I just got a call confirming my appt for those tests tomorrow at 1:30 PM. I asked her if I should wear anything Special and she said wear something you work out in, lol. Told her I don't work out. She then said just wear something comfortable. My sundress is comfortable but it won't look good with tennis shoes. Hahaha. I know I won't be able to do the treadmill because I've gotten out of shape and I keep telling them that and they say that's ok, don't worry. I've talked to my daughter and sister who've both done it and they are in excellent shape. Both hike and my daughter also runs 4 times a week and she said she failed it the first time. Maybe they make it harder for someone who's in shape. Being an ex smoker isn't to my advantage either. I have a feeling this is all going to be a waste of time. Any advise? What should I eat before....should I eat before....things like that.
I think that you might want to call your doctor's office and ask them about eating and drinking procedure for tomorrow, @Chrissy Page . I am pretty sure that I was told not to eat, or drink coffee before my stress test. However, because my heart failure was so bad, they could not let me do the regular stress test, so I had the chemical one instead, and the rules for that procedure might be different. After it was over, then they put me in a chair in the recovery area and gave me some food and juice to drink, and I had to be there for an hour,, and also had to have someone to drive me home afterwards. If they have similar rules for the regular stress test, they should be explaining all of that to you before you go in. The echo is just like the ultrasound that they do when a woman is expecting a baby, and it is interesting to watch on the camera. All it is , is putting some kind of lotion on you and running the little camera over your skin, and it takes the pictuures of your heart. It takes a while for them to do it , but it is not invasive at all.
I'm doing the treadmill stress test and she just said dress comfortably and wear tennis shoes. Then they'll do the echo. She didn't saying anything about eating or drinking or having anybody else drive me there and back. Don't know how long I'll be there so I'd better plan for Pickles just in case it's longer than I think.
@Chrissy Page The echo will be the least imposing for you, my guess. If typical, you can watch your own heart's beating activity on a screen, live, and actually see the valves opening and closing. How fast they move! And do it for a lifetime! Incredible. Give them some impressive results! Frank
I'm ready to have a panic attack, I started looking up what my EKG reading meant because I didn't do it before...didn't want to know. Anyway, a right Bundle branch block is better the a a left one so I have that going for me. I've also never fainted in my while life. What I'm worried about is being out of shape and getting out of breathe on the treadmill since I sometimes have to catch my breathe when I get to the top of my daughters very tall second floor. And then I'm afraid they're going to find something terrible and my daughters in Maui and I have nobody here And I'm getting myself all worked up...wish it was over. @Frank Sanoica , I am NOT looking at my heart. If I do I'll be picturing it in my head whenever I do anything.
@Chrissy Page Awww,.....I said you can look at your own heart, not that you must. For me, it was an amazing experience, to witness what today's science can do, painlessly and quickly, with results "seeable" to Specialists and novices alike. Frank
Who knows, I may take a peek.. I'd rather look at a baby but they didn't have that when I was pregnant. It's just harder having to go alone, I'd feel much better if my husband was still alive and going with me, just like I went to the hundreds of tests and surgeries and chemotherapies and radiation treatments he had. I don't even know how id work it out if I had to have an operation...nobody at home to take care of me.
If you did have to have an operation (which is NOT at all likely) then Medicare will make sure that you have someone to look after you. When I had the heart surgery, they would have sent a nurse to take care of me afterwards if I had needed it. Since you have not had any kind of health problems, and especially none with your heart, they are not apt to find anyting serious at all, they are just taking precautions. It is much better if they can check and find someting early on and treat the problem, then if they do not do tests, and then it would need more than just a medication. They did not operate on my heart until it was so bad that I would have probably died, just gave me heart meds; so the liklihood of the doctors finding something wrong that needed an operation , is miniscule in your situation with your wonderful health. Nevertheless, we are saying prayers for you tonight,@Chrissy Page , and I am sure that others here on the forum have you in their prayers, too !
Thanks Yvonne, you have managed to reassure me. Also didn't know that about medicare...true that I'm not the only widow in the US with no family near enough. Seems everything is fine though til the tests start. Had I not had the EKG, I wouldn't be having the tests tomorrow. Why didn't they operate til later @Yvonne Smith. Is that normal procedure? Trying meds first?
Whenever I would take the annual medical executive check up as required by our office, I would just be me - no preparation so whatever I have here (ailments) can easily be discovered. I don't think it's a good idea to prepare like working out a week before the checkup for you are just covering up if you have an ailment. The checkup is a means to discover what's wrong with you, right? But I understand your apprehension. My husband is like that, he wouldn't submit to a checkup because he doesn't feel anything. But last month when he often felt dizzy, he had no recourse but to go to the doctor. His problem is hypertension and cholesterol, not so high but needed treatment. Right now he is doing okay so he had forgotten the doctor already.
True about not trying it hide anything what the point then, right? I'm like that though, every dr visit I say I'm fine even if I'm not.
I pray that the results of your test will be just fine. I understand the stress, however. Having lived most of my life without any health problems other than occasional injuries, it seems that that I am sometimes caught into a health trap that I can't find my way out of. As a part of a regular physical, I took a stress test a few years ago, before even my first cancer. The technicians stopped the test early, saying that they thought that saw "something," and wouldn't tell me what it was that they were concerned about. From there, I went to a cardiologist. Although he said my ECG was fine, he prescribed Propranolol as a "precaution,", and referred me to an echocardiogram. The Propranolol caused tightness in my chest and chest pain, which made me think I was having a heart attack. I wasn't. The echocardiogram didn't find anything worth worrying about either, yet the cardiologist was going to keep me on Propranolol. I asked him about the stress test that started the whole thing, and he said that he didn't see anything abnormal in my stress test. I related the story to him. I felt perfectly okay. I went for a routine stress test and was referred to him because a non-physician technician "thought" he saw "something," something that no one else seems to be able to see. I was prescribed Propranolol, which made me feel as if I was having a heart attack, although I felt fine before the Propranolol. The stress test found nothing. The ECG found nothing. The echocardiogram found nothing. The Propranolol made me feel as if I was having a heart attack. Why am I taking Propranolol? He took me off the Propranolol, and the chest pressure went away within a couple of days. So yes, I understand your misgivings.
Yep, all because of that EKG abnormal thing, and when I was having it done, the tech seemed a little confused trying to position herself because she was used to the other room where the bed was facing a different way, so I hope she had those things on me the right way. I just fear test after test after this. I even told my daughter just wait til I get on medicare, I'm going to have every disease there is even though I've been fine til now even without insurance. Oh well, gotta do this and I'm anxious about any med I have to take til I research it and it has no horrible side effects.., if it cause weird side effects..that's it,, I quit.