[doydie]

I don't know if jnewk has had it yet or not but due to my frequent episodes of unexplained dizziness I am scheduled for one next Wednesday morning. I have to be there at 7:30 I don't do 7:30 AM, now PM I am fine at. And DH has to go with me. We will do it but won't like it and to think of the money I am going to have to be putting out to be getting up that early. So I have been doing some reading on it. I hope it is current. First the connect an IV and cardiac monitor in addition to blood pressure and I would imagine the little oxygen sensor on your finger. Then they put you flat on a table that has foot rests on it and strap you down. Then slowly elevating you until you are in a standing position while being strapped in. You stay in that standing position for 45 minutes, having to be still and silent. I have to go 45 minutes without talking?????????They will be looking for several things, changes in blood pressure or heart rate, dizziness, nausea or actual passing out. The table is immediately put back down and hopefully you come back to normal. ????what is normal?????

OK, second stage if nothing happens in first stage, They give you IV mediciation that puts your heart in overdrive, you know 0 to 150 in 10 seconds type of overdrive!!! Whole time watching the cardiac monitor. If all is negative the back to the drawing board.

I did tell the nurse practitioner something I had never told anything. For the last month or so I have been having chest pain. Not big chest pains, just little twinges but sometimes they are also in my left arm. Yeah, I know I'm bad. that's what happens when old nurses try to diagnose themselves. I had always wondered what would happen if I took one of DH nitro tablets. If the pain stopped then I would have been alarmed because I would think it would be indicative of heart disease. That was kind of my own way to diagnose it. A lot cheaper than all those tests a doctor orders!!! But he was never at home and besides that, I would have had to tell him I wanted to try one and for what reason.

[ali12]

Good Luck with the tilt table test, Doydie. I hope it goes well for you and am SO glad you are getting the testing to hopefully find out the problem and get you feeling better

I've had 3x tilt table tests. The first showed POTS (my BP doesn't stabilise during changing positions and my heart races, causing pooling in my legs and faints). The second I had was more in depth from another hospital as they think there may be more going on. The third was a meal challenge where I had to drink a milk shake and then go on the tilt table to see if my BP and pulse changed... only lasted 5 minutes as my body couldn't handle it. Still waiting for results of those but was told on one of the tests that had to be stopped that my BP went as high as 190/140.

Not going to lie, they aren't nice but the good thing is they don't hurt And I'm sure they'll be different for everyone The drs would never keep you on for longer than needed.

Know what you mean about the 7:30am starts. Mine was around that time and I am NOT a morning person... usually strolling out of bed at 10am The person doing the test told me they can sometimes get better readings in the morning so that is why the prefer to do them then.

I hope everything goes well for you. Definitely keep us posted on how everything goes

[doydie]

Hey, I think I would like the milkshake one!!!! But milkshakes made in a hospital sometimes are made with weird ingredients. I just figured that I couldn't have anything to eat or drink because they said that some people throw up with these. I just hope I don't poop in my pants. I have been having a wee little problems with that lately.