On December 3, I started my day off like any other. I went to work and everything was fine. By 10:00 that morning I was in such terrible pain that I couldn't move. I called my husband and he picked me up and took me to the emergency room. After six hours there, morphine, a CT scan, and drinking some really nasty stuff they said my gall bladder had some irregularities but needed further testing. I was put off work for two days and sent home.
The next day a nurse called to schedule an ultrasound on December 5.
So, December 5 I made another trip to the hospital for an ultrasound. The drive was longer than the actual test itself. The results came back that I had gall stones. They made an appointment with a surgeon who said "It's not an matter of what are you options, but when." So, time to have the gall bladder removed.
Surgery was scheduled for December 23 (This worked well for my work schedule and being off for two weeks).
Well, I woke up to the same unbareable pain on December 15. I called and they moved the surgery up to December 18. I did not want to continue to have this pain.
December 18 - Surgery day. Everything goes fine - except it takes me 4 hours recovery and 4 days before I am moving around again. I don't do anything like a normal person.
I see the doctor on the 23rd and everything looks fine. Just a little tenderness from the surgery.
Christmas was wonderful and we had a great time with the family.
December 26 we are sitting around playing the Wii and all the sudden I started having the SAME pains that I had before the surgery!!! This time is was so much more intense. I had to run to the bathroom and vomit. I called the doctor who said we should go to the ER.
After another 6 hours in the ER, X-rays, more drinking nasty liquid stuff, more morphine and even more pain they admitted me to the hospital. The first suspected pancreatitis and then they suspected a leak in the tube that leads from the liver to the common bile duct so they wanted to do additional tests.
I spent Saturday waiting for a test that didn't happen until 6:30 p.m. I had lots of morphine, lots of fluids, no food except for jello and broth. Finally, that test was ran and came back negative.
I spent Sunday wondering if they were going to run a CT scan, puking with a migraine. Lots more morphine and not knowing what was happening next.
Monday, my liver enzymes continued to go up and I went to my next test. It was an MRCP to determine if there was a gall stone stuck in the common bile duct tube. This test came back negative. In the meantime, I had three attacks of pain on Sunday and two on Monday.
Tuesday the doctor decided that there was another test they can do, run a scope down my throat to see if I have an ulcer (which he didn't think I did) and if that was negative they can run what is called an ERCP that runs a tube into the common bile duct tube to see if a gall stone is hidden. Sometimes that happens and the MRCP doesn't always pick it up. The doctor that performs that was on vacation until Next Monday!!! So, he transported me to Indianapolis.
I got a nice little ambulance ride to St. Vincents and another drug induced nap to have the scope run down my throat to look for a stone. When I woke up, I was told they found it!!!!
The culprit
I was released from the hospital on New Years Eve and have been home for 2 days. I am tired and sore and am not sure that they problem is solved. I am just a little leary and a little scared.
It has been a LONG December and I am glad it is over. I am very thankful for all the nurses and doctors that took such good care of me during this difficult time. I am very thankful for my husband who has sat by my side waiting and waiting. I love him so very much!
Here is to a New Year! Let's hope and pray that it starts much better than it ended!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment