(no subject)

[the_rck]

(I attempted to do a brief write up of my week so far. It ended up not so short. I'll be posting it in parts-- at least three-- this afternoon and cut tagged to save those who don't wish to be bored by mundane details. I'm not sure how I ended up with quite so much to say.)

I survived the MRI. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't the most painful thing I've ever done, either.

We took Delia up to Scott's parents' place Sunday afternoon. Scott's sister and her family came up, too, so we had a nice family dinner. I still don't understand the appeal of grilled food since it tastes dreadful to me, but I coped by applying extra salad dressing to the grilled vegetables. (It must be something about my taste buds-- To me, those grilled vegetables tasted like they'd been soaked in lighter fluid, but everybody else had multiple servings. Well, not Delia. She refused to taste them.)

Delia cried when we said goodbye. She'd protested earlier that she didn't want to be left over night (after being very enthusiastic about the idea the day before. I suspect that we shouldn't have told her two days in advance). From what my mother-in-law says, Delia settled nicely once we were really gone.

I got up fairly early on Monday, about 6:20. I'd been awake for more than an hour at that point, but I kept hoping that I'd manage a little more sleep. Plus, I wanted to let Scott get out of the house without me disrupting his routine. That gave me time for coffee and food and time to contemplate the pouring rain. I thought seriously about taking a cab rather than walking down to catch the bus. I also searched without luck for a more waterproof pair of shoes than my loafers (I have two other pairs, including my boots. I couldn't find either).

I ended up walking to the bus stop. Fifty cents for the bus and wet feet versus $7-$9 for a cab and possibly dry feet just wasn't going over well with my inner accountant. I did get fairly wet, but less water got into my shoes than I'd feared. I think the sidewalk repairs in the neighborhood have gotten rid of a lot of spots where puddles form. Just in case, I brought two extra pairs of socks.

I caught an earlier bus than I'd expected because I'd gotten out the door a few minutes earlier than I'd planned and because the bus was running a few minutes late. I was even lucky enough to get a seat. (That particular bus is always crowded, but it's worst between seven and nine in the morning, eleven and one in the afternoon and four and six in the evening.) I got to the hospital at least fifteen minutes before I'd expected to.

I'd also allowed myself a bit more than twenty minutes for getting lost while trying to find the MRI clinic. Combining that with the earlier bus meant that I had plenty of time to get to the clinic. Given that I was sensible and asked for directions at the information desk, I got to the clinic half an hour before I'd expected to. Of course, I know that, if I hadn't allowed that extra time, I'd have needed it desperately.

I think they asked me half a dozen times whether or not I'm claustrophobic. It came up more often than the question of whether or not I have any metal in my body.

I found the MRI rather painful because lying in one position for so long hurts. I probably would have been okay if they'd just done one set of images, but the neurologist wanted two sets, one without contrast and one with. That meant that they pulled me out in the middle to inject the dye. The technician couldn't find a usable vein and so went to get the nurse. I have a bruise from the injection that's still growing. I suspect that part of it is that I keep using the arm. It'll settle in a few days, I'm sure. In the meantime, though, things like unloading the dishwasher are challenging.

I didn't mind being in the tube particularly. I just wished that I could shift position to ease the pain and that I had some idea of how much time had passed and how much was still left to go. I ended up counting in my head, but that wasn't very useful except as something to focus on because I had no idea how long the process was supposed to take or how my speed of counting actually related to external time. If I'd been a bit more comfortable, physically, I'd probably have worked on story ideas, but I couldn't seem to manage that-- I kept wondering if it would really be that disastrous if I moved my hands or my legs. The tech had objected when I moved my arms and legs when they pulled me out for the contrast injection. I have no clear sense of why that was, but it made me fairly cranky because I *hurt*.

Afterward, I needed help getting up. My legs did not want to move after so long in one position. The tech asked me why 'they' hadn't given me something for pain before the MRI given the fibromyalgia. I didn't laugh at her, but I was rather astonished by the idea of someone giving me useful medication for that sort of pain. It would have been nice, but my experience has led me not even to ask. If I've got something specific-- a headache, a lower back problem, labor, etc.-- I do ask, and I do hoard the medications for the times when I have less definable pains. I'm just not sure what would have helped in this case. I doubt I've got anything in my cupboard already that would.

Comments

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

I'm glad it's over, even if it was unpleasant. I had always assumed it was just boring and not being able to move is annoying, too. In any case, I'm glad you're OK.

[the_rck]

It was pretty boring, too. I lost my sense of the passage of time pretty quickly which was frustrating. I probably would have fallen asleep if I hadn't been hurting. It's too bad I couldn't sleep. I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and could have used the rest.

[huskiebear.livejournal.com]

If you have to do it again, ask the tech to tell you when he starts each scan and how long it will be. It makes the time distortion much more bearable. I try to remember as many song lyrics or monty python lines as I can to keep from thinking about the pain in my back and the itch in my nose.

[the_rck]

That's good advice. Thank you.

I do hope that I won't need another one any time soon, though. The childcare logistics alone were more than I want to repeat. Of course, for any hypothetical next time, Delia will be older.

[merriehaskell.livejournal.com]

My reaction to my one and only MRI was to go dormouse on it. Since I answered, "No, I'm not claustrophobic!" so blithely, I was rather shocked when I actually got a little panicky. So. I fell asleep. I tell it as a funny story now, but you know, it wasn't funny, and it's a little scary I can force myself to sleep to avoid panicking.

[the_rck]

I think there are a lot of potentially panic inducing things about having an MRI. After all, one can't get out without help-- help from people one's never met before. It's not all the way to sensory deprivation, but the ear protection muffles sounds so that all one can hear is the machine and, once in a while, the tech's voice. All one can see is the tube and that little mirror.

For me, it also didn't help that I had no idea what was normal. They blew air over me for the first set of scans but didn't for the second. I have no idea why.

I think that a lot of funny stories come from things that really weren't funny at the time and that wouldn't be funny if they happened again.

[anderyn.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'd do well with an MRI, but I suppose I'd cope. Glad to hear you survived!

[the_rck]

My understanding is that they'll sedate people if the MRI is really essential and not otherwise possible. It's just not the safest thing to do, and some people don't stay still when sedated.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

The usual practice is to give a tranquilizer for people who have problems with claustrophobia. It's much safer than general anesthetic, and it makes the confinement easier to cope with. And of course people are more likely to keep still when they aren't having claustrophobic panic attacks. They are probably really concerned when they get someone who has other kinds of anxiety disorder..."Are you sure you won't have a claustrophobic panic attack? Are you really, really, sure?" I think Valium is the standard tranquilizer for that sort of thing, so you might know if it works for you (or if you have counter-productive side effects from it. Stephen gets panic attacks from Valium, which is really disturbing.)

There are other things they can do to make it less distressing, but I don't know if all facilities have the options. For one MRI, I was having a hard time dealing with it, and it helped a lot to have a tech hold my hand. I know it's silly...I'm sure she had more important things to do, but it did help me get through the last scan (after I had moved enough to mess up 3 or 4 tries.) You might be able to bring a friend to hold your hand. I've had a bunch of MRIs. One place didn't give me earmuffs at all, one gave me earmuffs that just muffled part of the machine noise, one gave me headphones that muffled part of the machine noise and played classical music.

[the_rck]

Any sedative that doesn't knock me out entirely tends to heighten my anxiety and physical distress, so sedation is a hugely bad option for me. I took valium for a few days when I had a lower back problem in college. It was sufficiently anxiety inducing that I took myself off it after a day or two.

A doctor gave me barbituates once for a severe combination headache. That made me manic, and everything was extremely funny (including the state of the library meeting that I attended that afternoon. My supervisor sent me home after that. It's a good thing she knew I was medicated. Budget numbers and diversity speeches and training schedules shouldn't induce this-is-the-funniest-thing-I've-ever-heard giggles). Scott found it amusing in a kind of horrified way, and neither of us want to repeat the experience.