it's been an interesting few days
Wednesday I woke up about 5:00 with my stomach/back pain but it wasn't horrible and it faded so I was able to eat some toast and go into work about 11:30. I started feeling a little bit bad around 1:30 and I arched my back and stomach and something in my stomach popped.
After that I felt fine, ate, went home, ate lightly but felt fine.
Thursday I woke up at my normal time not feeling all that great but no pain. I figured if I went to the bathroom I'd be fine as I believed this was bad constipation and I hadn't gone since Wednesday morning.
Nope. It got worse and worse during the day and I finally went home around 1:00 p.m. The pain was horrible, all across my lower stomach and up my spine. Just agony. I tried to throw up--that helped once--but couldn't, damn cast iron stomach, and I just got worse. Finally I called mom and dad around 3:00. I wanted her to get me something for the gas/constipation, but they insisted on taking me to the ER.
On the way there mom recounted how my sister-in-law had horrible back pain with her gall bladder, so when I got the ER I told them it might be gall bladder. We have a family history--dad had his out at 31 and I have two cousins who had theirs out in their 30s, which is young, but we're a weird family. (Actually my sister-in-law was 25 when she started getting the pain and it took her five years to convince the doctors to check her gall bladder. Because she was "too young" it couldn't be that. *rolls eyes*)
My age being slightly higher than that, it was not a problem.
I was badly dehydrated and have tiny veins anyway so it took them awhile to get blood drawn and an IV in with saline. After about two hours in the ER naturally my pain was gone but they took me for a sonagram (lots of hard pushing under my boobs and along my already sore ribs).
An hour later or so they determined that, yes, I had gall stones and probably one that had slipped into a bile duct. My liver and pancreas were inflamed, too. Apparently pancreatis makes your back hurt really badly! Of course I felt fine by then. They admitted me and put me on antibiotics, hoping that overnight the inflammation would decrease and they could just get rid of the wandering gall stone by a scope down my throat.
I was allowed to drink water until midnight. All I'd had all day was a banana around 10:00 a.m. The pain never returned but I couldn't take my nightly motrin and the bed sucked so I had both leg cramps and a headache all night. In the morning my blood work still sucked so the gastro enterologist scheduled the scope thing for afternoon sometime and the surgeon came by and said she wanted to take the gall bladder but if the scope was going to be late afternoon it might be Monday for the surgery.
Also, that if it was too inflamed in there she'd have to do an open surgery and not laproscopy which would mean five days in the hospital.
So I was hoping for that day surgery and the simpler one.
My scope was scheduled for three and they wheeled me down around 2:15. They put you on your stomach on this horrible table bed but you can lift your leg a bit so I wasn't totally on my stomach. The last thing I remember was the nurse putting in the teeth guard and giving me something to relax me.
About three and a half hours later I woke up kind of breathing hard with atrial fibrulation. Lovely. But I was aware enough to ask where my glasses were (my parents had them) and if it had been the laproscopy, which it had been. The scope got rid of the bad stone and they took me pretty quickly to surgery. I wasn't that concerned about surgery outside of it being my first ever. I was more concerned about having the scope because the literature had said you would be in a dreamy state and I didn't want to be aware of anything being stuck down my throat.
Mom and dad came back between the two and I was totally out of it. I don't remember anything.
They were concerned about the afib but I was in a room around 7:00 and by 9:00 I was in regular sinus rhythm and never went out of it again. Probably just the stress. They had me on oxygen--I felt like Dean Winchester in On The Head Of A Pin--and I took one batch of pain meds that knocked me out. I was able to drink water again but wasn't hungry for broth or jello so just dozed in and out. I was in a different room (both were solos which was nice) and had a really good nurse (they were all really good and friendly and helpful), a guy. You kind of lose all shame in the hospital. I hadn't washed my hair since Wednesday morning, shaved my legs or underarms in a couple weeks, was all sweaty and gross. I'm very modest usual and would never go to a male doctor but when you have no choice...He helped me onto the toilet for godssake.
By this morning I was doing okay and had some jello and broth and later got some coffee (which was actually very good). Watched Game Day because it's Saturday and it's football, but their channels were limited. Also got to put on panties.
Oh, I'm also diabetic (the first test on Thursday night I was like 305! I'm now at 235 but just took my first meds). Lovely. So I had some cheese and crackers with insulin and around eleven the doctor came in and said I could go home. The surgeon's partner had come in earlier and said my liver and pancreas levels were much improved so he gave the okay, too. They gave me lunch--god it was gross outside of the salad and the apple/cherry crumble--but I ate enough so they could give me more insulin, but they put me on oral meds. Ironically I was going back on weightwatchers this Monday. I need to start exercising again, though not until I heal.
So I learned how to stick my finger and test my blood sugar and have taken my first pill. Thank god I got over my seventeen year fear of swallowing pills because I have two large pills with the antibiotic and three if I take any of the tylenol with codiene.
I'll probably take one of the tylenol before I go to bed.
My three prescriptions were only $32!! I was expecting over $200. Of course, no way can I afford the diabetes blood testing equipment, though the pills at $10.00 a month I can handle, nor can I afford the deductible or co pay but my parents are helping out. Though thank god for insurance at all. Really am hoping for Obamacare to stick so I can get on a better plan with prescription meds. Though I'm determined to not be diabetic forever.
My parents are, as I type, a third of the way to England because my brother and I both insisted they go on their trip and he flew down here last night to take care of me until Monday morning. We're staying at my parents' because I don't have to deal with the cats wanting to jump on me or any stairs or my messy house with no where for my brother to sleep. He had tickets to the Ryder Cup for tomorrow (he went yesterday too) that he gave up.
I can't drive for three or four days so I'm making that be Tuesday so I can go into work at least part time.
I'm doing okay. Took a shower which felt amazing and the pain is manageable, more achy and stretching, then anything.
Oh and joy of joys as I was leaving the hospital, my period started, which is probably why I was somewhat constipated as that always happens.
I'm 47, menopause can come any time.
I was able to use my phone to send out email updates to friends and talked to my boss a couple times and, of course as soon as one person at church heard, mom had a call from our minister within ten minutes and it was all over the place with lots of wonderful concern, but I couldn't type up a post like this one my phone so y'all are hearing about it after the fact, but I'm okay.
I think it's a pretty good thing that it took 47 years for me to be in the hospital again--same one, birth and gall bladder removal.
Except for the food (though the coffee was really good) I am very impressed with the care and attention received at our little city owned hospital. Everyone was very professional, even joked and talked football with me this morning. The doctors laid out everything without overtalking it. I even had a lady from the prescription department come up with a couple ideas for cheaper meds and diabetes supplies. She came by twice!
Well, I'm now way behind on everything here and at A03, but at least the vampire big bang due date is pushed into the middle of October because I'd planned to finish the fic this weekend!
Instead I will now go watch a bit of Texas/Okie State and then head to bed.
After that I felt fine, ate, went home, ate lightly but felt fine.
Thursday I woke up at my normal time not feeling all that great but no pain. I figured if I went to the bathroom I'd be fine as I believed this was bad constipation and I hadn't gone since Wednesday morning.
Nope. It got worse and worse during the day and I finally went home around 1:00 p.m. The pain was horrible, all across my lower stomach and up my spine. Just agony. I tried to throw up--that helped once--but couldn't, damn cast iron stomach, and I just got worse. Finally I called mom and dad around 3:00. I wanted her to get me something for the gas/constipation, but they insisted on taking me to the ER.
On the way there mom recounted how my sister-in-law had horrible back pain with her gall bladder, so when I got the ER I told them it might be gall bladder. We have a family history--dad had his out at 31 and I have two cousins who had theirs out in their 30s, which is young, but we're a weird family. (Actually my sister-in-law was 25 when she started getting the pain and it took her five years to convince the doctors to check her gall bladder. Because she was "too young" it couldn't be that. *rolls eyes*)
My age being slightly higher than that, it was not a problem.
I was badly dehydrated and have tiny veins anyway so it took them awhile to get blood drawn and an IV in with saline. After about two hours in the ER naturally my pain was gone but they took me for a sonagram (lots of hard pushing under my boobs and along my already sore ribs).
An hour later or so they determined that, yes, I had gall stones and probably one that had slipped into a bile duct. My liver and pancreas were inflamed, too. Apparently pancreatis makes your back hurt really badly! Of course I felt fine by then. They admitted me and put me on antibiotics, hoping that overnight the inflammation would decrease and they could just get rid of the wandering gall stone by a scope down my throat.
I was allowed to drink water until midnight. All I'd had all day was a banana around 10:00 a.m. The pain never returned but I couldn't take my nightly motrin and the bed sucked so I had both leg cramps and a headache all night. In the morning my blood work still sucked so the gastro enterologist scheduled the scope thing for afternoon sometime and the surgeon came by and said she wanted to take the gall bladder but if the scope was going to be late afternoon it might be Monday for the surgery.
Also, that if it was too inflamed in there she'd have to do an open surgery and not laproscopy which would mean five days in the hospital.
So I was hoping for that day surgery and the simpler one.
My scope was scheduled for three and they wheeled me down around 2:15. They put you on your stomach on this horrible table bed but you can lift your leg a bit so I wasn't totally on my stomach. The last thing I remember was the nurse putting in the teeth guard and giving me something to relax me.
About three and a half hours later I woke up kind of breathing hard with atrial fibrulation. Lovely. But I was aware enough to ask where my glasses were (my parents had them) and if it had been the laproscopy, which it had been. The scope got rid of the bad stone and they took me pretty quickly to surgery. I wasn't that concerned about surgery outside of it being my first ever. I was more concerned about having the scope because the literature had said you would be in a dreamy state and I didn't want to be aware of anything being stuck down my throat.
Mom and dad came back between the two and I was totally out of it. I don't remember anything.
They were concerned about the afib but I was in a room around 7:00 and by 9:00 I was in regular sinus rhythm and never went out of it again. Probably just the stress. They had me on oxygen--I felt like Dean Winchester in On The Head Of A Pin--and I took one batch of pain meds that knocked me out. I was able to drink water again but wasn't hungry for broth or jello so just dozed in and out. I was in a different room (both were solos which was nice) and had a really good nurse (they were all really good and friendly and helpful), a guy. You kind of lose all shame in the hospital. I hadn't washed my hair since Wednesday morning, shaved my legs or underarms in a couple weeks, was all sweaty and gross. I'm very modest usual and would never go to a male doctor but when you have no choice...He helped me onto the toilet for godssake.
By this morning I was doing okay and had some jello and broth and later got some coffee (which was actually very good). Watched Game Day because it's Saturday and it's football, but their channels were limited. Also got to put on panties.
Oh, I'm also diabetic (the first test on Thursday night I was like 305! I'm now at 235 but just took my first meds). Lovely. So I had some cheese and crackers with insulin and around eleven the doctor came in and said I could go home. The surgeon's partner had come in earlier and said my liver and pancreas levels were much improved so he gave the okay, too. They gave me lunch--god it was gross outside of the salad and the apple/cherry crumble--but I ate enough so they could give me more insulin, but they put me on oral meds. Ironically I was going back on weightwatchers this Monday. I need to start exercising again, though not until I heal.
So I learned how to stick my finger and test my blood sugar and have taken my first pill. Thank god I got over my seventeen year fear of swallowing pills because I have two large pills with the antibiotic and three if I take any of the tylenol with codiene.
I'll probably take one of the tylenol before I go to bed.
My three prescriptions were only $32!! I was expecting over $200. Of course, no way can I afford the diabetes blood testing equipment, though the pills at $10.00 a month I can handle, nor can I afford the deductible or co pay but my parents are helping out. Though thank god for insurance at all. Really am hoping for Obamacare to stick so I can get on a better plan with prescription meds. Though I'm determined to not be diabetic forever.
My parents are, as I type, a third of the way to England because my brother and I both insisted they go on their trip and he flew down here last night to take care of me until Monday morning. We're staying at my parents' because I don't have to deal with the cats wanting to jump on me or any stairs or my messy house with no where for my brother to sleep. He had tickets to the Ryder Cup for tomorrow (he went yesterday too) that he gave up.
I can't drive for three or four days so I'm making that be Tuesday so I can go into work at least part time.
I'm doing okay. Took a shower which felt amazing and the pain is manageable, more achy and stretching, then anything.
Oh and joy of joys as I was leaving the hospital, my period started, which is probably why I was somewhat constipated as that always happens.
I'm 47, menopause can come any time.
I was able to use my phone to send out email updates to friends and talked to my boss a couple times and, of course as soon as one person at church heard, mom had a call from our minister within ten minutes and it was all over the place with lots of wonderful concern, but I couldn't type up a post like this one my phone so y'all are hearing about it after the fact, but I'm okay.
I think it's a pretty good thing that it took 47 years for me to be in the hospital again--same one, birth and gall bladder removal.
Except for the food (though the coffee was really good) I am very impressed with the care and attention received at our little city owned hospital. Everyone was very professional, even joked and talked football with me this morning. The doctors laid out everything without overtalking it. I even had a lady from the prescription department come up with a couple ideas for cheaper meds and diabetes supplies. She came by twice!
Well, I'm now way behind on everything here and at A03, but at least the vampire big bang due date is pushed into the middle of October because I'd planned to finish the fic this weekend!
Instead I will now go watch a bit of Texas/Okie State and then head to bed.