Halloween Already?

First, my dog just ate something off the side of my ottoman. What is was or why it was there, I have no idea. I'm actually hoping it was a crumb of some kind that had managed to stick in that particular spot, because at least then it would be food. However, this is not the point of this post. A while back I posted that I thought I may be seeing some early signs of Carpal Tunnel. I went to the specialist for an appointment and was referred out to a testing center where they could perform a Nerve Conduction Study (NCS).

When the doctor told me he was sending me out for this, I replied, "Is that with electrodes?" He said it was. Me, "Oh, that sounds cool." Him, "Actually it's painful." So, I went expecting pain. The first thing the technician said was not to worry about pain, because it wasn't anything other than a little zap. He thought it was strange my doc told me it was painful. There is a more painful test that involves sticking needles in your arm (an EMG), but I didn't have to have that done.

The technician started by drawing little dots on my arm with Sharpie and putting some goo on the end of the zapper. I'm absolutely positive there are technical names for these things, but why use them when there are awesome words like "goo" and "zapper" that work just as well?

He then proceeded to zap my arm multiple times. In some cases it was just one zap, and in others it was 10 zaps in a row. In every case, my hand spasmed uncontrollably. As this was happening, a graph appeared on the computer screen that was the product of the zaps. Apparently, the doctors will look for variation in the amount of time it takes the electrical current to reach the receiving pads that are stuck on the fingers/palm from the point of entry (marked in Sharpie on my arm). Also as this was happening, my reaction of choice was to laugh. I really couldn't help it, since my hand was moving without my commanding it to do so; it seemed funny. I think the technician preferred this reaction to patients who are completely anxious and make the testing difficult. It definitely didn't tickle, it was in fact painful - just not enough to worry about. It was maybe a 1 or a 2 in some cases on a pain scale of 10. And, the zaps were so short, they were over by the time the pain registered anyway.

I have no idea if I passed or failed this test. I'll find out when I go back to the doctor and hear his interpretation of the results.

In other news, Renn's dental appointment went well. The poor thing came home and literally grumbled for the rest of the day. I'm talking the full day from the time he got home until the time we went to bed. He had pain killer and antibiotics for the scaling that had been done. The pain killer really seemed to sedate him and pretty much knock him out. He's finally completed all that medication, and he only has two more doses of antibiotic left. He has a little shaved patch of hair on his arm from where they put the IV. He wasn't his usual attractive and charming self at Barktober Fest the next day. But I ran that event by the vet before taking him. She didn't have a problem with it.

Barktober Fest was lots of fun :) Renn got to see Paisley and hang out. We walked around the booths and participated in the walk around the lake. It wasn't all that cold, but it was rainy off and on. We arrived just before noon. At 1:18pm, the emcee came over the loud speaker and let everyone know there was a tornado warning. That pretty much ended the show. All people and doggies headed for their cars. As I was sitting in line to get out of the parking lot, the downpour came. An hour and 15 minutes was not a bad amount of time to spend there, so I'm glad I went. It was just somewhat of an abrupt ending. Also, while we were there, we saw a little doggie for adoption. (There were lots of little doggies for adoption, but this one called out to me). He'd been in an accident but was saved by the Frisco Humane Society. He had pretty bad road rash, but was in the latter stages of recovery. Such a cutie, medium sized mix with grey/white hair, face of a terrier. We're ok being a one dog family for now, but he'll make some family very happy.

As for Halloween, I have no plans for the day of. However, I will be dressing up for work tomorrow. I'm going as the bride from Kill Bill. I'm really only half-dressing up though, because the pants of the costume that I have are tight and would make me feel uncomfortable at work. So, on bottom I'll be wearing jeans, but on top I'll be wearing a bright yellow jacket with black stripes down each arm. I'll also carry a staff, because swords are HR inappropriate. Happy Halloween!