Another Day Another Doctor

[Guest guest]

Today I went to the walk in clinic and saw the doctor I had met previously

in the emergency room. He was attentive, listened well, and wanted to find

out what was causing the swelling and the rapid heart beat. When I told him

there were no swollen lymph nodes at the base of my neck, he insisted on a

scan because I've had the swelling for over a month now. He ordered blood

tests, which showed the TSH and T4 right where they should be in the normal

range. He checked other levels, and for anemia which I don't have, because

he thought that might elevate the heart rate too. Today it was 104 in the

doctor's office!

Then he suggested a CAT scan to check for a blocked duct or a tumor that

could account for the swelling. I told him there was NO WAY I was letting

them inject that iodine into me again, since it was after the last Cat scan

I got the high TSH levels for the first time, and he said they could do it

without the iodine. I said I wanted an MRI. He claimed the MRI would not

be as effective for seeing what he needed to see as the CAT scan, even

without the contrast. Dummy me, let him talk me into it, without the

iodine. He claims it's the same amount of radiation as a long plane flight,

and that people don't realize it's a safe test. Then he said it would only

be done from about the bottom of my nose to the upper part of my chest.

Wouldn't the chest x-ray have showed a tumor behind the breast bone or in

the upper chest? I asked him if it wasn't more likely the thyroid, which we

know is enlarged, might be pressing on a duct, and he said that's possible.

Anyway, the CAT scan came back normal, but he said there were a few lymph

nodes under my chin that were borderline swollen. He could have found that

out by feeling them. I told him I don't think they're any bigger than they

ever were because I had mono as a child and had some swollen lymph nodes in

that area that never went back to their normal size. Then he said I might

have an infection, prescribed an antibiotic, and asked me to follow up with

my know nothing doctor tomorrow. He said if the lymph nodes don't go down,

a biopsy might need to be done, but that would be up to my doctor.

So I know what it isn't. It's not lung Cancer, and my heart looked normal

in the x-ray. That's good news and I'm thankful. Unfortunately I still

don't know what it is, and the opposite cheek is starting to swell up a

little now.

I'm mad at myself for letting them talk me into the CAT scan because I

remember what Chuck wrote about getting an MRI instead. Even though I told

them that's what I wanted, somehow they convinced me to have the CAT scan by

saying it was only on a small area of my body and the radiation was no worse

than a long flight, blah, blah blah. I sure hope I haven't made matters

worse.

I'm definitely calling the Mayo Clinic back tomorrow to tell them about the

swelling on my face, to see what they have to say about it.

Barb