I am not much of a writer, I guess you can tell! I *think* about writing, but it is much harder to stop and actually put those thoughts down "on paper".
Many things are and have been happening, the major ones:
1. My daughter is getting married!
2. I have been diagnosed with erythromelalgia (http://www.erythromelalgia.org/WhatisEM.aspx)
I plan, in days to come, to share pictures of preparation for the wedding and then actual wedding pictures!
Today, I am focusing on the second item, not because it is more important - but because I have a medical test TODAY. My Dr. has requested a CT angiogram, which is scheduled for this afternoon. The idea is to get a look at the blood vessels in my legs to be sure I don't have any blockage that is contributing to the problem with my feet. Right now my feet are the effect area, although I have started to have early signs in my hands.
A CT angiogram is a diagnostic test that uses X-rays and an injected dye to produce 3-dimensional images of the blood vessels and surrounding tissues. The test does not require entering the body (it is noninvasive).
During a CT scan, a beam of X-rays is sent towards your body in a 360-degree circle. Detectors pick up the X-rays after they have passed through your body, creating digital images of thin "slices" of your body. A computer assembles these slices into a complete 3-dimensional picture of the arteries and surrounding tissues. A special iodine-based contrast dye is injected into your bloodstream to highlight the arteries, which do not appear on a normal X-ray.
The test will begin and the table will move rapidly through the scanner as the machine takes a picture of different "slices" of my body. The technician will probably ask me to hold my breath for 10 to 20 seconds at certain times, since even the motion of breathing can interfere with getting the best images.
This is what I am preparing to go through, I am a little nervous, but nor afraid. I plan to write about the experience in the near future.
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