And Breathe
Posted on 2003-12-15
I had my appointment at the chest clinic today.
The doctor I saw was extremely nice, and very friendly which helped me relax. I mean sure I was still scared because I had no idea what to expect, but his whole manner made me feel more at ease. [Besides, who likes hospitals anyway???]
I went through a series of tests where I had to breathe into various machines, followed by a physical exam, a chest x-ray and heaps of questions, but as far as the doctor can see there's nothing too serious going on with my lungs. Luckily for me I didn't need to have any more blood tests taken either as I'd only had them done a few weeks ago by my GP. I'm sure the doctor noticed the look of relief on my face - even after all this time of being sick I still hate having needles stuck in my arm!!!
Anyway, it appears that the problems with my breathing are being caused by my M.E and the fact that I hyperventilate, so I'm to carry on with the breathing exercises I was given by Kate, and in the meantime the doctor I saw today is going to discuss my case with her and work out where we go from here. He is under the impression that I may be suffering from some kind of anxiety, which would tie in perfectly with the feelings of panic I experience, the problems with my heart rate and the palpitations, so who knows???
We didn't manage to work out why my skin turns a sickly shade of blue though, but I'm not quite as worried about that as I was a month or so ago. I figure it can't be too serious otherwise the cause would have either been picked up in the blood tests, or I would have keeled over by now.
I guess I'll just have to trust this guy and pray that he's right.