I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. and got 9 glorious hours of pain free, no heart palpitation sleep! I feel like a new person! Dominique showed up at 7:20 a.m. yesterday morning to take me to Lab Quest for my cholesterol and iron blood test. What is it about Vampires, I mean people who draw your blood, they seem to hate their job, even the receptionist who made Nurse Ratchet look like Cinderella - ha ha. We went to Panera Bread for bagels and decaf coffee afterward. Then we went to get my exercise equipment for my upper and lower back stretches/exercises. I found a 15" ottoman for $14 for my standing hamstring stretches, plastic tubing with handles for my rowing exercises and a yoga mat for 14 floor stretches and exercises. I treated myself to an expensive Keurig Personal Mini coffee maker that uses K - Cups; they have decaf coffees, hot cocoas, and decaf teas. It'll save me from having to go across the street to the coffee shop to buy decaf, so it will probably pay for itself one day. I got my lacrosse ball for my back massage and I was thrilled to find the Asian Massage place at the Mall. They do deep tissue massage and it's affordable, so Mon., Wed., and Fri., I'm going to Mall walk for 30 minutes followed by a deep tissue massage. Then Tues. and Thurs., will do the back exercises to do everything I can to prevent this from ever happening again. The Cardiology appt. went fantastic! My daughter was allowed to come in when I got my echo cardiogram. The room was dark, hot, small, low ceilings and I had to face the wall and I had a hot flash. In addition, to the palpitations, my anxiety was through the roof. I told her I needed a minute and she and my daughter were calm. I wanted to leave the room, but asked if I could strip down to my underwear and could she leave the door open, so there was light and cool air coming in and she said yes. I didn't care if anyone walked by and saw me. After 5 minutes, I calmed down and the test only took 15 minutes instead of 25. You weren't allowed to move or talk for the procedure, so you can imagine how difficult that was for me - ha ha. Afterward, she asked if I ever had an MRI and I said I had an open one and they hooked me up to the machine and my only life line was the technician who I could see sitting behind the window and then he left and I thought, is he going to lunch, is he off duty, does anyone know I'm in here? I got through it and we had a good laugh. I told her she'll have fun recanting my story about the woman who had a hot flash and had to take the test sans most of her clothes with the door open. She showed me what my heart looked like and the imagery was colorful and I told her I had a hippie heart and it looked like a lava lamp and I expected to hear Jimmy Hendrix music. She said my heart looked great! Then off to the stress test. My blood pressure was perfect and they put a belt around me and hooked up electrodes to my chest. I felt like Robo Cop. The treadmill would go slow, speed up and incline and I would have my blood pressure taken throughout the procedure. The guy, who performed the test, was HILARIOUS. We talked and laughed the entire time and I didn't even break a sweat. I told him I thought I was going to flop sweat after the test and he said, "Well, it's not Navy Seal Training." He said my blood pressure and EKG were perfect and to come back to his gym anytime for a walk on his treadmill since I'm normal and healthy. Dominique and I celebrated at the Olive Garden afterward. When we came home there was a message from Patient First on my answering machine. Oh no! They only call when something's wrong. So, I waited patiently for the woman to review my chart to see the reason for the call. I thought it was my thyroid. However, it was regarding my back x-ray. It showed up that there was antacid in my lower digestive tract and if I had not taken an antacid that morning, I would have to return for another x-ray to see what the dark mass was. So, I told her that morning that I had nervous diarrhea and took Pepto Bismol Max, so I could make it to the doctors. I also added that I couldn't believe the Pepto squealed on me. And, we literally couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes. So, I didn't have to go back for another x-ray. That stuff has to really be able to coat your digestive tract if if shows up on x-rays - good grief! So, after the call, I took a half dose of Percocet and it worked fine - no hallucinations. My pulse went from 100 to 60, it took the edge off the pain and made me relax. I got up this morning feeling great and I don't need Percocet yet. I don't want anyone to worry about me getting addicted. I was on Percocet for 3 months for a dental mishap 7 years ago. I only take what I need to break the pain cycle, I take the minimum dose, and I skip days. When I do go off of it, everything hurts 10 times worse, like the wind on your face, your hair, your teeth, but I force myself to get off, suffer the withdraw symptoms for 48 hours, and the pain goes away. I realize that's part of what happens, so I make myself do it, so I break the cycle and refuse to stay on the medication. So, honestly, I'm safe and sober about it and I'm extremely aware and extremely careful. I'm going to rest the next 4 days and my daughter's coming back for a take out food and movie marathon weekend (no scary movies, because of Percocet). My Cardiologist follow up appt. is Monday followed by a mall walk and deep tissue massage, I'll let you know how it goes. Have a great day! I will :-)
Shari
