feels exactly like what it is
i had my mri yesterday. or sort of.
i went in for an arthrogram mri, which requires the injection of dye into the joint space. and it is just as icky as it sounds. a coworker had told me that i should have the boy drive me, as sometimes the injections don't go so well. encouraging. then i decided to ask my doctor-friend about the procedure, and it kind of icked me out. i don't really mind needles, but not knowing what a sensation will be like makes me nervous. especially if it goes through layers and layers of me.
the doctor was great, though. he explained everything step by step and had a great bedside manner. despite all that, it was still a very strange (there is no other word for it) and not very pleasant experience.
first he numbed the area with lidocaine, and then said that the numbing injection should be the worst of it. LIES. after that he injected some more lidocaine, deeper into the muscle this time. that was a rather unpleasant experience, and i think i made a really distressed face, because the doctor and nurse started talking about how everyone reacts differently to the lidocaine. as he kept injecting the lido deeper into my shoulder, it got worse. it didn't hurt, exactly, but it felt just like it was: some kind of rod rooting around, digging a deeper and deeper hole into my shoulder. i could picture it exactly, too--a needle piercing layer upon onion-ish layer of muscle.
for whatever reasons, i didn't react well to this at all. it was just the most uncomfortable feeling, and i think i must have gone rather pale, because the nurse sounded really worried and insisted that i keep talking to her. but i couldn't... i was too busy focusing on continuing to breathe and not pass out. once the needle was in, the doctor injected the contrast dye, which was much less terrible. it only made my shoulder feel heavy and full and sloshy, and i didn't think i was going to pass out.
eventually it was over, and the nurse made me drink some ginger ale. as i sat up, i was worried i'd pass out, and my hands and legs were shaking. the nurse led me as i wobbled to the mri room, where the techs tucked my shoulder under a rounded, half-open plastic cylinder and arranged me on a narrow board. they put headphones on me, tuned a radio to a local rock station, and handed me a panic button. i was worried about freaking out due to the tightness of the tube, so i closed my eyes and they slid me in.
deep breaths to keep from spazzing about the tube size. then clunking and buzzing and music. cycles of increasing length. relax your face, keep breathing. at one point i opened my eyes and was relieved to see daylight somewhat close by. i had thought the tube was longer, that my face was closer to the top of the tube, that all i would see would be darkness. breathing is easier; i'm getting into a rhythm and this is actually somewhat enjoyable. my shoulder is aching.
after a surprisingly short amount of time, they pulled me from the tube. they're checking the images, and the tech thought she'd let me have a break. after another couple of minutes, the other tech came in, saying there's a problem. of course there is. the dye isn't in the right place, and i'm going to have to come back. the doctor talked to me a little bit after i changed out of my hospital garb, and wow--he felt really badly about how it didn't work. i couldn't be angry at him, not that i was or anything, but it was quite endearing.
anyway, the end result of this is that my shoulder hurts and i have to go through all this again next monday. i'm not very happy about this; in fact, in the aftermath of it all, i nearly broke down in tears in the car, and was not a happy camper last night. i'm less angsty today, but i really just want to know what's wrong. this is just getting ridiculous.
i went in for an arthrogram mri, which requires the injection of dye into the joint space. and it is just as icky as it sounds. a coworker had told me that i should have the boy drive me, as sometimes the injections don't go so well. encouraging. then i decided to ask my doctor-friend about the procedure, and it kind of icked me out. i don't really mind needles, but not knowing what a sensation will be like makes me nervous. especially if it goes through layers and layers of me.
the doctor was great, though. he explained everything step by step and had a great bedside manner. despite all that, it was still a very strange (there is no other word for it) and not very pleasant experience.
first he numbed the area with lidocaine, and then said that the numbing injection should be the worst of it. LIES. after that he injected some more lidocaine, deeper into the muscle this time. that was a rather unpleasant experience, and i think i made a really distressed face, because the doctor and nurse started talking about how everyone reacts differently to the lidocaine. as he kept injecting the lido deeper into my shoulder, it got worse. it didn't hurt, exactly, but it felt just like it was: some kind of rod rooting around, digging a deeper and deeper hole into my shoulder. i could picture it exactly, too--a needle piercing layer upon onion-ish layer of muscle.
for whatever reasons, i didn't react well to this at all. it was just the most uncomfortable feeling, and i think i must have gone rather pale, because the nurse sounded really worried and insisted that i keep talking to her. but i couldn't... i was too busy focusing on continuing to breathe and not pass out. once the needle was in, the doctor injected the contrast dye, which was much less terrible. it only made my shoulder feel heavy and full and sloshy, and i didn't think i was going to pass out.
eventually it was over, and the nurse made me drink some ginger ale. as i sat up, i was worried i'd pass out, and my hands and legs were shaking. the nurse led me as i wobbled to the mri room, where the techs tucked my shoulder under a rounded, half-open plastic cylinder and arranged me on a narrow board. they put headphones on me, tuned a radio to a local rock station, and handed me a panic button. i was worried about freaking out due to the tightness of the tube, so i closed my eyes and they slid me in.
deep breaths to keep from spazzing about the tube size. then clunking and buzzing and music. cycles of increasing length. relax your face, keep breathing. at one point i opened my eyes and was relieved to see daylight somewhat close by. i had thought the tube was longer, that my face was closer to the top of the tube, that all i would see would be darkness. breathing is easier; i'm getting into a rhythm and this is actually somewhat enjoyable. my shoulder is aching.
after a surprisingly short amount of time, they pulled me from the tube. they're checking the images, and the tech thought she'd let me have a break. after another couple of minutes, the other tech came in, saying there's a problem. of course there is. the dye isn't in the right place, and i'm going to have to come back. the doctor talked to me a little bit after i changed out of my hospital garb, and wow--he felt really badly about how it didn't work. i couldn't be angry at him, not that i was or anything, but it was quite endearing.
anyway, the end result of this is that my shoulder hurts and i have to go through all this again next monday. i'm not very happy about this; in fact, in the aftermath of it all, i nearly broke down in tears in the car, and was not a happy camper last night. i'm less angsty today, but i really just want to know what's wrong. this is just getting ridiculous.