So, first thing that had to happen when I arrived was to strip down and put on the Johnny coat. I had to be weighed. Then the nurse subtracted the weight of the Johnny coat: .2kg. I am so glad I peed before I got on the scale. That reminds me that I need to convert the kg to lb so I know how much I weigh today... Not sure why I care so much. I think I'm still thinking about my job last summer. I fell in love with my weight-loss progress and the kettlebell. The idea of working with a kettlebell right now just hurts...
Okay, so I was weighed and measured and my blood pressure was taken. Then the nice nurse, Rachel, started my IV. I hate needles in my veins in ways you can't quite understand (really long, amusing story for another time). I apologized to Rachel and stared at the wall and out the window and talked to anyone walking in instead of engaging with her. She understood. And then took two vials of blood. The adhesive and the lidocaine made my arm stiff and itchy.
I was moved to a stretcher and wheeled in to have sonograms done. First, the doctor checked my heart, then he attached three sticky sensors and checked my heart from a different angle. Then he looked at the veins in my right arm (as my left was full of IV). Then he looked at the veins in the back of my right knee.
More blood was taken and then I was given some dye. The IV flush smells like cheap vodka; the dye smells like high school art class - and I was the only one who could smell it. The human body is so fascinating.
My blood pressure got taken while I was lying down, then I was helped up to sitting and it was taken again. I had been lying on my side long enough that my pelvis hurt while I was sitting up. I actually felt the front separating when I sat up.
After I was sitting up and they had my baseline sitting pressure I was asked to breathe out for 20 seconds into a gauge and make sure the pressure remained between 50 and 55 - what the numbers mean, I have no idea. I was asked to do this, then remain quiet until the pressure was back to normal, three times. The baby had been wiggling and dancing through most of the tests and blood draws; he didn't seem to like the exhaling exercise. I was finally wheeled back to my room and fed.
I scarfed down the cereal and the mini muffins. I drank a pint of ice water and 4 oz of cranberry juice. I ate a huge banana. People were trying to talk to me and get me to sign stuff... I apologized and talked with my mouth full and got milk on some paperwork. Every woman in the room completely understood. I had been fasting for ten and a half hours. I only had half an hour before I was made to lie down and rest before my MRI.
I watched the end of Overboard lying on my side and kind of dozing off. Then I got wheeled all the way down to the Radiation department. I'm a bit of a control freak. I drive everywhere. Lying on my side and trying to relax while being wheeled down labyrinthine hallways and seven stories was a little difficult.
The guys down at the Radiation Department were really sweet. I got foam earplugs and then they put headphones on me and asked what kind of music I liked. I asked for classical, figuring it would be soothing and help me be calm. If I ever have to do something like this again, I'm going to ask for stuff I know all the words to - at least I'd have lyrics to distract me.
So I got put on the gurney, and since RD is usually pretty cool, they put a blanket on me. Then a cage-like thing got put on my head - which with the headphones on meant I couldn't move my head. And then I got slid into the tube. I had been handed a call button and I clutched it to my chest under the blanket.
There were several scans. I was brought down at about 11:35 and was wheeled out at 12:30. For the last few scans I was starting to panic. The back of my head hurt where it was on the gurney, but I didn't want to move it (and barely could because of the cage) and screw up the imaging. I was getting really hot with the blanket on me; it felt like it was creeping up and bunching at my neck, just below the cage. My hips hurt. Being as pregnant as I am, I'm not supposed to lie on my back, but my head had to be positioned as though I were. The strain on my abdomen was getting to me. I would obsess about one uncomfortable thing until I was toying with the call button and then I would think of something else that was uncomfortable. I managed to fix the blanket situation and I wriggled my hips a bit. I waited for a pause in the banging noises to move my head a bit, but it didn't help. Then I thought, "At least I don't have to pee," and instantly had to pee. I had the call button in my hand and was figuring out where to press on it when I was told they were coming to get me. I'm not claustrophobic, but I was glad I could close my eyes and escape.
I got wheeled back upstairs and was thanked for my participation and released into the wild.
I agreed to have my placenta sent from Porter to Fletcher Allen for the study. I'm not having any luck finding someone to encapsulate it for me, so it may as well go to the study. I have also agreed to put my MRI into a database for other researchers.
I've been pretty beat all day. Between the fasting, dehydration, and the blood draws I think I'm a bit wiped out. Bryn tried to treat me with Misery Love Co. for dinner, but I was too tired to eat. I just didn't feel right. I wasn't unwell; I just wasn't well. I ate about five bites and had to give up. Even the fries didn't cheer me.
I promised the dirty details of the testing, and I have delivered. I have eaten ice cream and drunk lemonade. Maybe some sleep will finally do me some good.
No comments:
Post a Comment