My week from hell...

In the continuing saga of my on-going health issues, this week has topped them all. Even more than last week and last week I had a colonoscopy!

On Saturday, I went in for a routine eye exam. I wear glasses so I go every other year. Everything was going well until the doc called me back after dilating my eyes and said "It looks like your optic nerve is swollen." Seriously? What the hell else could go wrong? I had to go back to him on the following Monday to take a field of vision test. Basically, it's a test where you look into this machine and click a clicker every time you see a flash in your peripheral vision. It takes about a half hour. Afterwards, the they printed my results and it turns out I have no peripheral vision in my right eye when I look to the left or down. Nothing. Missed every single flash. Who knew? So, this doc makes an immediate appointment for an ophthalmologist.

So, on Friday I go to see the new guy and he has me do the same test over again. Then he takes a picture of the backside of my eyes. He shows me my optic nerve. On the left eye, it's all round and nice looking and healthy. On the right, not so much. The outside line is all distorted and mangled. He tells me that it could be fluid or a small tumor or there could be some other underlying reason like Lyme Disease or MS but that he can't tell anything until I have an MRI which, he says, I have to do right away.

So, on Tuesday, I am off to Kenosha Radiology to get an MRI. Now I've had an MRI before and one thing I learned is that I have to have what's called an "open" MRI. A regular MRI closes you in a tiny small space and when they tried to do that to me the first time I completely freaked out. So this time I made sure it was open. Open means you are in something that looks more like a donut rather than a tube and you can see the room and daylight when you need to. The technician strapped my head into this basket type thing and that was strapped down to the table. I was not allowed to move at all. My feet were elevated and my arms placed on pillows to get me as comfortable as possible. I was given a call button in case I needed her to stop at any time. So it began. I was given ear plugs and there's a reason for that. MRI's are very, very loud. The machine makes an incessant pounding noise that goes on for some time. The first part of the test took about an hour with a few stops in between. Then she injected me with some dye and we did it all over again. This is called "with contrast". Contrast is the orange dye that goes through your veins and gives the doc a different view of what might be going on. Two hours later, I was done.

Today, I get to go see yet another new doc. This time for a consult for a possible sleep study. I might have sleep apnea. Might not. Just another silly test my primary doc wants me to go through.

On Friday,  I go back to the ophthalmologist to get the results of the MRI. Next week I have yet another new doc to see and then a follow up with my primary. This has been the most annoying carousel ride I have ever been on! I want to get off...NOW!