Carroll has been nauseated today and he had a headache. He finally asked for medicine for both - instead of trying to "grin and bear it." Well, actually, he wasn't doing a whole lot of grinning.
It seems there's a new infection in his mouth because all of the antibiotics they've been giving him have been so strong that they've also killed off the "good" bacteria.
Tuesday morning, The Dawg will have a transesophageal echocardiogram. Here's the info I found on the Internet from the Cleveland Clinic:
During the transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) test, an ultrasound transducer (which produces high frequency sound waves) provides pictures of the heart's valves and chambers and helps the physician evaluate the pumping action of the heart.
The ultrasound transducer is positioned on an endoscope (a long, thin, flexible instrument about 1/2 inch in diameter). The endoscope is placed into your mouth and passed into your esophagus (the "food pipe" leading from your mouth into your stomach) to provide a close look at your heart's valves and chambers without interference from the ribs or lungs.
TEE is often combined with Doppler ultrasound and color Doppler to evaluate blood flow across the heart’s valves. TEE is often used when the results from standard echo studies were not sufficient or when your doctor wants a closer look at your heart.
The ultrasound transducer is positioned on an endoscope (a long, thin, flexible instrument about 1/2 inch in diameter). The endoscope is placed into your mouth and passed into your esophagus (the "food pipe" leading from your mouth into your stomach) to provide a close look at your heart's valves and chambers without interference from the ribs or lungs.
TEE is often combined with Doppler ultrasound and color Doppler to evaluate blood flow across the heart’s valves. TEE is often used when the results from standard echo studies were not sufficient or when your doctor wants a closer look at your heart.
Dr. Coker says this will take about 15 minutes. It is not for treatment but rather for evaluation purposes. There's a chance there is something wrong with another valve (the aortic valve is the one that he's to have replaced during open heart surgery once he gets well.)
1 comment:
Mr. Smith,
Hey! Its Mindy, (respiratory therapist) checking in to see how you are doing! I see you are having a "TEE" tommorrow...and Im sure they couldnt convince you it was a golf game, or a hot beverage! So I stopped by to give you another trick of the trade. Stay relaxed, and take a big ole GULP when they tell you to swallow. Like Ms. Sherry posted...its a scope that goes down your feeding pipe, and its a big help if you swallow hard! You can do it!! (ps...you will get some really good sleep afterwards, thanks to the drugs!) oh yeah...and you wont remember a thing! Good luck, my thoughts and prayers are with you!
Best Wishes,
Mindy Cate, RRT
(mindy13brwn@aol.com)
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