A New Challenge

As if I didn't have enough to deal with.

In recent weeks and months, I have not felt like myself. I have been tired, dizzy sometimes, and just kind of "blah." Since it was beginning to interfere with my life, I decided to mention it to my pulmonologist as I had my yearly appointment scheduled anyway. He thought this would be a good time to do a pulmonary stress test to see how my pulmonary system (heart and lungs) react to exercise. I told you all about this before; Well, now I have a diagnosis...

I have Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). It is a disease of the pulmonary arteries, where the pressure required for the heart to pump blood through them is strained due to a blockage or thickening of the arterial walls. The doctor is pretty sure that this is due to my past episodes of Pulmonary Emboli (blood clots) and more than likely, it is old clots that are taking up the space. I'm having an echo cardiogram (ultra sound) of my heart next week and a chest CT. These will measure the actual pressure level, help the doctor figure out what is causing the blockage and determine how much damage has already been done. There is no cure for PAH and it is progressive. I won't get any better. They can treat the symptoms as they occur with medication, and someday, I will probably have to have oxygen therapy. Right now, though, they are looking at just increasing my Coumadin dosage to thin my blood further and allow it to pass more easily through the arteries. I am limited in what I can do physically - nothing strenuous. I'm tired a lot. And since this news just came last week, I'm still dealing with it. I should have the final results of all my tests in about 3 weeks. So - I'll keep you in the loop as I know more.
If you would like more information on PAH, you can go to this link: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pulmonary-hypertension/DS00430/DSECTION=1 It has a lot of information.

I know that God will not give me more than I can handle and that He will use this for my good. I have to believe that. God is the only one who is going to get me through this - one way or the other.