Not to knock estrogen , but ....
...I'm glad to not have any [measurable] amount of it coursing through my veins.
For the past few days I have been paying extra close attention to my health. Long story short, I have been having chest pains and have been waking up at night due to shortness of breath. Suspecting (as all hypochondriacs do) that I was having multiple, daily heart attacks, I went to my wonderfully compliant/accomodating doctor last wednesday and he ordered a stress test and blood work in order to find a cause of the symptoms. And in case we're dealing with something a sinister, he also ordered me to stop running for the time being. Eager to get my running shoes back on, I scheduled the tests ASAP.
Yesterday I had a Stress-echo test. Basically they made me run and run and run and then quickly lie on my side while they took sonographic pictures of my heart. It was quite painless and from my [limited] knowledge of what the human heart looks, sounds, and functions like, things looked relatively normal. The lasting effect of this test will most likely be the four patches of chest hair that were shaved to make space for the diodes; My chest hair is a very odd creature in that it doesn't always grows back after shaving. (see: patch that has been missing since that diving-into-very-shallow-ocean incident).
Today was the blood work portion of the battery that Doc. Bergenstock had ordered. Arriving at 7:45am, I signed in as instructed and took my place among a room full of females aged 30-50 years old. Before I was called at 8:45 for my 8:15 appointment, I was witness to no less then five women storming the receptionist's window demanding answers to questions like "Why haven't I been called yet?", "What's the point of making an appointment?", and, my favorite "How long does it take to draw blood!?"
What a scene these women were making! And no doubt their uproar and constant barrage of interruptions was contributing to the back-up.
There is something to be said for patience. There is also something to be said for self control. I won't lie by saying that I wasn't a little ticked about being made to wait an extra thirty minutes, but thankfully I was able to control myself and become immersed in the entertainment that was undoubtedly caused by the increased levels of estrogen in such a small room.
Now, lest I put my foot in my mouth, I hope that the tests of the past few days rule out estrogen [at the least] as the catalyst for my recent symptoms.
For the past few days I have been paying extra close attention to my health. Long story short, I have been having chest pains and have been waking up at night due to shortness of breath. Suspecting (as all hypochondriacs do) that I was having multiple, daily heart attacks, I went to my wonderfully compliant/accomodating doctor last wednesday and he ordered a stress test and blood work in order to find a cause of the symptoms. And in case we're dealing with something a sinister, he also ordered me to stop running for the time being. Eager to get my running shoes back on, I scheduled the tests ASAP.
Yesterday I had a Stress-echo test. Basically they made me run and run and run and then quickly lie on my side while they took sonographic pictures of my heart. It was quite painless and from my [limited] knowledge of what the human heart looks, sounds, and functions like, things looked relatively normal. The lasting effect of this test will most likely be the four patches of chest hair that were shaved to make space for the diodes; My chest hair is a very odd creature in that it doesn't always grows back after shaving. (see: patch that has been missing since that diving-into-very-shallow-ocean incident).
Today was the blood work portion of the battery that Doc. Bergenstock had ordered. Arriving at 7:45am, I signed in as instructed and took my place among a room full of females aged 30-50 years old. Before I was called at 8:45 for my 8:15 appointment, I was witness to no less then five women storming the receptionist's window demanding answers to questions like "Why haven't I been called yet?", "What's the point of making an appointment?", and, my favorite "How long does it take to draw blood!?"
What a scene these women were making! And no doubt their uproar and constant barrage of interruptions was contributing to the back-up.
There is something to be said for patience. There is also something to be said for self control. I won't lie by saying that I wasn't a little ticked about being made to wait an extra thirty minutes, but thankfully I was able to control myself and become immersed in the entertainment that was undoubtedly caused by the increased levels of estrogen in such a small room.
Now, lest I put my foot in my mouth, I hope that the tests of the past few days rule out estrogen [at the least] as the catalyst for my recent symptoms.
posted by brian. at 11:59 AM
