The automatic blood pressure cuff tried to squeeze my arm off on Wednesday. I was trying to be patient and calm as it cranked my systolic blood pressure, the first number in the measurement, up to 161. It was tight. It was too high - I rarely go above 120. It couldn’t figure out what my diastolic pressure - the bottom number - was, so it started again. After two tries, the nurse put a smaller cuff on my lower arm.
I made her stop. My hand was going numb. Many of the treatment decisions I’ve made and asked my doctors to help me make are to protect my hands. I don’t need a stinkin’ blood pressure cuff killing my ability to be a stenographer. Nope.
My husband said my hand was starting to turn red when it was on my forearm. The nurse used my numbers from last time which I still think are on the high side for me. I think they need a new machine or to get that one fixed before I freak out on it. Or do it manually. They taught us that one day in nursing school. I don’t remember exactly how to do it because I was the captioner and not actually in the room, but it wasn’t difficult.
I was in the office to get reassured by my oncologist that the clinical trial I am trying to start August 6th appears to be effective. And to get blood drawn to be sent off so they can run their own genetic testing. Apparently they only trust their own geneticists which may very well be the same geneticists that originally ran the test. That’s fine.
Tuesday I went for an electrocardiogram (EKG), so I’m all done with that - the easiest test so far! You are face-up on a table and they stick little stickers on your chest, arms and legs and then run electrodes to the stickers and plug them in and then tell you to hold still. And then you’re done. Longest part of that test was the paperwork.
And now we wait and see how fast they can test my blood and get the results back so I can get started. This has been taking what feels like forever. Other stories of patients I’ve seen have them diagnosed and starting treatment in weeks. August 6th will be almost two months since I found out my right tata was being naughty.
I’m trying to be patient. And I’m trying to enjoy this time. My life is never going to be the same once the actual treatment starts. I’ll find a new normal for the six months of taking pills. And then I’ll have to find a new normal after surgery. Beyond that, I need to figure out who I need to talk to in order to get a salpingo-oophorectomy. Apparently since I am a genetic ‘winner,’ it’s advised to get my fallopian tubes and ovaries removed to reduce my risk of recurring cancer.
I wonder if they could fish out my uterus and perhaps my appendix while they’re in there for that one? I’ll keep my gallbladder unless it decides to act up.