ObesityHelp

So today I had all the testings...chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound, bloodwork, breathing tests, blood gas, and EKG at QMC.  All in all today went so great, I could not have asked for a smoother day.  I checked in at 10am and got brought in to have the chest x-ray done by 10:30, then I had to wait until 11 to have the ultrasound done.  The ultrasound was kind of uncomfortable, I put the gown on backwards so I was basically flashing the tech the whole time...nice! Anways, she was pushing pretty hard on my abdomen and I really had to pee so it was uncomfortable, it felt like she was pushing harder to get throught the fat but it still hurt.  

After the ultra sound, I went to get my blood drawn. I always always have problems getting blood drawn, they usually have to stick me so many times before finding a "good vein" today, I went in, got stuck and was out in 10 minutes. I cannot say enough good things about that lab!!! 

After this, I had about an hour to get something to eat (light lunch with no caffeine).  My Dad ( who was awesome, sat in the waiting room for 4 hours!) and I went for a little ride to find something and we stopped at this little Italian Deli in Quincy Center and I had to best greek salad ever...delicious! I highly recommend.  

Then I went back by 12:45 and went upstairs with Frank, the pulmonary function specialist, to have the PBTs(?) done.  He is probably the nicest person I have meet all day, very nice, friendly, talkative, didn't make the very intimidating visit bad at all.  

During this appointment, no one told me what to expect, I was assuming it was just a breating test.  While I did have the breathing test, I also had to have a test where they numb your wrist and then take blood from an artery instead of a vein to measure the oxygen level in your blood.  Frank said that this could be painful and most people hate it because it is harder on people with bigger wrists because you have to go deeper in the wrist.  But, he got it on the first try and it was not painful at all! Then the breathing tests, they were a little uncomfortable just becuase you are breathing through this tube thing and you dont know if you are doing it right, but he said I had great lungs (despite my Mom's smoking) which was good to hear (I was 96% and above for almost everything).  

I finished the day up with Frank's sister in the Cardiology Department.  The EKG took all of about 2 minutes. I had never had one before so I thought it was going to be long and drawn out but it was nice and simple.

I stopped by Dr. Hess's office to check on my appointments, I don't remember getting anything about the Dietician appointments.  Ellen felt so bad, she brought me into her office and made sure I had everything I needed before letting me go. 

Besides all the poking and proding, I enjoyed the day, everyone I met was so nice and welcoming it was unbelievable! I have never meet so many nice people in the medical field! 

Next off is the Nutrionist appointment on August 22nd! Wish me luck!!!