Left here at 8:00 again...down there just in time to catch the 10:05 Lucy to Presbyterian for the PFT, ABG, and 6-min walk. Let�s see....my FEV1 went from .63 liters in Feb of 05 to .52. BUT, I�m still at 20%. Tadaa! Shows the difference in predicted as you age. And my DLCO continues to sink, from 5.6 liters to 4.76. So those are my numbers...those and a bunch of others that continue a downhill slide. Oh well. BUT, today was the first time I�ve ever gotten the bronchodilator via nebulizer AND today was the first time I�ve ever been in �The Box�! That�s where they did the diffusion tests. Jodi (who did the PFT) kept asking if I was tired. She said some people get tired when they�re doing the test. AND, the lady who did my ABG was most excellent! It didn�t hurt any more than a regular needle stick. If anyone goes to the U of P in Philadelphia (actually to the Presbyterian Hospital which is part of U of P) for an ABG, ask for Gloria...and a butterfly needle. She was goooood!!
After the PFT and ABG (which showed good numbers except for the PaO2 which was 68) off we traipsed for the 6-min walk test. Dr. Cooper wanted me to do it first on room air where I desatted to 81% in 1 min 20 sec and my heart rate went to 122. So we stopped, rested, and then took off on 2 liters of O2. HAH! Sats went no lower than 91%, HR to 133 at 6 mins, and I went 1116 feet, about 92% of what would be normal. BP was 170/68 at 6 mins but dropped back to 110/62 while heart rate went back to 94. Again, they kept asking how tired I was or how SOB I was. I figured my SOB was about a 6.5 (very severe) at 6 mins back to nil about 3 or 4 minutes post test. So there we are.
Back to Penn Towers for the ctscan. They did it somewhat differently than how I�ve had it done at the Stroudsburg radiology center. They did the usual �Breathe in, hold� bit (to show expanded lungs) but then they also did a �Breathe in, breathe out, hold your breath� session (to show somewhat empty lungs). They also did a 3rd way but darn, I can�t remember what it is now. What WAS nice is that they only had you hold your breath for 5 seconds. I could do that just fine. And, do you know what I found out? That voice that tells you when to breathe and when to hold, etc. is RECORDED!! All this time, I thought it was the tech in the other room saying that. Gee. Are we humans well trained or not...obeying a computer! Sheesh.
I finally get to see Dr. Cooper next Wednesday. Almost done.
