Went for my brain SPECT scan yesterday. Luckily I had my friend Bryan who was available to drive me because I’d have never been able to make it down and back myself. We had to go to Reston, VA (about an hour and 45 min drive without traffic, thankfully didn’t hit much on the way home either:) I was extremely tired all day, worn out is more like it but my Lyme “motor mouth” kicked in and I didn’t stop talking almost the entire time even with Valerian Root (herbal sedative) on the way down there and a muscle relaxer for the way home.
I wasn’t sure what to ex-SPECT. While I’ve been scanned in almost every way (CT, MRI, EMG, etc,) this was a new one for me. For those of you getting ready to go in for one here’s what you can plan for. The one I went to was a little different than the ones that I had found on the internet. It looked basically like a CT scanner that had a “roof” off the top of it. Once I got back there, they gave me a shot with some substance to make me radioactive. I laid on the table for about 30-45 minutes to wait for the dye to perfuse through my body. That was the hardest part of the test. The actual testing took only 15-20 minutes. If you’re clostrophobic its not bad. Worst part as far as that is concerned is that the “roof” moves in and gets pretty close to your face but you still have full view on both sides and are not enclosed. One thing that I did have some trouble with, was the first part of the scan. The “roof” spins and at the same time the table you’re on slides out at the same time…made me feel dizzy (well more so than usual.) But as long as I kept my eyes closed I was fine, in fact if I’d have never opened my eyes I wouldn’t have realized the table was moving (yes, it moves that slow:) The test was extremely easy and expect for the tiny needle, which I barely felt at all, was completely painless.
The worst part of the day was coming home. We hit slightly more traffic than on the way down, though Bryan said it wasn’t bad at all. I, however, was in a lot of pain because its hard for me to sit for long periods of time. I had told Bryan that I had to “pack” for the trip and I think he thought I was exaggerating. Besides my meds, insurance info, script and the other medical necessities that are essential for me at ANY appointment now, I had to bring my car care kit. For me I have a small bolter pillow that I take with me to run along my spine or use for neck support. I also have a massaging back pillow that is battery operated. It allows me to at least prevent any further discomfort that riding in the car might bring me.
It was a long day for me, including travel I was gone almost 6 hours (and we didn’t stop for lunch and/or dinner.)
Today has not been so stellar, I overdid it Saturday and felt ok on Sunday so I pushed myself beyond the point of exhaustion, add in yesterday and the fact that its been raining here since late afternoon yesterday, its been pretty miserable. I knew that it was going to catch up to me at some point, so at least I was slightly prepared for it all. Next 2 days are supposed to be rain filled which means I’ll probably be confined to bed until the weather lets up.
I hope that if you are suffering with this disease that you are smarter than I am-listen to your body and take it easy. While my symptoms are continuing to get worse, I still refuse to give in to it and that is huge problem for me. I was once super active, could never sit still because I had to be doing something. Even some of the girls I used to work with would tell me to be still, sitting in a chair I had to be rocking or tapping my foot or exerting some kind of energy. Despite the fatigue and pain and joint swelling and all the other crap, I still force myself to be productive in some way. Maybe the extent of what I can do has greatly changed (on “good” days I tend to get so excited about some reprieve that I take it to the extreme pushing myself to accomplish every physical task I can), I still have to feel some sense of doing something. Even being stuck in bed all day, I managed to make a few simple phone calls that I needed to, knowing that I couldn’t make some others because today has not been a good brain day. Vertigo, trouble processing words (spoken and written), double/blurry vision and terrible pain (every fiber and joint hurts.) Eventually after “accomplishing” something (also surviving an anxiety attack) I succumb to my body and medicated and managed to sleep.
My mom stopped by to check on me and the dog. She was also gracious enough to get me some dinner and run to the store in the rain to get me OJ for my breakfast (healthy, yummy smoothies:) I hadn’t written in a couple days and wanted to get an update in before I crawl back into bed. Sorry for any typos, spelling issues and or wrong/odd worse choices or sentence composures. I’ll proof it in the morning since there’s no one here to check it for me now and I’m too out of it to be a reliable source. (I did re-read it once and think I got most of the errors but who the hell knows anymore!) Goodnight and stay positive:)