This is my brain on drugs. I'm not kidding. I'm completely serious.To make a long story short, I had to have an MRI of my head because of a disorder with my left eye that the eye doctor wanted to check out to make sure there wasn't anything serious going on behind the scenes. So I showed up one morning to get stuck in a very small MRI machine and lay completely still for 45 minutes. (Note to anyone who has never had an MRI: they are extremely loud. It was kind of like putting your head inside a washing machine on spin cycle that has all the clothes on one side, so it makes clacking noises as it spins. Only louder and more clanking noises.) The nurse put some headphones on me to help drown out the noise, so I got to listen to birds chirping and water falls. Except that when the machine was running, they were too soft to be heard.
The MRI went fine until they had to give me an injection of a drug to make the image more clear (this is called an MRI with contrast). The nurse casually mentioned that occasionally some people are allergic to the drugs. Within a few seconds of the injection I started to have a really ticklish throat, cough, and felt a little scratchy. But since I was okay, we completed the last few tests. It was only when I was changing out of the scrubs that I noticed the hives on my arms, neck, and stomach. Yes, I said hives. And I was having a difficulty breathing (kind of like asthma). So I showed the nurse, who immediately called for more nurses and specialists to make sure I was okay.
The magical cure for this was to take Benadryl, so I spent the rest of the day at home napping. The hives went away quickly, but my skin felt just a little itchy for a few hours.
What I learned from this: don't do drugs. Not even the kind the nurses give you because you never know when you are going to be allergic. I never thought I would actually be a cleshay anti-drug ad.
PS, I have to admit it was a little creepy to look at images of my brain and face. At one point I thought I was going to be sick, and then I just realized I was being over dramatic. But it is a little unnerving to see your own brain.
4 comments:
nancy reagan would be proud.
Wow...pretty crazy stuff. And you must be related to Jon. He's allergic to everything and breaks out in hives as well!
wow, that is kind of cool (not the allergic reaction, the MRI). So when do you find out what's up with your eye.
I met with my eye doctor yesterday and nothing is wrong. I mean it swells randomly, but there is no known cause or cure. It is not harmful, so it isn't anything to worry about. I have started washing my face with baby shampoo, which is great at breaking up your makeup and keeping your eye ducts clear.
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