So this time I have completed all the prerequisites, the 8hr and 2hr steroids, no food. She says OK. Yay. Wonder why I wasn't worried at all about the contrast solution, it didn't enter my head (I'm gonna pay for this). So I go in. I lay on the 'bed'. They were about to roll me into the machine but the orderly mentioned the IV line. OK. They say please wait for the doctor. So I wait. I drop my arms to let the blood flow down to enlarge my veins. It should help a little (it didn't though). I look at my hands. It's been poked too much and there didn't seem to be any 'live' veins left. Wonder where they will poke me.
The doctor comes and she looks at my hands. She asks if I wanted it in the hands or the elbow. I said hands will do. I feel the alcohol swab at the pinky end of my left hand. I've had a failed attempt there so I was not keen on it but what can I do? I just had to lump it. I feel the sting of the needle and the ache of the discovery ( ie trying to get it in the vein - more like capillary if you ask me). She then tries the test, injecting a saline solution to test if it goes in ... or not. She asks if it hurts, yeah ... YEAH. Man it DID. Oh god that hurts. She looks at my left hand looking for another candidate. Then drops it for my right hand. I feel the swab, it was the biggest 'capillary' there. So I was sort of glad, this should go in. She pokes it and I felt it. Then she injects. I say Oh, whats that? She asks, that hurts? YEAH.
Man I felt like crying. Let me out please, I wanna go home. Timeout. There goes my macho image. Sob...sob.
Then she went for the jugular, the elbow. The vein there was large. What did I do to deserve this. God help me ... oh I forgot to say a little prayer then I recited the salawat 3 times. This time I felt the sting and the ache, but felt the squirt of the saline solution going in. Thank god.
Man I will never let anyone try the pinky end of my left hand again. Will opt for the jugular next time.
(It just occurred to me that they didn't constrict my arm to enlarge the veins when they tried the IV line, they always did that when I was at Ipoh. Man I would rather be at Ipoh RPB hospital if this was a sample of their treatment.)
The scan was the usual scan. Then the contrast solution. The nurse say injecting. I felt something entering my veins, then my throat felt warm and tingly, not nice more like glowing from radiation tingle. Then around my groin then around my stomach. Now I know why they were so strict on the steroids. It was a struggle to ignore the feeling around my throat to stop from vomiting. It felt like someone was poking me in the back of the throat. Then I had the mask which I did before placed on my head, and it was over.
I can go. You will get another Xray before your radiotherapy begins. We will call you (yeah right).
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