STRESS TEST

[Whamo]

This morning I took a treadmill stress test.  I felt and looked like Frankenstein, with all the wires hooked up to me.  It started out really slow, then grew and grew in intensity.  I wasn't winded or feeling any chest pain, but wanted to stop because my knees were feeling strained after a few minutes.  The nurse said my heart rate never got up far enough for a good reading, so I have to take another test, only this time skipping my beta blocker for two days instead of just 12 hours.  I need to pass the test in order to get cardio clearance for a kidney transplant as I have CHF.  Next week I see a liver doctor to try to get clearance from them.  I can't believe all the hoops you have to jump through to get a transplant.

[Stacy Without An E]

You're absolutely right, there are a LOT of tests, but once they're completed (as long as there aren't any complications in the results) you're on the list!  Since you didn't mention you had any heart pains or difficulty breathing, it probably means your heart is in good shape.  They take this entire process very seriously (as they should) to make sure you're as healthy as possible for a transplant.  Then they will start asking your clinic to take labs once a month to check on your anitbody level (among other things.)

I hope your wait time is short and your new kidney is your best friend ever!

[MooseMom]

This morning I took a treadmill stress test.  I felt and looked like Frankenstein, with all the wires hooked up to me.  It started out really slow, then grew and grew in intensity.  I wasn't winded or feeling any chest pain, but wanted to stop because my knees were feeling strained after a few minutes.  The nurse said my heart rate never got up far enough for a good reading, so I have to take another test, only this time skipping my beta blocker for two days instead of just 12 hours.  I need to pass the test in order to get cardio clearance for a kidney transplant as I have CHF.  Next week I see a liver doctor to try to get clearance from them.  I can't believe all the hoops you have to jump through to get a transplant.

Yep, same thing happened to me because I wanted to be able to skip the chemical stress test, but I couldn't get my heart rate up high enough.  So, I had to repeat the damned test and this time use adenosine to get my heart rate up.  When I had to repeat the test one year later, I went right to the adenosine.  Did you have a chemical stress test or just the plain treadmill test?

You're right...the hoops to get on the list are legion!

[malaka]

A month or so ago, I had to endure the same routine.  I'm on beta blocker so my heart doesn't beat fast very often.  The treadmill was killing my knees and thighs, but I never "broke through" as the tech called it to get a fast enough heart rate.  Nobody told me to skip beta blocker for several days.  The center (also a major university medical center) zipped me to a CT (with dye, no less, just what every kidney patient wants and needs!) in lieu of bringing me back for another tread mill exercise stress test.   When I questioned the dye, btw, I was told "no problem, your kidneys are already shot".  Compassion?  Not there.

On the brighter side, I'd had a cardiac chemical stress test a few years ago.  Not fun.  Felt like a prisioner being executed with lethal injection!
However, it was over quickly, and I recovered by the time I was dressed. 

[Annig83]

I have one next week, and every other lab... I've been on the list for a year, but you have to renew all tests every year.  It's a pain, but I hope it's worth it!

[paris]

It's worth it!   Every year when you re-do the tests, keep thinking that this is how you stay on the list and that there is a huge reward in the end.   

[Whamo]

That kidney dye test is gnarly.  I had that awhile back, and after that, my kidney function numbers started dropping fast.  I'm changing my treadmill routine to get my heart rate up.  Instead of doing two 30 minute sessions at 3 mph, I did two twenty minute sessions at 3.3 mph.  I will increase the speed and incline as I approach the new test date next month.  I had a great writing session this morning.  All the work I've put in over the years is starting to pay off in my craft.  I have a couple of projects waiting behind my current one, but after I finish my Disneyland script I'm thinking of writing about dialysis.  It really hasn't been done before so it's ripe territory for a writer.   I'lll be asking you civilians for input on my logline, the story elements, anecdotes, and characters once I reach that point. 

[bleija]

i had a ct to see if i had a hernia, they ddnt read the order right and wanted to use, istrait up said nope, and called my nephs office talked to the receptionist, she was theo nly one there and i loved her...she was like oh h*ll no, she was on her lunch break but she claled the ct office told thedm to look at the order closer, ct no dye... she told me props for catching it