This morning's listless blog entry

I hadn't originally planned to do my blog today, but here's the situation.

I really don't feel well enough to put much time & effort into today's entry. I really don't feel poorly enough to abandon my efforts entirely.

By WED night I had developed a pretty nasty cough. I did NOT get a good night's sleep. My symptoms got progressively worse throughout the day on THU, which made my two exercise tests a real joy. By the time I left for Nathan & Laura's, I could tell that something more than just a bad cough was working up. I didn't get a good night's sleep on THU night either. On FRI morning I went to a minute clinic at a CVS store. My diagnosis was Influenza A. Despite having had a flu shot in early fall, this flu strain apparently was not easily deterred.

So I left the CVS pharmacy with Tylenol, OTC cough medicine & tamiflu. At about 2:30 this morning I started cough badly & finally gave up. I came upstairs & laid down on the couch, where I could prop myself up better than I could in bed. Eventually I fell back asleep. I took my meds this morning. The most vexing symptom continues to be the cough.

Also yesterday (FRI) I got a call from the cardiac unit at Mayo. I had been alerted that this was the most likely outcome of 2 exercise tests whose results had indicated that I might have a minor blockage or two. Now I'm scheduled to have a angiogram on MON 1/22. I haven't really read up on this procedure yet, but from what the cardiologist & her nurse told me yesterday, it sounds like a minimally invasive procedure. I was already headed back to Mayo for several test & consultations that got pushed back by the extra exercise test. So I'll have the angiogram on MON morning, followed by some of those additional appointments on MON afternoon or TUE, but I can't see the cardiologist to go over the results until THU. As you can imagine, this really messed up my plans for the week.

On the one hand, I'm grateful that I had the tests, which revealed partial blockages, & I'm grateful that I'm having an angiogram on MON in order to check for further problems. On the other hand, I am a little anxious about the whole situation, & the flu isn't helping me think clearly.

One big question I have but won't get answered until I check in on MON morning is this. How will be flu diagnosis after the timetable for the procedure & follow-up?