CT fun

Wednesday August 18th, 2010

I was told I couldn't eat anything 3 hours before my test, usually it's 8 hours or nothing by mouth after midnight. If you see NPO on your orders, that means "nothing by mouth". They might say "except meds". If you're diabetic or just to be on the safe side, check with your doctor, you don't want to become hypoglycemic, meaning having a low blood sugar. My last snack was around 4 am. My dad & I arrived on time @ 10 am, but my test was only for a CT of my pelvis. We had to get it specified to include my abdomen to check the progression of my cancer, that's the main region of your liver, not like on Beavis & Butthead. If you didn't see that episode, they had gotten into an accident. One of them kept saying, "Oh, my liver!" but he was holding the wrong parts of his body, he had even grabbed himself "down there" when complaining. Don't be afraid to ask questions and be sure to know about your anatomy, especially when tests are being ordered. They were able to make a few phone calls and got it corrected. I do not want to have this test repeated if I could prevent it.

So once I had my new order, we went to the radiology dept. waiting area where a nice tall liter of CT oral prep was waiting for me. It's cold, clear and doesn't really have much flavor. I had to drink a tall cup of it every 15 minutes. With my big belly the prep was getting harder to get down as I neared the bottom of the bottle. Just to warn you, this stuff will make you pee and move your bowels, so if you're constipated, you might get relief, which started to happen right before I was called into the scan room.

Inside the room it was very chilly, I had to remove my sweat jacket because of the zipper, otherwise I had a sleeveless dress on. BRRRR! Now I had to lay flat on the table. Oh boy, with my belly, and it was full, the technician had to assist me down. It really helped when they placed a wedge pillow underneath my knees. It eased the back pain and my breathing. They velcroed a strap over my belly attaching me to the table, I guess so I won't run away. They were kind to place a sheet over my chilly hairy legs. Sexy. This table will raise up and pass through a "donut" shaped apparatus. It's open, not closed like an MRI.

Now comes the fun of trying to start a heplock, that's the short nubby thing that sticks out of your arm so they can give medications, fluids, the IV contrast dye & sometimes draw blood from. Remember how cold this room was, I had goosebumps. They placed the tourniquets on really tight to bring up my veins. Now I know how my patients feel when we'd do the same. If you have hard to find veins, try to remember where they're located. It'll save you pain in the long run from unnecessary pokes and misses. With certain tests requiring IV contrast, the access has to be above the wrist. Of course my hand's veins were visible but with me lowering my arms and pumping my hands, the one on the back of my arm finally cooperated and popped up. You can tell that it's in properly because: a) blood will flow out b) when it's flushed it won't swell up and c) the patient has a salty or metallic taste in their mouth.

The technician then hooked me up to the IV contrast and went into the next room. She started the CT machine. It did 2 passes where I had to hold my breath on the way out. Then I felt a cool sensation go through my left arm, not too soon afterwards I felt a warm sensation in my bladder region which added to the "I have to urinate now" sensation. They did a 3rd pass, again holding my breath, then the technician came out and said that they had to wait 5 more minutes for the last one. I'm thinking, "FIVE MORE MINUTES?!? What do I think about to forget that nagging feeling in my bladder?" I'm laying on my back looking @ the ceiling tiles noticing that they're off because the CT machine is placed in the room @ an angle. You start reading any label on the machine and just when you're about to give up, the machine starts moving for the final pass, also while holding your breath AND your urine. Hallelujah! :o)

Now you're waiting for them to come through the door to release you from the strap, unhook the IV tubing, remove the heplock, and help me up. It took both ladies to get me off the flat bed. One assisted me with my jacket and directed me to the nearest bathroom. I could've put out a small fire, okay, a medium fire. Since I've had this test before, I knew that I had to make a few more pitstops before heading to the garage. We got our parking validated and visited another bathroom closer to the lot. I knew there was one more potential stop after that but I felt I'd be alright.

Needless to say we were well into the parking garage when a filling feeling hit me. I'm thinking, we'll be home soon. Traffic had some nutty people out there but we passed through safely and rather quickly. Then I had called home to see what Marie wanted for lunch, she replied, "Mc Donald's". Now I'm thinking, "Can I hold it til home? Should I go at McD's?" No line in the drive through, yeah!, and we were able to get home lickety-split. So maybe 3 bathroom stops would've covered the bladder situation. Now I just have to wait for tomorrow and see what the results show and what the game plan will be. Again, I'm hoping for relief of some of my symptoms, I wish for all of my symptoms. You guys and gals are great for rooting for me. I appreciate it, it helps me deal with my fear of the unknown. You know I'll keep you posted. Thanks. :o)