my week so far.

[crackers]

on monday went for an angiogram.they were trying to discover why i have different blood pressures in both arms.first attempt was to put in a line in my groin but that didn't work.the doc said,very kindly,my legs were to "chunky".2nd attempt was in my foot.that was quite uncomfortable as there is not a lot of flesh to work with.that too failed.so they went with the usual back of the hand even though the doc said this probably would not yield the results they were looking for and i would have to come back and try again.tuesday i was scheduled for a ct scan which was a 6 monthly check to make sure i am still cancer free.while i was there the doc from monday phoned.he had noticed on his computer that somebody had cancelled an mri appointment at the time i was there,so he asked would i take that slot as it would tell him what he needed to know.so after the ct scan i walked down the corridor,gown flapping in the breeze,to the mri suite.the scan itself was like the scene in close encounters when they try to communicate using synthesized musical notes.i thought i saw an alien at one point.i saw this large,round, hairless head with beady eyes looking at me but it was just my reflection.
john.

[Sangye]

I've had lots of MRIs (I have a brain one later today, in fact!) and yeah, I bet there are aliens in there. Were you in the old-style tube-- long, narrow, dark? I have freaked out on several occasions in them, since I don't take the knock-out drugs. When I came to JHU, I was--this is a huge understatement-- delighted to learn that they have a newer style that is not the tiny tube. (Not an "open" MRI, which yields poor images--not worth your time) It's a breeze.

[Jack]

I had one just the other day of my head, neck and spine. I had to wear a sort of face mask grid for the head part which I would imagine could be quite disturbing to some. The whole thing seemed to take ages, but that was perhaps because I kept coughing!

Results were good - nothing bad found except that my left side mastoid air cells are filled with fluid or granuloma. That explains the deafness, but we were trying to find out why my legs don't work so good.

[Sangye]

Doing head, neck and spine is a very long MRI! I did a full spine (neck, thorax, low back) at once a few months ago. They never do them all at once, since few people can make it through. I almost didn't make it. Kudos to you, Jack!

Well, at least they've ruled out the scarier stuff for you. Is steroid myopathy the only diagnosis left?

[Jack]

The electrical nerve tests came out OK too so I expect Neurology will also give up on me now.

I've already been through the mill with Rumatology and Gastrology. They found plenty of things wrong, but the muscle wasting and wobbly legs seems to be down to the steroids.

Never mind. I can still drive and walk about a bit. The wheel chair is a way off yet!

The MRI was on the limit of my endurance! Glad to hear that I was not just being a wimp.

[crackers]

jack anyone who goes through the mri experience cannot be called a wimp.that panic button is there for a reason.now i know how it feels to be a torpedo.
john.

[Doug]

I had to have one just on my head, related to an eye lesion. They asked me what kind of music I wanted to listen to. (For those of you who haven't had an MRI, that big guffaw you heard from those above is not at me but at the preposterous notion that you are going to "listen" to any music while your head is in a restraint and your body disappears into this not particularly inviting dark hole....) I chose the "Ode to Joy" by Beethoven, thinking that'd be loud enough to muffle my whimpers or screams. To my surprise, I couldn't hear the softly-played music each time they activated the equipment. "Are you doing OK?" they asked at suspiciously timed intervals. "No problems." Then this terrific sound came on, shaking my head and body. MRIs are a lot of fun!

Oh yes, the vein problem. They had to poke me several different places before they could get a line in. I presume all weggies have that problem- no good veins for IVs or taking blood? I'm in my sixth year (as of last March) as a weggie. Do you veins ever return to a state where they are usable again for IVs and blood samples? Or do they become too scarred?

[Sangye]

My veins are actually springing back to life a little during the past couple months. Enough that they've been able to get several blood draws and one or two IVs off a hand vein.

Scarring can be a problem-- my "Old Faithful" vein is pretty scarred up-- but it's more a side effect of the pred, making the veins fragile. That's what my hematologist said, anyway. My veins have been not only hard to hit, but nearly impossible to see since Wegs. The nurses say they're baby-sized.

You might try adding a little vitamin C in-- it promotes healing of connective tissue and blood vessels.

[Doug]

Good advice: I'll try the vitamin C! I was told my veins were baby-sized, too.