It was a long day and I am so sleepy that I won’t be surprised if I nod off a few times while writing this post. The original plan was to get to the hospital a half hour early (10:45am) for my MRI so that they could give me the ativan to help keep me calm during the claustrophobic procedure. But as I was finishing my breakfast (maybe around 9:15) I got a call from the nurse saying that my blood work wasn’t up to date and in order to get the contrast I needed up to date kidney functions (this is because I have high blood pressure and has only happened the last few scans so hasn’t really gotten into my consciousness yet). It had been 8 weeks since my bloodwork had been done and the limit was 6 weeks.
So this meant getting to the hospital earlier which meant I had just a few minutes to get myself together to go. I was to go to the Infusion Lab (where they do chemo) and have it done there. It was a zoo there as usual. I’ve never had chemo at this hospital but see the waiting area whenever I go there and it’s always overflowing. I ran into a friend from my weekly support group, I seem to be there on Weds. lately which is his infusion day and we often run into each other in the hallways somewhere.
As I waited I realized that because we left home early I hadn’t taken my long term morphine pills (due to be taken with food at 10:30am, my plan had been to take them earlier before we left home). I checked my purse and I didn’t have any with me, but did have two half pills of the short acting morphine. I ate half of a granola bar and took the two half pills and hoped for the best.
I waited and waited for someone to call me to get my blood drawn, it was about 10:45am (the time I was supposed to be downstairs getting my ativan) when I was called in. It took two sticks but she was finally able to get a good stick in my hand, practically between the knuckles. I was steering her towards my worse arm though, in order to keep my better arm good for the contrast IV which is a different and more important stick.
So downstairs to the radiation dept, waited a short time up front and then we (A. came with me) were brought inside the maze of hallways (they are doing construction so it’s all truly a maze with arrow signs posted all over the place) to another waiting room. We waited another 20 minutes or so before my ativan was brought to me along with some papers to fill out. Then we waited and waited, periodically being told that they were waiting for my bloodwork and that it was spinning. Eventually, around noon I think a tech came to get me, saying the bloodwork was still spinning but that she was going to have me change into a gown. After a short wait outside the changing room the bloodwork was finally ready and we went into the MRI room.
They had me lay down to do the iv stick. Two problems, my back started spasming like crazy. Then they could not find a vein, did one stick in my hand and nothing happened at all. So they let me sit up and called the iv team person, the experts. She came down and thankfully had no problem getting it with one stick. I was thankful for that, but also thankful that the previous nurses/techs didn’t keep sticking me and called her in right away.
So back to laying down on the table while they positioned me using my tattoo’s and the permanent marker X’s. Since the purpose of this scan was to fuse with the PET scan they needed to be able to find the markers. Thankfully, while my back still hurt, the spasms weren’t as intense as they had been shortly before.
The good news was that I was going into the machine feet first instead of head first. That made a big difference in my claustrophobic anxiety reactions. The ativan helped a lot also as I would find myself tensing up and only getting to a certain point and then relaxing and my mind would wander somewhere else. I had earplugs on (that they supplied), no headphones or music like my previous scan. I could hardly hear the techs talking to me with the earplugs in, but could hear the machine quite well (which makes me think that without them it would probably have hurt my ears). My back and hip and thigh and even my knee was hurting a lot throughout the initial part of the scan. When they pulled me out to put the IV contrast in for some reason my back pain lessened a lot. Maybe I was finally relaxing, I don’t know. But after the IV contrast went in my hand (both my hands were up on my upper chest, not down by my side, I think this also helped me feel less confined) began to fall asleep and hurt. It was an uncomfortable feeling that was freaking me out a bit, but the ativan did help keep me from getting too anxious.
I don’t know how long I was in there but even though the tech said that it wouldn’t be as long as a diagnostic MRI, it was still a long, long time. When they pulled me out I was able to get my hand un-numbed quickly thankfully but when I took the earplugs out I still couldn’t hear as the plugs had pushed earwax into my ears. I am still walking around with clogged ears, one of them more than the other and it is driving me nuts.
It was around 1:45 I think when I got out to the waiting room where A. was. A long day of medical torture. I was exhausted, drug tired, and needed to get back home and eat something so I could take my now very late long acting morphine pill. I’ve spent the rest of the day in a fog. I went to pick up Z. from school and almost fell asleep at a stop light. We went from school to piano lessons and I spent the whole time in the car in the parking lot nodding off (usually I go in the building with her and wait outside the room). I would go to bed now but I have to get up in a couple of hours, eat something and then take my pain meds. I’ve just begun to feel queasy, but I think it’s pretty good that I got through the whole day till now without being queasy.
So, I survived the MRI, no mean feat, that’s for sure! I (oops, nodded off for a few moments there) guess the next part is the radiation itself. It won’t be claustrophobic at all but I will have to lay still for an hour with what will likely be a lot of back spasming. I could try taking a muscle relaxant beforehand, but I really don’t want to spend my day doped up like I felt today. Okay, I’m nodding off again so I’ll end this now.
{{{hugs}}}
Glad that’s over! Hope you are feeling less dopey today.