It's been a busy week for me, spending a lot of time at the doctor's office & hospital. Even though I went to the doctor nearly 3 weeks ago for this cough, it's still not gone away. Monday, I called hoping to get a prescription for cough medicine, but got an appointment for Tuesday afternoon instead. That led to x-rays & a blood test & a pulmonary test for yesterday(Wed.).

The pulmonary test is to see how your lungs are processing air. One breathes at various speeds & depth into a tube, which measures different functions. Though it isn't painful, it made me a bit panicky, since one's nose is clipped shut & all breathing is done through the tube, which is rather narrow. At one point it seems like the tube is closed & I felt like I couldn't get enough air. That sensation only lasted a few seconds, but my panic made it feel longer. The entire test only takes about 20 minutes & showed  no signs of asthma or bronchitis, which has cleared up. Apparently the coughing is from another source, possibly a sinus problem or allergies.

   The technican was extremely nice, patient & informative. She's been doing this for 40 years & when I asked, told me about the changes in technology over that time. Originally, the machine consisted of 2 barrels & a graph which had to be deciphered using trigonomertry formulas. Now the computer does all of that.

   While the test wasn't too unpleasant, I hope I don't have to take it again any time soon. I was greatly relieved that I haven't got asthma. The doctor gave me some different antibiotics, so perhaps that will chase the cough away and I can get back to bicycling & enjoying the rest of the summer.