What a breeze!
Wait, I promised honesty, right?! Here goes. As part of my pre-op preparation (and probably yours, too) I had to undergo the test named above. Let's start with the easiest, shall we?
Labs: This truly was a breeze. My great nurse got a well flowing vein in only 1 stick and proceeded to draw 6 vials of blood. Walk in the park! Nuff said!
Abdominal U/S: This normally would have been much easier than it was today. HOWEVER, when you have a upper respiratory infection, are obese, and cannot stop sneezing you may have a slightly harder time. During this test you have to hold your breath MANY times. Usually not a problem but if you cough hysterically due to said respiratory infection every time you take in a deep breath, you don't get the great pics the u/s tech is hoping for! Being obese also makes an ultrasound a little trickier. The tech has to push somewhat against your not so flat tummy and your not so fat ribs to see the organs underneath. Not so fun! All in all though this wasn't rough either. Only took about 20 minutes and I was off to the upper GI. DUM-DUM-DUUUUM!
Upper GI: This was the test I was looking forward to the least! I had read up about this procedure and imagined drinking nasty barium and rolling around on the table to shake it up and cover every inch of your stomach. Well..... what I had read was pretty accurate. They started off with some fizzy substance I had to drink which the tech said may cause the need to belch.. which was a gross understatement! As soon as I drank it I felt like I had downed an entire 2 liter of sprite. The bad part was they DID NOT want you to belch at all! It helped get better images if you were blown up and gassy! Immediately following Mr. Fizzy drink came the thick, white pasty substance. No, I will not say fluid because it did not flow fluidly. It was not tasty but afterward I could've easily made the next "Got Milk?" commercial! After a few images standing up, they lowered me onto the table and proceeded to take many more images while I rolled from one side all the way around several times over. Then came the thinner, more liquid substance you have to drink laying down through a straw. Something my momma always said not to do but I did OK and did not choke! This process also took around 20 minutes and I was out the door!
As far as I know, this was the last poking and prodding I will have before my actual surgical date. Sure these test were a little uncomfortable, but compared to life the past 20 years, they were nothing! Now just one more visit to the psychologist (which I actually enjoyed last time) and my date can be set! Whoo-hoo! I'll keep you posted when I have news! :)
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