Medical Tests

This week is going to be one of the most challenging I will have had to deal with in terms of my health. I'll keep this post open until the week is over.

Today was the bone scan. They inject you with radioactive material so that it shows up on your bones. It takes about two hours for the material to show up. When you get into the exam, you have to lie perfectly still as they scan your entire body. Although you are only immobile for 15 minutes it feels like forever. They tape your feet together and your arms are strapped to the rest of your body.

The worst part is the injection. You are expected to drink lots of water for the remainder of the day to flush out as much of the radioactivity as possible. Also, they give you a card in case you travel to a foreign country or the airport indicating you are radioactive in case you set off sensors. That's just great.

I don't feel that great after the exam. My stomach is upset and my joints hurt. I'm hoping this will go away tomorrow as there's another exam.

June 7th: Well, I had another exam this morning. It didn't go very well. It was an ultrasound on my abdomen. I've been for several of these before. Every time I go for one of these, I don't feel that great afterwards. My insides feel as though they have been scrambled. My ribs also feel a bit bruised. So, I am taking the rest of the day to rest up. I'm hoping something will be better tomorrow.
Thanks for reading

June 10th: What a week! The last exam was today. It was a contrast ct scan over my abdomen. I had to drink radioactive particles last night and then had an iv just prior to the exam. The drink is quite bitter. The iv didn't go in very well today. The nurse was fishing for a vein which hurts more. However, the technician in the ct scan was very helpful. She helped quide my arm into place when the contrast was running through. I won't know these results until the oncologists appointment next week.

Aside from these, I have been unable to digest any food for over a day and have been unable to attend work. I managed to keep some food down today.
I have never been through so many evasive exams in one week. I have never been as stressed as I am now, which I am hoping is the reason I haven't been able to digest any food. Oh well. I now know the meaning of the phrase: what doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

Thanks for reading.
Lynn

Lynn