Anniversary and New Symptom

It was exactly one year ago yesterday that I went to the Doctor the first time with neuropathy. It has been a long tough year for me and my family. But, God is good!


I go back to Vanderbilt for a CT Scan this Friday.  If insurance allows, it will also be a PET Scan.

The past few weeks of hot weather have really bothered me. I am still basically not sweating, except on my forehead. I overheat very easily which is not good. Sunlight still feels like an instant sunburn on my skin. And now, I have developed something new.

Last week, I was having a lot of trouble breathing with the hot weather, overheating, etc. At times my heart seemed to be beating hard and heavy, but not hurting. My pulse would race from time to time.

Tuesday of this week (May 25, 2010), my chest began to feel uncomfortable, so I went to the doctor. He did an ECG immediately. He did my last ECG and echocardiogram in January 2010. My ECG had changed from January to now. The right side of my heart is working to hard to pump blood. I went for an echocardiogram yesterday. The results came back this afternoon (Wednesday, May 26, 2010).

The good news is they mentioned nothing about a heart attack, heart blockage, or blood clot.

The bad news is that blood is not flowing freely through my lungs. So if blood does not flow through my lungs freely, I do not get a good oxygen supply, so I have trouble breathing. When blood does not flow through my lungs properly, it causes an increase in blood pressure in my lungs which makes the right side of my heart work harder. It seems I have developed pulmonary hypertension.

I have not read the report yet, and the doctor is still consulting about the next step. I should know something tomorrow. As always, I keep the Vanderbilt doctors informed. Just another symptom and problem to deal with. Soli Deo Gloria

I may have a video blog sometimes Thursday AM.