adventures of a cat scan

I think I mentioned before how I've been getting sharp waves of pain near my stomach, right? It's been happening off and on for months now. Thank God it doesn't happen every day! It's been three weeks since I've had a painful "attack". Yay! I went to see a gastroenterologist a couple weeks and figured the pain I am experiencing could be:

1. kidney stone
2.inflammation of intestines
3.muscle spasms

With that, he didn't want to put me through a colonoscopy, YAY again! Thank you Dr! And he just didn't want to put me on another medication to help with the possible spasms, so he said let's do a Cat Scan first and go from there.

The CT scan was scheduled at 8:30 this morning, but not without alot of prepapartion. I received two bottles of berry smoothie contrast, in which, I drank one bottle last night and then half of the 2nd bottle an hour before the scan and the 2nd half of the bottle 30 minutes before the scan.

 

The contrast itself didn't taste as bad as I thought. It says it's berry flavor, but it taste more like grape. Here's a photo for your entertainment of me drinking the first sip of the first bottle last night.

ha, yeh my face says it all

Before we left this morning, I made a short video:

 

 I totally chose the thumbnail above to make you laugh and make fun of myself.

 The consistency and taste got to me, especially once I started the second bottle this morning, it was just making me feel sick. I kept telling myself, "mind over matter, mind over matter" and singing, "you are my sunshine" to myself while I was slurping it up and also later this morning when my nurse at the hospital was trying to get an IV started. I needed the IV to draw blood, but also give me meds for conscious sedation. I can't physically lay flat on hard surfaces or the flat beds that they use to zoom you into the machines for the scans. It hurts my body since my limbs and back are contracted and don't stretch out straight whatsoever.

While she was running the ultrasound over my arms to spot a good vein, I asked her, "does this contrast make you get diahhrea?

She said, "No, actually it can make people constipated."

I laughed, "Well i think I am getting diahrrea. my stomach does not feel good at all. I am gonna need to go potty before the scan."

She said, "ok. wow. Yeh, usually people get constipated, but you are the exeption to the rule, which I am sure that's how it's been for you your  life."

Pretty much true.

My nurse was such a sweetheart and so helpful and caring. She got some two guys to help her and Katie lift me from my chair to the toilet, which was interesting, but we did it! My nurse asked one of the guy techs if this contrast made people get diahhrea and he said, "yes, the kind she had to drink for her kind of scan!" 

Ohhhh! hahahahha. You guys, it was terrible. I am thankful I didn't go on myself because all I had were the pajamas I came in. While waiting to go potty, we snapped a few photos before the scan, prepped and ready to go.

On the way to the scan, I had two respiratory therapists with me because they were going to have to amboo bag me during the scan itself. I guess, per hospital policy, I couldn't be on my vent, and maybe too because of the magnetics. The RT's did a fabulous job amboo bagging me. I wasn't nervous at all breathing wise. The scan itself went smoothly. My nurse I had to prep me was there and then all three of them, along with Katie, walked with to the recovery unit. While I was there, I had to switch to the hospital's vent, which breaths much different than my vent. It was a bit difficult to breathe along with it. As i go to exhale, there's like a wave that suddenly stops and then pops and I feel it in my chest. It's hard to describe. Thankfully, my sats (oxygen level on room air) was just dandy, in its normal range of mid-90's.

Overall, the morning went well with little problems, except, the unexpected diarreah! I had a great time of people working with me to make getting this scan a success.

While Katie and I were waiitng for transportation, we were thinking about eating and what to eat, because we were so hungry! We finally got back home just before noon and she went and got us lunch. Oh it was so yummy. Shortly after eating, I tilted my chair back, got pillows and a blanket and took a nap until 3:30 this afternoon. I was and am so tired.

Next, just wait for my gastro dr's office to call to follow up with me and see what the results show. I just can't wait to figure out where and why these pains are happening!

What a day! I am feeling a bit better and think I'll be knocking out before 9! Man, i feel like an old person! I just can't hang like I used to! haha I just may have to catch tonight's episode of Revolution online later.

What time do you go to bed? If you fall asleep before a certain time, do you too, feel like an elderly person? Have you ever had to drink berry contrast for a ct scan? What did you think?