If There Was An SAT Type Test For All This..

...I'd be nowhere near the level of knowledge I needed to be.

Thought I had this CT thing down. The cool thing that started the day was that in the past I had to drink one of the bottles of "banana smoothie" 2 hours before the test and then the other one needed to be finished a half hour or so before the test. They changed the rules (because patients were getting confused about the timing of the whole process) and this time I drank them both at the same time - 2 hours before the test. That worked for me. Not a real bad taste sensation and I thought I noticed a little "bite" in the aftertaste that made it seem like it had a little "adult preservative" in it and that I should be drinking it sometime after 5PM rather than 6AM.

The thing I learned today was that they needed for me to have recent lab work that included my BUN/Creatinine numbers. As the last test I had that contained that information was May 20, they had to take a blood sample from me prior to administering the CT scan. Needless to say, I wasn't In and Out as quick as I had scheduled.

No complaints. Just notes to self to make sure I'm aware of these details prior to the next scan - which won't be until February. As I was wondering why this had not been an issue before, I remembered (but had forgotten) that I needed to have lab work prior to a previous CT scan, but didn't question the logistics of it before. Next time, I'll know to coordinate that with my doctor's office or the scanning folks prior to the appt. I also realized that the reason it was never an issue until recently is that my blood work was continually being monitored from day 1, so all of my information was pretty up to date. The fact that it isn't up to date now is a sign of recovery and being well.

I'll still carry anxiety with me for a week or so until the doctor and I meet on the 19th of August to review everything, but I won't let it weigh me down.

Oh wait...here's something else I learned today. When the technician drew my blood, we were discussing needles and how the needle that stung me the most since day one of my diagnosis was the needle that was used to inject my H1N1 shot. I told the technician that the individual who administered the shot told me that most likely there were some burrs on the needle after he inserted it into the vaccine bottle and that is why it felt the way it did. The technician said, "That's why he should have replaced the needle after he drew the vaccine into the syringe. He's right, the needle tip is compromised when it pierces the vaccine bottle membrane. Most people will not use the same needle for administering that they used for withdrawl."

Guess who is going to keep his eyes open for that in the future.............