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Just got home from having an echo cardiogram. Which is just a fancy way of saying they looked at my heart. It was very interesting once I released my anger over the one size fits noone gown into the force :)
I know the reason they use gowns is to try to let the patient keep their dignity while being examined but quite frankly, putting on a paper towel that covers less than nothing and trying to keep it closed while being poked, prodded and manipulated into positions a pretzel would be proud of, is in itself undignified. As I have very little body modesty, I would would much rather either have a gown that fits properly or just not have a gown at all. As I said to one doctor in a long ago physical exam, being fondled on a cold examination table is the most fun I've had in years.
Anyway, apparently, what an echo cardiogram does is to take pictures of the shape of your heart, as well as the interior of the heart. Thus allowing the doctor to see if your heart is the right size and if all the valves and plumbing is working the way it should. It also lets the doctor listen to your heart.
That was the interesting part. Intellectually, I'm aware that my heart is pumping away in my body doing its thing to keep me alive but for some reason it never occurred to me all that activity has noise attached to it. It's one thing to take your pulse and feel your heart beat against your fingers or lay your head on someone's chest and hear the thump thump thump of their heart through the walls of their chest.
It's quite another to actually hear that my heart has a very deep bom bom bass drum kind of sound. The sound of blood rushing into my heart is same squish squash sound the toilet makes when I plunge it. The sound of blood rushing out of my heart is the same swoosh swoosh sound the agitator in the washing machine makes as it moves the water around.
This struck me as being hilarious and so as I lay there holding my boobs out of the way so that the technician could shove the ultrasound wand against my chest like she was trying to implant it into my body, I couldn't help laughing. Which greatly annoyed the tech since as she noted, my lungs kept getting in the way.
Finally I settled down and she was able to finish her exam. Afterwards she asked me what was so funny so I told her my thoughts and she looked at me oddly. "You're the first person I've examined that had that reaction. Most people are very nervous when they come to see me."
It was a long exam, about an hour in total, but the time passed quickly as I got to know my body on a level I had never really thought about before. In a weird sort of way, I feel more personally connected to it now.
I know the reason they use gowns is to try to let the patient keep their dignity while being examined but quite frankly, putting on a paper towel that covers less than nothing and trying to keep it closed while being poked, prodded and manipulated into positions a pretzel would be proud of, is in itself undignified. As I have very little body modesty, I would would much rather either have a gown that fits properly or just not have a gown at all. As I said to one doctor in a long ago physical exam, being fondled on a cold examination table is the most fun I've had in years.
Anyway, apparently, what an echo cardiogram does is to take pictures of the shape of your heart, as well as the interior of the heart. Thus allowing the doctor to see if your heart is the right size and if all the valves and plumbing is working the way it should. It also lets the doctor listen to your heart.
That was the interesting part. Intellectually, I'm aware that my heart is pumping away in my body doing its thing to keep me alive but for some reason it never occurred to me all that activity has noise attached to it. It's one thing to take your pulse and feel your heart beat against your fingers or lay your head on someone's chest and hear the thump thump thump of their heart through the walls of their chest.
It's quite another to actually hear that my heart has a very deep bom bom bass drum kind of sound. The sound of blood rushing into my heart is same squish squash sound the toilet makes when I plunge it. The sound of blood rushing out of my heart is the same swoosh swoosh sound the agitator in the washing machine makes as it moves the water around.
This struck me as being hilarious and so as I lay there holding my boobs out of the way so that the technician could shove the ultrasound wand against my chest like she was trying to implant it into my body, I couldn't help laughing. Which greatly annoyed the tech since as she noted, my lungs kept getting in the way.
Finally I settled down and she was able to finish her exam. Afterwards she asked me what was so funny so I told her my thoughts and she looked at me oddly. "You're the first person I've examined that had that reaction. Most people are very nervous when they come to see me."
It was a long exam, about an hour in total, but the time passed quickly as I got to know my body on a level I had never really thought about before. In a weird sort of way, I feel more personally connected to it now.
