Friday, January 29, 2016

just fair warning

In case I disappear here for a couple days: I'm still having some abdominal distress. It could be an ulcer, I am not 100% convinced. Not 100% convinced it's not gallbladder either, though the pain isn't as bad as gallbladder pain is supposed to be. And I'll think, "Oh, I'm all better!" for a few hours, and then the pain comes back.

My doctor is out of the office today so the nurse told me if it gets very bad, to go to the ER. So if that happens, I may wind up being admitted for testing or more....I hope it doesn't come to that.

I'm going to try an OTC acid blocker and see if that seems to make things better. Eating something or moving around seems to make the pain less, it gets worse with sitting. But I also don't feel quite "right" somehow, and that concerns me.

Currently, the really painful stuff feels almost exactly like ulcer symptoms. I don't know whether to call the secretary at my church and say, "Hey, just in case....who do you think could go to the ER with me?"


UPDATE: Around noon I started feeling sufficiently awful and being sufficiently worried that I decided to go to the ER (the minister was free so he went and sat with me). I didn't react when they hit the pressure point (I don't know what it's called but it has a name - the nurse practitioner mentione it but I don't remember). She said that meant it was "highly unlikely it was gallbladder, but they would do labs to be sure - apparently the bloodwork will show if liver or pancreas is compromised, and they said my labs all came back perfect.

They THINK it is gastritis brought on by the virus and by stress. I have a proton-pump inhibitor to take for two weeks (and no Cholula sauce for the nonce, I suppose). If it doesn't resolve then, it's probably an ulcer (the NP said that H. pylori is "endemic" here) and I will need to be scoped to be sure, but that's way way less invasive and awful (and requiring of time off work) than having the gallbladder removed is.

I am glad I went now because I am less worried and that actually relieves some of the GI pain. Also the ER beds that incline up at the head? That went a long way to relieving the pain. I probably sit all scrunched up too much and that's not helping my gut.

I also have to say: everyone I encountered in the local ER was super nice and super helpful: the intake person (who also processed my insurance), the two (male) nurses (I think male nurses are more common now than formerly, and it's a good thing: one of them looked like a former football player and if he needed to move or lift someone, he probably could), the Nurse Practitioner, and the woman who drew my blood. Also, it was almost empty when I went in so I got seen pretty much right away - the main wait-time was for them to process my bloodwork. 

1 comment:

purlewe said...

I am glad you are OK. be extra gentle with yourself.