Yo' feets too big
I frequently discuss my online web novel with a fellow writer, who is an ER nurse in the Austin area. He comments on my story, and I comment on his. I find his input valuable, since he's written a fair number of them. Last night, though, was the first time I had ever called on his work experience.
I had been noticing some stiffness in my feet as I sat writing at my computer, and after a while I took a closer look. Both my feet, along with my ankles, looked as though somebody had inflated them like balloons. I mentioned this to my wife, and she got really upset and said that we needed to go to the ER, so I checked with my friend, who concurred. Apparently, this is a common symptom of heart failure - the heart is no longer able to pump blood around efficiently, and it begins to pool in your feet, because of gravity.
Well, they took me into the back immediately and ran an EKG and took some blood to test. The EKG was normal, and I had go sit in the waiting room until they had a room for me, about four hours later. Then I had another hour to wait until the doctor came back to tell me that the blood test had not revealed any problems with my heart or kidneys or liver. My blood pressure is higher than it should be, but still didn't explain my symptoms. Blood clots are another possible cause, but make no sense when the problem has developed simultaneously in both feet.
The doctor ordered a second series of blood tests and a chest X-ray and I had to wait another two hours for the results. By this time, I was exhausted, not having slept all night, and it was not until a quarter to seven that they released me, telling me to follow up with my doctor (which is problematic, since he died two weeks ago).
So... I went home and slept until noon and made an appointment with a new doctor... and my feet are still swollen. Ugh.
I had been noticing some stiffness in my feet as I sat writing at my computer, and after a while I took a closer look. Both my feet, along with my ankles, looked as though somebody had inflated them like balloons. I mentioned this to my wife, and she got really upset and said that we needed to go to the ER, so I checked with my friend, who concurred. Apparently, this is a common symptom of heart failure - the heart is no longer able to pump blood around efficiently, and it begins to pool in your feet, because of gravity.
Well, they took me into the back immediately and ran an EKG and took some blood to test. The EKG was normal, and I had go sit in the waiting room until they had a room for me, about four hours later. Then I had another hour to wait until the doctor came back to tell me that the blood test had not revealed any problems with my heart or kidneys or liver. My blood pressure is higher than it should be, but still didn't explain my symptoms. Blood clots are another possible cause, but make no sense when the problem has developed simultaneously in both feet.
The doctor ordered a second series of blood tests and a chest X-ray and I had to wait another two hours for the results. By this time, I was exhausted, not having slept all night, and it was not until a quarter to seven that they released me, telling me to follow up with my doctor (which is problematic, since he died two weeks ago).
So... I went home and slept until noon and made an appointment with a new doctor... and my feet are still swollen. Ugh.