Friday, February 4, 2011

Something's happening here...

... What it is, ain't exactly clear.

Things have been going along pretty smoothly with the recovery but a couple weeks ago I was having more problems with endurance and energy. I could go for a few hours but then it was like hitting a wall and I had to stop for a nap. I brought this up at my two-month meeting with my surgeon and he said I should see my regular doctor about this one. My doctor was booked up so I got appointment with the on-call doctor. One thing lead to another and before I new it I was headed for the ER to check for blood clot or heart attack.

The ER doctor couldn't find any evidence of heart attack or blood clot from either the EKG, x-ray, CT scan or blood tests - but he wanted to admit me anyway.  I should have said, "NO". But I didn't and I spent the next three days in the cardio ward of the hospital; feeling totally silly and very, VERY healthy.

While I was there, they ran every test they could think of: Stress test with pre and post scans. Heart ultrasound. It seemed like everyone on the hospital listened to my chest and heart. They kept a heart monitor on me 24/7 and every now and then brought in stacks of printout showing; ".. nothing unusual". They brought in specialists and scheduled consults and in the end all they had was something called a Sed Rate (ESR) that was too high. So they reluctantly sent me home. The good part is that now I know my heart and lungs are in tip top shape. Not a bad thing to know.

A high Sed Rate is a non-specific indication of inflamation somewhere in the body. Antibodies attach to the red blood cells causing them to clump and when the blood is placed in a tube, these clumps of blood cells  settle out faster than individuals.

I have seen my regular doctor again and been tested again. The ESR has come down but is still above normal. I have also been having occasional bouts with chills and fever (99 - 101 range) that worries him and has led to more blood and urine tests along with a full abdomal CT scan (first since surgery). AND a follow-up visit with my Oncologist (this was supposed to happen about now anyway so I'm not too worried by it).

MY concern is still almost nightly night sweats - sometimes 3 or 4 times a night. These are really a pain but they don't seem to concern the doctors. Another one of my theories that hasn't gotten much traction with doctors is that all these problems seemed to follow the removal of that second catheter. I worked as a microbiology tech for many years and think I understand sterile technique. Removing that catheter amounted to pulling a rubber tube that had been inside my bladder, through my gut space and out the hole in my side. Who knows what intestinal organisms might have stuck to it from those still lurking around in my neo-bladder. Who knows what it might have inoculated as it passed through.  Well, I'm not a doctor.

But I really can't worry too much about this. I've decided that my job is to get myself back in shape by starting to do the things I would normally do. Like splitting wood, clearing snow, walking, bowling, and exercising. Maybe umping a game or two at our indoor baseball park. After all, I have less than two months before I need to be in shape to outrun a 14 year-old from first to third base on a tripple.

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