I had to get an arthogram done on my shoulder today.  It involves putting dye into my shoulder joint and then using a MRI to see if the dye leaked anywhere. 

I don't do MRI's really well.  I'm claustrophobic, and the last time I had to have one I got a little freaked out and decided that I'd be better off sedated for the next one. So, I call my doctor, and he gives me 3 5 mg tablets of valium.  One is to be taken an hour prior to the exam, and the other 2 right before the exam.

So, my appointment is at 1300 today.  I take the first one at 1200, and the other 2 at 1300 when the nurse called me back.

I was taken into the 'dye' room, where I waited over 45 mins for the doc to come in.  The valium had started to wear off slightly by then (I have a very fast metabolism), but I wasn't worried; I was still sufficiently woozy to be able to tolerate the confines of the MRI machine.

After the dye was in, it took another 20 mins for me to get taken to the MRI waiting room, where I was informed they'd come and get me as soon as they could.

Half an hour later, I'm still sitting there.  The valium has totally worn off by then, and I'm starting to freak out.  The MRI part of the procedure is going to last an hour, and I know I can't tolerate that without freaking out.  I told the guy at the front desk, and he said he'd see what he could do.  Then a nurse shows up and spends another half an hour on the phone with my doctor, trying to get me more valium.  I finally got another 10mgs of valium and into the MRI machine at 1600. 

It was, to be blunt, a clusterfuck.  I took my meds the way I was supposed to, thinking that I'd be in the MRI right after getting the dye injected.  Nobody told me that that wasn't the way it is, because had I known, I'd have held off on taking my meds.  The senior radiologist came down and apologized to DAve and I, saying that we should have been told that the 1300 appointment was for the dye and the MRI wasn't scheduled until 1400.  It wouldn't have made much difference anyway; the doctor that injected the dye didn't show up until 1345 or so and I didn't get out of there until after 1430, which meant that I missed my MRI appointment and would have to be worked in when they could find the time.  Even if I HAD taken the meds, they'd likely have worn off by the time I got into the machine.

I was pissed, Dave was REALLY pissed, and we were both happy to be walking out of there this afternoon.  I have a CD with my MRI images on it, so if the original gets lost I can take my CD to my doc and show him from my laptop. 

To top it all off, the stress of this afternoon and the kidney infection has resulted in a migraine for me.  Oh joy.  That's exactly what I need. 

I'm going to take some Maxalt and try and lay down - again.  That's all I've seemed to do this week. I feel like I've been living in my bedroom.

This sucks.