hi all, i had my hemodialysis treatment today, and it went OK. I do hate saturdays, because there is nothing on TV to keep me from getting bored. I watched hawthorne, which went off at 6:00 AM, and i decided to do a word search for about an hour, and then i plugged in my MP3 player, and listen to some old steely dan tunes, seal, and a little bit of my favorite all time group (the isley brothers), this kept me busy, for awhile. The nurse comes around and announces i have ten more minutes left, so i then stopped listening to my MP3 player, and just starred at the TV, without the earphone to listen. There was some disney cartoons on, the emperors got his groove, or some cartoon like that. Those ten minutes seem endless, finally the nurse comes over to disconnect my catherer. The usual was done, she ask, did i cramp, feel dizzy or have any chest pains, (the usual drill), and i replied with :No". Finally, i am off and on my way home. Now mind you, yesterday my neph ordered a ct-scan to be done on my kidneys, and i had to drink this awful stuff called - Barium Sulfate Suspension - two large bottles of it had to be consummed before the procedure. I had to drink one bottle, two hours before and then drink the 2nd bottle an hour before the procedure. When i first started to drink this awful concoction, i could have thrown up, because it was the most hideous thing i had ever dranked. You should have seen me just struggling to drink this stuff, that was a thick white like liquid - and they had nerve to call it a banana smoothie, yeah right! i didn't even taste any inkling of a banana taste. I was just sipping it, until i looked at the time, and just try to take big gulps of it, i just decided to finally gut it down, without trying to taste it, it worked for the first bottle, but when it came time to drank the 2nd bottle, i was just procrasinating, looking at that glass of barium sulfate, and everytime i take a swag, i would look at the glass, to see how much has gone down. I was acting just like a child, that didn't want to take their medicine. It took me forever, to finish that 2nd bottle. While i was attempting to drink the 2nd bottle, my husband was worried about our dear friends in Virginia, and he was chatting with them, and thank God! they were OK, and sticking it out at home, he then called some of his siblings in New York, and they were reportedly OK, and just waiting to see whatever will transpire, once Hurricane Irene touch down in New York. After hearing that everyone is fine on the east coast, i got to thinking, these people are bracing for their lives, on what Hurricane Irene could possibly cause, when she wreak havoc on the big Apple, so why am i fretting over just dranking this stuff, that could be beneficial to my health, in getting better and back to normal. Finally i finished (it felt as though i was in a contest, and i finally got to the finish line),i was saying "Hooray" in my mind, i said to myself, what a task this was for me. i was so proud of myself, that i went upstairs, freshen up, and changed my attire, because i usually wear very warm clothe to the unit, in the wee hour of the morning, where it is always very chilly and brisky. I came back down stairs, and informed my husband, that i have finish taking that stuff and i am all ready to go to the hospital. By that time, Steven had fallen to sleep, plus he took me to the unit early in the morning, and he couldn't get back to sleep, so he had been up, since he picked me up from the unit. Before i left for the hospital, my daughter arrived from college, for a weekend visit, and she ended up taking me to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital, about 2:45 PM, so we were fifteen minutes late, and the receptionist, ask when did you finish the
2nd bottle, and i told her about 2:15 PM, and she said all sacarastically "you were suppose to drink the 2nd bottle an hour before your procedure, and i replied with "have you ever had to do this test and drink all that barium sulfate, and let me add, very awful tasting" and she said no, and i replied with "well then, look at the time i arrived - 2:45PM, that is why it took me so long to get here, because i had to stomach all that barium sulfate, and they had nerve to call it a banana smoothie, were they trying to jive us or what? While i was standing up there, while she ask for a $100 co-pay, kaiser is just as greedy as they can be, i had to sit down, while my daughter took care of the payment, but she came over to me, and told me to sign the little slip for payment and also fill out a questionnaire, (that they already have recorded in the computer), to me just unneccessary paperwork. Well, she saw that i wasn't looking too good, and ask did i need a wheelchair, but if you know me, i don't like wheelchairs, she said it is a pretty long walk over to the c-scan waiting room, and i replied with, i can walk, i will just be walking real slow. My daughter and I finally got over to the ct-scan waiting room, where there were two couples waiting and a lady on a gurney as well. I didn't know who was next, but as i was waiting, i started to feel a chill, it was so very cold in this waiting room. I joked with the white lady in a wheelchair, and said "you must knew it was going to be cold in here, i see you are wearing a nice warm coat, i wish i could just get cuddle up in that coat with you, she smiled and then her husband got a good kick out of it, he couldn't stop laughing, i must have made their day, or at least ease their tension from having anxiety about the test. My daughter decided to leave, and bring back my jacket, but right after she left, the guy came over to me, and took my paperwork, and then promptly called me in. I am so use to disrobing for varies procedures, i was so surprised that i didn't need to take off anything, he just said lie down on the table and put your hands over your head, this was not very comfortable position for me. We preceded with the scan, the table began to move towards that big white barrel like machine, that had a large round hole, that my table traveled through, then i was intructed to breathe, hold your breathe, and then exhale, i did this three times, during the procedure. Now it was over after about 15 minutes. I was on my way home, and for some strange reason, exhaustion came upon me, and i slept through the entire drive home. I finally arrived home and went straight to sleep on the living room couch, i didn't even attempt to go upstairs to my bedroom, i slept for several hours, and when i awakened, i had a very bad case of gas, and then i felt my stomach turning knots, and as i attempted to run upstairs, i had an accident in my panties, i just couldn't control my diarrhea. This damn stuff, cause me to have a case of diarrhea. Something i wasn't told about, prior to taking this stuff. I suppose, with being a kidney disease pt. that this could occur, because my kidneys can't get rid of the excess fluid, in which i had injested quite a bit of fluid from this awful stuff, correction this banana smoothie, yeah right! I continued to have diarrhea on and off, the rest of the evening. I had an important call to make to New York, that i didn't get a chance to make, because i was dealing with this uncalled for diarrhea. Well that is about it for my blogging today, but first a message to my fellow dialysis pts. and CKD pts. having this ct-scan procedure as a dialysis pts, i feel that the reason why i got diarrhea, is because of my non-kidney function, that it lingers in my blood, and can cause diarrhea, so if any of you have to have a ct-scan, without the dye injection, and are forced to drink that barium sulfate concotion, be on alert, that you could possibly develop diarrhea, and maybe take a diarrhea controlling med, prior to the test, so that you won't have to experience my embarassing moments, (you know can't hold it, until you can get to the toilet), it kinda reminds me of my pre-dialysis days, when i couldn't control my urine, having all those frequent miss the toilet episodes, you know). take care and all the best to my followers
Glo
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