Next was the CT Scan...

I also had my social worker and surgical consults today, but I will post about those after...
.... all in one day. A nice way to get through the appointments quickly.

To top the day off, I was able to meet Deanna who worked her butt off to make sure I had the appointments I needed. Thanks Deanna!

My first appointment was the CT Scan, thankfully, since I had to be fasted for 4 hours. Not a big deal, since I was able to have coffee and food first thing in the morning, I just had to fast before 11:40! I was told the injection used would make me feel very hot, leave a metallic taste in my mouth and make me feel like I had to pee, or that perhaps I was peeing. Interesting. 

First, they insert an IV so when the time comes they simply hook you up and inject the contrast for the imaging. First, I had some images done without the dye. The machine does all the work. I lay on the table and it moves you into the machine, tells you to hold your breath as it whirs around you. The longest count to hold your breath is 5. It's easy, there is no claustrophobia issues as it's open at either end.  

The dye is then injected and believe me, when they tell you of the side effects, it's true. It comes on quickly .... very quickly. First my hands were on fire, then the roof of my mouth, along with the metallic taste. Then I truly felt like I was going to pee my pants. Oh my. It was so weird it was almost a little scary, then it all of a sudden was gone. Thank goodness. The taste in my mouth stayed, but I am thinking it was more in my head than anything else at that point. Kind of like thinking you can taste skunk because you've driven past one. The feeling of heat in the roof of my mouth lingered as well, but again, I think that was less reality and more just lingering thoughts. It is not painful, it's just strange. 

After a few more pictures I was off to the waiting room to sit it out and make sure I didn't have an allergic reaction to the contrast. This is done with the IV in place, assuming they will manage a reaction via IV. After approximately 15 minutes the IV is removed and I was told "hold the bandage on it for 5 minutes" so that it didn't bleed excessively. For some reason I assumed it was like having blood taken. Nope. The IV is a lot larger than a needle for blood work. As you can see above, I didn't exactly listen. I then helped myself to another bandage and held it for the full 5 minutes before leaving. No problem. 

The whole process took about 45 minutes. The only thing I had to do afterwards was drink a lot of water to flush out the dye. As usual, nothing compare to what others have been through and go through daily with kidney disease.

If these tests don't seem too tough and you can imagine yourself as a live kidney donor, please consult your local hospital renal program. If you want to be considered for Craig Dunbar, please comment and I will put you in touch with Mary and Brenda at the Riverside Hospital. Donors are desperately needed.