Cold And Slimy

Well, I went to the doctor this morning to have my echo cardiogram. I won't know if there were any problems detected for a couple days, but I think everything went well. It was cool watching my heart on the monitor, seeing the blood flow in and out of it, and watching and listening to the rhythm of my heart. If only the technician didn't have to jam the probe into your ribs so hard to get the images! lol

They check the heart from 3 different locations. Two of them they didn't have a problem with, but when they tried to take an upward shot of my heart from around my stomach (just below my solar plexus), they couldn't get a clear shot so they took a "clip" of the image and then entered in "some type of scan" attempted. They said that a lot of guys have a thick wall of muscle and/or fat that often makes viewing the heart from that angle difficult.

Anyway, she finished up, and then handed me a paper towel to wipe of the lubrication gel (and there was a LOT of it!) The paper towel couldn't handle all of it, so they handed me a hospital gown, telling me to use that instead because it would absorb the gel better. I felt like Peter Venkman from the first Ghost Busters movie...I'd been slimed! That was some pretty thick gel, and I hadn't realized they'd used that much! lol Females going for ultrasounds when they're pregnant deal with the stuff all the time, but most of them (hopefully) don't have copious amounts of chest hair to contend with, which made getting the goop off that much more difficult. Still, it was no big deal, and other than some briefly sore ribs, the procedure was painless. I now have to wait and see if they found anything to be concerned about. I'm a little worried because the technician kept zooming in and focusing on one particular area of my heart, but they're not allowed to give the patient any results, whether they be good or bad. She basically said, "Well, it works!" which was good to know (although rather obvious given the fact that I was sitting there alive. lol)

There was one time during the procedure though, that one of the electrodes kept pulling away from my chest (the uncooperative chest hair again.) I was laying there on my side, watching the monitor, and the erratic line that was my heart beat suddenly went flat. The technician didn't notice it at first because she was chatting with the other nurse who was in the room, standing behind me on the other side of the gurney. The other nursed reached over me from behind, and pressed the electrode firmly against my chest, and my heart activity was once again apparent from the twitching line. She said something to the effect of of "Thanks, I didn't notice that, I was busy chatting" to the nurse who was holding the patch on, and I was like, "Yeah, I was wondering about that. Usually that means you're dead." No big deal though. It just meant that I had 2 nurses poking and prodding me for a little while instead of just the one.

At any rate, it was a fascinating procedure to watch, and I hope the results will all be positive (or negative, depending on how you interpret the situation.) Nicole, the doctor came in towards the end of the procedure, thanked me for the "organized" chart of blood pressure readings I'd taken myself at home, and recorded for her, saying that she wished all of her patients were that organized, and she said that they'd take my blood pressure one more time before I left.

So a nurse took the reading, once on my right arm, and then again on my left arm because the right reading was suspiciously high, and I can skip the visit to the doctor that would have been scheduled for next week, because my blood pressure seems to be slowly coming down. She told me to keep taking the HCTZ diuretic pill I'd been prescribed, filling both the refills, and then come back in 3 months (when the meds run out) for another check-up. So that's it for now...unless they find something on the echo cardiogram. I'm just glad those migraine headaches I had to live with for 3 weeks have gone away. That was the worst part about this whole situation so far!

Anyway, that's about it for MY doctor visit. If I find out anything else, I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for taking the time, once again, to peruse my disjointed ramblings. Have a great weekend, and take care of one another. Peace.