Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Internal Ultrasound

Guess what I did for my birthday? Well, I guess I gave it away in the title. I went for an internal ultrasound and the 4th (my birthday) was the only day they had available until some time after Christmas.

Background: For the last three months I've had some unusual spotting throughout the month. Now for some women this may not be unusual but for me it is. My period is like clockwork. Since I hit the big 37 and my mother developed early menopause my doctor decided it best to check everything out.

Last week I went through the blood work part which included some hormone testing and it came back normal. I wasn't really surprised. I'm freaky that way.

I was really nervous about having an internal ultrasound. I only had a vague idea of what the procedure entailed: A rod being inserted into the Va-jay-jay (too much Grey's Anatomy) and a picture shows up on a little screen. The last ultrasound I had was, coincidentally, last December and it was an external. I'm mentioning it because it was done by a man; so most of my nervousness involved the idea that my internal may be performed by a guy. Yes, I know they are professional. That's not the point.

Anyway, I decided to go for my appointment early because I had a very full bladder and didn't think I'd be able to get there dry if I waited much longer. I even brought a book I'm reviewing to help pass the time. After I checked into the radiology department I was ushered to the Ultrasound(US) waiting room where I read maybe two paragraphs before being called by a tech.

The female tech brought me into the US room and had me lose the jacket and purse. I made myself comfortable on the table and she took an initial view with my bladder full then had me go empty my bladder. I was sooo happy to empty the bladder. When I came back to the room I had to lose the pants and undies and slide up on a funny cushion that raised my hips on an angle so she could get at the privates. She left the room while I did this.

When she came back she explained the procedure and showed me the rod or transducer. It was about a foot long. Part of the explanation involved reassuring me that only a thumb size portion of the transducer gets inserted into the Va-jay-jay. For sanitation they put a latex sleeve over it. The exam didn't take long at all. She looked straight on and had to tilt the probe to the right and to the left to look at the ovaries. It was totally comfortable. I would take this experience over a pap (which I had the very next day) test any day. So if an internal ultrasound is in your future, don't sweat it.

Results in a week...

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