Just Lay Still, You Won't Feel a Thing...
Back on November 26, I went to the hospital in Swift Current to get an ultrasound scan done on my abdomen. The results came back in the first week or so of December, but I've been so blasted busy I neglected to make mention of it. The results are somewhat inconclusive - there are definite fatty deposits on the liver and pancreas, the gall-bladder and spleen look OK, but they could only see one of the kidneys. As a result, to do a more thorough investigation, the doctor suggested getting a CT-Scan done.
I've never had such a procedure, but I've heard enough about them to understand the gist of it. The doctor was trying to explain it and reassure me that it was 99.99999% safe, but I really didn't need to hear that. I wasn't worried about the procedure, and was actually kind of excited about the idea. The only part that I was somewhat concerned about was having to take the chemical dye so that they could see what was going on inside. I'd heard various tales about it, but while I was slightly concerned (mostly about the taste) I wasn't really worried about it.
As it turned out, the chemical I had to drink (Telebrix) has no taste that I could discern, and the worries that I had about it (massive butt-explosions) is a different product used for Endoscopy exams. What they didn't tell me though, was that the Telebrix was only half of the cocktail. I'm not exactly sure what the Telebrix does, but the actual dye has to be injected intravenously, through a large nasty needle inserted in the arm. I guess that's why they don't tell you about it until they've already got you down on the table. :/
The actual scan was anti-climatic, and a bit of a disappointment. Oh, the machine looks intimidating enough, but the process hardly lives up to the hype and expectations. They ran me through it three times, but the first two were just practice runs. On the third time, the technician actually injected the dye through the intravenous line, and I heard the machine power up. The scan took all of about eight seconds, and then it was all over. Having that needle taken out, and then removing the tape that held it in place hurt even more than having the needle inserted in the first place. :/
Now I just have to wait for the doctor to get the results, and hopefully we'll both know what's going on (and hopefully it's nothing more than needing to shed these extra pounds.)
I've never had such a procedure, but I've heard enough about them to understand the gist of it. The doctor was trying to explain it and reassure me that it was 99.99999% safe, but I really didn't need to hear that. I wasn't worried about the procedure, and was actually kind of excited about the idea. The only part that I was somewhat concerned about was having to take the chemical dye so that they could see what was going on inside. I'd heard various tales about it, but while I was slightly concerned (mostly about the taste) I wasn't really worried about it.
As it turned out, the chemical I had to drink (Telebrix) has no taste that I could discern, and the worries that I had about it (massive butt-explosions) is a different product used for Endoscopy exams. What they didn't tell me though, was that the Telebrix was only half of the cocktail. I'm not exactly sure what the Telebrix does, but the actual dye has to be injected intravenously, through a large nasty needle inserted in the arm. I guess that's why they don't tell you about it until they've already got you down on the table. :/
The actual scan was anti-climatic, and a bit of a disappointment. Oh, the machine looks intimidating enough, but the process hardly lives up to the hype and expectations. They ran me through it three times, but the first two were just practice runs. On the third time, the technician actually injected the dye through the intravenous line, and I heard the machine power up. The scan took all of about eight seconds, and then it was all over. Having that needle taken out, and then removing the tape that held it in place hurt even more than having the needle inserted in the first place. :/
Now I just have to wait for the doctor to get the results, and hopefully we'll both know what's going on (and hopefully it's nothing more than needing to shed these extra pounds.)