Doctor updates

I saw my regular doctor last Thursday.  I told her about the issues I've been having, the depression, the blood pressure, and increased back pain.  She doubled up my dosages of antidepressant and blood pressure meds, and prescribed my a diuretic because my ankles are swelling with water retention.  She also scheduled me appointments with a new back doctor, an orthopedist instead of a neurologist, and for a heart stress test since I've been having mild chest pains and my heart sometimes feels like its beating hard for no reason.  Both appointments were scheduled for the following Monday.

So Monday I saw Dr. Robins.  Both Monica and I liked him, he was very personable and explained things in layman's terms.  He prescribed me a steroid pack for pain, and another prescription for nerve pain that I can't recall the name of. I'd never heard of it before, but it is not an opioid, so that's a good thing.  I go back to see him in a month to discuss progress and treatment options.

Went to the stress test next, at Lakeway Hospital. I was about an hour and a half early but they took me anyway, so that was great.  I had the chemical/nuclear stress test.  The chemical part was an injection to stimulate my heart, because with my back I couldn't really do the treadmill.  The nuclear part is a dye that the scanner picks up so it can see all the blood vessels in the heart.  Unfortunately it didn't give me superpowers... yet.  I'm still hoping.  They had trouble finding a good vein, but the 4th poke was the charm.  Evidently my skin is tough, and it didn't help that I was dehydrated from fasting.  The whole process took about 3 hours, and I guess I didn't have any life threatening blockages since I haven't heard anything back yet.  I follow up with my doctor in 2 weeks.

I made it home in time to relax for a few minutes before I had to go to work.  Started my new meds.  I don't feel any different yet, but I have to give the meds time to work.  We'll see.