Hey everyone. I�m still here. I have been reading and commenting here and there, but I haven�t been posting.
Remember when I was so happy that they found nothing wrong with my heart and the doctor said I could take two water pills a day? Well, they still don�t know what�s wrong. It�s so bad now that my feet are already swollen when I wake up in the morning. I have been wearing the same pink sandals for three weeks because they are the only thing I can fit on my feet. They are huge. (How huge are they?) They are so huge that by nighttime, my toes don�t touch the floor and I have pain across the top of the feet after standing for only a few minutes.
I called the doctor and went to pick up paperwork for the hospital. He ordered a chest x-ray and an echocardiogram. Though there are no blockages, he wanted to see how well the ticker was pumping. They got me right in. They did the echo and x-ray and I went back to work. I went back to his office on Friday morning and had had the results. The echo showed my heart was pumping fine and the cardiologist that read it said I have no further need of a cardiologist.
The lungs were a different matter. Since this all started, about 4 or 5 weeks ago with the swelling, my blood pressure had gone down to a perfect 107 to 110 over 62 to 70. Well, this was a new one on me. He said that even though my blood pressure went down, it wasn�t because of anything good. It was because my lung blood pressure was high. Have you ever heard of lung blood pressure? I hadn�t. If you have high lung pressure, it puts less blood into the heart, therefore the heart blood pressure goes down. Are you confused enough yet? He said that this is being caused by one of three things.
He said the first thing could be the emphysema. He doubted that, because it wasn�t bad or advanced enough to cause it. He had added Flovent to my drug diet and I tried using if for 13 days and my throat was so raw, I couldn�t eat and it left me with such dry mouth that I was waking every couple of hours at night, grabbing for my water. I had to stop using it. Stopping that could have messed me up, though using it didn�t help any at all. He said if that was the case, that we just have to find the right combination of things that will work.
The next think was sitting on my butt for 6 or 7 weeks and not doing anything. That caused a lowering of my oxygen level in my blood. Normal real healthy people register about 95 to 97 though normal is anything over 90 or so. The 80�s are a little iffy, but not dangerous. At 50 to 60, they put you on oxygen. Mine was 73. Not dangerous, but not good. So yesterday he also started me on oxygen. Again, he said this is temporary to get my levels up so I can get more active and maintain it myself. This explains why I am ready for a nap at 10 on the morning and ready for bed by 8. And he as me on the lowest setting possible, so I�m not freaking out over it. Not now. I did in his office. Now my freaking out and some other peoples freaking out is a little different. I just started to tear up. Just for a minute, but he saw it. That pissed me off. I don�t cry. I don�t feel sorry for myself. I am not one to ask �Why me? I am more the one to ask, �Why NOT me?� I told him I was starting to feel like a hypochondriac. He pointed to my feet and said, �This is not hypochondria. Your test results are not hypochondria. You don�t call with imagined illnesses. Ever.
The third possibility was a blood clot in the lungs. So the next step was a lung CT to rule out the blood clots. He said if were that, and that would be the most serious, that it was also treatable with Coumadin. He also reminded me that this has all taken place since my surgery on my arm. Looking up online, it says one cause of clotting is surgery of the arms. This, of course, isn�t anyone�s fault, just one of the risk factors of any surgery. And if it is a clot, again, a temporary situation.
I had never had a lung CT before and I was glad the tech warned me about the dye they use. When she said it would feel like I wet my pants, she wasn�t kidding. They had said that back when I had the kidney CT, but it was nothing like this. Again, I just closed my eyes and went to the dock on Lake Winnipesauke and watched my bobber bounce up and down in the water until I heard her say that they were injecting the dye. It got really warm at the top of my head and went donw my body. When it got to my belly, I would have bet you money that I saturated the bed! Wow! Unbelievable. Then it was over.
The good news is he still hasn�t called with the results. I know he had the results because the radiologist phones them over before they let you leave the radiology department. I know a pulmonary embolism is serious so I am sure he would have called. So hopefully, I will hear from him on Monday with the news that all will soon be normal again with the oxygen levels restored and the meds adjusted.
Man, I�m just a little fuckin ray of sunshine these days aren�t I???
Well, if you think I�m leaving this post all dismal and dreary, think again! I don�t know if I sent this awhile back to anyone�s email, but I got it again the other day so I am sharing.
And if that didn�t make you smile, try making some of these bad boys. My sister�s friend made them with Triple Sec as she didn�t have any Grand Marnia and she said they were yummy!
Rice Krispy Treats for your adult side
Here�s your chance to revisit those sticky, chewy treats from your childhood. Except that this version of those bake sale faves is tweaked for your more dis�cerning adult tastes thanks to � cup of Grand Marnier liqueur.
Grown Up Rice Krispy Treats Start to finish: 1 hour Servings: 18
1 stick unsalted butter 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows � cup Grand Marnier (or other liqueur) � teaspoon orange extract (substitute vanilla or almond if they would work better with the liqueur of your choice) Pinch salt 6 cups puffed rice cereal 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Lightly coat an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.
Add the marshmallows, Grand
Marnier, orange extract and salt. Stir until melted.
Add the rice cereal and stir to coat.
Quickly transfer the cereal mixture into the prepared pan, using a spatula to pat it down evenly.
Set aside to cool and firm up.
Remove the block of cereal from the pan by inverting on a cutting board. Cut the block into small triangles. Set aside.
Place the chocolate in a microwave- safe bowl and heat until just melted. Dip half of each triangle into the chocolate, then arrange on plates and refrigerate until the chocolate has set.
