This past Tuesday morning 0415, I was awakened by severe back pain across the bottom of my rib cage. Took two Alleve and two Oxycodone thinking it was muscular. In about 45 minutes I had chest pains across my chest from one side to the other, about 5 minutes later at most, I had a gripping pain in the center of my abdomen just under my sternum. The pain was excruciating, a seven or eight out of ten sort of a thing and the pain pills did nothing. I headed to the local ER. After several hours there and at least a few tests like an EKG, the ER staff told me they only test for "important things" and then assured me they had done all the "importing testing". The woman then told me to see my regular doctor for further testing because the staff in the ER could not find anything wrong. I was in agony although I do think they gave me a pain medication Toradol or something along those lines and maybe a shot of morphine. They sent me on my way.
On Wednesday the pain was still there but had subsided much. I had a previous appointment to see my regular doc that day. I went in and explained to her nurse what took place the day before. The doc asked me again what was up, then she asked did they do a CT scan while I was at the ER. Maybe they had done one on somebody else but most certainly not on me! She had one done at the clinic in which she works. The result was that she had her nurse wheel me right back to the ER (her office and the ER are in adjacent buildings). I was there quite a while before they ran an Ultra Sound on my abdomen. The result was negative! Yet, the bottom line of one paragraph said they suspected the same disease as noted in the CT scan (cannot think of the name in essence an infected gall bladder). The ER staff said I needed an MRI but it was too late to do one so they would do it on Thursday morning. I was admitted to the hospital. Next day they did and MRI, it agreed with the CT scan my doc had ordered. I was told I needed emergency surgery, then after more hours of waiting in pain, they told me surgery would be on Friday, two days after admission. On Friday, I was none too sure they would operate that day but they said they would at ten AM. They got me to surgery after 1030 AM.
All of the rest of Friday, I was in agony. The surgeon spoke to me and told me my gall bladder was "really messy" and quite deteriorated. They gave me repeated pain killers, both Morphine and hydrocodone. The pain meds did a little to alleviate the pain. They had told me chances were I'd be in surgery and on my way home hours later. That did not happen; my white blood cell count was very high and my bilirubin level was also high among other abnormal readings. Saturday was not much better, had a good amount of pain all day and night but it was getting better. By Sunday morning, I had been passing wind and that relieved lots of the pain, apparently caused by air they had pumped into my abdomen to keep it spread wide for the surgery as I understand it. I was feeling miserable but a doc told me my levels were pretty normal so I could go home, where I am right now.
During my whole stay and at the ER, I told several medical personnel that I had recently been diagnosed with a low level of diabetes and that I was being treated with fluconozole for a gastrointestinal fungal infection. In addition, I informed several medical personnel of the medicines I take regularly. They refused to give me Synthroid until less than an hour before they brought me to the operating room, then they gave me 25 mcg. less than normal. They never gave me Irebesartan, one of my BP meds but only gave me three of the four BP meds that I take regularly, and I guess that is the reason many if not most of my BP readings were high while in hospital. They also refused to give my fluconozole which I was taking for a gastric fungal infection. Of course, they said it was next to impossible for the fungal infection to be the cause of my gall bladder issues; my gastroenterologist had told me it was outright "impossible" that was a week or to ago. I'd love to see the results if they culture the slop that was my gall bladder. Hopefully benign as for cancer but wondering if it as due to the fungus Candida glabrata. When I told a nurse today that I had diabetes, she said there was nothing in my record about that and all along they had me on a regular diet. Luckily they told me most of my blood sugar readings were normal or close to it.
For well over a year now, more likely two years, as best I can recall; I have been complaining of abdominal pain, back pain, yellow or yellowish poops, an huge increase from virtually zero to lots of reflux (that a gastroenterologist recently had agreed with me was probably bile reflux). Damn these doctors. When I had told the surgeon how long I suspected I had gall bladder problems, he told me he believed that was quite likely my gall bladder was infected or otherwise deteriorating for that long due to how bad it as when he took it out. Both the surgeon and another doc told me irritation from it had started to spread to other organs.
Feeling much better now but still pretty miserable. Still have pain at two of three incision sites, one of those apparently right through or next to a hiatel hernia I have and that one hurts a lot.Very hard to fall asleep, having hot flashes or long periods of feeling heated, then cold sweats but not feverish. Also feel very restless, and cannot get to sleep although I am exhausted. Feel sort of nervous or anxious as well. I wonder if I have become addicted to the pain meds after only a few days; I hope not but I am not taking any more as the Vicodin made me hallucinate some or so the doc said that is what did it while I was in hospital last night and early today.
I have half a mind to contact a lawyer who can subpoena
my medical records and then possibly file a lawsuit over my repeated and numerous complaints of the same symptoms for so long with no one discovering the problem but I hate dealing
with lawyers, even ones on my side.,
Oh well, at least they got the diseased blob out of me and life goes on for now. Hope to feel better sooner than later. Have never felt this bad after surgery before and have had several in the past.
That is all.
All the best,
Glenn B
