Roger Clemens and Me

The Monday morning after the 4 MRIs mentioned below, I headed off to Methodist Hospital to begin IV steroid treatment. Roger Clemens has nothing on me! And hey, my steroids were legal! Ernest, as usual, accompanied me and brought his laptop to do a little work while he waited with me.

I got checked in and sent to a room. I got to keep my clothes on, and got "comfy" on a hospital bed. They brought me breakfast which I picked t before giving it to Ernest. Then they got me ready for my steroid IV. But here's the catch, they're not going to just stick an IV in me each day. Nope, they put a temporary shunt in my arm. That I get to keep and walk around with for those three days. Yuck-o. After the IV was done, several hours later, I got my arm bandaged, had a hospital lunch which Ernest mostly ate, and then I went back to work (lather, rinse and repeat this scenario for three days).

They told me I would feel like Super Woman while on these steroids. In reality I felt more like Super PMS Woman. My main side effect was being really, really bothered by bright lights (daylight, office lights, you name it). I also lost my appetite (although the Dr. said she'd never heard of that, usually people get hungry). Who knows, it could have been the emotional toll of all this that decreased my appetite. Any way during the lengthy course of steroids (3 days of IV steroids followed by 6 weeks of tapering does of oral steroids) I lost 10 lbs.

On the third and last day of IVs Dr. B came by and we talked more about my MRIs and my back problem and MS. Then he decided to show us part of the presentation he gives to his med students--on the nervous system and myelin sheath. He put a flash drive in Ernest's laptop (doesn't that sound a little obscene! LOL!) and gave us a presentation. Most of it wasn't over our heads! A little later his office assistant G. (who has been incredibly helpful and plays along with my fantasy of escaping to an island in the Pacific) came by to visit. Which was really sweet. And later my new Neurologist Dr. S. came by as well. I was almost beginning to feel like a celebrity!

I had also requested to be shown how to inject since I would begin my Avonex injections that week. So a nurse came in and explained how the needles work. BUT I WANTED TO ACTUALLY STICK A NEEDLE IN MYSELF. Apperantly they thought that was nuts--or I was!. But really, how else was I going to learn to do it unless I really did it?

So instead Dr. S. said I could come by her office on Friday and one of her nurses would help me. That was the plan.

By Friday I was so ready to inject myself. The nurse seemed puzzled by my eagerness and kept asking thing like, "have you injected yourself before?" "have you injected someone else?" "are you in healthcare?" No, no and no, just give me the darn needle! She showed me how to keep everything clean and sterile--and I jabbed myself in the thigh. I really was embarrassed at how easy it was. And no, it didn't hurt either.