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My Nuclear Stress Test with Treadmill
By Barbara Radisavljevic of Barb's People Builders
Today I had my first very nuclear stress test. It was done at my doctor’s diagnostic center instead of in a hospital. I was not afraid of it, but I would have appreciated knowing a bit more about it ahead of time, so I’m going to share just what happened, in case you have such a diagnostic procedure in your future and you’d like to know what to expect. Before the test I was given the usual set of instructions on how to prepare. I was told to not take my blood pressure medication the night before. I couldn’t’ have chocolate, caffeine, or decaffeinated beverages or herbal tea for 24 hours before the test. I had to refrain from all food for four hours preceding the test. I was encouraged to drink lots of water. I was told to bring a snack that did not contain either caffeine or chocolate. I brought a tangerine, Wheat Thins, nuts, and dried fruit. It was just right. I suggest fruit and something for protein and quick energy. I arrived at the diagnostic center at 10 AM as instructed. I was ushered into a room where I needed to remove my underwear on top, but was allowed to put my T-shirt back on. They hooked me up to the EKG monitor in the room that had the treadmill. They took my blood pressure. And they inserted an IV with some radioactive material into my right arm. I was surprised that the IV was a complete unit not attached to anything outside of me, and was only about 6-8 inches long. I could move from room to room without something big to which I was attached following me. After the IV was inserted, I was taken across the hall to the scanner. I needed to be hooked up to another set of EKG monitors (the others had been removed), and I was given two glasses of plain water to drink. The table on which I was to lie was very narrow and long. They made me as comfortable with pillows and support under my knees as possible. The only thing I found uncomfortable that I wasn’t prepared to expect was that my arms had to remain above my head. After they had me positioned and covered with blankets on my lower body and arms (the room was cold), they started the scan. I guess I had expected to have one of those donut machines all around me as in a CT scan. Instead, there was a V-shaped machine that was open on the bottom which moved slowly over my chest and took pictures. My head was never inside anything, and not even my chest was completely enclosed. When they had done the first 20-minute scan, they removed the EKG cables and moved me back to the room with a treadmill, after letting me use the restroom. They hooked me up to the EKG again and took my blood pressure. Up to this point everything had been done by the medical technicians who had been monitoring everything on a computer screen. When it was time to get on the treadmill, my doctor came in. I had to walk on the treadmill until my heart rate got up to 139, though I’d been told they wanted to get me to 130. The treadmill got faster and steeper toward the end, and I was really tired and hanging on to the handle for dear life. Every couple of minutes the doctor would remove one hand from the handle and take my blood pressure. I don’t know how long I spent on the treadmill, but I was sure glad to get off. They unhooked the EKG and let me rest, drink, and have my snack. I got to rest about half an hour in a comfortable chair in the hall. I had brought my own magazine, and I was glad I had it because I had lots of time to read. When the half hour was up, I used the restroom again and then had another session under the scanner – another 20 minutes. My arms got really tired, because I’m not used to keeping them above my head for 20 minutes. That was probably the hardest thing for me. On the second scan, my arms weren’t completely out of the machine’s way, and one of my elbows started to lift. The attendant came to my rescue. After that if I could feel the machine I would reach for the sky. It was a very long 20 minutes because you have no concept of how much time has passed and how many minutes you have to go – unless you ask. After that 20 minutes, they sent me to the restroom again because I was to lie on my stomach for five minutes as the last part of the test – right on my bladder. This is also uncomfortable, since I have a neck problem and am supposed to avoid lying on my stomach. I should have been able to hang my head over the pillow edge, but instead I somehow wound up with my face mostly in the pillow. They did make sure I didn’t get smothered. After the five minutes on my stomach, I was finished. They unhooked me, removed the IV line, and sent me to the restroom to dress and go home. Although I wouldn’t choose this activity, it was not terribly invasive or painful. I’ve had much worse. I had good care during the entire time. A friend of mine said when her husband had had this test he had been left in the hall in a wheelchair unattended after the IV had been inserted and he had fainted with no one there. It’s possible his stress was chemical instead of on the treadmill. I’m not sure. But it might be good to have someone with you if you are likely to be unattended at any time. They left me in the room with the treadmill after I had my IV inserted for a few minutes at the beginning, too, but my IV didn’t cause chemical changes in my heart rate. If your doctor orders this test, it’s nothing to be afraid of. At worst there’s a bit of discomfort in your arms for a few minutes and you might get very tired on the treadmill. It’s a good idea to have someone drive you , if possible, and stay available in the office. The test takes about three hours. When it was over, we went out for a good lunch and then I shopped at Costco for half an hour and drove a few miles to a camera store and parked four blocks away. The walk both ways was fine and then I drove back to Costco to pick up my husband with no incidents. I am ordinarily pretty active. Your condition may vary. I only mention my activities after the test so that you know you will probably leave with more energy that when you came in, if you brought a good snack and if you weren’t feeling weak or sick before you came in.
Barbara Radisavljevic is an independent bookseller and current member of the tomfolio.com Board of Directors. She is also a lensmaster at Squidoo.com, and you can see her lenses at http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/BarbRad
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This sounds like a test designed to give false results. First of all they stop you taking a medication that (presumably) had been prescribed because your blood pressure needed regulation and then you were told to leave out foods and drinks that you (probably) would otherwise have partaken of. Surely the results of such a test would be more valid if you were tested under your normal life-style conditions?
Sounds like quite a day. I know people who have had this test. I haven't yet. Not sure how well I would do.
It's great that you decided to publish this. I always tend to look for information online about just about anything; to learn more about a possible diagnosis, more about tests, and so forth. I encounter this mostly with my mom, but I do it related to things about my pets, myself, and so on.
I think that more doctors should require their patients to undergo stress testing. Then maybe the patinets would become aware of their bad physical condition. Just the high speed treadmill, should do the trick. We need to get into shape, to set the example for our children.
Thank you for sharing, Barbara.
Best wishes.
Frederick
Thank you for writing, this information may come in handy in the future. Well done!
The copyright for this content entitled "My Nuclear Stress Test with Treadmill" has been specified by the contributor as:
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http://barbsbooks.qondio.com/
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