Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Good news *yes*
I know this is NOT related to MS or anything medical, but I wanted to just tell everyone I paid my car loan off last week. I thought, "$1,500+, why not?!" No more car payments! :)
UGI update
Well I am back from the UGI series - it only took about 25 minutes.
After reading WebMD, I wasn't surprised with what the UGI was going to entail - the How It Is Done" section of the WebMD website hit it right on.
The first step was that I had to 'throw' some crystal type of things to the back of my throat and follow it by a 'shot' of water to get the crysals to react. The mixture kind of tasted like 7-up, interesting. The radiologists told me the crystals will make me want to burp (yup, they did), but to try and hold them in until after the tests are complete. I told the tech 'I had to let one out but I held the rest in' :)
Then I had to drink the barium mixture of whatever. The first glass I had to drink was chalky and thick. I then lay on the xray table and had to roll from my back in a clockwise motion until I was laying on my back again. This was done so that the mixture could coat my stomach.
Then after they took some x-rays and all, they had me take a few sips from a straw of the barium mixture again, but a way thinner version. I also was instructed to move into poses that showed the liquid moving allowing additional x-rays. While I as laying on my stomach I could see one the x-ray machine called fluoroscopy. (Fluoroscopy allows part of the body to be studied in motion and recorded on a video monitor.) It was pretty cool to see the little sips of the thinner-mixed liquid I had just swallowed go down my esophagus and stuff.
I asked when the results would be in so I knew when to start bugging my doctor, and the tech assistant said they should be read today, and ready tomorrow. Until then, I will continue to take my Prilosec OTC.
Do you ever have those times where you wonder 'what else can go wrong'?!
After reading WebMD, I wasn't surprised with what the UGI was going to entail - the How It Is Done" section of the WebMD website hit it right on.
The first step was that I had to 'throw' some crystal type of things to the back of my throat and follow it by a 'shot' of water to get the crysals to react. The mixture kind of tasted like 7-up, interesting. The radiologists told me the crystals will make me want to burp (yup, they did), but to try and hold them in until after the tests are complete. I told the tech 'I had to let one out but I held the rest in' :)
Then I had to drink the barium mixture of whatever. The first glass I had to drink was chalky and thick. I then lay on the xray table and had to roll from my back in a clockwise motion until I was laying on my back again. This was done so that the mixture could coat my stomach.
Then after they took some x-rays and all, they had me take a few sips from a straw of the barium mixture again, but a way thinner version. I also was instructed to move into poses that showed the liquid moving allowing additional x-rays. While I as laying on my stomach I could see one the x-ray machine called fluoroscopy. (Fluoroscopy allows part of the body to be studied in motion and recorded on a video monitor.) It was pretty cool to see the little sips of the thinner-mixed liquid I had just swallowed go down my esophagus and stuff.
I asked when the results would be in so I knew when to start bugging my doctor, and the tech assistant said they should be read today, and ready tomorrow. Until then, I will continue to take my Prilosec OTC.
Do you ever have those times where you wonder 'what else can go wrong'?!
UGI
Cutting to the chase - I am going to get an upper GI (GI=Gastrointestinal) series done at 11 am today.
For those of you who don't already know, Casey and I were on vacation (it was a very good and well needed vacation) in CA this last month. The day before our flight back to NY, we traveled back to San Fran since that was where we would fly out from. well, the next day which was also the day of flying, I woke up not feeling very well. I know, doesn’t it just figure. I guess it is better than having it occur for the entire vacation, right?! Anyway, I thought it was an upset stomach or something, and it would get better. Well, the discomfort didn’t really go away – I did a test to make sure I wasn’t lactose intolerant by not having any dairy for a week. That didn’t really seem to alleviate the stomach pains, so 14 days after the first onset, I went into the doctor and had some blood drawn and was prescribed Prilosec OTC. The doctor thought I may have an ulcer. Then I got a call late last week saying they made an appointment for me to get an upper GI done. Hopefully this test will show us what the problem is. Oh, and I can't forget this -- I 'get' to drink a wonderful mix of barium and water.. oohh can not wait (sarcasm).
Right now (8:40 am) I am just having hunger pains because I was told I am not allowed to drink or eat anything 12 hours before the test. I am thirsty and what better to quench my thirst than a nice blend of barium and water... mmm yummy :<>think I will survive, haha.
If you're curious to what exactly an upper GI is, feel free to check the URL out. **WebMD is awesome - There are even pictures….. ya, :) see I knew that would draw you in**
For those of you who don't already know, Casey and I were on vacation (it was a very good and well needed vacation) in CA this last month. The day before our flight back to NY, we traveled back to San Fran since that was where we would fly out from. well, the next day which was also the day of flying, I woke up not feeling very well. I know, doesn’t it just figure. I guess it is better than having it occur for the entire vacation, right?! Anyway, I thought it was an upset stomach or something, and it would get better. Well, the discomfort didn’t really go away – I did a test to make sure I wasn’t lactose intolerant by not having any dairy for a week. That didn’t really seem to alleviate the stomach pains, so 14 days after the first onset, I went into the doctor and had some blood drawn and was prescribed Prilosec OTC. The doctor thought I may have an ulcer. Then I got a call late last week saying they made an appointment for me to get an upper GI done. Hopefully this test will show us what the problem is. Oh, and I can't forget this -- I 'get' to drink a wonderful mix of barium and water.. oohh can not wait (sarcasm).
Right now (8:40 am) I am just having hunger pains because I was told I am not allowed to drink or eat anything 12 hours before the test. I am thirsty and what better to quench my thirst than a nice blend of barium and water... mmm yummy :<>think I will survive, haha.
If you're curious to what exactly an upper GI is, feel free to check the URL out. **WebMD is awesome - There are even pictures….. ya, :) see I knew that would draw you in**
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