Well, not trauma, exactly, but annoyance.
In 1983 I weighed about 215. I had an attack of gout and was advised to change my diet (after being given a pill called indomethacin which, for me, works like magic to reduce the pain and swelling in the affected joint). So I went on an all-fruit-salad-for-lunch diet for about six weeks and lost roughly 35 pounds. I went back to burgers and tacos for lunch but watched my quantities and eventually my weight stabilized at 160. I stayed at that weight till about five years ago, when it fell to around 150. It stayed there for another three or four years, give or take five pounds.
Then, in February 2011, I started losing about a pound a month until Monday I weighed 143. This has made my doctor nervous. I certainly don’t feel weak or poorly, but I believe in listening to doctors. She has suggested I get a CT scan to look into my innards to see if there’s anything weird going on. This is par for this doctor: she prescribed an MRI back in February to see if there was anything odd inside my head, because my dad suffered an inoperable aneurysm which led to the stroke which killed him. Nope, my brain shows nothing (nothing unusual, you insult artists!).
On the coming Monday, then, I’m scheduled to have a CT (or CAT) scan. In order to prepare for it, that morning I have to drink a 450ml (~16 oz) bottle of barium sulfate suspension, nicely named “Creamy Vanilla Smoothie.” Apparently it has the same effect as iodine dye, which used to be the contrast material of choice. Then I have to drink another bottle once I get to the radiology department Monday afternoon.
Hopefully it will taste better than that awful glop you have to drink a gallon of before a colonoscopy.
It won’t.
But CeeCee the radiology assistant assured me . . .!
Good luck, Linky. Tests (and the associated beverages) are no fun, but hopefully they help the doctors figure out what’s going on. Please keep us posted.
The smoothie is awful. But you will prevail. What kind of contrast agent are they going to inject you with?
Roy, as far as I know, the smoothie IS the contrast agent. That’s what’s been implied by the instructions and the phone conversation with CeeCee.
The only good thing about the barium drink is that it will then give you a new standard for nastiness to ask in future situations.
“Will this taste as bad as the barium drink?”
“Yes, but it’ll be less and not as thick.”
“Oh, well, at least there are some positives!”
That sort of thing. Also it’s over quickly, and all the nice techfolk are totally aware of the ick factor of the taste. Which I always appreciate for some reason. I like the “yes, we know this isn’t tasty” approach over “oh it’s not so bad.”
I’m beginning to wish they’d given me the “Merry Berry” flavor rather than plain vanilla.