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Welcome and thank you for joining me on my trip along the road to LVRS (Lung Volume Reduction Surgery). My name is Penny; I am from the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania ... and I have emphysema. Walk along with me from first diagnosis to Lung Volume Reduction Surgery.

Testing - PFT, 6-min. Walk, VQ and X-Rays

9/8/06 TEST DAY!!!
Home, tired, alive, survived...but only got 2 of the 6 tests done!! What a day. I'm pooped! Such a rigamaroling around. Left here at 8:00 and got down there at 10:00. Easy drive but a lot of traffic. Down the expressway to South Street (exit left), turn right, go to second light, turn left and there you are. Went for the valet parking. $14.50.
The lady from scheduling came down (Artifia) around 10:45, gave us all the paperwork and told us where to go and how to get there.

Test #1 - VQ - Went up to 3 Silverstein and got the VQ test done. Failed that! I was sob to start with and lying on my back without my O2 sure didn't help. They put that mask on and said I would be getting O2 and gas. Well, let me tell you, I breathed and I breathed and I surely couldn't find any O2 coming into that mask! Within a minute, I was close to panicking... "Please, I can't breathe!!". I think it would have been better if they had allowed me to sit up while I was inhaling the mixture and then have me lie down while they took the pics. I was supposed to keep the mask on for 2 minutes but I couldn't even get very far past 1 minute. They said that it was okay; that it had been on long enough for them to get a reading so then they did the dye (or whatever) in the arm and they took a bunch of pics that way and that went okay. The two techs were so very nice about it. Like Colleen said, everyone down there is so helpful and friendly. You feel like you've been their patient for years.
The purpose of the VQ test (*see VQ Test*) is to show how the air and blood are traveling through the various parts of your lungs and where the air might be trapped. My test showed that there is non-uniform air flow with some "tracer" in the left mid and upper lung zones as well as in the right mid lung zone. That's where the air is being trapped. This test also can show if perhaps a pulmonary embolism maybe causing the shortness of breath. How they do it (at least at U of P) is that you lie on a table (like a ctscan table) and they put a mask on you. There's supposed to be O2 in the mask along with some type of gas but I, for sure, did not feel like I was getting any O2. Now, just to show what a woose I can be sometimes, there was a little old lady, aged 79 I believe she said, who had just completed this test and she did a great job! Boy, tail between the legs and head bowed time here, Penny, LOL! The shot in the arm is to show how the blood flows through the lungs. One thing about all this...you sure get a good lung physical!
Then we had to go across the street (through an elevated covered walkway) to the Penn Towers to get the x-ray done. Okay; pretty far, (for me), sob, rest a couple of times but finally got there at 12:15 for 12:30 appt. which didn't get done 'til 1:15. And we were supposed to be at the Presbyterian Hospital, 5 blocks away, at 1:00 for the rest of the testing!
After the x-ray was done, went to admissions to get a blue card that was SUPPOSED to let me use the bus (LUCY) for 50 cents instead of $2. Then no one knew where to get the bus.....so, by the time we finally found the bus stop, it was late and it felt like we had already walked 10 miles! Man, my chest was hurting and I was pooped. It sure felt good to sit on that bus!!
Didn't get to the Presby Center 'til 2:30 and they wouldn't do any of the tests. I asked if they could at least do the 6-min walk test but they said that takes about an hour! LOL! Just how DO they do that walk test anyway, that it takes an hour? As it was, it was now 2:30 and I hadn't had any meds since 6:30 a.m. so I was really sucking in on my O2 so it's just as good they didn't do it.
So, back on LUCY, back to Silverstein, into the records department to ask them to send results of VQ and x-ray to me, too, then finally hit the road for home. Scheduled for 9/20 to get the rest of the tests done and to see Dr. Cooper. I asked why Colleen had a MUGA test and they didn't even schedule one for me and they said that perhaps the latest stress test I had done showed enough. Personally, I'm thinking he already has decided I don't qualify (from the stuff I sent him) and figures there's no sense in the MUGA.
So that's my story. I won't even begin to go into the story of our trip home, going from the expressway to the NE Extension (didn't get an "on" ticket!)....but it all worked out okay and we're home, tired, and will I sleep well tonight. More news to follow....after the next Great Trip on the 20th.

9/20/06
Left here at 8:00 again...down there just in time to catch the 10:05 Lucy to Presbyterian for the PFT, ABG, and 6-min walk. Let’s see....my FEV1 went from .63 liters in Feb of 05 to .52. BUT, I’m still at 20%. Tadaa! Shows the difference in predicted as you age. And my DLCO continues to sink, from 5.6 liters to 4.76. So those are my numbers...those and a bunch of others that continue a downhill slide. Oh well. BUT, today was the first time I’ve ever gotten the bronchodilator via nebulizer AND today was the first time I’ve ever been in “The Box”! That’s where they did the diffusion tests.
Jodi (who did the PFT) kept asking if I was tired. She said some people get tired when they’re doing the test. AND, the lady who did my ABG was most excellent! It didn’t hurt any more than a regular needle stick. If anyone goes to the U of P in Philadelphia (actually to the Presbyterian Hospital which is part of U of P) for an ABG, ask for Gloria...and a butterfly needle. She was goooood!!
After the PFT and ABG (which showed good numbers except for the PaO2 which was 68) off we traipsed for the 6-min walk test. Dr. Cooper wanted me to do it first on room air where I desatted to 81% in 1 min 20 sec and my heart rate went to 122. So we stopped, rested, and then took off on 2 liters of O2. HAH! Sats went no lower than 91%, HR to 133 at 6 mins, and I went 1116 feet, about 92% of what would be normal. BP was 170/68 at 6 mins but dropped back to 110/62 while heart rate went back to 94. Again, they kept asking how tired I was or how SOB I was. I figured my SOB was about a 6.5 (very severe) at 6 mins back to nil about 3 or 4 minutes post test.
So there we are. Back to Penn Towers for the ctscan. They did it somewhat differently than how I’ve had it done at the Stroudsburg radiology center. They did the usual “Breathe in, hold” bit (to show expanded lungs) but then they also did a “Breathe in, breathe out, hold your breath” session (to show somewhat empty lungs). They also did a 3rd way but darn, I can’t remember what it is now. What WAS nice is that they only had you hold your breath for 5 seconds. I could do that just fine. And, do you know what I found out? That voice that tells you when to breathe and when to hold, etc. is RECORDED!! All this time, I thought it was the tech in the other room saying that. Gee. Are we humans well trained or not...obeying a computer! Sheesh.I finally get to see Dr. Cooper next Wednesday. Almost done.

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