Sick of being sick
Well I have had a time of it lately. Not only did I get sick on my holidays - I got sick a few weeks after getting back. And to top it all off, I had my first ever ride in an ambulance on Sunday night due to chest pain and a fever.
My poor boyfriend, Brad, was beside himself with worry on Sunday night. I had been a little off colour during the day but when we went to bed at 8.30 that night I went downhill fast. First it was the chills. It was a warm night but I was freezing. I had a nightie on under my winter pyjamas and I was under a sheet, 2 doonas and a quilt - and I was still shivering. I also had aches and pains all down my back. A few hours later, and still no sleep, my heart started to beat really fast and I had a dull ache under my left breast. Brad had his arm over me trying to keep me warm and I had to get him to move as it felt like a heavy weight pressing on my chest. That feeling stayed there even after he moved his arm. I got him to take my blood pressure. That was normal but my pulse was way too fast. He called his Mum and asked her advice as to whether he should call an ambulance or not. She told him to ask me what I thought - only I could say how I felt. I was worried about my heart so I said yes to the ambulance.
The paramedics were fantastic. They got there really fast and checked me out. They ruled out a heart attack and said it was more like a respiratory problem. My temperature was really high so they took me to hospital. I walked out to the ambulance and they put me on oxygen. That made the heavy weight feel heaps better. By now the dull pain had gone totally. Brad came with me in the ambulance and we were in the Emergency department for over 7 hours. They did blood tests, ECG's, a urine test, you name it. They knew I had an infection of some sort because my white blood cell count was high but they couldn't fine the cause. They were also worried about my high temperature. I was put on IV fluids and broad spectrum antibiotics. They thought I may have a blood clot on my lung or that I could have pneumonia, even though my chest sounded clear.
They were going to transfer me to the hospital I went to when I had my blood clot and other problems taken care of a few years ago. They were waiting for an ambulance to take me and in the meantime did another blood test. They wanted to do a chest x-ray but that department wasn't open until 8am. At 7am the doctor asked me how I was feeling. My temperature had come down quite a bit by then. I told him I had a sore throat. He asked me why I hadn't told them when I first came in. I told him that my throat had only been sore for the last half hour or so, not sore at all when I got there. With that he looked down my throat and diagnosed me as having acute tonsillitis, which explained all my symptoms. He cancelled the ambulance and sent me home with a script for some tablets.
I started taking the tablets Monday night. They were penicillin and he had asked me if I was allergic to it, which I am not. I had been taking it when I was sick on my holidays. Monday night I hardly slept, was up every half hour having a drink of water, then up every two hours to go to the toilet. My hands were itchy and when I got up Tuesday morning I found they were red and swollen from me scratching and rubbing them. I took my morning tablet and throughout the day I noticed that my lips were swollen. I also had a rash starting on my arms, legs and face. I remembered Brad had read out something to me about side effects of the tablets so I checked it again. It said if I got a rash to stop taking the tablets immediately.
I tried to make an appointment with my GP for that night but he was fully booked. They did say I could sit in the waiting room but it would be a two hour wait, at least. There was no way I could sit there for that long. I felt like a truck had run over me as it was. I made an appointment for today. Turns out that I am now allergic to penicillin. Probably a build up from the two lots I had while on holiday. Now I can never take that again. I have some other tablets to take to help clear up the infection and I also had to have another blood test because the doctor wants to rule out glandular fever.
My darling Brad drove me home in my car on Monday after lunch - after we both got some much needed sleep. He then caught a bus and train home. He has just been over to visit me this afternoon after work and is going to pick me up on Friday after work as I stay with him on a weekend. He will drive me to my doctor's appointment on Saturday, when I get my blood test results. Brad has taken such good care of me and I am so lucky to have him by my side.
So there you have it. What a wonderful way to get a week off work, not !!
I will update again when I get my test results. I just pray that it is only tonsillitis.
Bye for now.
My poor boyfriend, Brad, was beside himself with worry on Sunday night. I had been a little off colour during the day but when we went to bed at 8.30 that night I went downhill fast. First it was the chills. It was a warm night but I was freezing. I had a nightie on under my winter pyjamas and I was under a sheet, 2 doonas and a quilt - and I was still shivering. I also had aches and pains all down my back. A few hours later, and still no sleep, my heart started to beat really fast and I had a dull ache under my left breast. Brad had his arm over me trying to keep me warm and I had to get him to move as it felt like a heavy weight pressing on my chest. That feeling stayed there even after he moved his arm. I got him to take my blood pressure. That was normal but my pulse was way too fast. He called his Mum and asked her advice as to whether he should call an ambulance or not. She told him to ask me what I thought - only I could say how I felt. I was worried about my heart so I said yes to the ambulance.
The paramedics were fantastic. They got there really fast and checked me out. They ruled out a heart attack and said it was more like a respiratory problem. My temperature was really high so they took me to hospital. I walked out to the ambulance and they put me on oxygen. That made the heavy weight feel heaps better. By now the dull pain had gone totally. Brad came with me in the ambulance and we were in the Emergency department for over 7 hours. They did blood tests, ECG's, a urine test, you name it. They knew I had an infection of some sort because my white blood cell count was high but they couldn't fine the cause. They were also worried about my high temperature. I was put on IV fluids and broad spectrum antibiotics. They thought I may have a blood clot on my lung or that I could have pneumonia, even though my chest sounded clear.
They were going to transfer me to the hospital I went to when I had my blood clot and other problems taken care of a few years ago. They were waiting for an ambulance to take me and in the meantime did another blood test. They wanted to do a chest x-ray but that department wasn't open until 8am. At 7am the doctor asked me how I was feeling. My temperature had come down quite a bit by then. I told him I had a sore throat. He asked me why I hadn't told them when I first came in. I told him that my throat had only been sore for the last half hour or so, not sore at all when I got there. With that he looked down my throat and diagnosed me as having acute tonsillitis, which explained all my symptoms. He cancelled the ambulance and sent me home with a script for some tablets.
I started taking the tablets Monday night. They were penicillin and he had asked me if I was allergic to it, which I am not. I had been taking it when I was sick on my holidays. Monday night I hardly slept, was up every half hour having a drink of water, then up every two hours to go to the toilet. My hands were itchy and when I got up Tuesday morning I found they were red and swollen from me scratching and rubbing them. I took my morning tablet and throughout the day I noticed that my lips were swollen. I also had a rash starting on my arms, legs and face. I remembered Brad had read out something to me about side effects of the tablets so I checked it again. It said if I got a rash to stop taking the tablets immediately.
I tried to make an appointment with my GP for that night but he was fully booked. They did say I could sit in the waiting room but it would be a two hour wait, at least. There was no way I could sit there for that long. I felt like a truck had run over me as it was. I made an appointment for today. Turns out that I am now allergic to penicillin. Probably a build up from the two lots I had while on holiday. Now I can never take that again. I have some other tablets to take to help clear up the infection and I also had to have another blood test because the doctor wants to rule out glandular fever.
My darling Brad drove me home in my car on Monday after lunch - after we both got some much needed sleep. He then caught a bus and train home. He has just been over to visit me this afternoon after work and is going to pick me up on Friday after work as I stay with him on a weekend. He will drive me to my doctor's appointment on Saturday, when I get my blood test results. Brad has taken such good care of me and I am so lucky to have him by my side.
So there you have it. What a wonderful way to get a week off work, not !!
I will update again when I get my test results. I just pray that it is only tonsillitis.
Bye for now.