Oh the irony....

swampy1970 said:

So, I've been getting faster on the bike, losing weight and all that good stuff. I've found ways of getting rid of the back ache and ITB issues that plagued me when I raced over 10 years ago and all was going well, but not quite as well as I'd expected or hoped, despite making considerable improvement this year. Something just wasn't quite "right" but I couldn't figure out what...

So, after a good 4 hours in the hills last Sunday, that took in around 6,500ft of climbing I spent Monday and Tuesday expecting to 'recover' - well that didn't happen. Wednesday I had to stop walking whilst half way across the parking lot at work while carrying a 20lb Cisco router. I could breathe unrestricted but it was like I wasn't breathing enough. Like a fool I put it down to allergies... took some Zyrtec-D and dealt with it.

Friday AM, I'd had enough - it was off to the doc's. His first suspicion - asthma, well, after him commenting my lower chest sounded like it was a rusty squeeze box it was. So a peak flow test was done, prior to 10 minutes on a nebulizer. "Score" 710. 10 minutes later following time on the ol' asthma gas machine, I shoulda won a prize by hitting the stop on the top of the peak flow meter - 850. (I guess I could take some consolation in this in that he though that meter was defective and had me do another test on another meter - he'd never seen anyone hit the top before, nor improve 140 points - but regardless, the asthma meds improved things considerably.

So then he asked curiously, have you gained any weight in the last few days or noticed any swelling in your arms and legs? The little 'finger' oximeter prior to the treatment with the nebulizer showed that the oxygen level in my blood was lower than normal and funnily enough I'd lumped on 8 lbs and my right leg felt somewhat 'odd' and upon examination it was larger than my left, which isn't normally the case. So, I have a battery of tests next week to 'hopefully' rule out conjestive heart failure.... 🙁

... the slight upside - if it is 'only' asthma, then (a) the meds will help and (b) the doc rides bikes too and had to laugh, but agreed too, extra lab showing key points in factors that may be hindering my on the bike performance!

.... and just when you thought that things were going well. Hmmm

It's those damn powercranks - don't say say you were'nt warned.😄

Seriously though Swampy, I hope it's nothing too serious and everything turns out OK. My cycling buddy over here cycles with asthma and it doesn't seem to bother him much, even on a 15% climb we do. Take care. Tyson

Sillyoldtwit said:

It's those damn powercranks - don't say say you were'nt warned.😄

Seriously though Swampy, I hope it's nothing too serious and everything turns out OK. My cycling buddy over here cycles with asthma and it doesn't seem to bother him much, even on a 15% climb we do. Take care. Tyson

Thanks Tyson. 🙂

I told ya learning to ride those things outa the saddle were going to be the death of me.... :p

Sitting here watching everyone eat while I fast for the lab work tommorrow is majorly sucking. At least Manchester United won the Premiership today and this ol' red has something to be happy about 😄 Of course, Mothers Day was fun with the kids - gasping my way around San Francisco Zoo gave everyone else a chance to see stuff at a very leisurely pace.

swampy1970 said:

So, I've been getting faster on the bike, losing weight and all that good stuff. I've found ways of getting rid of the back ache and ITB issues that plagued me when I raced over 10 years ago and all was going well, but not quite as well as I'd expected or hoped, despite making considerable improvement this year. Something just wasn't quite "right" but I couldn't figure out what...

So, after a good 4 hours in the hills last Sunday, that took in around 6,500ft of climbing I spent Monday and Tuesday expecting to 'recover' - well that didn't happen. Wednesday I had to stop walking whilst half way across the parking lot at work while carrying a 20lb Cisco router. I could breathe unrestricted but it was like I wasn't breathing enough. Like a fool I put it down to allergies... took some Zyrtec-D and dealt with it.

Friday AM, I'd had enough - it was off to the doc's. His first suspicion - asthma, well, after him commenting my lower chest sounded like it was a rusty squeeze box it was. So a peak flow test was done, prior to 10 minutes on a nebulizer. "Score" 710. 10 minutes later following time on the ol' asthma gas machine, I shoulda won a prize by hitting the stop on the top of the peak flow meter - 850. (I guess I could take some consolation in this in that he though that meter was defective and had me do another test on another meter - he'd never seen anyone hit the top before, nor improve 140 points - but regardless, the asthma meds improved things considerably.

So then he asked curiously, have you gained any weight in the last few days or noticed any swelling in your arms and legs? The little 'finger' oximeter prior to the treatment with the nebulizer showed that the oxygen level in my blood was lower than normal and funnily enough I'd lumped on 8 lbs and my right leg felt somewhat 'odd' and upon examination it was larger than my left, which isn't normally the case. So, I have a battery of tests next week to 'hopefully' rule out conjestive heart failure.... 🙁

... the slight upside - if it is 'only' asthma, then (a) the meds will help and (b) the doc rides bikes too and had to laugh, but agreed too, extra lab showing key points in factors that may be hindering my on the bike performance!

.... and just when you thought that things were going well. Hmmm

Something very "funny" here. Asthma doesn't sound right to me. CHF doesn't sound right to me. Keep the pressure on the doc to figure it out.

PCs or not swampy you were becoming a bit of an inspiration to me as I was extending my intervals further and further out based upon your old day training so I expect that you will be back to riding soon.

6,500 feet of climbing to me tells me you are definitely not close to finished riding just yet...

-js

swampy1970 said:

So, I've been getting faster on the bike, losing weight and all that good stuff. I've found ways of getting rid of the back ache and ITB issues that plagued me when I raced over 10 years ago and all was going well, but not quite as well as I'd expected or hoped, despite making considerable improvement this year. Something just wasn't quite "right" but I couldn't figure out what...

So, after a good 4 hours in the hills last Sunday, that took in around 6,500ft of climbing I spent Monday and Tuesday expecting to 'recover' - well that didn't happen. Wednesday I had to stop walking whilst half way across the parking lot at work while carrying a 20lb Cisco router. I could breathe unrestricted but it was like I wasn't breathing enough. Like a fool I put it down to allergies... took some Zyrtec-D and dealt with it.

Friday AM, I'd had enough - it was off to the doc's. His first suspicion - asthma, well, after him commenting my lower chest sounded like it was a rusty squeeze box it was. So a peak flow test was done, prior to 10 minutes on a nebulizer. "Score" 710. 10 minutes later following time on the ol' asthma gas machine, I shoulda won a prize by hitting the stop on the top of the peak flow meter - 850. (I guess I could take some consolation in this in that he though that meter was defective and had me do another test on another meter - he'd never seen anyone hit the top before, nor improve 140 points - but regardless, the asthma meds improved things considerably.

So then he asked curiously, have you gained any weight in the last few days or noticed any swelling in your arms and legs? The little 'finger' oximeter prior to the treatment with the nebulizer showed that the oxygen level in my blood was lower than normal and funnily enough I'd lumped on 8 lbs and my right leg felt somewhat 'odd' and upon examination it was larger than my left, which isn't normally the case. So, I have a battery of tests next week to 'hopefully' rule out conjestive heart failure.... 🙁

... the slight upside - if it is 'only' asthma, then (a) the meds will help and (b) the doc rides bikes too and had to laugh, but agreed too, extra lab showing key points in factors that may be hindering my on the bike performance!

.... and just when you thought that things were going well. Hmmm

i gotta say with one leg larger, feels funny, low oxygen sat, sounds like a deep vein thrombosis.
you could get a pulmonary embolus, or maybe already had one.
i am not your md , but it might behoove you to insist on a venogram or ultrasound to rule it out.

dave

Fday said:

Something very "funny" here. Asthma doesn't sound right to me. CHF doesn't sound right to me. Keep the pressure on the doc to figure it out.

I know it's a message board, you're not my doc and this really certainly isn't the time and place - but as I have no clue of anything related to this, in which direction should I take it with the doc? What kinda questions should I be asked.

If you feel it's more appropriate to answer in a PM, please do so.

swampy1970 said:

I know it's a message board, you're not my doc and this really certainly isn't the time and place - but as I have no clue of anything related to this, in which direction should I take it with the doc? What kinda questions should I be asked.

If you feel it's more appropriate to answer in a PM, please do so.

In medicine it is best if one diagnosis can explain everything. An inhailer is unlikely to result in significant breathing improvement if you have CHF and CHF is hard to explain in an active athlete like yourself and CHF usually does not result in unilateral swelling.

What you want to know is what caused this sudden change. Don't just accept an inhaler and diuretic as a treatment. Ask questions, get answers. If you can't get answers that satisfy you, get a second opinion.

jsirabella said:

PCs or not swampy you were becoming a bit of an inspiration to me as I was extending my intervals further and further out based upon your old day training so I expect that you will be back to riding soon.

6,500 feet of climbing to me tells me you are definitely not close to finished riding just yet...

-js

Me, an inspiration? Wow. Thanks 🙂

There's a slight difference though between one day doing 6,500ft of climbing and struggling to walk across a parking lot.

Hopefully, what ever it is will get sorted out soon. Being on the asthma meds for a few days has certainly cleared out a whole bunch of 'junk' from the lungs. So this is what it's supposed to feel like when breathing? LOL

Years ago I had a situation where my iron/ferritin levels were dangerously low, and that really did seem to effect performance on the bike - but not so much on a casual short walk.

I think it is time to 'spend' some of those hard earned months of health insurance premiums....

Glad we can agree on something: Manchester United Rule!

Hah, and I work with a diehard Chelsea Fan😄

Life is good!

fergie said:

Glad we can agree on something: Manchester United Rule!

Hah, and I work with a diehard Chelsea Fan😄

Life is good!

I was joking with the doc about that, as I had a Man United polo shirt on when I went for the initial consultantion. He laughed when I said that all the pre-pre, pre, during and post game drinking sessions during all those years standing on the Stretford End at Old Trafford, may have had a cause in my feeling of ill health.

Two weeks 'till we own their sorry asses in Moscow in the Champions League Final!

😄

swampy1970 said:

I was joking with the doc about that, as I had a Man United polo shirt on when I went for the initial consultantion. He laughed when I said that all the pre-pre, pre, during and post game drinking sessions during all those years standing on the Stretford End at Old Trafford, may have had a cause in my feeling of ill health.

Two weeks 'till we own their sorry asses in Moscow in the Champions League Final!

😄

So on Wednesday I was doing the slow walk across campus whilst talking to the doc's office trying to get an appointment when I got really breathless and had a 'cramp' in the left side of my chest. The girl on the phone put me onto an advise nurse who gave up and put a doc on the phone. He didnt want to talk any chances and told me to get someone to take me to the ER.

Personally, a 5 minute walk back to the office wasn't an option, I was pretty much 20 yards from my car, and I knew that most of the folks that I worked with weren't at their desks anyway....

So a 10 minute drive to E.R, one good lookin' EKG, couple of chest x-rays, a few stumped doc's ("how can you sound like a wheezy accordion and still blow 750+ peak flow" - "I dunno, you're the Doc, you tell me... That's what I pay hundreds of dollars a month in health insurance for, damn it!"😉

So the x-rays came back and the head Doc at the ER said... looks like a pneumonia type of infection. Take a bunch of these and lots of those and you should be fine in a week or so....

.... now I cough up the occaisonal half mouthful of what seems like fluffy whitish wallpaper paste. :eek:

I am so ready to dump Kaiser. Blue Cross was way way better...

swampy1970 said:

So on Wednesday I was doing the slow walk across campus whilst talking to the doc's office trying to get an appointment when I got really breathless and had a 'cramp' in the left side of my chest. The girl on the phone put me onto an advise nurse who gave up and put a doc on the phone. He didnt want to talk any chances and told me to get someone to take me to the ER.

Personally, a 5 minute walk back to the office wasn't an option, I was pretty much 20 yards from my car, and I knew that most of the folks that I worked with weren't at their desks anyway....

So a 10 minute drive to E.R, one good lookin' EKG, couple of chest x-rays, a few stumped doc's ("how can you sound like a wheezy accordion and still blow 750+ peak flow" - "I dunno, you're the Doc, you tell me... That's what I pay hundreds of dollars a month in health insurance for, damn it!"😉

So the x-rays came back and the head Doc at the ER said... looks like a pneumonia type of infection. Take a bunch of these and lots of those and you should be fine in a week or so....

.... now I cough up the occaisonal half mouthful of what seems like fluffy whitish wallpaper paste. :eek:

I am so ready to dump Kaiser. Blue Cross was way way better...

Pneumonia could be an explanation I guess but something still doesn't seem quite right. How do they explain the sudden changes? Did they get a culture? Did they get blood gasses in the ER?

Fday said:

Pneumonia could be an explanation I guess but something still doesn't seem quite right. How do they explain the sudden changes? Did they get a culture? Did they get blood gasses in the ER?

The only gases that were 'measured' was the "mystic ether" that was sampled wafting out of my finger with the fingertip oximeter. I think they just put that on while giving me a EKG for added effect as I was the only one that seemed to look at it. It read 99% - and I had to comment to a doc that "that aint too bad right - 99%?"

The only culture they have there is 'take your money and run'.

$100 for several hours sitting on a bed, a couple of xrays, covered in about a dozen sticky pads and no sandwich, damn it!

I noticed, upon recallection, it only really got bad when I walked. I didn't do that much. It wasn't good when I had to keep talking to folk either.

swampy1970 said:

The only gases that were 'measured' was the "mystic ether" that was sampled wafting out of my finger with the fingertip oximeter. I think they just put that on while giving me a EKG for added effect as I was the only one that seemed to look at it. It read 99% - and I had to comment to a doc that "that aint too bad right - 99%?"

The only culture they have there is 'take your money and run'.

$100 for several hours sitting on a bed, a couple of xrays, covered in about a dozen sticky pads and no sandwich, damn it!

I noticed, upon recallection, it only really got bad when I walked. I didn't do that much. It wasn't good when I had to keep talking to folk either.

The last thing that anyone should wish for is to "be interesting to their doctor".

I have to admit that a 99% O2 sat does not sound like pneumonia. But, coughing up stuff does. Anyhow, this is starting to get interesting. :-)

I would try to make an appointment with you primary doc to ask him to explain what is going on? How are they explaining all your symptoms with one diagnosis?

Don't blame the system. It is the doctors failure to communicate or follow-up. When I was practicing Kaiser used to be pretty good as systems go, or so I thought.

Push your doctors for answers. If you don't get them ask for second opinions. Squeeky wheels get the grease.

You are lucky. I was just diagnosed with a leaky mitral valve...

Fday said:

The last thing that anyone should wish for is to "be interesting to their doctor".

I have to admit that a 99% O2 sat does not sound like pneumonia. But, coughing up stuff does. Anyhow, this is starting to get interesting. :-)

I would try to make an appointment with you primary doc to ask him to explain what is going on? How are they explaining all your symptoms with one diagnosis?

Don't blame the system. It is the doctors failure to communicate or follow-up. When I was practicing Kaiser used to be pretty good as systems go, or so I thought.

Push your doctors for answers. If you don't get them ask for second opinions. Squeeky wheels get the grease.

99% O2 might not sound like pneumonia but from what I read neither does a peak flow reading consistantly over 700. I'm slowly feeling better - but not to where I'm going to be on the bike anytime soon I think, which is a bummer since my friends are coming over from England for the Deathride soon....

I do believe the Doc is going to have to earn his money on this one. It's about time him and I became better 'aquainted'. Afterall, he did say he wanted to spend some more time talking about bikes and I need to talk about being borderline anemic too. I gotta wonder whether drinking the two small vats of coffee (about 72oz of colombia's finest strong stuff) was destroying any hope of absorption of any vitamin or mineral. LOL

john979 said:

You are lucky. I was just diagnosed with a leaky mitral valve...

Ouch. All the best with that one John. My dad suffered from that for quite a while but treatment back in England wasn't the best - NHS being what it is (I guess I really shouldn't complain about Kaiser too much after being on the NHS for years....)

fergie said:

Glad we can agree on something: Manchester United Rule!

Hah, and I work with a diehard Chelsea Fan😄

Life is good!

Champions!

Beat Chelsea in the Premiership now we beat Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final..... 😄

Life is a little happier!

So one week after going to the ER and being told that "you have a pneumonia type of infection" I sent my Doc a message via their online messaging system asking for his "thoughts" on the matter as I don't really feel that much better after finishing the antibiotics and steroids...

... and then he came back with the reply. Well, actually, your x-ray was clear... I think we'll need you back for more tests (Pulmonary Function test and perhaps and EHCO) to try and figure out what's going on.

Nice to know that two Docs can look at the same x-ray and see two completely different things. 😠

Where's that "banging your head against the wall" emoticon when you need it the most?