Complications

My first inpatient study is now over and I'm resting at home. The entire stay at the hospital was fairly easy, except for today, which I'll explain in a minute. Yesterday morning I was hooked up to a heart monitor and had a blood pressure cuff secured to my arm, both to be worn for 24 hours. The electrodes for the heart monitor where big, sticky things that attached to my chest and were mildly annoying. The heart monitor was so-so and inflated every 15 minutes or so to get a reading. It was on the same arm as my IV so it caused some mild discomfort every time it inflated, but it was fine, nothing too terribly painful. At about mid-day, the IV in my left arm suddenly stopped working and another IV had to be inserted into my right arm - OUCH! Stupid left arm. For my inconvenience, I get another $25 for the extra IV, wheeee!

So, today was not as smooth going as the previous days. I was scheduled for a glucose tolerance test at 8am, concluding at 12pm and then I would get lunch and be released. Simple, right? Well, they inserted yet another IV, this time in my left hand (I almost shot through the roof when the nurse inserted the IV, it hurt so bad) and they pushed a large amount of glucose into my body, which was fine. Then I had insulin pushed about 15 minutes later and I started to feel a bit weird. The nurse was taking blood samples frequently and I kept occupied by surfing the Internet on my laptop. I noticed my hands getting shaky and I started to feel REALLY tired. I started to sweat, but I thought, maybe I should tell someone about this instead of trying to ride it out. I told the study nurse and they immediately tested my blood sugar and examined me - it was hypoglycemia and I was told it can occur in some individuals and I was succeptible due to my low body weight. Ugh, I feel like crap so they quickly get me some OJ and stop the test. Stick a fork in me, cuz I'm done. I slowly stop feeling sick, but I still feel exhausted, actually more like WIPED OUT, so I take a quick nap before I'm released. The nurses don't want me to risk passing out on my way home!

In the end I'm just really tired now. I was worried that they would drop me from the study and I would miss out on some $$$, but it turns out they were the ones worried I would drop out due to this experience! We laughed it off and I assured them I would be back in October to finish the study. I've gone through this type of test before without problems so I hope I fair a bit better next time. Hypoglycemia sucks!!!