Put to the Test

On July 3rd I will be spending the day not at a health spa, but rather at Washington Hospital Center to try to figure out what has been causing the bizarre health problems I have had in the past couple of weeks. The blurred vision I experienced after my yoga class last night had put me into a real panic, causing me to assume I had a brain tumor or some other fatal disease.

Ironically today was my scheduled yearly physical. By all the lab results from last week’s tests and my blood pressure and pulse, I would be extremely healthy. But something is going on that affects my vision and gives me periodic headaches.

I have never showed up for a physical with a list of any sort, but today I had a page of notes to prompt me to mention all the things going on with my body. Some were as mundane as occasional low blood sugar and frequent nightly trips to pee. Those got the ho-hum you’re getting older, eat every 4 hours response.

But my doctor had no ready explanation for the headaches and visions issues, so I will be having the following tests done:

– Cranial MRI with Gadolinium
– MRI of orbit with Sat suppression
– MRA of brain
– MRA of neck
– Carotid Doppler/ultrasound
– Echocardiogram

And while I’m there I will also get an X-ray of the hand I injured when I fell off my bike if it is still hurting.

The only problem we got resolved today was the removal of a big wad of wax from my left ear which had rendered me nearly deaf on that side. Bravo for simple remedies!

My doctor is fairly confident that I am not seriously ill, but she is a belt and suspenders kind of doctor who leaves nothing to chance.

She and the MRI scheduler both asked, “Are you claustrophobic?” To which I replied, “I don’t really know. I’ve never been locked up inside a capsule with a jackhammer pounding for a significant amount of time. I guess we’ll find out.”

I am grappling with the fact that my health is so much out of my hands, even though I get all my regular check-ups, take my thyroid meds, take my daily vitamins, exercise regularly, and try to eat well. Our bodies are very complicated machines that even the best-trained physicians sometimes don’t understand.

I will definitely be looking forward to a quiet evening on Thursday, July 3, after being tested... I almost said “to death”, but somehow that seems oddly inappropriate.