Rewind... health update {PART1}

It all started in February.  I began to get a tightening in my left breast. Similar to the feeling you get when your milk lets down. The fallowing week the sensation had spread to my shoulder blade and radiated down to my finger tips. Just like your arm falling asleep but it comes and goes with no real purpose.

After a few weeks it brought enough concern that I decided to go to the doctor.  I was worried that the tumor that has been living in my chest for eight years was causing problems.

I made a visit to my GP to get a physical. They started with my blood pressure.  168/130.  Sadly, this has been my normal range for several years.  The hope was that I would get my pain in control and it would come down. That was just not the case.  This high number was a concern to the DR right away.

The physical was under way.  The typical tests were done. Check my lungs, heart and motor function. While listening to my heart, she began to ask me some questions.

"How long had your BP been that high?"
"How long have you had the heart palpitations?"...

Both answers were years.

She immediately ordered a EKG to check things out further. The results of that test left her worried even more, even to the point that she ordered an echo-cardiogram for the next day. I was prescribed heart meds to help with the obvious issues.

Next the doctor addressed my pain in my arm and breast. She did an exam and noticed some inflammation in the tissue. She didn't seem to be worried about my arm at the time and more on my tumor and the tissue around it.  I was given a referral have a mammogram and ultrasound of my left breast for the following week.

A full blood work was drawn to check for a number of factors as part of the normal physical routine.

I was pleased and scared all at once.  I knew that this was the first step to getting the answered I needed.  I just didn't expect the few surprises I received.

To be continued...