Not Going Blind!
Well, the last two weeks have been..... interesting.
Last Tuesday, at my uncle's memorial service, we were outside on a ballfield in 45F. My eyes were watering, but it was cold. My right eye didn't STOP watering.
Saturday, all around my eye started hurting, and by 11:30pm, I couldn't take it anymore. True was at her friend's birthday overnight, so I called my father, who took me and Liam to University Hospital's E.R.
The nurses call Sat. night at University's E.R. the "Gun and Knife Club." I know why now.... two biker gangs got into a fight, the Iron Horseman and whoever the others were, and several were punctured in various ways. There were more law enforcement and fire/EMT uniforms in the E.R. than medical personnel at one point. A three car wreck, none of the victims speaking English, a bipolar off his meds brought in in handcuffs, wailing and forcibly restrained by police while the doctors sedated him, plus a guy bleeding into his brain.... I was last on the list. Never even saw a room - they had me on a stretcher in the hallway.
Seven and a half hours later, the doctors had decided that I had both a migraine and a cluster headache, treated me with oxygen, anti-inflammatories and pain meds, and sent me home. Meanwhile, someone walked off with my glasses. Took them right off the Triage desk. No, they've not been turned in yet. Checked this afternoon.
Sunday, my eye and right side of my face started to swell.
Monday morning, I saw a resident at U.C. Opthamology who shall forever after be known as Dr. Fucktard. Boy looked at me for five seconds, pronounced that I have Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy. He said I'll be in agonizing pain (yes, he used those words) off and on for the rest of my life, that it's an autoimmune disorder, that I should try cold packs for the pain.
My mother bent over in her chair like he'd just gut punched her. I tried to breathe, and think....
I looked at him and said I'd gone to the E.R. with pain between 8 and 9 on a scale of 10 - he said "You'll learn to live with it. We can't drug you for it, it's going to happen all the time." Not kidding. I asked about a new scrip for glasses. He said no, come see me in two weeks. I said so I'm supposed to not drive, not be able to see, for two weeks? He very snottily told me that he could write me a scrip but it'd be garbage, and if I wanted to pay for a pair of glasses that would only be good for two weeks I was welcome to.
I asked about anti-inflammatories, or suppressing my immune system, as I really don't want it making me go blind. He said no, can't give you those when the eyes are involved. Huh?!?! Again, he said try cold packs, then he actually said the words "I understand what you're going through."
I deserve a medal for self control..... all I said to that was "No. No, you really don't."
We left, my brain spinning, still in a lot of pain, and mom took me home. By 5:30, my pain was again past what I could take. Go figure. My mother took me to the E.R. this time.... for our 8 hour shift. Air Care landed twice the first hour we were there. I sat in the waiting room shivering with my pain at a 9.... only because a ten would mean I was on the floor drooling on myself. I've read about people who pass out when the pain gets too bad. My body is retarded.
By the time they saw me, my eye was infected. So they ended up giving me antibiotic drops for my eye, oxygen, torridol for anti-inflammatory, and pain meds again.
LunaKitty gave me the number for her opthamologist, the Rawkin Awesome Dr. Jason Bell. I made an appt with him for Thurs at 4pm. Called my neuro to take her up on that offer of a pain doc referral.... made appt with Dr. Klickovich for 11:30 am Thurs. Was back at U.C. for EKG and Echo with bubble study for Dr. Rackley Wed from 12:45 to 2pm, then went home and back to bed, with cold packs on my head.
Thursday morning, Dr. Klickovich made us laugh.... after all was said and done he said he was "looking forward to the challenge of working with you." *grins* I see him again tomorrow. Told him really, what I need is a decent anti-inflammatory. I can cope with most of my pain. It's when I have an inflammation response that spikes the pain up past what I can handle. So.... here's hoping.
Dr. Bell ROCKS. Have I mentioned that? First off, the ONLY thing Fucktard got right was the name of what I have. Epethelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, or Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy, is the name.
It is NOT autoimmune. My immune system is NOT attacking my eyes.
It is very common. It is easily treated in most cases.... put an ointment in your eye at bedtime to prevent the eyelid from sticking to the surface of the eye overnight. Sometimes, they use a long term soft contact lens "bandage" to protect the eye while it heals.
So.... not going blind. Woot!
Second, it has no effect on my prescription, so he handed me a new scrip, and I got new glasses this morning. Woot! Been mostly blind for the past week and a half, and it's rather like being illiterate. Can't read signs, can't see to drive, plus.... added bonus of light sensitive as lingering pain from the stupid headaches keeps me in dark sunglasses. Fun.
Third... he said the E.R. docs were right Saturday night. I had both migraine and cluster headache.... and explained the difference between them. Seems cluster headaches can be concentrated in an eye socket, and even make that eye water AND SWELL. Well.... isn't that special? So... learned something new there. *sigh*
Fourth.... he said "If you had walked into MY E.R. I'd have ordered a CT scan before I sent you home." So he ordered that - which I did this afternoon. Should get the results in a few days.
Fifth.... he asked me who I saw. I told him... he said "Big beefy guy?" Yep. "I know him." I said "Don't ask me what I think of him if you don't REALLY want to know," while my mother the R.N. cautioned me to watch my language. He shook his head, said "I don't need to ask. I already know what you're going to say."
Then he grinned, kinda mean, and said "I'm on the faculty there."
My mother and I both laughed out loud. Wootage!!!! So... .Dr. Fucktard is in trouble with his faculty, I am NOT going blind, I have the ointment - which is mostly just white petroleum, insert jokes here *grins* - and I can see, drive, read again. Head still hurts, but it only gets bad when I have to focus to read.... like labels at the grocery. That'll fade in time.
Here's hoping the rest of October moves on to something positive, and fun. It is the best holiday of the year, after all.
Can I be done with University Hospital for a while now? Pretty please? I know my way around far too well for a non-employee, and Bam is starting to get comfortable enough there that he's calm and heads right for the right doors. *sigh*
Last Tuesday, at my uncle's memorial service, we were outside on a ballfield in 45F. My eyes were watering, but it was cold. My right eye didn't STOP watering.
Saturday, all around my eye started hurting, and by 11:30pm, I couldn't take it anymore. True was at her friend's birthday overnight, so I called my father, who took me and Liam to University Hospital's E.R.
The nurses call Sat. night at University's E.R. the "Gun and Knife Club." I know why now.... two biker gangs got into a fight, the Iron Horseman and whoever the others were, and several were punctured in various ways. There were more law enforcement and fire/EMT uniforms in the E.R. than medical personnel at one point. A three car wreck, none of the victims speaking English, a bipolar off his meds brought in in handcuffs, wailing and forcibly restrained by police while the doctors sedated him, plus a guy bleeding into his brain.... I was last on the list. Never even saw a room - they had me on a stretcher in the hallway.
Seven and a half hours later, the doctors had decided that I had both a migraine and a cluster headache, treated me with oxygen, anti-inflammatories and pain meds, and sent me home. Meanwhile, someone walked off with my glasses. Took them right off the Triage desk. No, they've not been turned in yet. Checked this afternoon.
Sunday, my eye and right side of my face started to swell.
Monday morning, I saw a resident at U.C. Opthamology who shall forever after be known as Dr. Fucktard. Boy looked at me for five seconds, pronounced that I have Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy. He said I'll be in agonizing pain (yes, he used those words) off and on for the rest of my life, that it's an autoimmune disorder, that I should try cold packs for the pain.
My mother bent over in her chair like he'd just gut punched her. I tried to breathe, and think....
I looked at him and said I'd gone to the E.R. with pain between 8 and 9 on a scale of 10 - he said "You'll learn to live with it. We can't drug you for it, it's going to happen all the time." Not kidding. I asked about a new scrip for glasses. He said no, come see me in two weeks. I said so I'm supposed to not drive, not be able to see, for two weeks? He very snottily told me that he could write me a scrip but it'd be garbage, and if I wanted to pay for a pair of glasses that would only be good for two weeks I was welcome to.
I asked about anti-inflammatories, or suppressing my immune system, as I really don't want it making me go blind. He said no, can't give you those when the eyes are involved. Huh?!?! Again, he said try cold packs, then he actually said the words "I understand what you're going through."
I deserve a medal for self control..... all I said to that was "No. No, you really don't."
We left, my brain spinning, still in a lot of pain, and mom took me home. By 5:30, my pain was again past what I could take. Go figure. My mother took me to the E.R. this time.... for our 8 hour shift. Air Care landed twice the first hour we were there. I sat in the waiting room shivering with my pain at a 9.... only because a ten would mean I was on the floor drooling on myself. I've read about people who pass out when the pain gets too bad. My body is retarded.
By the time they saw me, my eye was infected. So they ended up giving me antibiotic drops for my eye, oxygen, torridol for anti-inflammatory, and pain meds again.
LunaKitty gave me the number for her opthamologist, the Rawkin Awesome Dr. Jason Bell. I made an appt with him for Thurs at 4pm. Called my neuro to take her up on that offer of a pain doc referral.... made appt with Dr. Klickovich for 11:30 am Thurs. Was back at U.C. for EKG and Echo with bubble study for Dr. Rackley Wed from 12:45 to 2pm, then went home and back to bed, with cold packs on my head.
Thursday morning, Dr. Klickovich made us laugh.... after all was said and done he said he was "looking forward to the challenge of working with you." *grins* I see him again tomorrow. Told him really, what I need is a decent anti-inflammatory. I can cope with most of my pain. It's when I have an inflammation response that spikes the pain up past what I can handle. So.... here's hoping.
Dr. Bell ROCKS. Have I mentioned that? First off, the ONLY thing Fucktard got right was the name of what I have. Epethelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy, or Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy, is the name.
It is NOT autoimmune. My immune system is NOT attacking my eyes.
It is very common. It is easily treated in most cases.... put an ointment in your eye at bedtime to prevent the eyelid from sticking to the surface of the eye overnight. Sometimes, they use a long term soft contact lens "bandage" to protect the eye while it heals.
So.... not going blind. Woot!
Second, it has no effect on my prescription, so he handed me a new scrip, and I got new glasses this morning. Woot! Been mostly blind for the past week and a half, and it's rather like being illiterate. Can't read signs, can't see to drive, plus.... added bonus of light sensitive as lingering pain from the stupid headaches keeps me in dark sunglasses. Fun.
Third... he said the E.R. docs were right Saturday night. I had both migraine and cluster headache.... and explained the difference between them. Seems cluster headaches can be concentrated in an eye socket, and even make that eye water AND SWELL. Well.... isn't that special? So... learned something new there. *sigh*
Fourth.... he said "If you had walked into MY E.R. I'd have ordered a CT scan before I sent you home." So he ordered that - which I did this afternoon. Should get the results in a few days.
Fifth.... he asked me who I saw. I told him... he said "Big beefy guy?" Yep. "I know him." I said "Don't ask me what I think of him if you don't REALLY want to know," while my mother the R.N. cautioned me to watch my language. He shook his head, said "I don't need to ask. I already know what you're going to say."
Then he grinned, kinda mean, and said "I'm on the faculty there."
My mother and I both laughed out loud. Wootage!!!! So... .Dr. Fucktard is in trouble with his faculty, I am NOT going blind, I have the ointment - which is mostly just white petroleum, insert jokes here *grins* - and I can see, drive, read again. Head still hurts, but it only gets bad when I have to focus to read.... like labels at the grocery. That'll fade in time.
Here's hoping the rest of October moves on to something positive, and fun. It is the best holiday of the year, after all.
Can I be done with University Hospital for a while now? Pretty please? I know my way around far too well for a non-employee, and Bam is starting to get comfortable enough there that he's calm and heads right for the right doors. *sigh*