Getting Nuked

Early this morning I had an appointment at the Echo/Vascular Department at the beautiful new hospital just down the road from our house. I was having my first ever nuclear stress test. I had to go fasting and couldn't take any of my medication. I was a little nervous about it because we had a friend in Houston that had a heart attack during a stress test, but the nurse that helped me said it only happens once in every 10,000 patients.

When I got to the Cardiology floor, I was ushered into this room. (Comfy with a great view!) I should also add that everyone I've met in the Cardiology Department, both downtown and at Parkridge, has been so nice. And everyone I've seen regarding this surgery, regardless of the department, has been supportive and positive about my choice. This has made things so much easier.

An I.V. was inserted into my arm. Then saline was inserted to make sure it was set up right. Next, radioactive material was inserted. The radioactive material had to work its way through my body for about an hour.

While I waited for the material to circulate, I had an echocardiogram. Afterwards, I had to walk around for awhile to help the blood circulate. I walked around for about 45 minutes.

Next I was ready for the x-ray machine that would locate the radioactive material and track it through my heart. The table looks pretty harmless, and was at first.

But then they lowered the part that looks like it has a grid on it. The visible portion is only half of a v-shaped unit. It comes right down on the chest and made me feel trapped. Here's a picture that shows it a little better.

I had to lie still while the unit very slowly rotated from the right to the left side of my body - about 20 minutes. I couldn't move at all. If you know me, you know how hard that was for me, especially to not rub my feet together. By the time it was finished, my lower back was killing me.

Next came the actual stress test. I was taken to another room with a cushy chair, nice view and a treadmill. They took my blood pressure, which was much lower than normal, and then got me on the treadmill. I walked at a slow pace with a slight incline. Gradually it got faster and steeper until my heart rate got up to 184 (I think). While I was on the treadmill, they continued checking my pulse and they also inserted more radioactive dye into my I.V.

When I finished, I sat in the cushy chair to get my breath back. I didn't experience any heart pain or anything like that, just shortness of breath because of the exercise. They said I did really well. I asked them how long I'd been on the treadmill since it seemed like about 15 or 20 minutes. I was surprised to find out it was only seven minutes. How embarrassing!

I had to wait another 20 minutes for the radioactive material to circulate. Then it was back to the torture chamber.

This time wasn't so bad because I was tired and fell asleep, plus I had an extra pillow under my legs. The time went by much faster. After that, they just took a minute to review the test and then released me. I think that's a good sign because a guy that went before me had an irregular result.

I go back to the cardiologist on Friday and will get the official results. Then I think it's back to the bariatric doctor to put everything together and submit it to Medicaid.