CT Scan

 This morning I got to go in for a CT scan. As I mentioned in a recent post (scroll to the very end), there is evidence that I still have some thyroid cells left over from the surgery that may or may not be cancerous. My doctors thought I should have a CT scan to investigate further, so that happened this morning.

When I scheduled the appointment for 9am, the lady told me that since the scan was with contrast, I was to hydrate really well the day before and that I shouldn't eat or drink anything for at least 4 hours preceding the appointment. When I mentioned that I take my pills at 5:30am, she said that was okay as long as I took them with distilled water. A couple days ago I bought some distilled water for the purpose, but the smallest quantity I could buy it in was a gallon... to take two tiny pills. 

This morning, in spite of having drunk about 12 cups of water yesterday, I woke up feeling parched and thirsty. The 1/2 cup of distilled water I took to wash down my pills tasted weird and didn't do much to quench my thirst. I don't know when I have ever woken up so thirsty. Was it just because I knew I wasn't supposed to drink anything? 

I arrived at the imaging place and checked in, and I was given about four pages of paperwork to fill out and/or sign concerning my health history, privacy practices, estimated charges, etc. Once those were done I paid what they estimated the scan would cost (these things aren't cheap!) and a few minutes later they were ready for me. 

The guy who came out called for someone named something like "Mayellia". It wasn't until he tried the last name that I realized he meant me! Anyway, he took me back to a room that had a narrow bed with a donut shaped thing at one end. He had my put down my purse and jacket and stuff and then lie down on the bed with my head towards the donut. He inserted an IV while explaining that when he added the contrast dye I would feel like I had pennies in my mouth and then like I was going to pee my pants (he assured me I wouldn't). "Sounds like fun..." I thought.

When he was ready he left the room and the donut thing came towards me so I could see something on the inside spinning. The guy's voice on a speaker said "Don't swallow", the donut thing moved up and down, and a few moments later I heard, "You can relax." This happened twice before he told me he was adding the contrast. Yes, there was a weird taste in my mouth. And yes there was a warm sensation that started feeling like I needed to pee, but then it travelled up through the rest of my body with a weird heat. It was the strangest feeling! Again I heard the voice "don't swallow" and suddenly my mouth that had seemed so dry and parched before was full of saliva and I needed to swallow! It seemed forever, definitely longer than the previous scans, before I was told I could relax. And then that was it. He came back in, took out the IV and I was free to collect my stuff and go. My doctor should get the results of the scan later today and I should hear from him soon. (Unless there is something urgent, I'll probably hear the results when I have my next appointment on May 12th.)

I returned to my car and was relieved to finally be able to chug a couple cups of wonderful wet water from the bottle I had brought.