Day: Last Tuesday
Time: 7:30 AM
Where: Swedish Hospital, Basement
Who: Me, the nursing staff, the doctor on call and a really large machine
It has taken me this long to talk about it, partly because it took me two days to recover and the other part because the entire test left me with more questions than answers.
There I was, 8:00 AM laying back on a gurney trying to make light of the situation and entertaining my wonderful two nurses. One, nurse (head nurse) explained what was going to happen and the other nurse (training nurse) carried out the orders.
The head nurse explained that she need to set up an IV Line in my right arm because it was easier for them to get to. I informed them that the veins in my right arm are too small and too frail for an IV. Try the left arm. The vein may roll a bit but, if you enter at an angle and quickly, you should have no problem.
I was ignored. They blew my vein, hit a nerve (ouch!!!) and decided that they should do the IV on my left arm.
After that, I was given a medication (not sure what it was) that would slow down and stabilize my heart. The slower the heart muscle moves, the better the pictures are :).
Well, they administered this drug in 5 mg increments. The nurses felt that the 5 mg should do the trick. Well it didn't. After 3, 5 mg doses, the on-call doctor was called in to check my heart stats. He assured me that I was okay and that we would just wait a while to see if the medicine would work.
Shortly after that, they gave me 5 more, 5 mg doses, the maximum amount of medication that can be given to a patient weighing 200 lbs. I am 150 lbs, so now I am not happy. My heart has not slowed and I am starting to feel a little disconnected from my body.
The nurses are surprised and cautious. I figured, 'at least I am already in the hospital if something happens, right?'
Then, appears a 3rd nurse. She is the nurse who actually pumps in the iodine-containing contrast dye, while taking the pictures of my heart. She questions me about allergies and if I have had this CT done before. I told her yes and explained to her that the dye burns the crap out of my veins in my arm and neck. She felt I was explaining this all wrong. She told me that it doesn't burn at all. How the hell does she know?!
Well, I was all set to go and they told me they had to stop the procedure and let a patient from surgery go in front of me. So they pulled me out of the CT scan room and put me in another room. I think it set me back another 30 minutes. I had already been there for an hour.
Okay, so after a short nap and feeling like I could just stay asleep for ever, they wheeled me back into the CT room. (Oh by the way. I got a good look at the guy who bumped me. He was probably in his late 60's early 70's and had a square clear box on his head. He was unconscious and really pale. I was feeling pretty lucky about right then).
So, I'm back in the CT scan room. Ready to go!!! So here comes the hell-fire dye.
Oh I forgot, right before they pumped me with the hell-fire dye into my veins, they made me take nitro sublingually (under my tongue). I would have to say by this point, I was rather out of it because of all the medication in my system.
This dye burned like a lit up Christmas tree! It was fast, not fast enough for me not to scream out, and direct. The nurse kind of commented, "Wow, okay now I understand what you were saying."
If I could have slapped her I would have but, that would have been counter productive. To say the least, my patience had left my body.
Well, two held breaths later the test was over. 5 minutes! 5 minutes! I had been there for two hours and this took 5 minutes?!
I was so ready to get out of there. I didn't care that I felt like a mack truck had rolled on top of me and parked. I didn't care that the nausea in my stomach was rising to my throat. I wanted out of that basement.
So a few thank yous and a couple of good-byes, I got dressed so fast most of my cloths were put on inside out and I left with my Mom. Walking was a little slow, but my mind was running out that door.
Two days later, my cardiologist told us that he found nothing. No clogged arteries, veins, or calcium rich, fatty deposits laying in or around my heart. Great. So this means, my heart is just weak. Not so great. So he upped the meds and started me on another medication that has kind of knocked me on my bumm. My doctor assured me that he is not finished looking for a cause and that he does not like to lose. Who does, right?
It's great to know that I have an interested doctor however, I find it disturbing that there is no known cause for this, it effects 1 in 200 people of which 68% are Black Americans, and all I can look forward to is taking a lot of medication for the rest of my life.
Needless to say...my doctor did inform me that I can have sex, "not the chandelier hanging kind" (his exact words, not mine) and that I should wait about a year or two to get pregnant.
I have more updates coming later because this past Monday was crazy!!!
Thanks for the support, prayers and thoughts.
