Day 2: Testing Day!



I am so glad my testing was after lunch! Woke up after 8 and lounged around most of the morning gathering my energy to go to the MRV then right along to meeting with Dr Arata at 4:30. For breakfast I ate my leftover Salmon salad from last night and an Ensure muscle builder which had to last till after the MRV.



The MRV went pretty well and I was in for an hour and twenty eight minutes. Oh man did my head hurt when I got out of there where my skull rested on the hard base of the machine. And, I was pretty dehydrated. Before going to see Dr Arata we did have time to hit up the local Joe's Crab Shack for happy hour so I could have a salad and Dennis could have a marguerita with an order of boiled shrimp. Just the thing with a cold lemony iced tea touring me back to life.



We met the most fun waitress named Sarah who was originally from Northern CA but was enjoying the beach with her beach dog! She was very friendly and outgoing and suggested we drive south on pacific coast highway toward Laguna Beach and San Clemente. Also Joe's was having "auditions", or rather interviews with about 30 people. They all got up and did a line dance which was hilarious and one gal, about our age or not far from it, went up and acted like a monkey. She was a hoot and we all laughed over it.



The Meeting with Dr Arata

We were late! Trying to get where we were going meant going around in circles with the damned Garmin female voice telling us go right when there was no road to turn on. Screw the Garmin.



Anyway even before my paper work was filled out we were put in a room and within 5 minutes Dr Arata came in and began to ask questions. His main one was whether I had headaches and then how well was I sleeping. I explained I rarely got headaches other than tension ones and usually in the morning. Also that I slept pretty well for the most part and got between 6 and 7 hours a night un interrupted, except sometimes when I had to pee. Also he wanted to confirm bladder and bowl issues as well as fatigue and balance stuff. He explained all about CCSVI and how the veins and valves worked etc. Most of it I knew but it was very good for Dennis to hear about it.



He said after looking at my MRV and discussing symptoms that I most certainly have the problem and treatment should help. Also in the conversation he asked about sweating and I explained I almost never sweated before menopause and rarely after the hot flashes ended. This, he explained, was another symptom of CCSVI and that it could throw of heat and body temp regulation as well. When I explained I was of almost pure Scottish decent, that put the lid on it for me. He said that most of his patients were of Scottish decent and that we must all have inherited a bad, well, certain gene that played a huge part in this CCSVI. So many of his patients are Canadians and while the English went to America, the Scots went to Canada, thus the high rate of CCSVI in Canada. That I didn't know at all. A neat little bit of history to google later.



We went over the procedure and how he probably will have to tear the valves in the jugular near the collar bone and if necessary but a stent in the Azygos vein if it is being squashed between the spine and the heart.



Afterward, I need to lie around for the rest of the day and might have a headache and can take Tylenol or Advil for the pain, but that with Versed and fentanyl plus a local at the site, it shouldn't hurt at all only pressure. Veins have no nerves and don't feel pain. I will have to take a drug like heparin for two weeks to prevent clotting but after that, nothing! Those are good words for me. Less drugs.



I am so ready! He also was careful to mention the procedure would not cure my MS but that I might feel some relief right away from the cold hands and feet as the blood flows down I-10 again rather than taking the feeder roads all the time!



He also mentioned that progress with the MS symptoms would probably get better over time and that I would need some PT to help me walk normally again, find the problems with strength and balance and set about correcting them. Lindsay and Dr Ray can probably deal with a lot of these things for me. The numbness might be from thoracic outlet syndrome and he can recommend Drs in Houston to help with that if this procedure doesn't fix the issues. We were totally impressed with Dr Arata and his staff. I even got to meet Krissy Bradley. Sweetheart!



After all this we came back and ate at the hotel. Since I cannot eat or drink after midnight, I had a big steak dinner with bread, the devil, and veggies and a huge cold tea. Will eat the rest at 11:55 just before bed. Nite nite