Round two of testing was today. It was not any easier than yesterday's version. In fact, I've had lingering effects that I distinctly do not appreciate. This afternoon's fun was a pulmonary function test. I got to sit in a plexiglass chamber and breathe into a tube, with a clamp on my nose, for a few different evaluations. I can't remember everything I saw on the computer screen as the tech ran me through it, but I did learn quickly where to look for baseline numbers for their optimal reference range, my values, and the percentage of where I fall against that range. I believe my percentages were between 70 and 90 of normal/optimal. This is the part I didn't memorize, so those are just guesses. They put a test result in my portal, but my phone can't open the TIF file (and I'm too computer ignorant to know why). About halfway through, they made me take albuterol on a nebulizer, and at the end, i repeated the first set of tests, to see whether it helped. It changed it between 2 and 5 percent, which doesn't seem valuable to me. Not enough to justify how utterly crappy albuterol makes me feel. I was jittery and shaky at first, and uncomfortably vacant-brained on the way home. I stopped in to cuddle my Grumpus, and I felt that total body let-down as I came off the med, barely able to enjoy grandbaby time. It's awful. If the pulmonologist tries to suggest I take albuterol regularly, I will politely but firmly decline.
Before I left, I asked them about the chest x-ray the doc had also ordered, and was someone supposed to have called me to schedule it. I never got an answer to the direct question, but they did say stick around after the PFT and we will get it done. It was fast, and by the time I had changed back into my clothes (didn't think ahead to wear no metal) the tech asked me if I wanted to see the images. Of course! It was wild, being able to see clearly the elevated diaphragm on the side view, as well as the straight on shot. The right side is still pushed halfway up, even though I had taken in a big (for me) breath and held it both times. I'll be curious what the doc will say in response to my question I asked him a month ago, "Is it my imagination, or is it getting worse?"
Tomorrow is my down day, with only out of town company, meal prep, shopping for a replacement guest bed, and D&D. Easy, right?
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