Well, last Tuesday evening I went to Urgent Care, then was shuttled over to the ER, due to a fever, mid-right abdominal pain, nausea, and a general 'icky' feeling. I spent six hours in the ER without any pain medication and a fever of 102+, as they didn't want to mask symptoms. They were really efficient and got a lot of tests done. I spent the next few days lying in bed with an IV and occasional morphine and a very high white blood cell count. Having never had morphine previous to this, I thought it was weird-- it took the edge off, but didn't knock me out like it did when my hubby had it six months or so ago.
I had a reaction to the first (penicillin based) medication they put me on, which swelled my throat up and made it excruciatingly sore. The next medications they put me on (which I'm still on) make everything taste like metallic grapefruit peels... not very tasty. Anything remotely salty overwhelms my taste buds.
I got out of the hospital late afternoon Friday, thanks to the dedication of a nurse who really took me seriously when I said I wanted to go home. They never figured out anything, though they know there was an infection, due to the elevated white blood cell counts. On the last day my IV had gone bad, so I had a very swollen 'popeye' left arm, and my veins weren't cooperating, so I ended up with my next IV painfully in the back of my right hand.
Since then I've been slowly recovering. I have very little energy and next to no stamina. I find myself just sitting and staring, as even reading tires me out. I don't ache much anymore, and I have found that all my senses are a little skewed for some reason-- my sense of taste, of course, and my sense of smell is hyper-sensitive... but my pain-sense is at a different level. Because of all the tests I've had and the antibiotics I'm on, I've had to wean Sunny all of a sudden. I'm very engorged, but can't really feel anything unless there's direct contact-- like Sunny jumping into me.
Eating is very difficult, as I have absolutely no appetite.
For the first time, I loathe having stairs in my house. It's tiring having to move up and down them.
I'm really grateful for all the love and attention I was given-- MIL watched the boys for me, two of my Brothers in law made visits and gave me a blessing, sister-in-law came and sat with me to chat in the evenings, sister sent me books and let the boys come play... Mom called and fretted herself into a mess over me... ladies from church visited, fed my family, and cleaned my house... nurses went above and beyond the call of duty... and, of course, my hunny really looked out for me. Thank you to everyone!
It's been hard, but I'm still fighting. I've been given some grief over the fact that I've been home so long and am still doing so poorly... but I'm doing the best I can with what I have. I guess I heal slowly, or maybe its because we never were able to solve the problem, and are still just treating general infection. Who knows. I just would like to have some energy. My poor boys wear me out.
For those more curious-- I was tested for appendicitis, ovarian cysts/infection etc. all things uterine, gall bladder, intestine, strep (due to my history), and stomach... all the symptoms were pointing towards the appendix, but my CT scan came out clear. I had 1 CT scan, 2 pelvic exams, 1 probe ultrasound (not fun, lots of photos of my insides, I hear), countless urine and blood tests.
I'm very grateful I didn't have to have surgery. I'm terrified of anesthetics and the loss of control I'd have over myself and was very resistant to surgery.
I had a reaction to the first (penicillin based) medication they put me on, which swelled my throat up and made it excruciatingly sore. The next medications they put me on (which I'm still on) make everything taste like metallic grapefruit peels... not very tasty. Anything remotely salty overwhelms my taste buds.
I got out of the hospital late afternoon Friday, thanks to the dedication of a nurse who really took me seriously when I said I wanted to go home. They never figured out anything, though they know there was an infection, due to the elevated white blood cell counts. On the last day my IV had gone bad, so I had a very swollen 'popeye' left arm, and my veins weren't cooperating, so I ended up with my next IV painfully in the back of my right hand.
Since then I've been slowly recovering. I have very little energy and next to no stamina. I find myself just sitting and staring, as even reading tires me out. I don't ache much anymore, and I have found that all my senses are a little skewed for some reason-- my sense of taste, of course, and my sense of smell is hyper-sensitive... but my pain-sense is at a different level. Because of all the tests I've had and the antibiotics I'm on, I've had to wean Sunny all of a sudden. I'm very engorged, but can't really feel anything unless there's direct contact-- like Sunny jumping into me.
Eating is very difficult, as I have absolutely no appetite.
For the first time, I loathe having stairs in my house. It's tiring having to move up and down them.
I'm really grateful for all the love and attention I was given-- MIL watched the boys for me, two of my Brothers in law made visits and gave me a blessing, sister-in-law came and sat with me to chat in the evenings, sister sent me books and let the boys come play... Mom called and fretted herself into a mess over me... ladies from church visited, fed my family, and cleaned my house... nurses went above and beyond the call of duty... and, of course, my hunny really looked out for me. Thank you to everyone!
It's been hard, but I'm still fighting. I've been given some grief over the fact that I've been home so long and am still doing so poorly... but I'm doing the best I can with what I have. I guess I heal slowly, or maybe its because we never were able to solve the problem, and are still just treating general infection. Who knows. I just would like to have some energy. My poor boys wear me out.
For those more curious-- I was tested for appendicitis, ovarian cysts/infection etc. all things uterine, gall bladder, intestine, strep (due to my history), and stomach... all the symptoms were pointing towards the appendix, but my CT scan came out clear. I had 1 CT scan, 2 pelvic exams, 1 probe ultrasound (not fun, lots of photos of my insides, I hear), countless urine and blood tests.
I'm very grateful I didn't have to have surgery. I'm terrified of anesthetics and the loss of control I'd have over myself and was very resistant to surgery.
2 comments:
Well, I'm glad your back and hope you feel 100% soon. I'm also sorry you had to wean Sunny so suddenly. It seemed like you were still enjoying that relationship.
Here's to your health!
I'm glad you're home! All that really really stinks! I wish we could have helped somehow...
Were there any thoughts about this being a long term issue, or do they pretty much just think it was a one time bad sort of infection? (As much as they have any ideas, anyway...)
And wasn't that CT scan feeling weird (the feeling like you're peeing even though you aren't)? When I had mine the guy told me it would feel that way so I became afraid I actually would pee. Thankfully, I didn't.
Sorry you had to be stuck in a hospital like that for so long. That must have been driving you crazy!
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