I’ve been waiting years to get my breathing issues taken seriously. And finally looked like, maybe, I was getting somewhere. After cancellations and rescheduling (Kaiser’s doing, not mine) I finally got an appointment at Kaiser Santa Clara’s pulmonology department.

There were no notes about doing anything to prepare, and I went into it not even knowing what was going to be done/tested for. Life has been so hectic lately that I also haven’t been thinking very clearly. So unclearly that I took way too many opportunities for caffeine that morning; when I look back at it, it might have been the equivalent of 5 cups. I just wasn’t giving any thought to it (obviously!), and the cold weather wasn’t helping me resist.

I thought I was in a good place, with the recent blood pressure meds doing a really great job. But, they hadn’t been put to the caffeine test. And certainly not 5 cups of coffee worth! None of that occurred to me until they sat me down to take my blood pressure. After all, last time I had it checked, when I went to the ER a few weeks ago to make sure I hadn’t busted my thumb, it was 120/80 or so. Yeah well, that was in the evening and any caffeine would have long worn off by then (generally I stay away from caffeine after 2pm, to make sure it won’t interfere with sleep).

166/somthining-or-other. Oh crap. The tech takes it again, and it’s a LITTLE lower, but not much. She calls the doc, asking if he wants to cancel the test because the bp is so high, and he says no, they’ll see how it goes.

Did a lot of the usual breathing-into-a-tube thing, answered a whole lot of questions about why somebody who seemed to be in decent shape and wasn’t carrying around an oxygen bottle would be there, even had a fair amount of implied guilt and a talking-to about how I’m getting older and I should expect I can’t keep up with younger versions of myself. I protested that I can keep up with fit people my own age, to no avail.

Eventually I got onto the exercise bike that increases resistance so they can check how your heart and lungs are doing under load, with 12 different electrodes taped to your chest. And not too far into that the doc says ok, that’s enough, I’m pulling the plug because your blood pressure’s too high.

Where do I go from here. Somehow I have to convince someone who doesn’t think I should be there, that I need another shot at it, sans caffeine.

But overall there’s a really bad taste in my mouth that I got lectured for not being their typical patient who’s terribly out of shape, overweight, and just wants magic pills to feel better.

The plan (remember, there’s always a plan) was to be home YESTERDAY! But flights into Frankfurt (or anywhere else in Germany) were delayed due to ice. Still, we had a pretty good buffer between flights, so even with a pretty good delay… but eventually it was starting to look bad. Until a Lufthansa gate agent came out and told us that there were 23 of us on the Barcelona to Frankfurt flight with connections to the United Frankfurt to SFO, as well as a bunch more on other flights, so United would be holding the plane for us. Yay!

Or not. Would have been very nice to have known United was NOT holding the plane before we were rushing to get to the gate! Would have been even nicer to know in Barcelona, and spend the day there instead of an overnight in Frankfurt.

It took 90+ minutes on the United chat line to get set up with a new flight for today (it should have taken no more than 10, if that, as we’d already done the legwork for him, knew the new flight numbers on a plane that had seats available, thanks to some groundwork by daughter Becky back home). At least we got a hotel voucher from Lufthansa, and got to stay in the adjacent Sheraton, not a bad place!

Presently in the LHR United Club, waiting for the final flight home. Arrive just past 8pm tonight. Can’t wait. Definitely need to get back on a bike again!