Well the trip to the Brompton produced the usual mixture of good and bad news. Unfortunately this time I got more bad than good.
The day started badly when I woke up with a thumping headache and feeling pretty rough. I'd had a rough night breathing wise and was tired and crotchety. The weather definitely did not help as I pulled back the curtains to be greeted by a thick bank of fog. Brilliant! Travelling into London is difficult at the best of times, fog was not going to make it any better.
After a quick breakfast of tea, tablets and half a slice of toast we set off early expecting a lot of problems. As is always the way when expecting the worst, we sailed in and found a disabled parking space right outside the hospital doors. We were thirty minutes early. So I was sent off for an ECG, Bloods and ECHO, weighed, had my blood pressure and SATS taken and then plonked in the waiting room to, well, wait.
The first thing the doctor said was 'what have you been doing to yourself?' He then went on to say how pale I was and why wasn't the smiling bouncy Hazel he always expected in front of him. I explained everything that had been going on these last few weeks. The faints at home and at work, the feeling 'not quite right' the sickness and the head cold. He did all the usual listening to my chest, taking my pulse etc, etc and then delivered his verdict.
My chest is clear of infection and my heart is in sinus, but my blood chemistry is all over the place. I'm low on Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, etc, etc. My Oxygen SATs are lower than expected, my blood pressure is slightly up, my pulse is too high, and the ECHO showed a few changes for the worst too. Clearly all is not well. Now it could be that a lot of it can be accounted for with my recent bout of illness. Certainly the blood chemistry would have been affected. Other things he's not so sure about and these need further investigation.
So he has ordered me to stay at home for at least another week and get over things properly. If I'm feeling OK after a week I can do normal things again. However if I don't feel right I am to stay at home and rest. Naturally I'm to let him know immediately should things worsen. In the meantime he will arrange for me to go in for a few days for further tests A repeat ECHO, a CT and if needed an MRI. Joy!
However the good news is that I've finally been granted the Viveltri (spelling) and so while I am in they will start me on that too and if necessary increase my dosage slightly. After all, as the doc pointed out, I have been on the same low dose for almost three years, which is much longer than they'd predicted.
So it is back on the sofa and Complan and I'll have to call work and tell them I'm on Doctor's orders to stay put. At least I got a day out and wasn't shuffled straight onto the ward. Time to get the paints out again I think. Oh happy days!
After a quick breakfast of tea, tablets and half a slice of toast we set off early expecting a lot of problems. As is always the way when expecting the worst, we sailed in and found a disabled parking space right outside the hospital doors. We were thirty minutes early. So I was sent off for an ECG, Bloods and ECHO, weighed, had my blood pressure and SATS taken and then plonked in the waiting room to, well, wait.
The first thing the doctor said was 'what have you been doing to yourself?' He then went on to say how pale I was and why wasn't the smiling bouncy Hazel he always expected in front of him. I explained everything that had been going on these last few weeks. The faints at home and at work, the feeling 'not quite right' the sickness and the head cold. He did all the usual listening to my chest, taking my pulse etc, etc and then delivered his verdict.
So he has ordered me to stay at home for at least another week and get over things properly. If I'm feeling OK after a week I can do normal things again. However if I don't feel right I am to stay at home and rest. Naturally I'm to let him know immediately should things worsen. In the meantime he will arrange for me to go in for a few days for further tests A repeat ECHO, a CT and if needed an MRI. Joy!
However the good news is that I've finally been granted the Viveltri (spelling) and so while I am in they will start me on that too and if necessary increase my dosage slightly. After all, as the doc pointed out, I have been on the same low dose for almost three years, which is much longer than they'd predicted.
So it is back on the sofa and Complan and I'll have to call work and tell them I'm on Doctor's orders to stay put. At least I got a day out and wasn't shuffled straight onto the ward. Time to get the paints out again I think. Oh happy days!
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