The saga continues.

Just in case you might feel a little behind in the saga, you can catch up by reading So, how's your training going? and Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon Recap.

✿ڿڰۣ(̆̃̃

After my doc saw the x-rays from Tuesday, she ordered a bone scan to get a clearer look. Though the x-rays showed "possible" stress fracture(s) in the area(s) I have pain and swelling, the bone scan should show if the healing process has begun, how far along it might be, and if there are additional stress fractures or areas of concern. My appointment was Thursday morning.

I arrived at Nuclear Medicine at 10:10am, for my 10:15 appointment. I was taken right in and had the process explained in more detail. I thought I was going to be drinking some substance to help the camera "see" the bones. But I was wrong. It was a shot, an injection, a needle! The tracer is a radioactive saline solution injected into a vein in your arm. The solution travels through your blood stream and into your bones. The camera picks up the tracer in your bones. Areas that appear dark or "cold," could show lack of blood supply to the bone or certain types of cancer. Areas of activity (growth or repair) absorb more tracer and show up as bright or "hot" spots in the pictures. Hot spots may point to arthritis, a tumor, infection, or a fracture. Now, I have no idea what color the tracer is - it could have been neon orange for all I know. I don't like needles. I had to turn away, close my eyes, and sing "LaLaLaLaLaLa" really loudly until it was over.

But I did get a pretty pink bandage. And what's with the light shining just so? It makes my arm look SOOO hairy!! Ew.

The tracer can take 2-5 hours to travel through your blood stream. Since I live about 6 miles from the hospital, I elected to go home until Part 2 of my appointment at 1:30pm. I was told to drink 34-40 oz of liquid during this 3 hour time span to help speed the tracer through my system.

I did what I was told and hydrated. And oh, just FYI: you might think  a 22 oz can of Arizona Green Tea has 70 calories, if you looked at the label really quickly. But upon closer inspection, a can is 3 servings for a whopping calorie count of 210. Ouch. Who drinks only 1/3 of the can?

So, I was back at the hospital at 1:30pm. I made a quick trip to the little girls' room as soon as I got there. Then walked down the hall to Nuclear Medicine. I signed in and the tech immediately asked if I had to go to the bathroom. "No, I just went," I assured her. "Well, maybe you should go again. At least try," she said. I walked to the nearest restroom, feeling like a 5 year old about to go on a long car ride.

After (and she was right - I went again!!), I took off my robo-cop boot, my shoe, and climbed onto a very narrow, very hard, and very long table. I got to keep all my clothes on (Phew!!) and had to hold my arms down at my sides. A folded sheet was placed between my feet and then the tech stretched a big rubber-band around the tops of my feet. She explained that when people get bored, they tend to wiggle their toes and it's important that I don't move. Only breath. From that point forward, I had an almost unbearable urge to wiggle my toes. The length of time for the scan is based on your height and weight. My full body scan took 23 (long) minutes. At one point, I thought I was going to sneeze. I held my breath and swallowed a few times. I know that's for hiccups, not sneezes, but I didn't know what else to do. It seemed to work. By the time the scan was over, my bum cheeks were hurting and my feet had gone numb. I didn't realize until the machine stopped that I had been clenching every muscle in my body from the eyebrows down. I was exhausted.

I'm not sure why they did a full body scan for a stress fracture in my lower leg, but I guess they want to see all of you before they really look at part of you. After the full body scan, they took a couple more pictures of just my leg.

I know this is a terrible picture but it's all I have. I snuck a picture of the computer screen with my cell phone while the tech was out of the room. I know, I'm such a rebel.

Then a Nuclear Medicine Doctor came in to take a look. He explained that he just gives the films a quick once-over to make sure the images are clear and don't need to be repeated, then they get read by a "specialist" and the report is sent to my doc. My doc should call me (maybe tomorrow?) with the results. He asked me if I have any pain in my neck? Or pain in my lower back?

"Um, no." He says there are "hot" spots there that may need to be looked at, but that they may just be degenerative. Yea, I'm old. That makes sense.

Then, he asked, "Any pain in your lower left leg?"

Duh. "YES!!" (Maybe he didn't notice the robo-cop boot I had by then, put back on.) But yes, the scan clearly showed a lot of activity in my lower left leg with a large spot on my shin, and then a smaller one in my ankle. Was this multiple little fractures or healing of just one? He wasn't sure. "The specialist will have a better idea."

The machine takes a picture from the top looking down (anterior), as well as from the bottom looking up (posterior). So though it might look like both shins are "hot", it's just the left one. And see the round "hot" spot in my pelvis area? That's my bladder, full of tracer, due to my excellent hydrating. First stop after my appointment: the little girls' room.

So there you have it. More details about getting a bone scan than you ever wanted to know.