Chemical Stress Test, Anyone?

Hey, Y'all,
Well, here I am back in my own little messy workroom. Today has been a busy one for me - jumped right back into daily life as I know it. I got back here to Bedford around 7:30 last evening from Illinois. It was great fun being there with my family and I wished it could have lasted longer, but one doesn't want to wear out one's welcome...

This morning, I was up with the birds (don't ask me which ones, they have not identified themselves) around 6:20 a.m. and soon was eating a scrambled egg with toast and jelly. Then I took my morning medications and drank lots of water. At about 8:45 I left here to pick up my rider, Vicki, and we proceeded to the Bible Study at Countryside Bible Church (Carol and Daryl's church). At around noon, I dropped Vicki back at her home and returned home myself. 

At around 12:45, I left home and drove to the Heart and Vascular Center which is not far from here and checked in for my chemical stress test. If you have never had one of those, here is what takes place: You can not eat or drink anything after 8 a.m. (Hint: eat breakfast around 7 a.m. and drink lots of water before 8 a.m.)

First they let you sit for a while, so you can think about what is to come, and let your blood pressure elevate. Then you go back to a room where they find a vein to insert a needle (not an easy thing to do on me, but they did a good job - it has to be done in the back of my hand because of my deep veins - I would never succeed in becoming a junkie). Then they attach a bunch of electrodes to your upper body, and then inject an isotope into your vein, and tell you to swing your legs back and forth to make the stuff circulate good. Oh, yeah, they keep a check on your blood pressure the whole time. Now - as for the internal effects of the isotope - you get a quick headache - feel dizzy- and just generally have a weird feeling. After about four minutes, the effects diminish and you feel better. They give you some caffeine to drink, which helps you feel better. They remove the wires and all but three of the little pads they are attached to.

After you do the weird feeling thing, they send you out to wait awhile and then you can have a snack while you wait. I took some tylenol with me today so that I could take care of the headache after the injection. In about 20 minutes or so, you get to go into another room, and they remove the needle in your vein. You lie down on your back on a narrow table and put your hands above your head; they place a wedge under your knees for comfort. You are then moved into an open machine kind of like one of those that a lot of people hate to be in that are claustrophobic. You lie very still and the machine moves slowly around you and takes pictures of your heart. That takes twenty minutes.


Following that, I went back out for a few minutes and then went into another room for an echo cardiogram. This is done with a sonogram machine and the technician holds this sonogram dohickey under neath the breast and you can hear your heart going swish swish swish (blood going through your heart) and then moves it to the diaphragm and does the same thing. It is quite interesting, you know. All the technicians are wonderfully nice and do a great job! Thank you all!


Well,that is what took place from 1:15 to around 3 p.m. today. This afternoon in about forty five minutes I will be going to my church for supper and choir practice. I should be home by 7:45 this evening. That is my Wednesday for this week. Tomorrow, I get to go back to the Heart and Lung center and finish my stress test. Another injection and more pictures will take place at that time.


Tomorrow, pictures from my visit in Illinois. This is Blabbin' Grammy signing off for today. Much love to each of you, my friends and family. Bye for now. More later.