Well, yesterday morning I went to the hospital to have this medical procedure done. I was there bright and early to get checked in, get my vitals checked, get a recovery room (which also ended up being the room they did the procedure in) and to put on a hospital gown. I was lucky enough to have my husband accompanying me throughout the procedure. I got hooked up via EKG, as well as an IV put in (which hurt, since it missed the vein in my arm, so they went with my left hand. Ow.) and then we played the waiting game.
The worst part was the lidocaine. That stuff was gross. I had to gargle it in my mouth so I could get my throat numb for the scope that was eventually going to go down my throat to my left upper lung. I did this 4 times. It definitely did what it was supposed to do, but it tasted terrible.
Then the doctor came in, and my husband had to wait in the waiting room. Then I got meds to sedate me for the procedure. After that, I remember waking up and seeing my husband and the doctor in the room. The doctor said it went well and to wait to hear back about the results. Overall, I was in and out of the hospital much quicker than I thought I would be, as well as my husband.
The whole reason I got this done was because when I had my bad fall in March, the X rays showed some stuff in my left upper lung that they were not thrilled to see. When I went in for my physical in April, we re-did X rays and it still showed the same thing. I was then referred to getting a CT, which still showed that I had something there. I was again referred, this time to a pulmonologist, which happened to be the doctor I saw for my sleep apnea, and he recommended the bronchoscopy to see what it is in my lung. The doctor thinks it could be old scar tissue from an old infection, but this procedure will help us find out for sure.
Overall, I was in the hospital for about 5 hours total. I was able to eat an hour after the procedure was done, so my husband and I went to Round Table since I remembered that it waws near the hospital. It was yummy. I definitely felt tired after the procedure, since I was under sedation, and my throat was a little dry all day, but I feel pretty good today when I woke up this morning to go to work. My throat is still a little sensitive, but not too bad. I’m hoping that we found out the results when I go back to the pulmonologist in about a week’s time, if not sooner.