Question:
I discovered a family history of heart disease that I was not aware
of, so my doc has ordered a chemical stress test -- seeing as how I
can't jog on a treadmill. If I understand this correctly, they inject
me with something that makes my heart rate go through the roof, they
take their readings, then they send me down to the cafeteria for a
meal, then I come back for some other test.
They asked only about asthma/breathing meds. I take Allegra, but I
can skip it the morning of the test. I don't have asthma or anything,
it's actually prescribed by my RD.
So anyway, the test is Thursday AM. Has anyone been through this
while taking all the RA meds? Any advice for a rookie?
Answer:
I had this three years ago prior to gastric surgery. As I
remember it it was kind of scary in a claustrophobic kind of way
and made for an exhausting day. However I DO have asthma and I
think that upped the anxiety level. But it was mostly a feeling
out of control kind of thing.
Once it was over and I got the results it was well worth it. I
have a lot of chest pain between the Asthma and the arthritis in
the ribs and had often sort of joked that if I went to the ER
every time I had chest pain I'd never get anything else done, and
that if I ever had a heart attack they'd find it on the autopsy.
The test assured me that other then my heart being somewhat
enlarged from a lifetime of asthma, it is in really great shape.
Yes, I have been through the chemical stress test. It is really no big
deal!!! They inject the medication and it makes your heart beat as if
you were actually exercising. They take numerous pictures and then have
you come back a couple of hours later to take a second round of
pictures. All you really have to do is lay on the table and be very
still and let them know if you have any symptoms such as chest pain,
lightheadedness, etc.
That was 5 minutes of pure misery, but
it faded just like that when they stopped injecting. Anxiety, red-hot
face, major pain in the back of the neck -- all while laying on a hard
bench in real pain. I wouldn't want to go through that too many
times.
It was only 5 minutes of misery when they injected the
stuff. The rest of it, the picture taking wasn't so bad. I mean, it
wasn't fun, being twisted on a bench that was not just hard, but
narrow, too -- but it was bearable. They haven't called yet, so I'm
guessing that they didn't find anything wrong. I'll find out for sure
tomorrow.
I have definitely noticed that all these other medical folks don't
have any sympathy for arthritis patients, I guess because they can't
see the pain.
