Doctor Appointment Hell (Part 2)

I found out which doctor was 'the doctor' to see at the new clinic and luckily he is a heart specialist. I decided that I needed to get a physical and introduce myself to this new doctor and explain my symptoms and also my long term goals.

I got to the new clinic and was met by the most unhappy check in nurse. She spoke in a low, raspy whisper and refused to smile the entire time she was working with me. I don't like that nurse lady at all.

I sat down and didn't even open my magazine and was called by the doctor's nurse. I can assure you that this has never happened to me with expectation of when I spent time at the Mayo. My anxiety did a slight shift.

I met the doctor and explained that I hadn't been feeling up to par lately and two months ago experienced some awful palpitations. He wanted to know my medical history and the long winded jumble of medical jargon spewed from my mouth.

Like every doctor before him, his eyes widened and filled with obvious delight as he realized that his 8 billion years and 4 cazillion dollars spent in medical school would finally pay off. I continued on anyway....

I have pulmonary valve stenosis,pulmonary artery stenosis in both pulmonary arteries,congenital subglottic tracheal stenosis or sometimes known as 'stovepipe' tracheal stenosis and it's very risky to do any endotracheal intubation if at all.

I have had PFT's,stress echocardiography's, exercise stress tests, 10,547 chest x-rays, 4 million ECG's /echocardiograms (EKG's), two cardiac catheterization's, two pulmonary angiographies , one bronchoscopy, 100 MRI's, 20 CAT scans, 2 pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scans and been given 647 million inhalers that don't work and never will.

I also used to have endometriosis, cervical polyps, polycystic ovary syndrome and had to have a Hysterectomy and a Appendectomy combined without endotracheal intubation due to my congenital subglottic tracheal stenosis. In simple words, I wasn't put to sleep during the surgery because the air tube wouldn't fit down my throat.

It wasn't pretty.

So I finally get through most everything and go on to mention that my trachea isn't only small but also beginning to calcify next to my vocal chords and if it continues I will lose my ability to speak. Not only is this happening in my throat but my ears have already been completely calcified.

Last but not least, I grew a full inch when I was 27 years old and no one, not even the panel of doctors at the Mayo Clinic knows why. The doctor is still frantically clicking on his lap top computer trying to make sure he has everything and eagerly asked if there was anything else that I was forgetting.

I paused for a moment and looked up searching my mind. Slowly I remembered that yes there were a few more things. I told him that when I went to have my wisdom teeth removed that I coded and nearly died due to the intubation. I have been told by many doctors to never go up steps, I shouldn't excercise and that I should get gastric bypass so that I can maintain my weight.

The doctor clicks on his lap top some more and looks up at me and says. "Boy! You're a challenge aren't you?"

Yea, I guess so.

I knew that a horrendous onslaught of the 'Q&A' section was next. Every medical question and any other question you can think of related to every ailment I have was asked. Twenty minutes had passed and we were still not started on the examination for the physical.

Twenty minutes!