4 IV's - 1 CT

Last night I went in for my CT scan. Amazingly I got called in right at 6:30pm which is when my appointment was scheduled for. I went through the usual routine of changing my clothes and hopping into the scanner. They took the initial scan without contrast and then told me I needed an IV because they couldn't use my hickman (not a surprise).

The doctor that came in to do my IV looked rather worried and asked the technician if he was sure she had to do this (that made me feel really great). He told her he could call another doctor or nurse, but she said "I'll give it a try." So she comes over to my arm and says to me "you're veins are terrible, I don't see them." I was rather shocked, because the usual response I get is "you're veins look great" - yet when they go in they realize they're not. So now that I'm all worked up I ask the doctor again if she really wants to try because it's not easy to get an IV in me (that's why I have a hickman...duh). She still wants to proceed using a small 24 gauge needle.

• Attempt #1: fails to get blood return and somehow manages to kink the plastic inside my vein into a position I didn't think was possible.
• Attempt #2 (other arm): fails to get blood return, kinks plastic again, and my vein starts to pop into bubble (all while feeling extreme pain). That was the end of her.

The technician now calls a nurse from the main hospital and I wait 30 minutes for his arrival. He arrives and looks at my arm and says "the only way I can get an IV in you is to you use a bigger needle." I say "really, because every time they use a big needle they don't succeed in getting the IV in." He says "yep, that's the only way." I somehow agree.

• Attempt #1 (back to first arm): jabs the thickest needle I've ever seen in my little vein and fails to get blood return (I've never felt such extreme pain getting an IV).
• Attempt #2 (back to other arm): uses the small needle I suggested and finally gets the IV in.

He then tells me we will have to watch it carefully, because most likely some of the contrast that will be pushed in through this vein will come out of the previous puncture that the other doctor had created!! Fortunately, there was only a little bit of seeping that came out while they were pushing the contrast in. So an hour and a half later I finally get to go home...

I wasn't able to get an appointment with the infectious disease doctor (the earliest appointment available was in October) so I will call my NP tomorrow for the results. Tomorrow will be a tough day. In fact this morning I woke up with extreme nausea and had to come in to work late...I wonder if it's from the thought of getting results tomorrow...