Our day started out early, as we had to be at the hospital by 7. We made it by the hairs on our chinny chin chins. We waited for a couple of hours and I was called back. After I donned a beautiful hospital gown, the doctor came in and explained the procedure to me. Luckily, my father in law is a radiologist, so I had been briefed on what was about to go down. My father in law told me that the most important thing was to stay calm and relax.
I had to lie face down on an xray type table and they cleaned my back with betadine. The radiologist numbed me up, and started the spinal tap part. It was slightly uncomfortable, but not nearly as painful as I expected. Once he pushed the dye in, I had a moment where I started to feel really weird. I told the radiologist and he instructed me to roll over on my back and put my knees to my chest. That fixed it instantly! He said I had a small vagal response, and it was super duper common.
The being calm and relaxed really did the trick. I kept imagining being at home and cuddling with my sweet cat. Having that happy imagery really, really helped. After the injection portion, they just rotated the table I was on to snap some pictures at different angles. No biggie.
It was then time for the CT portion of the test. I walked down to the CT scan area, and waited for a bit. I had a panic moment when I saw the emesis basins in the waiting area. My brain clicked on and I was immediately nauseated. This, of course, had nothing to do with the dye they injected, but had everything to do with seeing those basins. I re-remined myself to cool out...everything is fine.
The CT part was a brizzidy breeze. No need to even write about it. You basically lay down on your tums and wait for the scan to end. After that, I got dressed and was on my way home. My husband was amazing--he has not let me do anything today. I was instructed to take it easy, drink lots of fluids, take in some caffeine and rest. Check. I love all of the activities on that list!
We got a copy of the films for my father in law to look at. Of course, I looked at them on our home computer, but, alas I am way out of my depth. I did see the lateral view xray and was able to recognize where the spondylolisthesis was present (l5/s1) and there was not a lot of disk space there, but other than that, I was lost. I don't know my grade, but I am gonna guess it's a grade I-II.
Next phase will be getting the results and most likely a referral to a surgeon. This may be tricky, as I have a strong dislike for the orthopedic surgeon that sent me to the physiatrist (you know who you are). I think I will ask for a referral to a neurosurgeon. My husband and I are trying to get some names of the best guys here in Birmingham. Side note: I'm not asking that my potential surgeon has girl talk with me while we braid each other's hair, but I do expect a modicum of patience and respect. Just a smidge of patient education, and a dab of empathy. A little goes a long way. Yes, I acknowledge the fact that their surgical prowess is much higher on the priority list than personality, but I will not tolerate blatant bad behavior-good surgeon or not. I now disembark my soap box.
Well, barring any late complications, I can say with all honesty that CT Myelograms are not that bad. On a scale of 1-10, I would say they are level 2 scary/painful. I've had worse experiences getting my 6-month teeth cleaning.
I'll be back with results and all that jazz.
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