Well, yesturday was, well, a hell of a day. Instead of writing it all out again, this is a cut’n’paste from an email I wrote regarding my adventures.
I get up at 9 or so, get breakfast and start working…. a few min later I get stomach cramps, similar to the ones that kept me home last monday. Except this time they get worse, and worse, and worse, till I realize that this is not normal and that it isn’t going to get better.
So I run myself to the emergency, and wait at least 30 min for them to finally get to calling me in (this included me in the washroom bent over in pain and sweating like a pig and basically praying for death from the fact my stomach was clenched tighter than …. well really tight). Then I got to get into the hospital gown shown a bed, told to pee in a cup (really hard when I just went, the guy gave me incentive by saying it takes an hour to get the tests back). After that I got blood taken, and after extended periods of waiting, there was an ultrasound. A very interesting procedure (to me anyway), being having my stomach exposed, slathered with goop, and having some woman who didn’t talk much prod me with the thingy.
At one point the pain was so bad I asked for something for it and was given morphine and an IV drip. Wow that stuff is interesting. I’ve never had it or any other pain killers other than asprin or something before, so suddenly my body kinda started getting tingly, and I had to remember how to breath (well, I had seen a guy who just got an IV pass out in front of me so I was just making sure I didn’t do the same). The pain started to fade a little and the next thing I knew I was dozing and feeling fine. I’d describe it as numb but I just didn’t feel numb so much as normal, no pain you know.
Having the morphine kinda sucked in a way because not long after someone finally came to ask me how I was (a doctor type person) and it is really hard to give an accurate report when nothing hurts anymore and you’re dozing in and out. The ultrasound was painless though (this happened a little before that), she didn’t have to worry about poking or prodding me to hard 🙂
Anyway, after another LONG wait, one of the 5 or so people who’d looked poked or prodded me during the day came and told me I had gallstones, and my gallbladder had to come out! (this is a funny coincadance because in the waiting room one of the readers digest had an article on ‘8 signs you shouldn’t dismiss’ and there was one for stomach pain, and it being gallstones or something.. at the time I just though “gee wouldn’t it be funny if that was what I had”).
So in 4-6 weeks I get to go into the hospital to have my gallbladder removed. It’s a come-in-morning-leave-next-morning operation, with no lasting effects or anything, except the lack of a bit of me (the first peice I’ve lost). This will NOT affect our plans for next month (no way in hell!) so be reassured (if you were worried).
So now I’m restricted off of fat in any form which isn’t that bad, as I was trying to eat better. But what the heck is out there without fat? Salad? without dressing? Bleah. I’m going to have to figure out what to do for food the next few weeks.
So anyway, got home, left a message with work to tell Dana the reason I didn’t do any work all day, and my parents to let them know what was going on.
alan (no longer in pain) bailward