diagnosis: grounded

I love it when you are leaving at the end of your consultation with the GP with one hand on the door handle and his parting shot is "... and remember, if your chest starts hurting at all, just call 999."

OK, I don't love it really. That was sarcasm.

Anyway, this comment came today at the end of the appointment with the GP that I was waiting for – and of course mentally blocked by – after having the echocardiogram scan detailed here last week.

https://wobblybear.uk/post/ultra-scanned

Originally I had gone to the GP to report some difficulty with shortness of breath during what I would class as only mild exertion. He had ordered the scan to help get a clearer picture (haha!) of what was going on.

Pulmonary hypertension is the preliminary diagnosis, and he processed a further referral to the cardiologist I was under with my Atrial Fibrillation problems a couple of years ago, to get it and any treatment confirmed.

I made the mistake of looking the condition up when I got home. I didn't really want to see the worst case scenarios that could happen as much as just getting an idea of what was going on, but I saw them anyway.

I won't look again. Too scary.

This has put my return to a more energetic lifestyle on hold again. I love my cycling, but that's still a firm no at the moment. I also need to curtail the morning exercise routines.

The message from the GP basically is don't get more unfit through trying to be fit, not until the consultant has a chance to confirm the diagnosis and decide on treatment.

I think he has a reasonable argument. No point in not being able to see the consultant because you couldn't wait, so you died.

Walking is the only 'safe' exercise for me at present, which is hugely frustrating, but also understandable as even slight uphill slopes are leaving me breathing like an athlete doing a sprint, when in fact I'm just ambling along slowly with my dog.

I had been doing some press-ups and crunches in the mornings, just to keep me from seizing (and fattening) up completely, but apparently that's not wise until this problem is under some sort of management either. Nor is tearing around the garden with forks, shovels, or large wheelbarrows full of heavy stuff.

Hopefully it's not long until a consult with the consultant happens now. But until then I've effectively been grounded.