appy So just when I was complaining that my life was boring... Monday morning I woke up with what I thought was a simple viral gastroenteritis. The stomach pain, the nausea, the puking, the dizziness, it was all a lot like that time I thought I had a triple-A but didn't. No sweat, I stayed home for the day, rested up, drank some tea, and figured it would have resolved by evening. Wrong. The next morning, the pain was lower, in a U-shape under my belly button, and much more intense. It was so painful, in fact, that it hurt me to stand up straight. After laying around for most of the morning hoping that it would get better by itself (it didn't), I hailed a cab and went to the Emergency Room. I spent ten hours total in the ER on Tuesday. Luckily, Joe was there with me, and my dad joined us after he got off work, so I wasn't too lonely, but damn, ten hours. The Emergency doctor saw me. I had a CT scan. The surgeons saw me. The gynecologists saw me. Finally, they said that, while my CT scan was "highly suggestive" for appendicitis, my clinical picture didn't quite match, so I could go home and monitor my own symptoms so long as I promised to return if I spiked a fever or if the pain got worse. I promised. And I was so glad to get out of that ER, even if I really wasn't feeling that much better at all. (In fact, the only time that day that I did feel better at all was after they piped in some Demerol through my IV.) The next day, I was feeling slightly my perky, but then I got a call from the ER. Another radiologist had read my CT, and now it was felt that I "definitely" had appendicitis, and I needed to return to the hospital immediately, for surgery. So I hopped in a cab and sped back up there, to spend another six hours in the ER. At the end of the day, I was in the same place--everyone felt that while my CT screamed appendicitis, I didn't look sick enough to actually have appendicitis. So they slapped on the label of "subacute appendicitis," gave me two liters of saline through my IV (since I was so dehydrated after not eating for three days), a prescription for antibiotics, and again instructed me to return immediately for surgery if any of my symptoms got worse. So that was yesterday. This is today. I'm not really feeling significantly better (the worst of it being the extreme stomach cramps and assorted nasty GI symptoms), but I'm not really feeling worse, either, which is good. But I almost wish that I could have had a classic appendicitis on Monday, gotten the damn thing out that afternoon, and been out of the hospital by Tuesday. Then it would be over. But now, it's still going on, and we're still on a state of high alert (code orange?), monitoring my pain, taking my temperature several times a day, monitoring my fluid intake and heart rate. And twice a day, I have to take these giant pills that really do nothing for my already sensitive bowels. We'll see what happens. Hopefully a return to my normal, boring life. xo Michelle |
Thursday . February 13 . 2003 . 10:02pm |
appy So just when I was complaining that my life was boring... Monday morning I woke up with what I thought was a simple viral gastroenteritis. The stomach pain, the nausea, the puking, the dizziness, it was all a lot like that time I thought I had a triple-A but didn't. No sweat, I stayed home for the day, rested up, drank some tea, and figured it would have resolved by evening. Wrong. The next morning, the pain was lower, in a U-shape under my belly button, and much more intense. It was so painful, in fact, that it hurt me to stand up straight. After laying around for most of the morning hoping that it would get better by itself (it didn't), I hailed a cab and went to the Emergency Room. I spent ten hours total in the ER on Tuesday. Luckily, Joe was there with me, and my dad joined us after he got off work, so I wasn't too lonely, but damn, ten hours. The Emergency doctor saw me. I had a CT scan. The surgeons saw me. The gynecologists saw me. Finally, they said that, while my CT scan was "highly suggestive" for appendicitis, my clinical picture didn't quite match, so I could go home and monitor my own symptoms so long as I promised to return if I spiked a fever or if the pain got worse. I promised. And I was so glad to get out of that ER, even if I really wasn't feeling that much better at all. (In fact, the only time that day that I did feel better at all was after they piped in some Demerol through my IV.) The next day, I was feeling slightly my perky, but then I got a call from the ER. Another radiologist had read my CT, and now it was felt that I "definitely" had appendicitis, and I needed to return to the hospital immediately, for surgery. So I hopped in a cab and sped back up there, to spend another six hours in the ER. At the end of the day, I was in the same place--everyone felt that while my CT screamed appendicitis, I didn't look sick enough to actually have appendicitis. So they slapped on the label of "subacute appendicitis," gave me two liters of saline through my IV (since I was so dehydrated after not eating for three days), a prescription for antibiotics, and again instructed me to return immediately for surgery if any of my symptoms got worse. So that was yesterday. This is today. I'm not really feeling significantly better (the worst of it being the extreme stomach cramps and assorted nasty GI symptoms), but I'm not really feeling worse, either, which is good. But I almost wish that I could have had a classic appendicitis on Monday, gotten the damn thing out that afternoon, and been out of the hospital by Tuesday. Then it would be over. But now, it's still going on, and we're still on a state of high alert (code orange?), monitoring my pain, taking my temperature several times a day, monitoring my fluid intake and heart rate. And twice a day, I have to take these giant pills that really do nothing for my already sensitive bowels. We'll see what happens. Hopefully a return to my normal, boring life. xo Michelle |
