I tell you, if you've got a few hundred spare dollars (we have a high deductible policy and an HSA that is down to the dregs due to a certain family member's orthodontist habit)
and feel like not getting a good night's sleep in your own bed, go on down to the ER. It's tons of fun and you're sure to meet some interesting folk like, oh, say, gang members, drunks having taken a bit of spill, a poor old man who doesn't want to keep his IV in and many more.
So, what prompted this fun-filled family evening out? Well, first let me say that everyone is okay, although I'm still, sadly, in pain, it doesn't seem to be life threatening and will hopefully sort itself out.
It was all about me because that's how I roll. So, I first thought that I'd pulled a muscle in my lower abdomen the right side. I woke up yesterday morning when pulling my knees up to curl up resulted in a shooting pain. It ebbed and I went back to sleep, waking to a dull ache (with occasional stabs of pain that I couldn't really predict) which lasted until about 3:30pm. Davan and I were playing around, wrestling a bit, when the pain suddenly became very intense and overwhelming.
While it backed off again, the pain continued at an elevated level until I downed a 400mg Advil with dinner around 6:00pm. I felt better once that kicked in right up until I was sitting totally still, not coughing or sneezing or anything, when the seriously stabbing pain started back up. I started looking up possible diagnosis for my symptoms and the thing that kept coming up was appendicitis.
However, I wasn't convinced. I was feeling pretty sure it wasn't just a pulled muscle at this point, but I had no idea what it was and was getting a bit worried. We called the advice nurse. She told us to head to the ER with some haste. Sigh.
It wasn't appendicitis. We don't know what it was. But, I got to spend until 2:30am this morning peeing in a cup, having blood drawn, telling my story to about 6 different people, wearing a hospital gown, convincing Anthony and Davan to come home and get some sleep, reading in a snazzy hospital bed, having an ultrasound (both externally and, to my delight, internally) and listening to the stories of many varied peoples who also found themselves in the ER last night (this was eavesdropping through the door to my room that no one ever bothered to shut, not actual conversations or anything).
By the time I went home, exhausted and feeling stupid, the pain was pretty manageable again, as it remains today for the most part. I do sort of feel like shooting myself when I feel a sneeze coming on (seriously painful!) and I can't really do much without pain, but I've been pretty much going about my day.
What's going on? I don't really know. Right now, my strongest contender is mittelschmerz, but if the pain isn't gone by tomorrow morning, it's probably not it. And this is something I discovered today on my own, not that the doctor came up with. Great. So glad I went in. It seems that usually, doctors aren't needed. Usually, things work themselves out. If a doctor is needed, it's usually obvious, like when Anthony's knee was swollen up to twice it's usual size and he was running a high fever or when one's arm looks like this:
and this was the result of the hospital visit:
These things are obvious. Otherwise, I'm just riding it out. And hoping that abdominal pain goes away during the night.
OMG I have never seen that xray before!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know. Shocking, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteVery!!
ReplyDelete