3rd meeting with Mr. Needle
Warning: Whiny and squeamish information follows. Proceed at your own risk.
I had the 3rd meeting with Mr. Needle this afternoon. What a fiasco that was!
Once I arrived at the office, I had to wait a little while before my procedure started, which was unusual. Once inside, I talked with Dr. W., who has been with me every time, and we discussed the risks of this thoracentesis, just like we do every time. So then it was time to go and get to work. Unsuspecting me put on the hospital gown, walked into the room where the good stuff happens and hopped up on the table and waited.
The first thing was the ultrasound, which didn’t hurt. The second thing was the numbing agent, which hurt like a $#@*&, but usually did a decent job. Usually. Today was not a usual day. I felt every shot, and I felt the catheter go in. When I flinched, she gave me another shot. Felt that, too. I felt the catheter moving around my lung, and I felt it bumping around as it moved. I must have had 10 shots of painkiller. From listening to the doctor, I didn’t feel everything --now and then she’d say, “Did you feel that?” And I had to say “no”. Still, I was in much more pain than I was during the last two thoracentesises. (thoracentesi? Thoracentesium?)
The third thing was to apply suction to remove the fluid that’s causing the trouble. When the suction started, I felt changes immediately, and felt pressure in my chest and was having trouble breathing. I felt like I was getting no air, and couldn’t take a deep breath. Then as seconds passed, I couldn’t take a breath at all. Every time I’d inhale, I’d cough. Then I couldn’t even inhale enough air to cough and got a little panicky. (No air = panicky. Can you imagine?) The doctor said that I was getting plenty of oxygen, the machine attached to my finger said so, but if I was in pain or extreme discomfort, that we’d stop. Since I was in extreme discomfort (there’s a tube in my back, I can’t breathe, I’m coughing so hard I can’t talk OR breathe, yes, sounds like extreme discomfort), we stopped. And then I felt bad because we’d spent 10-15 minutes getting “numb” for this procedure and it lasted less than 5 minutes.
Dr. W. was able to extract a little over a half liter of fluid before we had to stop. It was not as much as I was hoping for, but I couldn’t tolerate the procedure any longer. Dr. W. and the nurses said that sometimes the lung lining gets very sensitive after a thoracentesis, and apparently, mine was.
I felt bad that we’d all wasted time, manpower, effort, equipment, and medicine on a procedure that may or may not make me feel better in a day or so. Dr. W. said that she felt bad that she could not make me comfortable enough to endure this procedure. Dr. W. also said that if we do this again, we’ll do it differently.
I don’t know that I’ll do this again.
Stupid cancer.
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