Hmmmmm.......

Last week I wrote about my fantastic PT session on Monday.  I fully expected to bounce back after feeling like my balance and walking were a little off on Tuesday.  Well...  It has been a week, and I still don't feel as solid in my balance as I did on that marvelous Monday.

I am still in good shape.  My legs feel strong.  But my balance while walking is just a little less steady.  My feet are often hitting the ground with a little more force.  We have squeaky wood floors in our house.  It is easy to figure out who is walking down the hall by the sound of footsteps.  For the six weeks post procedure my husband commented many times that I sounded just like my super-fit teenager in the hallway.  Is there no higher praise?

This past week I am sometimes sounding like a lumberjack rather than a teenager on those wood floors. Hmmm...

It is no secret that my life has become more stressful in the past few weeks.  Could that be what is throwing my balance off?  It has also been seven weeks since my procedure.  Are the walls of my congenitally-narrowed veins working their way back to the starting position?  Does it really matter what is causing this intermittent imbalance?

I called Dr. Haskal's office to just let him know that something may be going on.  Hopefully this is just a temporary reaction to stress and doing too much, but I wanted his thoughts.  I left a message and got a return phone call from his nurse within 24 hours.  What a refreshing surprise!  She took some information from me and will relay it to Haskal.  Someone will get back to me.

The changes I am experiencing are very subtle and inconsistent.  If I did not have a previous experience to compare to this one, I would probably doubt my instinct that something may actually be happening.  I certainly did that the first time!  For better or worse I know too much at this point to be that naive.  Restenosis happens.  Maybe it is happening to me, maybe not.

Since no test is sensitive enough to pick up subtle changes in veins (too often not even BIG changes!), I don't believe that ultrasound or MRV will give me answers.  Time and observation will be my most sensitive diagnostic tools.

For my part I will try to spend plenty of time power-resting, meditating with a good mantra, keeping up with my strength training, and thinking positive thoughts.  Of course, that will not be enough to change my course if I am indeed restenosing.  The good news is that I have my contingency plan in place, and his name is Dr. Haskal.  Nobody ever wants to have to go to Plan B, but it sure is nice to have one!