It went very well! And me too, Destinova! Clean as a whistle. Hooray!
Thanks and MORE thanks for all the good advice, wishes and support. The only surprise was that even though she said she wasnt' going in for any measurements, she did tell me that the valve was at .8. My most recent echo had said .53. So I wondered out loud to her if that meant she thought I should wait longer for surgery. She just smiled and shook her head and said, no, you Go girl! Double relief!!
They only gave me 2 Valium. Whether or not they added something to the saline drip I don't know. I honestly don't think so. I was far more awake for this than I was last December for my colonoscopy. I do know that they were having a lot of trouble with the machines. Numbers weren't posting while the thing was wiggling up inside me. But her voice, while commanding, was very calm and sweet and I knew they'd get it going. They finally discovered that a cable was unplugged after the thing had been rebooted! With all the advice to watch the black and white screen, I tried, but the camera thing above me pretty much blocked the whole thing, and I was better off anyway, just lying there staying composed. When you live in a place like Oregon, and you need to visualize something pleasant, it isn't tough to call up some pretty mesmerizing scenes, so I just used Mt. Hood with the sunrise behind it.....that kept me calm. And her voice, and gentle pats on my leg helped a lot, too. It was somewhat interesting to listen to the chitter chatter amongst them. The numbers that got bantered back and forth meant nothing to me. Is it even interesting or valuable to get a copy of the report?
I had no problem with the dye. I?m taking a few extra benedryl, now at home, just in case, though?for my own peace of mind. The nurse advised me on discharge to drink 6-8 8oz glasses of water for the next 3 days to help flush the dye out of my kidneys. I?m sure that advice is good for anyone! One nurse, when marking down my allergy to iodine (which is supposedly in this contrast dye) said, Oh, and then shellfish also? Well, no. I?m not allergic to shellfish at all. I did not know that iodine and shellfish went hand in hand. Wondering if anyone else here knows.
The cardio prefers to clamp the site afterwards, the nurses not all being in favor of that. But, the only reason the nurses mind is that it keeps the patient lying in bed for 6-8 hours afterwards. The sutures (and I guess a 3rd option of a cellulose plug?) get the patients out of there sooner, but one nurse said, the stitches often pull and are uncomfortable. I had my litte Shuffle iPod and some knitting and a book of easy crossword puzzles (thanks to all your advice!) and actually, the lying there wasn't even remotely bothersome. The music drowned out the snores and groans of everyone else in recovery.
So you guys were right!! All in all, not such a big deal. Thanks for putting up with my whimpiness and offering me so much of your experiences. It really helped me.
You carried me through. With all of you behind me, I know the surgery will go just as well. I don?t even think I?m going to mind the wait, now. I?m actually quite resolved and calm??and oddly excited.
Marguerite
