I'm Tapped

For the rest of the world that doesn't know what's going on in my life, I've recently been battling the notion that I may have a condition called papiloedema. Where basically my body has decided that it's going to make me go blind....and according to the doctor only because I'm "fat" and of child bearing age. Or I could just have something called pseudo-papiloedema which is totally different, and causes me to see spots in my left eye for the rest of my life; but I won't go blind and there's nothing they can do about it.

So, if it's the 1st (and more ominous) of the two, I can be put on medication and it can be fixed if I lose weight and keep taking my medication; then I won't go blind...or be "fat" any more! YAY! But there's a catch...I had to have a spinal tap.

Ok, I figure I can handle this. After all, at the ripe ole age of 23 I've had 4 major surgeries (one of which my uncle had and ended up with holes in his brain), and I have been on numerous medications for as long as I can remember. Oh yea, I'm fallin apart, and this is just one thing in a long line of crap that's been happening lately. But I digress...

So, today was the big day, I was going to have my first spinal tap. And after everyone telling me that it was going to be really painful, and they were going to put this 4 foot needle into my back (not really, but everyone made it sound that way) I was a little nervous. Until I got to the hospital. They had me put on the hospital gown and wait in a bed while they beraded me with about a bajillion questions, and asking me the same ones over and over and over again.

Finally it was time to be wheeled into the room, and luckily for me Leo got to go with me! The nurse in there, Nichole, was very nice and very cool, so that helped. I had to crawl up on to this table and lay face down with a pillow underneath my stomach, and Leo had to wear this lead apron. He looked kinda like a Ken Doll, like he had ambiguous male parts underneath! lol

They cleaned my back and put down the little surgical curtian, and then pumped me full of Lidocaine. That was really the worst part of it all. After that was done, I don't think I really felt much of it. I kinda felt the needle go in, but I refused to look at the "x-ray" of my back as he guided the needle to the hole in my spine. Then it was time to pull it out. It hurt, but in a weird way, let me explain. You know when someone scratches their fingernails on the black board and it "hurts" but not really physically, that's kindof how it was. But that was over quickly.

I got to see the liquid that they pulled out. It looked like he had stuck a needle in me and pulled out water! It was crystal clear, and fluid just like water, not thick like blood. It was pretty cool actually.

At this point I'm feeling a bit like a keg just having been tapped; but it's all over and time to get up and go back to the "recovery" room. I could walk afterwards, and got to change back into my clothes quickly. I ordered a sandwich for lunch from the hospital (free food!), and then we went home about a half hour after the procedure.

I've gotten a good headache from the whole ordeal, but now...I go to 11!