I aten't dead
You know, I never thought using that subject header could be this appropriate. I had planned to lead with "I told you I was sick!", but this seems more appropriate.
So, you know how I was really breathless and light headed yesterday? And was having blood work taken at my insistence because I thought that I might be anaemic?
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, around 4.15pm. I'd finally got a break on a problem that I've been trying to solve for nearly two weeks and was planning to work a bit longer (on my couch, I wasn't that stupid) before calling it a day and settling down for my Wednesday night Skype with Mum. That was when the phone rang. It was my doctor's office to say that the lab had called and I needed to get my ass to the ER because my haemoglobin was very low and I needed a blood transfusion ASAP.
When I picked myself up off the floor, I dropped my boss a note to alert him that I may not be at work today (oh, my naivete at thinking I'd only be at the ER for a couple of hours), called Mum to let her know that I couldn't Skype and called my cousin for a lift over to the ER.
Checked in, told them my numbers, waited a while (an hour, not bad) and got admitted to the ER. I was popped into one of those highly dignified backless gowns, settled into a bed and hooked up to monitors where I learned that my resting pulse was 110. Meep.
Then they attempted to take some blood for more blood work and type and cross match. Two words: blown veins. My arms are so attractive right now. The worst part was when they had to do a second draw for type and cross because the vial's label got torn when it was on the way to the lab. Finally, they blew a couple more veins before finding one (possibly the only one) to put an IV into and started filling me with saline.
My haemoglobin was 59 when the tests came back. It should be over 120. No, I had no idea that I was that sick. A nurse friend tells me this is incompatible with life. Seriously, no idea. But apparently it's a miracle I was upright and concious and we'll not think too much about where I would have been in a day or two.
In the end, I got three units of blood over the course of the night. Yikes. That brought me up to 99, which isn't normal yet but I do feel much, much better than I have done for ages.
It looks like the issue has been a GI bleed, possibly due to some form of inflammatory bowel disease. So, I don't have IBS like I've been told for five years *sigh* And the bloody diarrhoea that my doctor wasn't worried about on Monday was, in fact, a very bad thing that she should have been worried about.
I'd been losing blood for months, they think, which is why I was able to still be upright and concious yesterday. It happened so gradually that I compensated, acclimated, and didn't notice that I was getting weaker over time. Looking at how bad I felt yesterday, I know that I probably wouldn't have been concious for much longer anyway. Trying not to speculate on that right now.
I've got lots of pills to treat the possible IBD and a possible ulcer, although the ulcer seems incredibly unlikely according to the GI specialist that I saw this morning but he needs to do it until we've got a definitive answer. They've booked me in for a scope next week to establish exactly what is happening and I've been told under no circumstances to taken naproxen ever again because that may have been the cause of the diarrhoea, although probably not the blood. While the diarrhoea didn't cause the extreme anaemia, it probably exacerbated it and I've had no diarrhoea at all since I stopped taking it.
Bad naproxen. No biscuits for you.
Anyway, the good news is that although it's been very scary, I'm now at home with instructions to take it easy for a while. I'm taking tomorrow off sick, I think that I'm allowed. I'll have to sit down for a chat with my bosses on Monday about possible ramifications: I already know that I'll be having a day off next week for tests and who knows what else will be needed? The "I nearly died" thing should help.
Also, my mother booked tickets and is coming to stay with me for a few weeks. She cunningly did it before she could speak to me today (at dad's suggestion) so that it was a fait accompli and I couldn't stop her. I'm sort of glad because I really feel like I need my mummy right now. It was very lonely in the ER last night and it's only just hitting me how ill I was, how close things were, and what may be in my future.
The weird thing is that I am apparently still quite sick because I'm probably still losing blood but I feel better than I have done in months. I'm not quite sure what to make of that. I felt more legitimately sick yesterday.
Tonight I have Ashes to Ashes DVDs newly arrived so I think that I'll snuggle down with them and then have an early night. I'm so looking forward to my nice soft snuggly bed.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/386993.html. There are currently
babbles on the entry on Dreamwidth
So, you know how I was really breathless and light headed yesterday? And was having blood work taken at my insistence because I thought that I might be anaemic?
Fast forward to yesterday afternoon, around 4.15pm. I'd finally got a break on a problem that I've been trying to solve for nearly two weeks and was planning to work a bit longer (on my couch, I wasn't that stupid) before calling it a day and settling down for my Wednesday night Skype with Mum. That was when the phone rang. It was my doctor's office to say that the lab had called and I needed to get my ass to the ER because my haemoglobin was very low and I needed a blood transfusion ASAP.
When I picked myself up off the floor, I dropped my boss a note to alert him that I may not be at work today (oh, my naivete at thinking I'd only be at the ER for a couple of hours), called Mum to let her know that I couldn't Skype and called my cousin for a lift over to the ER.
Checked in, told them my numbers, waited a while (an hour, not bad) and got admitted to the ER. I was popped into one of those highly dignified backless gowns, settled into a bed and hooked up to monitors where I learned that my resting pulse was 110. Meep.
Then they attempted to take some blood for more blood work and type and cross match. Two words: blown veins. My arms are so attractive right now. The worst part was when they had to do a second draw for type and cross because the vial's label got torn when it was on the way to the lab. Finally, they blew a couple more veins before finding one (possibly the only one) to put an IV into and started filling me with saline.
My haemoglobin was 59 when the tests came back. It should be over 120. No, I had no idea that I was that sick. A nurse friend tells me this is incompatible with life. Seriously, no idea. But apparently it's a miracle I was upright and concious and we'll not think too much about where I would have been in a day or two.
In the end, I got three units of blood over the course of the night. Yikes. That brought me up to 99, which isn't normal yet but I do feel much, much better than I have done for ages.
It looks like the issue has been a GI bleed, possibly due to some form of inflammatory bowel disease. So, I don't have IBS like I've been told for five years *sigh* And the bloody diarrhoea that my doctor wasn't worried about on Monday was, in fact, a very bad thing that she should have been worried about.
I'd been losing blood for months, they think, which is why I was able to still be upright and concious yesterday. It happened so gradually that I compensated, acclimated, and didn't notice that I was getting weaker over time. Looking at how bad I felt yesterday, I know that I probably wouldn't have been concious for much longer anyway. Trying not to speculate on that right now.
I've got lots of pills to treat the possible IBD and a possible ulcer, although the ulcer seems incredibly unlikely according to the GI specialist that I saw this morning but he needs to do it until we've got a definitive answer. They've booked me in for a scope next week to establish exactly what is happening and I've been told under no circumstances to taken naproxen ever again because that may have been the cause of the diarrhoea, although probably not the blood. While the diarrhoea didn't cause the extreme anaemia, it probably exacerbated it and I've had no diarrhoea at all since I stopped taking it.
Bad naproxen. No biscuits for you.
Anyway, the good news is that although it's been very scary, I'm now at home with instructions to take it easy for a while. I'm taking tomorrow off sick, I think that I'm allowed. I'll have to sit down for a chat with my bosses on Monday about possible ramifications: I already know that I'll be having a day off next week for tests and who knows what else will be needed? The "I nearly died" thing should help.
Also, my mother booked tickets and is coming to stay with me for a few weeks. She cunningly did it before she could speak to me today (at dad's suggestion) so that it was a fait accompli and I couldn't stop her. I'm sort of glad because I really feel like I need my mummy right now. It was very lonely in the ER last night and it's only just hitting me how ill I was, how close things were, and what may be in my future.
The weird thing is that I am apparently still quite sick because I'm probably still losing blood but I feel better than I have done in months. I'm not quite sure what to make of that. I felt more legitimately sick yesterday.
Tonight I have Ashes to Ashes DVDs newly arrived so I think that I'll snuggle down with them and then have an early night. I'm so looking forward to my nice soft snuggly bed.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/386993.html. There are currently
babbles on the entry on Dreamwidth