How it went at the cardiologist

Pearls and Dreams

Ok, I got there and was taken back, and they did the usual EKG, lab work & blood pressure stuff I'd expect at a cardiology appt. Then a nurse took a history from me. Then the cardiologist came in and talked to me for quite a while. Asked me a lot of questions. He then gave me a very thourough exam (complete with neuro exam, I hate those!). He told me that my self diagnosis is possibly right. Left lung pleurisy.
Immediately he started to say but, I guess I must have gotten an expression on my face that showed I was about to say " I KNEW IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME TO BE HERE!!!"
He said, that anytime a lupus patient has left lung pleurisy (even if right lung is involved) he likes to see the patient and get a full cardio work up. Stress test, echocardiogram, 24 hour heart monitor during a pleuretic event. Just to insure that the pleurisy IS just pleurisy not pericarditis & pleurisy.
He's pretty sure, that it is JUST pleurisy, but not sure enough to just let me walk out the door and call the rheumy.
So, I'm scheduled in the first week of April for stress test and echocardiogram & I'm wearing the 24 hour heart monitor.
He said given the lupus flare going on, it's more than likely lupus not heart disease. Even given my high cholesterol & weight, he just doesn't think that someone with my blood pressure and other lab work would have actual heart disease. Also, the EKG, while not perfect (? I didn't quite realize the meaning of that until after I left) was still well within acceptable limits, and within what they'd expect to see in a lupus flare.
IF the pain is my heart, it is most likely from pericarditis from the lupus, still treatable, not comfortable, and must be monitored.
He really wishes that all rheumy's would send lupus patients with pleurisy to a cardiologist for a baseline anyway, so even if nothing shows up, he's glad I was there. So, I guess it wasn't a total waste of time anyway.
He asked me what the rheumy was doing for the butterfly rash. I said what rash? He said, that rash on your face IS the lupus rash. I said "no, it's funky skin" He said "no, it's the wolf rash" I said "nah" he said "it's the butterfly lupus rash"
I went to meet my husband at our primary care doctor's office & told her what he'd said and asked her what she thought and she said ... 'yea, most definitely, you have the butterfly rash, it's there. I'm sorry'
So much for funky skin. I guess I need to stop ignoring that funky skin and call the rheumy now. It doesn't LOOK too funky, it just FEELS funky!
She's sending Don to an ENT to find out what's up with his sinus's. He has a growth in one of his sinus', a tumor of sorts, I guess we'll find out now what it really is and if something should be done. It wasn't big enough before to worry about, now it's interferring with breathing.
She told Don his scoliosis is definitely worsening, and is very concerned. There is no doubt that it is worsening, it's definitive. So now what? Everything to stop it has been ruled out.

And we are on business day 10 that I have failed to remember to schedule my follow mamogram from my abnormal mamogram last summer. Can we say OUCH! I don't want to do that again?
I was supposed to schedule it for January, I forgot, I got a post card two weeks ago yesterday that said I had failed to do so and needed to do it. I keep forgetting to do it ...
I need to get that done.
UGH