Tomorrow..........................

Tomorrow I have an appointment for an MRI re-do. Wait- you don't know what I'm talking about? That's because I basically suck at blogging. I am a pseudo-blogger. I'm trying to do better. I really am.

Two weeks ago I had an appointment for an MRI to follow up on a worrisome spot on my left breast. I was very nervous about the appointment, because my asthma has been C-R-A-Z-Y lately. I was scared that once they slid me into that tube I would have a hard time breathing. So I told the tech about my asthma and we decided to go for a "test run" before she put the contrast I.V. in. She slid me into the tube, and I freaked out at first, but once I made myself calm down I decided that I could do it. Mind over matter, that's what I told her. She laughed.

???

Anyway..................she put the IV in and tested my vein with saline. 3 times. Then she slid me back into the tube and started the MRI. She checked on me a few times during the test but I was hanging tough. The IV/contrast part of the MRI doesn't happen until the very end so once we got to that point she let me know that it would be really loud for a minute and a half, then she would start the contrast and that would last for 5-6 minutes. (Yeah, right. If you've had an MRI you know what I'm talking about. It's going to get really loud? Really? What has it been for the past 30 minutes? )

I was watching the IV to see if I could tell when the fluid was coming. Nope- but when the liquid started squirting down my arm and onto my face, and there was a crazy stinging sensation in my arm, I figured it out. I quickly pressed the panic button and two techs rushed in and stopped the IV. One of them was a male- and he was the one checking my IV! Don't mind me, sir, I'm just lying here mostly naked but COME ON IN!

Mr. Male Tech announced that my vein had collapsed and proceeded to take the IV out. The female tech that had put the IV in was apologizing profusely. And by apologizing profusely I mean freaking out.

"I tested that vein 3 times! I am so sorry! Oh my God! I can't believe that happened! I tested that vein 3 times!"

I assured her that it was ok, that these things happen and that yes, she had tested my vein 3 times.

That doesn't take away the sting, now, does it? (Don't worry, I didn't say that to the poor girl.)

Meanwhile, I'm looking at the clock, knowing that I needed to get out of there and pick Lila up from school. I asked if we could choose another vein and finish the test. The tech informed me that we would have to wait at least 36 hours in order to clear all of the contrast from my system as they had no idea how much was just floating around in my body right then. Great. She told me to drink plenty of water to flush my system as quickly as possible. She also told me that my left arm would probably hurt for hours. Then she corrected herself to say that the entire left side of my body might hurt for hours. Awesome.

It did.

A few hours later I was vomiting and had the diarrhea like mad crazy. (Sorry, but I can't tell the story without that little bit of info.) I was pretty nervous about what was happening inside my body. After scaring the living fire out of myself looking on the internet, I decided to call my friend Annette, who is a nurse. She was cracking me up as she went into full nurse mode but eased my mind and assured me that I was going to be ok- I was having an allergic reaction- but my symptoms were getting better, not worse. She told me to go to bed and if I got any worse during the night to go to the E.R. That didn't happen and I woke up feeling very relieved.

After that lovely experience, I decided not to continue with the IV/contrast portion of the test- that the radiologist would have to "make do" with the images they got during the first 30 minutes of the MRI. I had already re-scheduled my appointment so I called the radiology office to cancel. Oh, boy, did that cause a stir. The tech consulted with the radiologist, who called me back personally, urging me to change my mind. He told me it was imperative that I finish the test, that they needed the contrast to get a good look at the "problem area". I called my sister, Brenda, who recently completed her chemo treatments for breast cancer. She told me to listen to the radiologist and finish the test.

So I'm keeping the appointment. This will be me, tomorrow. Back in the tube.

Wait. No it won't, because I won't have that many clothes on. LOL

I have been given a steroid to stop an allergic reaction to the contrast dye. Unfortunately, the last two times I had to take steroids I broke out in hives and had to go to Urgent Care for a shot to stop THAT allergic reaction. Seriously.

I took the steroid 2 hours ago and can feel the hives underneath my skin- so I will take Benadryl for that allergic reaction. Oh, dear. It's really almost comical.

I have said all of this to say......................

Please say a prayer for me if you will. I can handle the allergic reactions- they will go away. What I'm nervous about is the possibility of another vein collapsing- this also happened to a different vein when they put my IV in for my hysterectomy 2 years ago- so this wasn't the first time. I also want to hurry up and get the MRI results.

I don't think they really see anything concrete, I feel like they are just being SUPER careful because of my family history. For that I am thankful. I'm still a little worried and would appreciate your prayers.

P.S. Immediately following the MRI re-do tomorrow I have an appointment for an ultrasound to follow up on the cyst in my left ovary. Everything is probably fine, but again................ I sure would appreciate your prayers.

Hugs~

Linda