Well,that's that.

[rootofnewt]

So, chatting with a friend (I could type easier than speak), she urged me to go to the ER when I described the pain as worse than childbirth (and worse than sciatica pre-transition). It was about a 9 on my scale.

For the record, here's my
1: actually pushing Ronan out, pain in my hands from gripping squat bar and such.
2: broken little toes; postpartum pangs and swelling/tenderness
4: bad menstrual cramps (the kind that often cause vomiting and a wish for a complete hysterectomy); contraction pangs during labor
5: post-op for pericardial window, no pain meds once I went home (they insisted on giving me darvocet, which I cannot have)
6-7: my daily pain level with fibro
8: the bilateral sciatica that shot to my feet with each contraction pre-transition
9: tonight; pericardial effusion/pericarditis
9-10: cardiac tamponade
10: pain pump going dry post-thoracotomy while shift change in the CCU forgot supplemental pain meds; sciatica pain during transition (labor)


So, yeah, it was time to go to the ER. Honestly, it felt like a kidney stone or something.

At the ER, they ruled out kidney stones with a pee test. They took bloodwork to rule out a pulmonary embolism (how?). They didn't do any xrays or ultrasounds to rule out stones of any sort. The doctors think it's back strain/spasm. I'm not sure about that, since those don't typically hit out of nowhere right before bed.

Anyhow, with the news that I don't have an infection or anything, I can rest easier and not worry about internal organs going boom.

They gave me a shot of dilaudid, which helped the lung/breathing pain and dropped the back pain to 5-6, though it's creeping back up. Dilaudid only ever really helped incision and nerve pain with me, anyhow, so maybe it is just muscle stuff.

Anyhow, I'm okay. The nurse gave me nursespeak that strongly intimated I should ask my doctor to investigate gallbladder issues. I'm to see my doctor for follow-up, of course.

I picked up icy hot. Gonna have boy rub it in and see if it helps. They also recommended naproxen and ice.
Blah.

Comments

[jb98.livejournal.com]

Whatever it is, I hope it resolves quickly! *thinking of you*

[compostwormbin.livejournal.com]

That sounds miserable.

*hugs*

[compostwormbin.livejournal.com]

Did they check for a gallbladder attack?

[sophy.livejournal.com]

Owchie. I hope it either just goes away, or they figure out what it is and make it go away very soon.

It's always interesting to me to see other people's pain scales since they're so variable and hard to really set down for sure.

[dahliablue.livejournal.com]

I hope you get an answer and some relief soon. It does sound an awful lot like a gallbladder attack.

[wanderyng1.livejournal.com]

Oh yikes...no good :(

I hope you feel better soon.

[mustelidmania.livejournal.com]

there is a blood test called d-dyme which if elevated indicates a pulmonary embolism. it is quite accurate in fact.

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Oh, I trusted them when they said that. I just didn't know about it. Very cool. :)

[mustelidmania.livejournal.com]

are you feeling any better?

[krasota.livejournal.com]

Nope. In fact, I was feeling worse by bedtime.

[mustelidmania.livejournal.com]

I am leaning toward a gall bladder attack as well. I remember mine well, and I am glad that the little bugger is gone. Only had to have one attack too to want it out.

[hnybny.livejournal.com]

Owie! So sorry you're suffering.

[iconoplast.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

Honestly? It's sounding a lot like whatever is wrong with me, except that instead of trouble breathing I had vomiting. So far, most of the docs I've seen have guessed a muscular problem as well, and now I get the morphine and oxycodone for it. The attacks that I get without the meds do hit out of nowhere between 7 pm and 1 am, range from a 9 to a 10 for pain, and no one can tell me why (since past ER visits, I have had an MRI, 2 CAT scans, and an ultrasound, all of which showed nothing interesting except a tiny lung nodule not even in the vicinity of pain).

On the other hand, I really hope you don't have whatever problem I do, since all they can seem to do is throw drugs at me and hope that I go away. I've learned to be okay with the drugs since they let me pretend to function, but I'm sure there has to be a better answer out there somewhere.

All that said, here are the other things that I've found that have helped me, in the hopes that maybe some will help you too: tiger balm, a heated rice pack (we managed to find on that can cover one side of the full torso, which helps the most), lowering stress, and a smaller amount of physical exertion.

[new-shoes.livejournal.com]

It's good they ruled out some stuff, but I know I always get a little frustrated when I've got PAIN, and they can't find a real source. Hope you feel better soon.