Day 188 - HHH and medicine

 Today is the 6th day of the 27th week, the 7th day of the 7th month, the 188th day of 2023 [with only 170 shopping days until Christmas], and:

• Comic Sans Day
• Global Forgiveness Day
• Independence Day - the Solomon Islands from the UK in 1978
• National Day of Rock 'n' Roll
• National Dive Bar Day
• National Father/Daughter Take a Walk Day
• National Macaroni Day
• National Strawberry Sundae Day
• Tell the Truth Day
• World Chocolate Day

Quote of the day:
"We have a fee-for-service system that rewards quantity, not quality: profit-driven care rather than patient-driven care. So doctors order more tests, more procedures, and more drugs - we actually consume more prescription drugs in the U.S. than the rest of the world combined."
~ Matthew Heineman, American documentary filmmaker, director, and producer

Today I took off from work for a cardiology appointment, as recommended by my GP, and had an EKG.  A different appointment was for a CAT scan of the chest done as ordered by my pulmonologist.  

The symptoms given to doctors [GP, pulmonologist, cardiologist]:  continued grinding fatigue, coughing [especially when laying down], issues with becoming short-winded easily, compromised mobility, visible peripheral edema, a persistent reoccurrence of an 'odd feeling', and persistent low sodium/chlorine levels.

Diagnosis by GP:  go to specialists, and don't drink as much water.  Symptoms match inflammation of the lung, congestive heart failure, and kidney disease.

Diagnosis by lung doc:  I've been going to them since the end of January, and was on an inhaler until two weeks ago.  At this point, the inflammation of the lungs caused by the allergic swelling may be a permanent condition - follow up appointment with the pulmonologist [the doctor this time, not the nurse practitioner who has been working with me for the past five months] on Monday to review CAT scan results.  I guess I'll find out then what, if anything, can be done to help

Diagnosis by heart doc:  severe allergic reaction of the summer 2022 touched off a cascade of issues acerbated by my age and diabetes as my heart muscles have 'stiffened'.  Tests ordered over the next three weeks include an echocardiogram, a vascular ultrasound study, and a nuclear/chemical stress test [each one on a separate day because Medicare will not permit more than one test a day.  Bossman is going to love that I scheduled each on a Friday and will take PTO].  Follow up appointment scheduled in mid-September - if these symptoms really are that of congestive heart failure [the GP's reason for sending me to a specialist], there sure isn't any urgency about treatments. 

Pending:  appointment with nephrologist needs to be made.  Kidney function tests are showing at the very low end of normal, so this one was at the bottom of the list.

Meanwhile?  Nothing is fixed and I have no idea when things are going to improve.  I cough and limp thru the days, then collapse exhausted each night.  And I am taking between three and five shots of insulin every day, trying to keep my blood sugar under control.   Could the 'odd feeling' that is haunting me be anxiety manifesting itself?  The doctors seem to be ignoring it, but if sure feels like a physical symptom to me.  

So, on this day of forgiveness?  I need to forgive the doctors for not just knowing how to heal me.  And I need to  to somehow forgive myself for not being as good a mother and grandmother as I really would like to be.  

It's been a day.