Medical Testing

So since getting to the doctor here in Madison, I've had more testing done than most people should have to submit to. On my first office visit I had high blood pressure, so that, combined with family history sparked the interest of my 'primary care physician.' So the next day I had a fasting blood and urine test, then had an EKG. Based on the outcome of these, i had another blood test (again, fasting, doing a more detailed cholesterol screening) and then an ultrasound on my enlarged heart. Yes it is enlarged. This is because I was an athlete, and the heart is a muscle, and since I worked out the heart muscle extensively, it got bigger. They now feel that it is no big deal. Over Christmas break I was doing sporadic monitoring of my blood pressure, and it was low and high, up and down, so the PCP ordered more testing. Today I am doing an "Ambulatory Blood Pressure Test." This means I am wearing a BP cuff and a little computer thingy for 24 hours. It will check my BP every 20 minutes, and every 20 minutes i have to write in a log book what I am doing. When it goes off I have to stop what I'm doing and relax the arm. It is set so that from 9:00pm until 6:00am it will only go off every hour. I turn it back in tomorrow at 10:00 am. Then next week I have an endoscopy, to see how my esophagus looks after a few years of acid reflux. I remember not liking it too much last time, so this time I'm not expecting much better. And it is cold out. Still. Minus 2 this morning.