No BP reading in left arm... X 3

that's a new one!

by Tracey_E - 2016-11-20 08:28:16

Aren't you just keeping them on their toes?! Can you feel your pulse on your wrist? If you feel ok and color is good, then I'd call it more weird than frightening. But that's really really weird!

You just have to be different GH !

by IAN MC - 2016-11-20 11:25:58

I think I would get it checked out in case you have a blocked artery in or near the arm as this could cause it  ( but that would also probably give you symptoms which you don't seem to have )

Chances are that it  is a measurement problem rather than a worrying underlying cause , but as Sparrow says it is still worth seeing  a Dr  about it

Best of luck

Ian

LOL

by Grateful Heart - 2016-11-20 20:09:33

I know Ian....Murphy's Law.  I didn't think much of it until it dawned on me late last night that both PT's said the same thing about the left arm and then I tried.

Good news!  Today I was able to get a reading from my left arm and I can see and feel my pulse in my left wrist.  Another oddity but I could always see my pulse in my wrist....my family thinks it's weird.  I thought everybody could. 

Tracey.....I guess I am keeping them on their toes...or keeping myself on my toes.  lol

Sparrow....I'm keeping an eye on it now.  I didn't think to check my bp in my ankle.  I'll try that.  I didn't think of it in terms of double documentation, you're right.

A PT is coming back tomorrow so I will take note of the left arm reading and discuss it with him.  Pretty odd that 3 cuffs/ people could not get a reading.....we'll see. 

Thank you guys.

Grateful Heart

It ain't over till the ...

by donr - 2016-11-21 09:39:12

...fat lady sings!  & you haven't seen her YET.  Today, hustle thine young Bod into your cardio & tell him/her about it.  It could be the start/ indicaton of something serious.  I Googled it & came up w/ an indication of Peripheral Artery Disease, or something like that.  Not to be ignored, even though it was only temporary & you are back to normal.  I bounced it off of our MD Daughter's punkin haid & she said the same thing - get to your Cardio.  She added - those two PT weenies should have been more concerned & told you the same thing - the frirst time it occurred - MOF, she said, THEY should have called when it happened!

Donr

Advocates

by Grateful Heart - 2016-11-21 16:52:38

And that is why we need to be our own advocates. 

The male "PT weenie" came to the house again today.  I told him what occurred on Saturday with the 2nd PT weenie...she also found no reading and no pulse in left arm.  He checked again today and the reading was 114/ 74 in left arm, 126/ 70 in right arm.  He said the pulse was faint in the left arm.  He said this was above his pay grade and I should contact my Cardio. 

So I called and explained and the call taker said "so you are making this appointment because you have no pulse".  LOL...really, that's what she said!  I explained it again but who knows what she wrote down.

That's why I hesitate now to call any doctor's office anymore.  While the doctors may be great, you have to speak to at least 4 people before you can get on a callback list.  I'm gonna guess she has no medical background or maybe just a poor listener.  Not good either way.

Anyway, I took my bp again about 2 hours after the PT did and it was 163/ 90 in the left arm and 135/ 80 in the right arm, so these numbers or lack thereof are all over the place. 

So she gave me an appointment for Wednesday.  { I really hope she put me on the appointment schedule } (me thinking out loud).  Ya gotta laugh.

Grateful Heart     

Yeah, laugh....

by donr - 2016-11-21 22:24:32

....dferisively!  You're right about the phone msg takers!  I'll bet it was some sweet young thing out of the millenial age group.  You'd bust a gut laughging at what our 22 yr old receptionist writes down for msgs!  Either that or die crying at the futility of trying to get through to them what is happening.  

At least you got on Wed - waitaminit - WHICH Wed?  This week or next?

Donr

This week

by Grateful Heart - 2016-11-21 23:23:25

No, it's this Wednesday.  If it was next week I guess I would have been in the ER today.  My cousin said I should have been there over the weekend. 

Grateful Heart  

NO! Not the

by donr - 2016-11-22 09:08:09

...ER.  AAAAARRRRRRRG!  Their purpose in life is to treat you to keep you alive, not diagnose Off the wall issues like yours.  If your problem is not as obvious as a lit up billboard w/ arrows pointing to the diagnosis, they do what is necessary to get you out the door as fast as possible.  ER's are money sinks for the hosp, & unfortunastely that drives the train in these type cases. 

That's why Specialist practices like cardios have on call specialists - a quick call getting one of them to respond would get you (Hopefully)  a quick analysis of your situation & whether it is serious or not.  ER Docs focus on just what brings you to the ER at that point - no research of past records, etc.  That's what your PCP or specialist should be doing.  There is a wealth of info in records from ER archives - especially if a problem has been around for a while.   One problem, especially in this day & time of the 10 min appt w/ PCP's - they don't have the time to do all the research of records, let alone acquire them from wherever. 

I just Googled to confirm this next fact - the most common lawsuit in the US over ER performance is "Failure to diagnose correctly." 57 % of the ER suits are for that!  The reasons most cited for this lapse in decision-making are lack of time to thoroughly analyze the patient & possible causes for their symptoms; lack of time to research history of patient's problems; lack of expertise in the applicable medical field.   FURTHER!!!!! That may even be short of reality.  There is a thing called the NPDB (National Practitioner's Data Base) that keeps track of physician's mal practice suits.  Unfortunately, there's a loophole in its data collection that allows some ER Docs to escape reported responsibility.  It's a legal issue that I do not completely understand, but it allows them to withdraw from a litigation under certain conditions when the Hosp absorbs the total financial load.

Now for the commercial - I've written about this before - the ultimate solution to the lack of time issue is called "Direct primary Care" (DPC).  It is coming , and coming fast.  PCP's are discovering the concept rapidly.  I attended a medical conference in Dallas this past month where over 200 PCP's attended, to learn just about this concept.  All the gurus in the field were there, doing the education.  DPC does several things - 1) reduces cost to the patient significantly - the annual cost per patient is far less then the deductible for your current Obamacare insurance; as low as $720 per year.  That gets you an UNLIMITED number of visits per year. 2) More effective in use of time & physician's attention to the individual patient.  Try appts that last for 30 - 45 minutes.  Easier to get an appt - patient panel is restricted to 400 - 600 patients meaning you can get a same day appt or at worst a next day appt.  Most conventional practices have patient  panels of 3-4 thousand! 

If you would like to know more, send me a Pvt Msg & I'll tell you how it can help.  Naysayers will say it's impossible; it is very possible, even for specialists.  There is a surgery center in Oklahoma that uses the concept.  The main benefactors, no less, are the users of primary care.

Donr

Trust

by Grateful Heart - 2016-11-22 12:09:47

I know Sparrow, it can be difficult to find a doctor you can trust and who is willing to communicate with you.  I do trust this doctor and his staff always seem to be on the ball. 

I think the female that took my call is in an offsite call center somewhere.  You can hear a lot of chatter in the background....other call takers.  When you are in the office, you do not hear that at all.  I think they determine if you are worthy to be transferred to the doctor's office to then speak to a staff member...only to be transferred yet again to another staff member.

Side story:  I had an appointment with a dermatologist about a month ago.  I arrived and checked in and the receptionist told me I cancelled my appointment the day before.  I explained I did not and she insisted I did because it is 'right here in her computer'.  I told her if I cancelled, I wouldn't be here now.  She said she had to get approval from the doctor before I could be seen.  The doctor approved but now I had to wait well over 1 hour because they could not honor my original appointment time. 

On the way out, I nicely told her....whoever is a no-show today....that's who called and cancelled yesterday.

You can't make this stuff up.    

Don:  Well in that case, I'm glad I didn't go to the ER.  :)  DPC sounds interesting!

Grateful Heart  

Cardio Appointment

by BillH - 2016-11-22 13:21:48

I had setup an appoint with my cardio about 3 weeks ago for Monday at 3:30.

On the Friday before I got a call from the office asking if I would move it up to 1;15. I agreed and in fact was better for me. Gave me time to get out on by bike afterwards.

Anyway about 45 minutes later I get an automatic call reminding me of my appointment at 3:30 so I had to call back and confirm that they had infact changed the time.

And don't get me started on patient portals.

Update

by Grateful Heart - 2016-11-23 23:49:19

Saw my Cardio today.  He took my BP of course and it was ok in both arms.  He said after the surgery all the swelling and drugs take time to get out of your system and maybe that affected the readings but all looked good.  I have to keep a check on it for a few days and report back my readings.   

The good news is.....He found a pulse!!   Lol

The better news is....the at home PT is finished so I'm done entertaining Mr. PT. 

Bill:  We could probably write a book with all of our experiences. 

Grateful Heart