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Okay, I'm prone to side effects. I get side effects from chemo, side effects from the pre-meds of chemo, and side effects from pills I take to deal with these other side effects. But now I'm having side effects from just having a scan done.
Today I had a CT scan and I discovered I can indeed get side effects here too. I amaze myself at times. I'm truly the princess in "The Princess and the Pea". Usually a CT scan is no big deal except for having to go without food and water for so long and then to drink the nasty tasting contrast drinks. Well that's a story too, but right after the scan I get a sudden severe headache in the back of my head. I hadn't even gotten up from the table/bed of the scan. It was that sudden. I was already dealing with a topotecan chemo headache behind my eyebrows, but this new headache is bad. Turns out that some patients get a headache when the contrast dye is injected using a power infuser. Also the nurse bandaged up my IV arm so tight that it throbbed. So for an hour or two I have 2 new side effects to deal with.
As for the rest of the story... I'm not to eat or drink anything, not even water, 4 hours before the scan. Since my scan is scheduled at 11 that means nothing after 7 am. I decide that I'd rather sleep in and skip breakfast and just grab some lunch right after the scan. I skip my morning meds too since I need to take them with food. Well turns out this is really foolish. It's not until after 12 that I get a chance to eat and by that time I'm so hungry and dehydrated that I'm dizzy. And the delay in taking my antidepressant for the hot flashes, sends me into a crying depressed state all afternoon. I didn't know it until then, but my body had gotten totally addicted to the antidepressant. The doctors are really going to have to work with weaning me off of that when I'm done with the hot flashing.
But there you have it, I get side effects from everything including the way the contrast dye is injected to a delay in taking my morning meds. I'm definitely the princess.
