So yesterday after I finished my blog they called me back to prep and do my CT scan. I was so nervous because I had never done one before. So they got my vitals when they first took me back. When they took my tempurature though, it was neat cause it just gets slid across your forehead! No in ear or oral thermometers which was nice but I thought it was pretty cool that they could get an acurate temp. that was.
Once my vitals were over they sent dan back into the waiting room and took me into the scan room. After some discussion about my pacemaker and heart rate they decided they wanted my rate as low as 55. Therefore when I wallked in the room there was a tech to turn down my pacer.
As soon as that was done she left, the tech and other guy that was working with him (above him) was all that was left. I am not sure what the guy in the suit was doing but I know the tech preped me by putting stickers on me to monitor my heart rate .
Once all that was done I was told just to relax and take in a breath and hold it when told. They did thios for me to practice for the infusion scan and so they could calibrate the machine.
When it was time to practice the infusion itself they tech looked at my IV and said it was small and loose so he may need to change it. However instead of changing it he just kept moving it. He realize it was twisted so he tried to untwist it. I kept yelping as he moved it and I kept asking him to just change it. It hurt like hell and I have a lovely bruise in my elbow now. So after doing all that he decided that it may work.
To do the infusion of the contrast I had to have my arms up. So I put my arms up and he pressed the buton for 'sterile water' as he put it, to check the IV before they ran the contrast. The liquid started gushing out of my arm! I was freaking ouit. He grabbed my arm holding the IV in place while stopping to pump.
If I wasn't scared enough already, that sure did it. They already told me that the contrast makes you feel like your burning hot especially on your throught and that you've wet yourself. Now I was scared that another IV was going to explode all over me again. They hadn't made me change so I was wearing my shirt and got watered down blood all over the back of my sleeve. I also got very sticky which didn't make sense if it was just water. The tech said that the contrast can make you feel sticky. I was very confused because if he was using the 'practice' fluid and not the contrast why was I sticky?

Will finish later. Dun w PET and am not doing good.

Johns Hopkins Day 1 morning update

Hey everyone!
Here I am back in a hospital. Dan and I are chillin in the waiting room at Johns Hopkins waiting for my CT. I met the doctor this morning and did an echo.
The echo kind of sucked because I had to smell this really bad stuff that increases my heart rate like I did at Mayo. They also did a bubbles test where they aggrivate saline so that its bubbles and put that into my blood via IV and watch how it goes through my heart. That is how they originally found the whole in my heart but they couldn't find it.
Also done was what they call contrast. This is where they put this medicine in me (that starts with a D but I can't remember the name). It is white when aggrivated and turns the blood in my heart white so that they can see the edge of where the ventricle ends and the muscle begins.
When they do echos here they usually do treadmill stuff but thank the Lord I didn't have to do that! I got bad butterflies in my stomach when they rolled me into the door way and I saw the treadmill.
While I was in there they decided they also wanted me to have a CT scan today! I told them that I ate this morning because it said on my schedule that I couldn't for the 2 hours before my echo.
I thought that was wierd enough and when they started the echo before I saw the doctor like my schedule said I got nervous. I asked the tech (who was awesome and I'm pretty sure gay) and he said that's only for treadmill patients so it was okay.
When they started talking about the CT I told them I ate by 630 they said they would try the 2pm appt today but then came back in and told me it was at 12 and thay I needed to leave the IV in but could get dressed and wait in the waiting room.
About 45 minutes of waiting passed which was also an hour until my CT and told me that they needed referals for everything. So I gave her my primary care drs # biut told her dr Mitchell was her best bet. So within the next few minute I decided to call Nicholas who works the front desk at NavalMedCenter Cardiac Clinic and knows me and my situation very well and he said the lady was on the other line.
So just a minute ago actually she came out to tell me she got it and nicholas called me to say they did it. Yeaahhhh!! Now I don't have to pay for all this! Nicholas said that Mitchell told him if they need anything else for my appts that Nicholas can take care of it. So he gave me his pager number just in case he leaves the desk so that I can get referals and stuff done ASAP.

So that is my update of the morning. I'm typing this from my blackberry and sooo tired. I am barely staying awake and my eyes keep crossing. So I am done here and going to slouch down in my seat and doze a little until my scan.

Katie
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Vacation!

Is headed to Utah for Ben's wedding next Friday (Dan's older brother). It should be a fun week, just hope I can keep up!

As soon as we get back we will be leaving for Baltimore. I will be having tests done at Johns Hopkins. Wish me luck!!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend everyone! Be safe!!!!

Chip's 2nd Birthday Party

PICTURES

There are the pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. We had a great time hanging with our friends and Chip's friends. We had burgers and chips and cupcakes.. Where as the pups had "Devil's Doggie Food Cake" which is "Our carrot cake with carob mixed in to look and taste like chocolate cake. It is available iced with either a Peanut Butter & Carob icing or a White Fluffy Honey icing." which I ordered from The Working Dog Bakery which just opened in March but has had there sign up for a while which was just calling my name. Here is the link Doggie barkery.LOL I'm hilarious!! Anyways they do deliver so you can always order something :). Once the dogs figured out that it was really for them they loved it. Chip could only eat half his piece and then Bonnie ate the rest a little while later. It was funny.

anyways enjoy the pictures, leave comments if you'd like. :)..

chestpain+lightheadedness = admission to hospital

Hey everyone,
So by now you probably know I was in the hospital last night for chest pain and lightheadedness. They kept me over night more for observation and didn't really do anything but watch my blood pressure. The doctors decided to send me up to Johns Hopkins which is fine with me. We have all decided that we are out of options as we have tried what the doctors at Mayo Clinic recommended. I was also visited by someone from pain management. Sooo it has been decided to lower my heart medication because it isnt helping the pain as much as it is lowering my blood pressure and the dr at JH said he needs some blood pressure to work with. They also decided to up my painkiller dosage and are trying another medication on top of it along with a different break through pain killer.

i will follow up with Pain Management on Friday to discuss how I am feeling on the increase dosage and stuff.
Then i will follow up with my new(er) Cardiologist on May 4th to see how I am doing in general.

After that i will be going to JH for testing, one of which is already scheduled. The stress test tech called to schedule me and I was so sad when she said what it was for. But they have been informed that I do not like stress tests and do not always have a good result so they are going to give me a medication to "stress" my heart instead of making me exercise.

They also want to do a cardiac MRI which they say will be able to tell them if it is my heart that is causing the pain. They will be able to see if the pain is from not enough blood or what not.... so that will be good.

That is my dr update for the day.. Time to finish watching Yes Man with Dan, Dill and Chip then off to bed!

night!