A Bronchoscopy and a Very Long Nap

Yesterday I went for my bronchoscopy and everything went smoothly. There are risks like the possibility of deflating a lung or a chance of severe bleeding. I'd stopped taking my blood thinner medication a couple days prior though, and we had no complications.

In the past when I've gone for a bronch, I've been allowed to have a person with me in pre-op, but that wasn't the case this time. I was happy to see COVID precautions being taken though. Things kicked off with my nurse insisting I give a urine sample for a pregnancy test, despite the fact that I have been tested and have been post-menopausal since my first stem cell transplant. That did not sway her and I got tested anyway. Imagine my passive aggressiveness when she reported the test was negative. ("Of course it was." -me)

Only the finest in hospital fashion

Then we really got underway. I had to have an IV for anesthesia, so they got one started and hooked me up to fluids. I did have a vein blow in the process and am currently developing a multicolored bruise on my wrist, but I'm a hard stick so no hard feelings about that. I needed to use a nebulizer to help numb my throat and lungs, which took 20 or so minutes to complete.

There's no cute way to use a nebulizer

Then it was time to head to the OR. I've done this multiple times now and seeing the operating room wasn't anything new. I moved over to the operating table and the team finished setting up. Once they were ready it was time for the anesthesia. I got two different drugs pushed twice, then they gave me IV Benadryl. If you've never had Benadryl pushed into your blood stream, it is a bizarre experience. You are, almost immediately, unable to stay awake. And I don't remember anything else until I woke up in recovery.

My doctor spoke to Alan about the procedure (per my request because I'm useless after anesthesia). The doctor said he didn't see any lesions like he had seen during my last bronchoscopy, but that he did biopsy from several areas. He also did the lavage, where they spray fluid into my lung and take it back out to be tested. Some of the tests can take weeks for results to come back. We don't know any results yet at all.

Afterwards Alan drove me home and I stumbled straight up to bed. I slept all and and most of the night, getting up around 10:30p to feed myself but going back to bed around 2:30a. I slept all night and didn't fully wake up until around noon today. That anesthesia and Benadryl really knocked me out! I still have a bit of a rattle when I breathe sometimes, which makes me cough, bu that should wear off in a day or two and I'll be fully back to normal. Overall a pretty painless procedure!