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I had a stress test...
I wonder what my grade on it is?
ANYway, I had a stress EKG yesterday (and why is echo cardiogram abbreviated as EKG anyway?), which is an odd combination of a stress test (you know, the one where they cover you with electrodes to measure heart rate and then throw you on the tread mill till you collapse) and EKG, in that they do a before and after with it, and the stress test is truncated so that you're only on it until you hit the target heart rate the docs are looking for. Watching your own heart work on a monitor in real time is kind of cool and surreal.
The reason for this has to do with why I haven't mentioned that whole second degree thing. I failed my pretest. I failed my pretest because about half way through I was gasping for air and just couldn't perform at the necessary level (I finished, but by the end my technique was horrible and just standing up was a bit of a challenge).
I went to see a doctor after that. She's thinking it's probably asthma, but I had the stress EKG to check for heart problems (the cardiologist told me after he reviewed it that my heart was working 100% to normal spec from start to finish, so that's not it), a lung X ray which I have no idea what the results look like (but I have my annual physical tomorrow morning, so I'm assuming I'll find out then), and she gave me an inhaler to use prior to heavy activity.
And hey, my phone just rang, and it was the doc's office. My chest X ray is normal and shows no anomalies.
So, I guess asthma wins because nothing else shows up? Anyway, using the inhaler prior to class seems to make a difference, but I think I might need a higher dose than what the sample inhaler she gave me releases. The directions are for two doses prior to heavy activity, but I find that unless I do three or four, I still end up fighting for air by the end of class.
I guess I'll never get to compete in the Olympics since I'm now on steroids. Darn.
ANYway, I had a stress EKG yesterday (and why is echo cardiogram abbreviated as EKG anyway?), which is an odd combination of a stress test (you know, the one where they cover you with electrodes to measure heart rate and then throw you on the tread mill till you collapse) and EKG, in that they do a before and after with it, and the stress test is truncated so that you're only on it until you hit the target heart rate the docs are looking for. Watching your own heart work on a monitor in real time is kind of cool and surreal.
The reason for this has to do with why I haven't mentioned that whole second degree thing. I failed my pretest. I failed my pretest because about half way through I was gasping for air and just couldn't perform at the necessary level (I finished, but by the end my technique was horrible and just standing up was a bit of a challenge).
I went to see a doctor after that. She's thinking it's probably asthma, but I had the stress EKG to check for heart problems (the cardiologist told me after he reviewed it that my heart was working 100% to normal spec from start to finish, so that's not it), a lung X ray which I have no idea what the results look like (but I have my annual physical tomorrow morning, so I'm assuming I'll find out then), and she gave me an inhaler to use prior to heavy activity.
And hey, my phone just rang, and it was the doc's office. My chest X ray is normal and shows no anomalies.
So, I guess asthma wins because nothing else shows up? Anyway, using the inhaler prior to class seems to make a difference, but I think I might need a higher dose than what the sample inhaler she gave me releases. The directions are for two doses prior to heavy activity, but I find that unless I do three or four, I still end up fighting for air by the end of class.
I guess I'll never get to compete in the Olympics since I'm now on steroids. Darn.