My Gas Is Good...

Well, the EKG came back just fine. This is bittersweet news to me. I'm so very glad it's not my heart, but it's discouraging to STILL not know what's wrong with me. So, I had another appointment with the doc today and when he got the results of my EKG he had the same reaction I did...almost word for word. Anyway, he asked me the usual questions (I've begun to start answering them before he asks because I know they're coming) and then he started looking at and squeezing my calves. He's done this a few times before and I assume it's something to do with my circulation or whatever. I never thought anything about it until today. I discovered my left leg was a bit swollen and extremely tender to the touch. Not cool. So, we talked a bit longer, then he ordered MORE labwork. Ugh. So, I got to go back to the hospital today and have an ABG and a doppler ultrasound on my leg. The ultrasound was no big deal. I got to lay on a hospital bed (which was actually pretty comfortable) and pretty much slept while the nurse did her thing. There were a few times it hurt like the dickens because she had to squeeze and poke a few times, but other than that it was no big deal. Unfortunately the ABG hurt like hell. I'm sorry, but that's actually not even a good enough description of it. It was terrible. I used to be a huge baby when it came to shots, IVs and blood being drawn (seriously, it took several nurses to hold me down as a child)...but I like to think I've gotten much better about it. I mean, after all, I don't kick and scream and fight....but today I wanted to. Oh it hurt so bad. The procedure is done by sticking a needle into the artery in your wrist (yeah, ouch) and drawing blood from it. Too bad I have puney veins and apparently puney arteries too. The lady tried and tried and tried to "catch" the artery (with the needle still in my wrist mind you) because it kept moving. Well, when I turned pale as a ghost and started crying from the pain, she pulled the needle out. I felt certain I was about to vomit so she got me some ice water and a trash can.

She decided to call one of her collegues in to do it because she doesn't like to do a second stick if the first was unsuccessful (totally understandable). Well, the guy she called had the day off. At this point i was still crying and had begun to hyperventilate so she called the head of her department and she came over from the actual hospital part. I calmed down a bit until she stuck a needle in my wrist. Immediately I got extremely hot, my stomach started churning again and I started bawling. It seriously hurt that bad. One thing I learned in Massage Therapy School: arteries are full of incredibly sensitive nerves. Anywho...she dug around inside my wrist with the needle like the first woman had done and guess what...had absolutely no luck. I never layed my eyes on the process because I knew I would faint for certain. I was this close to fainting anyway. So, she finally pulled the needle out and I was like "let's just call the whole thing off!" She asked why I was having the test done, so I told her what had been going on. So she made a "deal" with me. She said if I would let her stick me one more time and she couldn't get it, she'd call my doc and try to figure something else out with him. So, I let her because I knew it needed to be done. This time she did it up near my elbow. It still hurt like crazy but not as bad as in my wrist. I am really surprised she was able to do it up there because I can't even have blood drawn from veins up there. I kid you not, as soon as she pulled that needle out of my arm, I bent over and puked my guts out. It was terrible. I had to sit there for about 20 minutes before I could even think about walking back to the waiting room. They wanted to take me in a wheel chair but I wasn't going to let them...I didn't want the whole world knowing what a baby I had become.

So, now, I wait for the results. I'm sure they will say something like "everything turned out fine so now we need to do this this and this" ugh...this is killing me! These tests are SOOOO expensive and I have NO insurance. Not cool...

Well, now I am going to go to bed with my poor arms in incredible pain. I'm not sure what's going on with the left arm, but my wrist and spot near my elbow on my right arm are still hurting from the roto rooter they got today...