Friday, March 8, 2019
Linda was still hurting so much that I drove myself to the San Leandro Kaiser lab for the required blood tests. When I checked in, the receptionist asked me if I knew that a urine test was requested and was I able to do one today. After what I hoped was an undetectable eye roll, I said, “Well, I’ll try.” So I sat down to wait until my number was called again. I hadn’t even brought any water to drink, so I didn’t know how this was going to work, but I said I would try.
The phlebotomist was a friendly Filipina who was also relaxed and skillful in drawing the blood and finished very quickly, placing cotton on the venipuncture site and wrapping it with stretchy tape around my arm.
I then waited in line for a vacant patient restroom. It took a very long time, but I sat and waited until I was able to pee a few drops. The window into the lab was filled completely with other patients’ samples, but I somehow managed to fit it in and close the window door.
Now to go home and wait for 24 hrs., 48 hrs., or however long it would take.
March 11, 2019
Some of the blood test results were available in 24 hrs., more by 48 hrs., and the last one by 72 hrs. I was mildly disturbed that the albumin/creatinine ratio (the urine test that indicates kidney health) was too high. My immediate thoughts were to wonder which one(s) of my medications were damaging/destroying my kidneys! And, looking farther ahead, what this meant for my chances of needing dialysis in the near future. After all, I HAD had kidney failure and doctors who talked about the possibility of dialysis when I was hospitalized for 5 days in 2009 with salmonella poisoning.
This was a good opportunity to practice examining feelings-thoughts-behaviors and try to determine if I could alter my gut response (which clearly was panic). I decided that I needed to, first, wait until Tuesday to give Dr. Prabaharan a chance to see the test result and to find out if he would contact me if he was concerned about it. Then, if he didn’t contact me, I decided I would wait until my scheduled appointment with Dr. Kalra on April 1 and ask him if that test result was something to be concerned about.
All the rest of my test results were within “normal” limits. My vitamin D was almost to the top of normal, which was one that I was particularly concerned about. Calcium and magnesium were closer to the mid-range of normal.
My crappy week began yesterday (March 10) with the time change and continued to get worse every day for the rest of the week! So when my A1C test result came in today, it didn’t produce the elation that it should have: down to 6.0% (from 6.3% last September 2018). Still, I made note of it in my personal records.
