I spent the morning (4 hours) at the cardiologists office having my nuclear stress test done. Yuck. What a long morning. I had to be there at 7:00 a.m. and it was 11:00 when I got out.
The ladies were super nice though! They first gave me an IV because they have to inject this radioactive stuff into your system that would light up my heart for the pictures they needed to take. Im a hard stick but they got it in on the first try after spending several minutes poking and prodding to find a decent vein. Bless them for that. I didnt have to be subjected to several IV sticks as I usually am.
Then I had to drink 4 cups of water to flush the radioactive stuff throughout my body. Of course, with my bladder disease I was in the bathroom every 10 – 15 minutes after drinking all of that water! Fun, fun!
Next stop was my echocardiogram. The lady took about 110 pictures of my heart using a sonogram and that gel stuff is so cold! It also hurt quite a bit because they dig the probe (not sure what its called!) right into your chest and breast. Ouch.
Next stop was the first set of pictures of my heart that they take before exercising. That took about 15 minutes and I got to see my heart all lit up on the screen. That was cool.
After that, I was taken to exercise on the treadmill. I was really worried about this because I have not been doing well at all this week and I was afraid I wouldnt make it for as long as they needed me to walk. But I did it! They started out really slow for 3 minutes, then they increased the speed and the incline of the treadmill for the next three minutes. For my age, they needed me to walk 8 minutes and my heart rate had to be up to 155. I walked a total of 9 minutes and my heart rate was 165. So I did achieve what they needed to get the best results.
The last two minutes was really tough. It was going really fast and the incline was so steep. I thought my legs were going to fall off they ached so bad!
Then it was back to the waiting room and I was allowed to eat a light snack (granola bar) and was told to bring a clear soda (Diet Sierra Mist). I wasnt allowed to eat or drink after midnight last night, so by this time I was ready for something to eat. Then it was back to have more pictures of my heart taken. Then I was free to go! Im home and Im really tired.
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