I meant to blog last week, really. But I didn’t bank on a minor medical mess getting in the way of that.As I mentioned earlier, my gastroenterologist had me schedule some more tests after my unfortunate GI problems didn’t clear up. One of those tests, just a regular old CT scan to look at my pancreas, was Wednesday morning. It meant getting up at 5 a.m. to start drinking the barium shake (foul-tasting stuff, see photo) so my insides would show up nicely on the x-ray. No problem, I thought; I’ll chug it, sleep a little more, then head to the hospital to get the scan over with.
I arrived on time, did my paperwork, changed into hospital scrubs, and got my IV put in for the contrast dye that, when injected during the scan, reacts with the barium to produce all the fun images on the film. That went fine. You get a very warm sensation as it’s happening, but it’s nothing particularly uncomfortable. When it was all over, the CT technician asked me if I was experiencing any tightness in my throat or itching. And at that time, I wasn’t. So he sent me off to change back into my own clothes.
It’s a good thing there was a mirror in the dressing room. As I was pulling my shirt on, I noticed that my face was slowly turning bright pink. As in the color it takes on after I’ve had a drink (yes, I’m one of those Asians without the enzyme that breaks down alcohol) but more so. As I peered into the mirror, I watched the pink stain spread down my neck toward my chest. Uh oh, I thought. Not good.
I went back to find the CT technician, who took one look at me and said, “Well, I think we’re going to have to keep you here a little longer.” He showed me to a large chair and handed me a very tall glass of water. “Drink this,” he said. “Sometimes people have a little reaction to the dye. We’ll just get your kidneys kick-started so they’ll pull it out of your bloodstream. Just sit tight, and I’ll check on you in five minutes.”
Now I know what an allergic reaction looks and feels like. My sisters and I each have our allergens that produce full-body swelling when we get exposed. So the feeling creeping down my body as I obediently downed the water was very familiar -- and it wasn’t going to go away without proper antihistamines. By the time the CT tech returned, the hives were progressing down my arms. “Hmm, I’m going to go get the doctor,” he said.
Sigh.
They kept me for another thirty minutes to “monitor my reaction,” asking me to drink even more water. By the time they were ready to release me, I’d had nearly a quart of it, to no avail -- the hives were all the way to my knees. So they sent me home with two tabs of Benadryl with strict instructions to call 911 if I “experienced any shortness of breath, increased swelling, or other symptoms.”
Of course, since I had to drive myself, I couldn’t take the Benadryl until I got home. It worked very quickly, but it also knocked me out -- for six hours. I think I fell asleep on the couch around 10 a.m., dozed intermittently, and woke up after 4 with a massive headache. And a first thesis installment deadline 24 hours away. I had a good number of pages written, but they needed serious attention. So, no blogging until I got that done.
The installment has been sent, and I’m happy to say I’m back to normal (no more hives, headache, or haziness). Can’t say I quite feel great about the writing, but more on that later. Feedback from my advisor is forthcoming. As for the CT results, I’m hoping to have them before my endoscopy, which is in just over two weeks. So much to look forward to …
8 comments:
Not a pleasant experience, I'm sure. I've had allergic reactions to medications that required epinephrine shots and it's really scary. I had the dye contrast ct scan years and years ago and had a bad reaction, similar to yours. I won't risk it again, especially now with the diabetes and ehlers-danlos. I was supposed to get a dye contrast scan on my shoulder a few years ago but I declined and told them nope, just do a regular MRI or forget it.
Hope you find out what's going on with the GI stuff. I've had bad GI problems for about 4 months now and just don't want to go through all the tests, and the endoscopy and whatever other stuff.
I'm anxious to hear how all the testing goes and what you find out!
Me too, Sherlock. Some answers would be nice ...
As for a "next time" on the CT, after the CT, the tech told me that if I needed to get a scan with contrast done again, the hospital would have me take prednisone and Benadryl ahead of time. For some reason, that doesn't sound like a very good idea either.
Oh, CT, what a bummer! Sounds like a weird Alice in Wonderland experience. Glad you're doing better, and I hope the best for the results--whatever that might be.
{{{CT}}}
You know, GEW, the barium shake might as well have said "Drink Me" on it! Such a bizarre experience.
Thanks for the good wishes :).
Oh you poor sweet thing, I tell you what - I'm not Asian but I also have the 'turning red as a beetroot after one drink' thing - I must have missing enzymes as well.
I do hope that the results come back with no problems to report and I am delighted that you got the first part of the thesis in on time
x
Thanks, FF! I am glad the work's been sent off. I'd read it so many times in the days leading up to the due date that I wasn't really being effective anymore in generating new material or revising the old.
No news yet from the gastroenterologist, so the results must not be terrible :).
I know exactly what you mean as regards the constant reading of one's work. In the end the simplest of words cease to make sense and I begin to question the spelling of the most mundane of words.
Oh yes, FF, I was reading whole paragraphs without actually taking in a single word! And I did find an egregious spelling error after I went back to the draft while I was in New York. I guess that's why it's a draft ...
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