Well, y'aaaaaaaaalllllllllll........ My doctor's appointment went surprisingly well today! I'll start at the beginning. I got to Emory right at 10:00 a.m. to start my glucose tolerance test. When they finally drew (DREW!) my blood at about 10:30 a.m., I felt like I was going to faint. I survived the blood draws and then drank the special orange drink, which actually tastes pretty decent when you're starved beyond rational thinking. I then headed over for my DEXA bone density scan. After that, I headed back to the lab and had to wait until 12:30 p.m. for my post-orange DRANK stick. The worker was so helpful and, given how weak I was feeling she packed me a baggie with two 4-packs of Oreos and two apple juices, which I thought was really sweet. I want to write her boss and commend her work, but every time I plan to do that it's difficult to follow through...
From there, I headed up to the real doozie - the CF appointment. I didn't have to wait too exceptionally long before completing my PFTs. Believe it or not, my numbers had IMPROVED from the study visit, but were still down a little bit from my baseline. I couldn't believe that I would have improved considering the fact that I didn't feel so great, but I did...so I'll take it! My bloodwork from the morning looked great, with my glucose tolerance test showing that I was normal.
Interestingly, though, the doctor did notice that a particular liver enzyme was elevated. It didn't worry her too much, but she did take note of it since some CFers end up with liver disease for a variety of reasons. Then, we got to talking about the pain that I'd had (the ER-inspiring pain), and she was convinced that the pain was in my gall bladder/liver area. She said that lungs don't really have pain censors, with the exception of when the lining is inflamed, but my pain didn't seem to be affected by my breathing. So, with the combination of the pain and the elevated enzymes, she wants to do an ultrasound of my gall bladder/liver if the pain returns. Hopefully it was just an odd occurrence, and I'm optimistic since I've been painkiller- and pain-free for a week.
Needless to say, after all of that news, I don't have to go to the hospital and I don't have to return for a follow-up until June 1. YAAAAAY! The doctor also mentioned trying to get me back in the study, so I'm hopeful for that. I let that fall to the back-burner temporarily because obviously my current health is the most pressing, but lately I'd been thinking how I really hope to get to participate in the study even though my initial screening indicated otherwise. I'll keep you posted on that.
I don't really have too much to say, as the doctor's appointment was the bulk of my day. Drew's Crew is at $9,367. I'm excited! I think my next endeavor is to encourage friends to email everyone they know. We've come a long way, but we're still only halfway to my aspirational goal!
Thank you to everyone who sent well wishes my way; they helped!
Showing posts with label chest pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chest pain. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Back to work
It's hard to imagine that I haven't been to work in almost a week. Yeah, I was telecommuting, but it will be nice to see everyone's faces when I'm back in the office tomorrow. I kind of wish I was feeling 100 percent, but I'm not sure when I will be given the weather, etc.
I haven't had any of the same pain that I had on Friday. However, I've also been taking the prescription Motrin pretty regularly, so I don't know if I'd be pain-free without it. I was experiencing some shortness of breath (again) Saturday and today, but I do think I'm on the road to recovery. Fatigue has been trying to hold me back, so I'm hoping tomorrow won't be too difficult at work.
Guess what! Today I went to the gym for the first time in what felt like forever. I haven't tried to run in at least two weeks, but probably more like three. As I mentioned recently, I was starting to feel like I needed to work out - just that my body was withering away or something. The gym was tough, but I walked for three minutes, ran for five, walked for two, ran for five, then walked for three again. I then did twelve minutes on the elliptical, and finished with a ten-minute walk. It felt a little measly compared to how I usually push myself, but it was the most I felt like I could do. I have high hopes of getting up and going over there again in the morning to start my week off on a positive note.
Yesterday we went for a get-together at my aunts' house, and today we had a gathering at my grandmother's house. It was fun to get to see everyone on my dad's side of the family; it seemed like it had been a while. I enjoyed today, but everything was set up to eat outside and I knew it probably wasn't the best idea for me. Last year I got very, very sick from allergies on Easter Sunday and missed a week of work. Geeee, sounds sort of familiar, but I'll say this year has been nothing in comparison to last year (knock on wood). Anyway, I ended up sitting inside and one of my cousins joined me so I wasn't all alone. :-)
I know it seems like all I've been talking about lately is my health, but whatever - I'm more cognizant of it now than I usually am. That reminds me that I have only a few days left on this oral antibiotic, and a doctor's appointment next Tuesday. We'll see how all of that unfolds...
Although I am all talk regarding my book, I've been thinking about it a lot over these last couple days. I think that the revelation I had at the end of the year is gonna get tossed by the wayside and I should take a slightly different approach. Sometimes I wish I was better at acting rather than talking my way through things. I'm getting annoyed with myself by how badly I've been procrastinating. However, to go easy on myself, I haven't had much free time on my hands and, when I've found it, I've ended up using it for life's essentials - i.e. sleeping and eating.
Speaking of sleeping, I'm just finishing up a round of vesting so I can get a good night's sleep to start my week off... and so I'll get up to exercise!
I haven't had any of the same pain that I had on Friday. However, I've also been taking the prescription Motrin pretty regularly, so I don't know if I'd be pain-free without it. I was experiencing some shortness of breath (again) Saturday and today, but I do think I'm on the road to recovery. Fatigue has been trying to hold me back, so I'm hoping tomorrow won't be too difficult at work.
Guess what! Today I went to the gym for the first time in what felt like forever. I haven't tried to run in at least two weeks, but probably more like three. As I mentioned recently, I was starting to feel like I needed to work out - just that my body was withering away or something. The gym was tough, but I walked for three minutes, ran for five, walked for two, ran for five, then walked for three again. I then did twelve minutes on the elliptical, and finished with a ten-minute walk. It felt a little measly compared to how I usually push myself, but it was the most I felt like I could do. I have high hopes of getting up and going over there again in the morning to start my week off on a positive note.
Yesterday we went for a get-together at my aunts' house, and today we had a gathering at my grandmother's house. It was fun to get to see everyone on my dad's side of the family; it seemed like it had been a while. I enjoyed today, but everything was set up to eat outside and I knew it probably wasn't the best idea for me. Last year I got very, very sick from allergies on Easter Sunday and missed a week of work. Geeee, sounds sort of familiar, but I'll say this year has been nothing in comparison to last year (knock on wood). Anyway, I ended up sitting inside and one of my cousins joined me so I wasn't all alone. :-)
I know it seems like all I've been talking about lately is my health, but whatever - I'm more cognizant of it now than I usually am. That reminds me that I have only a few days left on this oral antibiotic, and a doctor's appointment next Tuesday. We'll see how all of that unfolds...
Although I am all talk regarding my book, I've been thinking about it a lot over these last couple days. I think that the revelation I had at the end of the year is gonna get tossed by the wayside and I should take a slightly different approach. Sometimes I wish I was better at acting rather than talking my way through things. I'm getting annoyed with myself by how badly I've been procrastinating. However, to go easy on myself, I haven't had much free time on my hands and, when I've found it, I've ended up using it for life's essentials - i.e. sleeping and eating.
Speaking of sleeping, I'm just finishing up a round of vesting so I can get a good night's sleep to start my week off... and so I'll get up to exercise!
Friday, April 2, 2010
GOOOOOOD Friday
Hi y'all!
I write you tonight with a smiling heart. Today has been such a great day, primarily due to the major advancements made by Drew's Crew! I, as an individual, raised $577 today - through a mere four donations! A really great friend left me in complete and utter shock with her generous donation, and it's like that positive energy carried into other people as well. It seemed like every time I logged onto Facebook, someone new was posting my link, which means a lot to me. Drew's Crew's up-to-date online total is $6,762!!! While it's not officially official yet, there is approximately $1,000 in checks that haven't been posted online yet. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF HOW HAPPY I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today I stopped by my mom's school to meet her kindergarten students. I haven't been able to go there in quite a while (pretty much since I finished college), so it was super-exciting to get to see all of the children. The kids were participating in an egg hunt today, and immediately upon entering the classroom, a student asked me if I was the Easter bunny. Man, that cracks me up. I've considered teaching and seeing those little kids today pulled at my heartstrings. I typically have a problem with children, but they were sooooooooo adorable.
I'll throw one tiny little twinge of negativity in here, more for informational purposes than anything. I have been doing really great pain-wise in the lungs since Tuesday, but today I got some more dagger-like pains. It's tough to imagine pain like this not being caused by something of concern, but they stopped shortly after taking the prescription Motrin. I had one 30-minute episode of being short-of-breath, too, so I guess I'm still monitoring this... That headache is lingering, too. I wonder if it has to do with a lack of oxygen or something.
ANYWAY! I'll end on a positive note. Tonight I got a post on my Facebook from a father of a CFer who said that my posting has motivated him to start fundraising again. That makes me very happy, so a shout-out to him!
As you go to sleep tonight, send some positive thoughts to a blog friend of mine who ought to be in the throes of a double-lung transplant right now. Someone's about to be breathing easy!
I write you tonight with a smiling heart. Today has been such a great day, primarily due to the major advancements made by Drew's Crew! I, as an individual, raised $577 today - through a mere four donations! A really great friend left me in complete and utter shock with her generous donation, and it's like that positive energy carried into other people as well. It seemed like every time I logged onto Facebook, someone new was posting my link, which means a lot to me. Drew's Crew's up-to-date online total is $6,762!!! While it's not officially official yet, there is approximately $1,000 in checks that haven't been posted online yet. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MAGNITUDE OF HOW HAPPY I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Today I stopped by my mom's school to meet her kindergarten students. I haven't been able to go there in quite a while (pretty much since I finished college), so it was super-exciting to get to see all of the children. The kids were participating in an egg hunt today, and immediately upon entering the classroom, a student asked me if I was the Easter bunny. Man, that cracks me up. I've considered teaching and seeing those little kids today pulled at my heartstrings. I typically have a problem with children, but they were sooooooooo adorable.
I'll throw one tiny little twinge of negativity in here, more for informational purposes than anything. I have been doing really great pain-wise in the lungs since Tuesday, but today I got some more dagger-like pains. It's tough to imagine pain like this not being caused by something of concern, but they stopped shortly after taking the prescription Motrin. I had one 30-minute episode of being short-of-breath, too, so I guess I'm still monitoring this... That headache is lingering, too. I wonder if it has to do with a lack of oxygen or something.
ANYWAY! I'll end on a positive note. Tonight I got a post on my Facebook from a father of a CFer who said that my posting has motivated him to start fundraising again. That makes me very happy, so a shout-out to him!
As you go to sleep tonight, send some positive thoughts to a blog friend of mine who ought to be in the throes of a double-lung transplant right now. Someone's about to be breathing easy!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Trial and error
Well, today was a big ol' waste of time.
As you know, I emailed the doctor in the middle of the night to try to get some sort of answer for the unusual pain I was having in my chest/lungs. Well, I got a return phone call right as I walked into an 11:00 a.m. appointment at work, so I made a quick exit. The nurse recommended that I go to the ER because the pain in my lungs was concerning and the doctor didn't have clinic hours until Thursday. Sooooooo, one of my coworkers and I headed over to the ER. Mind you, I hate the ER, so I hope that illustrates the desperation I was facing.
Upon arriving, we had to wait practically forever to check in, even though I marked chest pain and shortness-of-breath as symptoms (two of the top things to acknowledge according to the signs all over the walls). When they finally took me back to check out my vitals, my blood pressure was by far the highest it's ever been - 154/96. That's absolutely unheard of for me, but they didn't seem too concerned.
After a while, they opted to do some bloodwork and a chest x-ray. The bloodwork came back showing elevated white blood cell counts, and the chest x-ray came back looking really good. Soooo, thinking the x-ray would be the tell-tale sign of what was causing the lung pain, we were left with really no indications. However, we got one of my doctors on the phone who highly encouraged that I be admitted to the hospital, but I wasn't quite buying the argument since there aren't any symptoms that are typical of when I have a lung infection that requires IV antibiotics.
So, after spending six hours in different holding areas of the ER, I walked out with a prescription for a different, higher-dose oral antibiotic, as well as prescription pain medicine. I promptly went to Target and got my prescriptions filled and enjoyed a medicine cocktail for dinner. I'm not even sure what to think of today's colossal waste of time, but I guess it's relieving to know that they didn't see pneumonia or a collapsed lung or anything. I was honestly terrified after the way last night went.
Well, I am just ready to try to sleep. I haven't yet decided what I'll do workwise tomorrow, but I guess it will depend on if I feel well-rested after tonight. I'm happy to report that nothing seems to be overly concerning...just the usual shenanigans.
Thanks to everyone who was looking out for me today. :o) If I didn't get back to you, that's where I was - between the guy with the sliced-open hand and the perforated-bowel dude.
As you know, I emailed the doctor in the middle of the night to try to get some sort of answer for the unusual pain I was having in my chest/lungs. Well, I got a return phone call right as I walked into an 11:00 a.m. appointment at work, so I made a quick exit. The nurse recommended that I go to the ER because the pain in my lungs was concerning and the doctor didn't have clinic hours until Thursday. Sooooooo, one of my coworkers and I headed over to the ER. Mind you, I hate the ER, so I hope that illustrates the desperation I was facing.
Upon arriving, we had to wait practically forever to check in, even though I marked chest pain and shortness-of-breath as symptoms (two of the top things to acknowledge according to the signs all over the walls). When they finally took me back to check out my vitals, my blood pressure was by far the highest it's ever been - 154/96. That's absolutely unheard of for me, but they didn't seem too concerned.
After a while, they opted to do some bloodwork and a chest x-ray. The bloodwork came back showing elevated white blood cell counts, and the chest x-ray came back looking really good. Soooo, thinking the x-ray would be the tell-tale sign of what was causing the lung pain, we were left with really no indications. However, we got one of my doctors on the phone who highly encouraged that I be admitted to the hospital, but I wasn't quite buying the argument since there aren't any symptoms that are typical of when I have a lung infection that requires IV antibiotics.
So, after spending six hours in different holding areas of the ER, I walked out with a prescription for a different, higher-dose oral antibiotic, as well as prescription pain medicine. I promptly went to Target and got my prescriptions filled and enjoyed a medicine cocktail for dinner. I'm not even sure what to think of today's colossal waste of time, but I guess it's relieving to know that they didn't see pneumonia or a collapsed lung or anything. I was honestly terrified after the way last night went.
Well, I am just ready to try to sleep. I haven't yet decided what I'll do workwise tomorrow, but I guess it will depend on if I feel well-rested after tonight. I'm happy to report that nothing seems to be overly concerning...just the usual shenanigans.
Thanks to everyone who was looking out for me today. :o) If I didn't get back to you, that's where I was - between the guy with the sliced-open hand and the perforated-bowel dude.
Mama called the doctor and the doctor said
no more monkeys jumpin' on the bed.
Well, it's Monday. Wooooooooooo. It seems like the weekend was never even here - probably because I spent a good portion of it sleeping or sitting around in bed.
I didn't have a good end to my weekend. I started to get some pretty serious chest pain yesterday afternoon, and it hasn't let up much since. It's basically right below my breastbone, but it also radiates into my right lung. I'm not sure exactly what could be causing it, but it doesn't seem digestive-related because of the time it started and the fact that it's still continuing. I ended up emailing the doctor at about 4:00 a.m. because I was up off and on throughout the night. I asked the soonest that I can be seen, so hopefully I'll be hearing something earlyish today. I can't remember if/when they have clinic hours on Mondays, but I better not put it off any longer.
My ceiling got a little work done on it yesterday and it isn't looking too far from normal, which is relieving. It's nice for there to be no more hole! Now it's a matter of sanding it down and painting it lighter to match the rest of the ceiling. It looks worlds better and makes me happy. I'm a lucky little chicken.
I've been in the midst of a donation slump, but I also realize expenses are usually tight at the end of the month. Soooo, I'm hopeful that I'll see a jump this week. When I got up during one of my middle-of-the-night shenanigans, I checked my email and saw that I had gotten a donation, so that was the shining light! I'm about 27 percent to my goal right now (online). Go, Drew, go!
Well, I hope I'll be feeling good enough to make it to rehearsal tonight. I am hopeful that, as I get going for the day, the pain will just kind of fall by the wayside and I'll be able to proceed with my day. Also, I am supposed to go to the doctor two weeks from tomorrow for a routine check-up anyway, so maybe if I can get in today, we'll call it even.
Anyway, I know I haven't said much of anything uplifting lately, but hopefully I'll have great things to say once my body decides to cooperate.
Oh, and I think I am going to PUERTO RICO!
Well, it's Monday. Wooooooooooo. It seems like the weekend was never even here - probably because I spent a good portion of it sleeping or sitting around in bed.
I didn't have a good end to my weekend. I started to get some pretty serious chest pain yesterday afternoon, and it hasn't let up much since. It's basically right below my breastbone, but it also radiates into my right lung. I'm not sure exactly what could be causing it, but it doesn't seem digestive-related because of the time it started and the fact that it's still continuing. I ended up emailing the doctor at about 4:00 a.m. because I was up off and on throughout the night. I asked the soonest that I can be seen, so hopefully I'll be hearing something earlyish today. I can't remember if/when they have clinic hours on Mondays, but I better not put it off any longer.
My ceiling got a little work done on it yesterday and it isn't looking too far from normal, which is relieving. It's nice for there to be no more hole! Now it's a matter of sanding it down and painting it lighter to match the rest of the ceiling. It looks worlds better and makes me happy. I'm a lucky little chicken.
I've been in the midst of a donation slump, but I also realize expenses are usually tight at the end of the month. Soooo, I'm hopeful that I'll see a jump this week. When I got up during one of my middle-of-the-night shenanigans, I checked my email and saw that I had gotten a donation, so that was the shining light! I'm about 27 percent to my goal right now (online). Go, Drew, go!
Well, I hope I'll be feeling good enough to make it to rehearsal tonight. I am hopeful that, as I get going for the day, the pain will just kind of fall by the wayside and I'll be able to proceed with my day. Also, I am supposed to go to the doctor two weeks from tomorrow for a routine check-up anyway, so maybe if I can get in today, we'll call it even.
Anyway, I know I haven't said much of anything uplifting lately, but hopefully I'll have great things to say once my body decides to cooperate.
Oh, and I think I am going to PUERTO RICO!
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