Month 20 update
I had the CT scan done a week and a half ago and have not heard anything. I consider this good news, assuming that if any of my doctors who got the report were concerned with what they saw, they would call me.
I also had a pulmonary function test and arterial blood gas on Tuesday. The ABG wasn’t as bad for me as it apparently is for some people. They have to do a blind stick and the technician doing it said it would be a BIG pinch, but for me, it wasn’t much worse than a regular stick into my veins which I get frequently. She said some people describe it as the most painful procedure they’ve had.
The ABG showed an oxygen saturation of 94, which is good – not great, but good (and quite a bit better than the 85 which I had been getting via the usual finger pulse-ox reading). The pulmonary function tests are a series of tests that are quite strenuous and not al all fun. This time I had to have a pre and post which means that they run the whole series, give me albuterol (familiar to those who have an asthmatic around) to open up the airways, and then run the series again. At the end, the technician said the results were good. While she can’t actually interpret the results for me, she said that she thought my pulmonary specialist would be pleased. I’m hoping that if he is pleased, he will call and tell me I can stop taking my puffers every day.
Anyway, it looks more promising that my breathing problems were at least primarily due to the cold/infection I had. Here’s hoping.
Justin
I also had a pulmonary function test and arterial blood gas on Tuesday. The ABG wasn’t as bad for me as it apparently is for some people. They have to do a blind stick and the technician doing it said it would be a BIG pinch, but for me, it wasn’t much worse than a regular stick into my veins which I get frequently. She said some people describe it as the most painful procedure they’ve had.
The ABG showed an oxygen saturation of 94, which is good – not great, but good (and quite a bit better than the 85 which I had been getting via the usual finger pulse-ox reading). The pulmonary function tests are a series of tests that are quite strenuous and not al all fun. This time I had to have a pre and post which means that they run the whole series, give me albuterol (familiar to those who have an asthmatic around) to open up the airways, and then run the series again. At the end, the technician said the results were good. While she can’t actually interpret the results for me, she said that she thought my pulmonary specialist would be pleased. I’m hoping that if he is pleased, he will call and tell me I can stop taking my puffers every day.
Anyway, it looks more promising that my breathing problems were at least primarily due to the cold/infection I had. Here’s hoping.
Justin
