mmm

my cardiologist's partner called me back today.

he recommended that i have some coca cola. when i told him i'd been drinking ginger ale and eating ginger, to no avail, he decided i needed to come in. so he'll see me tomorrow afternoon. it'll be a pain (literally) to drive in, but i need to make sure nothing is wrong...

i'm really lucky. my doctor tends to refer me to the best, but i don't think it's intentional--i just think that her mentors and colleagues happen to be among DC's top docs.

they're not all that great for me. that's normal... after all, the list is basically a popularity contest. ;) i've been to two of the allergists listed. one was incredible, the other (closer to where i live) wasn't so great, but he is wonderful for a friend of mine with a food allergic child.

boy was referred to a third allergist on the list, but saw the partner (unlisted) instead. she's worked out much better than the other would have, from what i hear. she takes more time and is more patient. the other guy is good, but his patients tend to just want a pill that fixes everything. boy wants his LIFESTYLE to reflect the changes his health requires. the nurse in the office said that, for some reason, the patients just seem to fall into the hands of the right partner, without having said anything to the receptionist. on the rare occasions the wrong personality is sent to the other doctor, a switch is easy. bizarre.

i figured out why my eyes were fucked up yesterday... i had my contacts switched. with a whole diopter difference between eyes, that can be a problem. i'm a dumbass. i kept getting confused last week and the week before when i was sick... putting both contacts in one cup, etc. i always do left eye first, so i thought i was always straightening things out.

should've known better.

and yes, i wear my contacts when i'm sick. my glasses are a stronger prescription, so i can't wear them for long-term computer/tv/book reading/viewing without risking a headache. they're more for use when i'm really tired (CFS-wise) and my eyes aren't focusing all the way.

the coke helped a little. i made myself a broccoli rabe-potato skillet dinner from a past vegetarian times issue. YUM. :)

*giggle*

i just looked up. platypus is staring at me from an amazon box. he's seated in it as though he's driving. i love boy. i think i'll go stick the bristle cat in there and take platypus to bed.

*searches for bristle cat*
*fails*
*in process of searching hears weird sound by bedroom window*
*walks back out to living room, opens patio door*
*walks out to edge of patio*
*holds out hand*
*peers closely*

yep, ice.

wee pellets of ice


must find bristle cat.

sleep was elusive

a shower, a mug of maté, and a heapin' serving of my broccoli rabe-potato skillet pie have gone a long way toward solving my overwrought state.

( lack of sleep does several things to me )

bwahaha!

krasota

( my hair is red, and my veins are wee )

well, no bronchoscopy tomorrow. *phew*

when boy arrived, we got together and made a mad dash into dc. i needed to get my films from WHC and then drive cross-town to georgetown. the elevators at WHC were S L O W... and traffic/construction was not friendly. i made it into gtown right at 2pm (my appt time)... i was supposed to be 15 min early, but they weren't upset. i didn't need to fill anything out, so i suspect they just wanted folks on time.

the pulmonologist looked at the xrays i brought and at my CT. he also looked at chest x-rays of mine that were still in georgetown's film library (i had a few bronchial infections while a student, so they go back to the mid-nineties)... then he called my heart surgeon. after they talked, he brought the ct scans in to talk to me (his resident had already examined me and taken notes)...

i liked this guy. he pointed out and explained the ct scan to me. he said that i have (or had) some kind of mass. he didn't think that there was any fluid around my heart on the 11th (ct scan day), but that the cyst was definitely compressing my esophagous and making things difficult. since i don't pay attention to trouble swallowing (it's plagued me for years, really), i didn't notice until the tracheitis hit the week after.

he really thought that the cyst wasn't on my bronchial tubes, but was a pericardial cyst... that's right, on my pericardium. he talked to me for awhile then sent me on my way with orders for another ct to determine whether the cyst was there or not. he also told me to take all my gtown films, so i had to check those out.

from there, we rushed on to my cardio appt (for the nausea). i explained what the pulmo guy had said to the cardio (partner of my cardiologist) and he looked at my films, too... then HE called the heart surgeon. the cardio said that there was a very little amount of fluid around my heart in the ct scan, but not something a pulmo would notice (lungs and hearts being different specialties)... the cardio and the surgeon think that i probably had a pericardial cyst which burst, flooding my pericardial sac with fluid.

he also did another echo. this time boy got to see. i think he liked the sound and view. for the record, my heart is working quite well now.

so, all that's set for now is the ct scan. after that, maybe a cardio MRI. they want to see exactly what the situation is before they cut me open again. if i have a cyst, it will have to be removed, especially if it burst. it's probably also been there for years. it's not likely a lymphoma (phew, not that i was worried), but a bother nonetheless.

oh, and the cardio told me to stay off the darvo to see if i feel better. duh. i wish he'd told me i could lay off one of the naproxen, too. that's likely the culprint, but they want me full of NSAIDS.

so. tomorrow i call to schedule the CT. next week, i see my cardio. week after that, i see the cardio surgeon and take her allll of my films.

oh, washington hospital center included a chest xray of someone else in with those of me. this is a relief. i'd noticed that one of my xrays looked like i was full of staples. fortunately, i am NOT.

i have, however, started reacting to ALL of the adhesive tapes. i'm now covered in rashes from the electrodes, welts from the tape, and dermatitis from the tagaderm... *sigh* and that's ALL supposed to be soy and latex free. guess 3m gets another call from me. they like to do strict quality control. i have a 4x4 gauze pad under my boob, held in place with my purple tube top.

the wound smells funky, but the doctors said it was okay. just the stench of betadine and a little drainage, i guess. it's kinda popcorny.

busy day.

must watch charmed and then go to bed.

mmmm, bed.

mmmm

chocolate ice cream...

with kosher-for-passover chocolate chips (i stockpile them in the freezer each year).

yum.