Tortured over tortuous

Ok - so the title sounds hinky... and hinky is how my life is right now...

Since late January 2009 I have had a problem with breathing - and after my first round of tests - we are no closer to knowing what is it...

Round 2 starts with my first appointment on July 15th to see a doctor about a night in the sleep lab... it seems I have mild to moderate sleep apnea - so I see him then I get to sleep in the lab while they figure out how best to treat it...

Seeing as I have snored for some time and can apparently cut down large trees with my snoring - I guess that it isn't a hard guess...

Will it cure my breathing problems? I won't hurt - but I doubt that it is the cause of it...

We also found out I have some problems in my esophagus - poor primary peristalsis with multiple tertiary contractions in the distal portion and the distal esophagus is tortuous - meaning twisted... so what the heck does that mean? Well - the primary is near kaput and the tertiary is abnormal - from googling it would appear it is something I might normally get when I am elderly - but I am NOT THERE YET!!

It also means I get to see another specialist - one who deals ONLY with this sort of thing... and likely at least a PH test - a wire down my nose that I swallow and keep in there for 24 hours... it will measure the PH level to see if that is the cause of my lung problem... who knows if that is where he will end...

And so that the lungs don't feel left out - I get more lung tests - not only the sleep lab - but a methocholine challenge to see if I do have asthma or not - PLUS another series of tests to see if I have weakened respiratory muscles - which might explain the orthopenea I have - I can't lie flat and be comfy anymore - there is discomfort and a pressure that builds up in my chest - I don't think it is my heart - but to absolutely make sure - I get a MUGA scan - basically a CT nuc med test of my heart like an echo on steroids... or make that isotopes... even though the MIBI and Echo were FINE!!! She (my respirologist) just wants to make sure all bases are covered - it should be noted that I have NO pedal edema - so I really REALLY doubt it is my heart (CHF)...

I am not sure - but she also might do a blood gas test when I am NOT having an attack... fun fun fun... if you aren't sure what that is - try it - they dig around your wrist to find an artery and pull the blood from there...

So - causes - well - thanks to my medical knowledge I have come up with a variety of things - the stomach could be related to my diabetes or not... add in the possible muscle weakness it could be neuro related - maybe related to my brain injury 12 years ago - but doubtful.... it could be something like MS (suggested by 2 other people I have talked to) or Lupus (I do have that wonderful malar rash - but all other times they have tested have been negative)... or it simply could be my obesity is involved -but what came first - the chicken or the egg... I have been hypothyroid for years now - since age 15 - so is that an excuse or a symptoms or a cause or ??

yes - I know - I like my junk food too much - and honestly, I have been trying to eat more raw veggies and fruit...

I also need to be more vigilant on tracking my diabetes... I did a quick check the other morning just prior to eating brunch and it was 9.4 or 169 - either way too high for a fasting check... guess I really need to make sure I go in for my A1C test this week... seeing as I am off on holidays/study break....

Which brings us to work... I have been on a reduced workload - albeit mostly not for the past weeks - and now that I have seen my specialist - it is time for another meeting to deal with it - most days I am just fine - but then 3 weeks ago I had another attack which left me needing reduced levels for a few days to cope....

Partly it is me getting to know my symptoms and trying to figure out my triggers... so, as per my specialists request - I will be journaling EVERYTHING... and see if I can figure out stuff...

It could be that it still comes down to a chemical exposure I had 1 years ago - actually - 1 year ago to the day... I ended up with breathing problems right afterwards - and maybe I thought they had returned to normal - but seeing as I have a high pain tolerance - maybe I didn't realize the symptoms??

So - is this something temporary - or going to be chronic... is it related to other health problems - or just a new problem added on - and maybe compounding the others...

Either way - something isn't right.... and needs to be figured out and dealt with... but the morning will be soon enough to start dealing with it...

So the morning plan - take my GB right away - remember to take my 1st puffers of the day and journal it all... hmm... I have my new netbook (to replace hubby's broken computer he gets my old laptop)..... wonder if I should just carry it and journal on OneNote as the day goes on - we all know how good my long term memory is (see above brain injury)... that's a thought - I have that nice small sleeve - or I have my new case for it - either way- I could tote it around and journal easy enough...

well - I will sleep on it... and sleep on what I have been studying - and hopefully get more studying done so that I can write my exam this week... then finish it on Monday next week...

and hopefully I will get phone calls telling me about upcoming appointments/tests so that round 2 can finish soon...