The Thot Plickens...
Not only am I grossly behind with my updates to this story, my stupid laptop fried 2 weeks ago. I'm just up and running again last week. Lost most of my new, unfinished stuff. I did have what I'd been working on up to November on a flash drive, so at least I do have the bones of the stuff I'd been piddling with.
Health news: better, but a major wrench got thrown in. Last Friday, out of the blue, I started having CHEST PAINS. Went to the ER, and they jumped on me like a virus, trying to figure out the problem. None of my symptoms other than the pain pointed to the "big one," as in: "Elizabeth! I'm comin' to join ya, honey!" Took x-rays and cat scan. Sent me home with Ibuprofen and Flexoril with a diagnosis of "muscle strain...or pleurisy."
Went to work Saturday, was too sore to work the last hour. Sunday 4AM, I couldn't lie down, especially on my left side. Drove myself to the ER again (I haven't been there in over 25 years). This time, they found whatever substance shows up in your blood if you have damaged your heart muscle. OH MY GOD! I'm too young for this shit!!
They gave me baby aspirin, Tordal, Nitro (NITRO!!!). Took another cat scan, and found nothing. Would not let me leave the hospital, and in fact, wheeled me to the ICU. I could have walked! My heart didn't hurt; it was my general chest area, just to the left. Pain on inhalation. Intense, excruciating pain.
By now I was terrified. And mortified. I hoped that I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. Who was my nurse? The neighbor of one of my co-workers. Hoped that they are sworn to secrecy.
Since being admitted on Sunday morning, I have had another cat scan, an echocardiogram, ultrasound of my leg arteries for blood clots, and a heart catheterization (complete with bikini wax). They found nothing. This obnoxious nurse was saying that since I felt better after the Nitro, it HAD to be the big one. Eventually, they dropped that tactic and kept me on the anti-inflammatory, which controlled the pain until gradually, the source of the pain was eliminated. They eventually decided that I had some weird kind of pleurisy, and that the inflammation had spread into my pericardium. Dunno. I needed House to diagnose me.
They released me on Tuesday. Hospital beds suck. Hospital food sucks even more. Okay, so they made a big deal about the fact that I didn't realize that I'm allergic to morphine. When they were considering giving it to me, I said, "No thanks, morphine makes me itch." Then they proceeded to feed me massive quantities of milk products, even though I made it quite clear that I am lactose intolerant. I'm a non-insulin dependent diabetic, yet they served me mass quantities of potatoes and other starchy stuff. And they kept forgetting to deliver my meals. I was off meals for Monday morning, and they just kept not sending me anything to eat. Then some goofball would bring me a paper tray from the "extra meals" cart. Turkey. ALWAYS fucking turkey. Not that I really felt like eating until Tuesday, to tell the truth. Got breakfast at 10:30, lunch at 12:30.... Whine, whine, whine...
I am SO glad to be home.
They say I have a pretty clean circulatory system. That's gotta be heredity...not like I'm doing anything to help it...
nbkwrm
Health news: better, but a major wrench got thrown in. Last Friday, out of the blue, I started having CHEST PAINS. Went to the ER, and they jumped on me like a virus, trying to figure out the problem. None of my symptoms other than the pain pointed to the "big one," as in: "Elizabeth! I'm comin' to join ya, honey!" Took x-rays and cat scan. Sent me home with Ibuprofen and Flexoril with a diagnosis of "muscle strain...or pleurisy."
Went to work Saturday, was too sore to work the last hour. Sunday 4AM, I couldn't lie down, especially on my left side. Drove myself to the ER again (I haven't been there in over 25 years). This time, they found whatever substance shows up in your blood if you have damaged your heart muscle. OH MY GOD! I'm too young for this shit!!
They gave me baby aspirin, Tordal, Nitro (NITRO!!!). Took another cat scan, and found nothing. Would not let me leave the hospital, and in fact, wheeled me to the ICU. I could have walked! My heart didn't hurt; it was my general chest area, just to the left. Pain on inhalation. Intense, excruciating pain.
By now I was terrified. And mortified. I hoped that I wouldn't run into anyone I knew. Who was my nurse? The neighbor of one of my co-workers. Hoped that they are sworn to secrecy.
Since being admitted on Sunday morning, I have had another cat scan, an echocardiogram, ultrasound of my leg arteries for blood clots, and a heart catheterization (complete with bikini wax). They found nothing. This obnoxious nurse was saying that since I felt better after the Nitro, it HAD to be the big one. Eventually, they dropped that tactic and kept me on the anti-inflammatory, which controlled the pain until gradually, the source of the pain was eliminated. They eventually decided that I had some weird kind of pleurisy, and that the inflammation had spread into my pericardium. Dunno. I needed House to diagnose me.
They released me on Tuesday. Hospital beds suck. Hospital food sucks even more. Okay, so they made a big deal about the fact that I didn't realize that I'm allergic to morphine. When they were considering giving it to me, I said, "No thanks, morphine makes me itch." Then they proceeded to feed me massive quantities of milk products, even though I made it quite clear that I am lactose intolerant. I'm a non-insulin dependent diabetic, yet they served me mass quantities of potatoes and other starchy stuff. And they kept forgetting to deliver my meals. I was off meals for Monday morning, and they just kept not sending me anything to eat. Then some goofball would bring me a paper tray from the "extra meals" cart. Turkey. ALWAYS fucking turkey. Not that I really felt like eating until Tuesday, to tell the truth. Got breakfast at 10:30, lunch at 12:30.... Whine, whine, whine...
I am SO glad to be home.
They say I have a pretty clean circulatory system. That's gotta be heredity...not like I'm doing anything to help it...
nbkwrm