Annmarie, you asked for it....you guys up for a little story?!
Well, I started off with a generous dose of anxiety. I noticed it kick in about fifteen minutes from the hospital. So, I popped a Xanax. It didn't do much. After walking about 1/2 a mile through the university to the clinic, they had me checked in and called in within minutes. No time to dwell on the unknown!
Of course the doc, Dr. Paul Twydell, and his assistant were great. Explained the whole thing. First, they injected the skin with Lidocaine. That was to numb it before they used the foot long (maybe a tad of an exaggeration) needle to numb the muscle. I think I felt that needle come out the other side of my thigh. Then the doc had a hard time finding muscle on me and asked me to tense it up a few times. This heightened my anxiety, because I thought I had better muscle mass than that. Then he marked it, but kept looking at my thigh bewildered. I asked what was up. He and I kidded around a lot, so the whole visit was rather amusing. He said he never saw the area swell like mine did and maybe I was having a reaction to the Lidocaine. I said my muscles react weird to everything and told him my calf cramped for ten minutes with the EMG needle. He said his did too (he suffers fasciculations that began one day when he tried to surf). Then he did the incision and told me to go to my happy place with a margarita (a scene from Happy Gilmore). We had fun conversation until he started applying more pressure. I felt a pop and he said my muscle snapped away, didn't want to give a piece. His assistant said he needed another piece. He asked her why and she quietly was explaining that the lab wanted three pieces. He was just beginning to argue with her when I told him to do what she said. He said, I was right and that he learned a long time ago that he should listen when a woman speaks! Then he said something was a little off. That's when I said that I didn't feel good. You know, the whole "I'm gonna throw-up, no wait, I'm gonna faint, why's it so hot in here, oh man my arms are tingling" thing. As they scurried about to find a basin for throwin up and a cold wet cloth, I asked the nurse to get my mom! Then, about five minutes later, I was fine. Mom was a little gray, though. I told him not to wait up for me, hurry up and get his third piece while I was still numb. I concluded it was a pure and simple anxiety attack. He still thought it was a reaction.
Anyway, afterwards he held up this instrument (the guy thought he was really funny and he was so cute I led on that he was! Actually, he really was funny!) that had a hook in the middle of it. He said, "see what I stuck in your leg"! It had blood on it about 4 inches up! And they used a suction machine to help grab the pieces of muscle off. When I finally looked at it, I said holy crap, you put golf balls in there!
I asked him if he was going to tell everyone he had a puker and a fainter. He laughed and said the guy last week actually was so faint and a mess he couldn't do it and came back the second time and had just as bad of a time, so I wasn't that bad!
Then he glued me shut, steri-stripped it and glued a piece of plastic over it. They said it would feel like a bad charlie horse or like I hit the corner of a table. Yea right. Good thing my mom had a crutch at her house! Oh, by the way, I think the Xanax kicked in on the drive home.
All I have to say is, this sure as crap better give the answers to what's going on! They said it's easier than an EMG. I say shocks are better, but, we are all different! All's well that end's well! Leslie
Well, I started off with a generous dose of anxiety. I noticed it kick in about fifteen minutes from the hospital. So, I popped a Xanax. It didn't do much. After walking about 1/2 a mile through the university to the clinic, they had me checked in and called in within minutes. No time to dwell on the unknown!
Of course the doc, Dr. Paul Twydell, and his assistant were great. Explained the whole thing. First, they injected the skin with Lidocaine. That was to numb it before they used the foot long (maybe a tad of an exaggeration) needle to numb the muscle. I think I felt that needle come out the other side of my thigh. Then the doc had a hard time finding muscle on me and asked me to tense it up a few times. This heightened my anxiety, because I thought I had better muscle mass than that. Then he marked it, but kept looking at my thigh bewildered. I asked what was up. He and I kidded around a lot, so the whole visit was rather amusing. He said he never saw the area swell like mine did and maybe I was having a reaction to the Lidocaine. I said my muscles react weird to everything and told him my calf cramped for ten minutes with the EMG needle. He said his did too (he suffers fasciculations that began one day when he tried to surf). Then he did the incision and told me to go to my happy place with a margarita (a scene from Happy Gilmore). We had fun conversation until he started applying more pressure. I felt a pop and he said my muscle snapped away, didn't want to give a piece. His assistant said he needed another piece. He asked her why and she quietly was explaining that the lab wanted three pieces. He was just beginning to argue with her when I told him to do what she said. He said, I was right and that he learned a long time ago that he should listen when a woman speaks! Then he said something was a little off. That's when I said that I didn't feel good. You know, the whole "I'm gonna throw-up, no wait, I'm gonna faint, why's it so hot in here, oh man my arms are tingling" thing. As they scurried about to find a basin for throwin up and a cold wet cloth, I asked the nurse to get my mom! Then, about five minutes later, I was fine. Mom was a little gray, though. I told him not to wait up for me, hurry up and get his third piece while I was still numb. I concluded it was a pure and simple anxiety attack. He still thought it was a reaction.
Anyway, afterwards he held up this instrument (the guy thought he was really funny and he was so cute I led on that he was! Actually, he really was funny!) that had a hook in the middle of it. He said, "see what I stuck in your leg"! It had blood on it about 4 inches up! And they used a suction machine to help grab the pieces of muscle off. When I finally looked at it, I said holy crap, you put golf balls in there!
I asked him if he was going to tell everyone he had a puker and a fainter. He laughed and said the guy last week actually was so faint and a mess he couldn't do it and came back the second time and had just as bad of a time, so I wasn't that bad!
Then he glued me shut, steri-stripped it and glued a piece of plastic over it. They said it would feel like a bad charlie horse or like I hit the corner of a table. Yea right. Good thing my mom had a crutch at her house! Oh, by the way, I think the Xanax kicked in on the drive home.
All I have to say is, this sure as crap better give the answers to what's going on! They said it's easier than an EMG. I say shocks are better, but, we are all different! All's well that end's well! Leslie