I went to a pain management specialist today. My appointment was at 9:15, which seemed more than reasonable for getting me to work by noon. Then he didn't see me until 10:30, and then asked a bunch of questions (why do they ask the same questions on the sheets you've already filled out?), and then he sent some helper over to the other clinic to grab some stuff. So, at noon, when I was supposed to be starting work, I was lying on one of those stupid doctor bed things, with some long Q-tips covered in novacaine-like stuff way up my nose. Which really hurt like the devil. I thought I was tough, but I cried. Next week he's going to try giving me shots in the head, which frankly sounds much happier than the nose thing.
It was a lousy day. I didn't get much sleep the night before (probably shouldn't have read the second book), I had the nose incident which made me late for work, and then I had an argument with my ex-husband. I know, why? I just called him back to tell him to please not put me as a job reference. Which I shouldn't have even had to do, because seriously? Anyway, lousy day. My advice: skip the Q-tips.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Have a Heart
I went to the cardiologist on Tuesday, and I have a great bruise on my inner right elbow to prove it. I wanted to check and see if I had a hole in my heart that might be the cause of the IPH. One of my coworker's best friend had really bad headaches and after surgery to repair the hole in her heart was all better. And my sister's husband's sister-in-law that is a nurse asked one of her neurologist friends about my headaches and he suggested I investigate the possibility.
After getting a referral from my primary care physician (who is very nice and had me get an appointment with some pain management specialists also) I went to the cardiologist. They did an EKG, which was normal. Asked me a bunch of family health questions, which I didn't know. Then the actual doctor asked me why I was there. When I explained about the headaches and my hope that I had a hole in my heart, he was very nice and got me immediately in to get an ultrasound.
For the ultrasound, they have to put in an IV so that they can pump air through your veins to see if the bubbles travel from one side of the heart to the other, since most holes are too small to really see. So, the guy stuck me with a needle but that vein collapsed, so then he got another guy and they tried for fifteen minutes to get a vein to poke. I asked how it was going. The second guy said, "You just don't have any veins jumping out and saying to poke them with a needle." I said, "That's because they're scared." And he said, "So am I!" But, they finally got it in, and I laid there and watched the cool ultrasound pictures, in color with the whole Doppler thing for a while. And then they were done.
The doctor came in and said he had good news and bad news. They don't know what is causing the headaches, but my heart is perfectly healthy. I almost cried. The ultrasound guy said he was sorry they hadn't found anything (probably a first for that!) and I made it to the car before I broke down bawling. I was so sure this nightmare was going to over soon. And now I have a big doctor bill to look forward to. Life really sucks sometimes.
After getting a referral from my primary care physician (who is very nice and had me get an appointment with some pain management specialists also) I went to the cardiologist. They did an EKG, which was normal. Asked me a bunch of family health questions, which I didn't know. Then the actual doctor asked me why I was there. When I explained about the headaches and my hope that I had a hole in my heart, he was very nice and got me immediately in to get an ultrasound.
For the ultrasound, they have to put in an IV so that they can pump air through your veins to see if the bubbles travel from one side of the heart to the other, since most holes are too small to really see. So, the guy stuck me with a needle but that vein collapsed, so then he got another guy and they tried for fifteen minutes to get a vein to poke. I asked how it was going. The second guy said, "You just don't have any veins jumping out and saying to poke them with a needle." I said, "That's because they're scared." And he said, "So am I!" But, they finally got it in, and I laid there and watched the cool ultrasound pictures, in color with the whole Doppler thing for a while. And then they were done.
The doctor came in and said he had good news and bad news. They don't know what is causing the headaches, but my heart is perfectly healthy. I almost cried. The ultrasound guy said he was sorry they hadn't found anything (probably a first for that!) and I made it to the car before I broke down bawling. I was so sure this nightmare was going to over soon. And now I have a big doctor bill to look forward to. Life really sucks sometimes.
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