was a new experience for me. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic or anything! JK, it really wasn't that bad. They had me raise my arms above my face while breathing in and out when told to as they took me in and out of the machine. Plus, I got a warm blanket. It was awesome.
Here is a picture I took of my swollen ankles. One of the side affects of the amlodipine is swelling. They got massive, so I was told to cut them in half. (The pills, not my ankles.)
Like I said, though, this was a month of new things for me. I'm grateful for the technology we have no days that can check things inside our bodies. I'm also EXTREMELY blessed that the scleroderma has not yet hit my lungs. I hear stories about people whose lungs are affected, and my heart just breaks for them. I have a hard time coughing as it is, so to have coughing fits would just be so hard. Keep praying that my insides will be strong enough to fight this blasted disease!
