Into the Medical Vortex

So this lung thing has been going on for almost 15 months now. I'm feeling well enough that I think it's time to start doing some cardio again, pushing the limit - forcing my body to step up to the plate. But I want to have some assurance that I'm not being stupid, that upping the activity isn't going to hurt me. I've stayed away from docs until now so I don't have a diagnosis of what this is. But it's time now for some answers.

So it's off I go in search of answers...without letting them suck me too far in.

Step 1. The GP. She was highly recommended by two friends of mine. They know I'm Ms. Integrative Medicine and both said she'd be very open to my way of doing things. She met and talked with me for about an hour. An hour! And she actually listened to me. Ok, so she wasn't right about everything (she told me based on my labs that I shouldn't be having periods anymore, but I researched it and that's old-school thinking) and she declared 7 drinks a week was the definition of a problem drinking for women (7 drinks a week would be a problem for some people, but for everyone? I'm not a fan of one rule applies to everyone). But all in all I liked her very much. She wanted me to see a cardiologist and a pulmonologist.

Step 2. The Cardiologist. Not Dr. Personality, but he listened. Well, with one ear at least. I told him I think this is a lung thing, not a heart thing, but once he heard my heart murmur he went right down the path of heart defect. I've had that friggin' heart murmur my whole life. And heart defect doesn't explain why smoky air or talking too much triggers my symptoms. He wants a full blown stress test and to do an echo cardiogram (ultrasound of the heart, where they'll be able to see my heart valve make its funky sound). I'm declining the stress test, I simply do NOT have blocked arteries. Makes no sense to me, don't need to elevate my heart rate (one of my lung triggers) to prove that that's not the problem. I think that's one of those easy tests that they know your insurance will approve and doesn't require any of their time (a tech they pay $10/hr does the test). Nope. Sorry. But I am going to let them take a look at my heart functioning. Scheduled for Oct. 4th.

Step 3. The Pulmonologist. Would he believe me when I tell him it's a lung thing? Yes. He did. It was clear that he'd read the long summary that I printed out for the GP (wow, that's new!). And this guy finally started asking the right questions...when this started were you having plumbing problems? mold? are you exposed to chemicals in your job? were you ever sick? was your husband sick about the same time? As it turns out, yes, my husband had a really nasty virus (the one and only time he's been sick in the last 7 years) when this whole thing started. He said typically when someone suddenly develops asthma-like symptoms out of the blue it's a bacterial infection that damages the bronchial passages and then once the infection is gone your body gets stuck in the "on" position, continuing the inflammatory response until the damage is completely healed. He said that explains why I'm getting better, the damage is slowly healing. Wow! That makes sense! He wants to re-do the pulmonary function test I did last year (did wrong as it turns out) to get a good reading on how my lungs are functioning. Requires drugs, but ok, just this once. He also said the echo cardiogram would give him useful information, to see how my heart and lungs are playing together. Easy enough I was going to have that done anyway. But he agreed that I don't need a full on stress test. Good to know.

So new pulmonary function test next week, and a echo a few days later (I'm guessing the cardiologist will freak out that I won't do the stress test - too bad!). Finally a follow up visit with the lung guy, who's practice name includes the phrase "Integrative Medicine", and I think he means it. I might have found someone who's not the typical MD. He looked at the list of supplements I take and said they've almost certainly helped me get healthier. He didn't argue when I said I wouldn't take any drugs. He said, yes, try acupuncture, that might be helpful. He knew of the Buteyko breathing exercises. I'm cautiously optimistic...