If you're anything like me, you have a family who is on the move and you're always busy taking care of your kids shuffling them here and there doing this and that. By the time you notice things you have forgot to make the important appointment(s) for yourself. I was past due for my mammogram. I was putting this off because I was in pain! Yes, I know, this was stupid on my part. But, I was busy. Really, I was and knowing the pain I was in, I really didn't want the "girls" squished in a vise grip.
When I called to make my appointment it was early December and the last time I had my mammogram was July of 2012. The lady who was registering me said the earliest she could get me in was January. I had no choice but to take that appointment.
The pain I was having was so bad that when I took a shower the water, from the shower head hurt my chest. It pained me to even think of taking a shower. My OB/GYN set up the mammogram so that the radiologist would read the images right away, this was going to be a diagnostic mammogram.
When I had my mammogram, I explained to the tech my pain and my situation with lupus. The tech was the same lady I have seen for years and she also remembered me. We chatted about my condition and about lupus. I feel like it's necessary to educate people wherever I go, especially when they ask me questions like, "what kind of doctor treats lupus"?
I can't even begin to describe the level of pain I had when my "girls" were smashed on the mammogram table. When you have implants they take 2 sets of images. The first set is with the implants and the 2nd set is with the implants pushed all the way up your chest. Aside of the pain I was already in, then on top of the tech pushing my plants up to my neck (practically) I had to hold my breath from screaming in agony.
The mammogram couldn't be over with soon enough! I had to wait in the mammogram room for the results to be read. The tech came back from meeting with the radiologist and she said the images showed that my chest cavity doesn't have any masses but it showed all inflammation!The pain I was/am having from my under arms, my breasts, and my chest are from the inflammation caused by lupus! Thank the Lord there isn't any masses. But good Lord, lupus is at it again. The last 2 years I have had Fibroglandular Density results and again this year with major inflammation. I am thrilled it's just lupus. Did I just say that? I don't know that I am thrilled but I'm thrilled it's not a mass.
For about a year I had been having chest pain, which was a different feeling than the pain in my breasts. I mentioned this pain to my neurologist and she said I needed to see a cardiologist. My dentist is married to a cardiologist so she referred me to her husband. Heart disease is a major complication of lupus and is now a leading cause of death among people living with autoimmune disease. Individuals with lupus are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which involves hardening of the arteries and can lead to heart attacks or strokes later in life.
After explaining my situation to my cardiologist, his assistant did an EKG and it showed that my lower left chamber pumps slower than the other 3 chambers so he thought it would be best to hook me up to a cardiac monitor (3 weeks) and have me go though an echo-cardiogram, stress test, the sleep apnea test. Fortunately the cardiac monitor didn't show anything abnormal but the echo-cadiogram showed that I have a mitral valve leak and sinus tachycardia. I could of had these for years or it could of been caused from lupus. There's no way to tell.
What I have learned is that I can't stress over things I can't control and these are one of those things. I just have to add it to the long lines of things that lupus has done and just roll with the punches.
These are my A B C's to Lupus:
A: Always listen to your body. When your in pain, have aches, have a fever or are swollen; your body is trying to tell you something. Do NOT neglect yourself.
B: Be kind to yourself and rest when your body is tired. When you feel a flare coming on get some rest. The spoons aren't always available to borrow from the next day.
C: Circulatory System A system of organs and tissues including the heart, blood, and blood vessels. If your having chest pain please do not ignore it. You never know it it could be.
When I called to make my appointment it was early December and the last time I had my mammogram was July of 2012. The lady who was registering me said the earliest she could get me in was January. I had no choice but to take that appointment.
The pain I was having was so bad that when I took a shower the water, from the shower head hurt my chest. It pained me to even think of taking a shower. My OB/GYN set up the mammogram so that the radiologist would read the images right away, this was going to be a diagnostic mammogram.
When I had my mammogram, I explained to the tech my pain and my situation with lupus. The tech was the same lady I have seen for years and she also remembered me. We chatted about my condition and about lupus. I feel like it's necessary to educate people wherever I go, especially when they ask me questions like, "what kind of doctor treats lupus"?
I can't even begin to describe the level of pain I had when my "girls" were smashed on the mammogram table. When you have implants they take 2 sets of images. The first set is with the implants and the 2nd set is with the implants pushed all the way up your chest. Aside of the pain I was already in, then on top of the tech pushing my plants up to my neck (practically) I had to hold my breath from screaming in agony.
The mammogram couldn't be over with soon enough! I had to wait in the mammogram room for the results to be read. The tech came back from meeting with the radiologist and she said the images showed that my chest cavity doesn't have any masses but it showed all inflammation!The pain I was/am having from my under arms, my breasts, and my chest are from the inflammation caused by lupus! Thank the Lord there isn't any masses. But good Lord, lupus is at it again. The last 2 years I have had Fibroglandular Density results and again this year with major inflammation. I am thrilled it's just lupus. Did I just say that? I don't know that I am thrilled but I'm thrilled it's not a mass.
For about a year I had been having chest pain, which was a different feeling than the pain in my breasts. I mentioned this pain to my neurologist and she said I needed to see a cardiologist. My dentist is married to a cardiologist so she referred me to her husband. Heart disease is a major complication of lupus and is now a leading cause of death among people living with autoimmune disease. Individuals with lupus are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), which involves hardening of the arteries and can lead to heart attacks or strokes later in life.
After explaining my situation to my cardiologist, his assistant did an EKG and it showed that my lower left chamber pumps slower than the other 3 chambers so he thought it would be best to hook me up to a cardiac monitor (3 weeks) and have me go though an echo-cardiogram, stress test, the sleep apnea test. Fortunately the cardiac monitor didn't show anything abnormal but the echo-cadiogram showed that I have a mitral valve leak and sinus tachycardia. I could of had these for years or it could of been caused from lupus. There's no way to tell.
What I have learned is that I can't stress over things I can't control and these are one of those things. I just have to add it to the long lines of things that lupus has done and just roll with the punches.
These are my A B C's to Lupus:
A: Always listen to your body. When your in pain, have aches, have a fever or are swollen; your body is trying to tell you something. Do NOT neglect yourself.
B: Be kind to yourself and rest when your body is tired. When you feel a flare coming on get some rest. The spoons aren't always available to borrow from the next day.
C: Circulatory System A system of organs and tissues including the heart, blood, and blood vessels. If your having chest pain please do not ignore it. You never know it it could be.
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