Trip to the ER

Yep, it's true. I went to the ER this afternoon. I didn't really want to go. I'm not looking forward to seeing how much my visit cost...

I suppose I should start at the beginning...because that's always a good place to start!

I received a phone call at 5:00 this morning to see if I wanted to stay home. I didn't think I had enough PTO, plus I have a student working with me and so I declined. And then I went back to sleep. I didn't get up until about 6:10 which is a bit late, but I couldn't get up any earlier. In that hour, I had a crazy dream (or, more than one...I can only remember one, but it was crazy!). It took place at work. One of the nurses (who just "happened" to work today) admitted a patient to the bath tub room per family request (I know, weird). Apparently, I got into the bathtub when there was water in it. Not exactly sure what happened from there except that I was wandering around the halls without any clothing from the waist up. Yeah, a couple times I put my hands over my breasts as if that would help, but seriously walking around my floor half-naked. Then, it was one of those dreams where you wake up from the dream, but not really wake up from the dream because you were dreaming within the dream. Bizarre.

Well, when I finally decided to roll out of bed, I did NOT feel well at all. But, I thought maybe I was headed toward the "heavy day" of my period this month and was just nauseous because of that. I had to REALLY hustle to get ready and left later than I have ever left for work but still made it there on time...feeling like crap, but there.

My student and I were assigned pretty "easy" patient who all had moms there with them (shocker for my floor, unfortunately). My student is great and she again took two patients and helped me with the third. I'm not exactly sure of the timing, but around 9:00 the nausea was pretty much gone but it was replaced by intermittent abdominal pain. The pain was kind of sharp, but not really like a knife sharp, but it came on abruptly and would pass pretty quickly when I took some deep breaths (or "blew it out") and stopped what I was doing. It happened randomly, but I did feel better when I sat down or just let it pass. I felt yucky, but still felt like I was able to take care of my patients as long as I took breaks. I know that I'm a "wuss" and that the pain I was feeling was nothing like postoperative or cancer pain or really any pain my patients experience. It hurt, I didn't feel well, but perspective wise, I was "okay".

Throughout the day, the charge nurse kept asking if I needed to leave. I didn't want to leave because really, I was pretty "okay" as long as I could take little breathers for the pain to pass. I ate a couple crackers and an apple and drank some Sprite at lunch and tried to make sure I was drinking water. I was willing to "tough it out" knowing that 7:30 would eventually come and I'd be able to come home to my couch...I was going to be okay, I really was.

Then, my student thought my "cramps" were coming more frequently and worse. So, around 3:45, I made a call to the clinic where I have hardly gone since I am NEVER sick. They didn't have any openings and the nurse told me to page the resident who was going to be coming on at 5 to come see me (I did and he thought that was the stupidest idea because it wasn't like he could actually treat me on the floor while I was working!). By this point, one of the pediatric residents was on the floor and I told her what was going on even though I'm not a pediatric patient and she couldn't do anything. She was concerned that I was "guarding" and thought I needed to go to the ER. Then, an infectious disease doctor came on the unit and she completely freaked out that I had been having intermittent abdominal pain all day long. She pretty much demanded I call the charge nurse to come take my patients and let me go to the ER. I immediately started crying because my stomach did hurt pretty bad (to be honest, I was thinking gas pain, maybe some kind of constipation type issue, something that really wasn't a big deal, just annoying) but also because I have no idea how much an ER visit is and I have a pile of bills just waiting for me to pay when Friday rolls around and I get paid.

However, I was really left no choice because there wasn't any way they were going to let me continue working and since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I couldn't schedule an appointment to see someone in an office tomorrow.

So, down to the ER I went. They got me right in (maybe my scrubs helped!) and my initial blood pressure was 144/94...anxious much?! Of course they checked my urine (including a pregnancy screen which is a little annoying because HELLO I'm having my period and well...I know what kinds of things you'd have to do to become pregnant...) It was actually funny to put on a hospital gown after my dream from the morning because I really did take off my shirt (I obviously put on ANOTHER one and left my bra on, but it was still funny).

I got some blood taken and they gave me a drink that was mylanta mixed with viscous lidocaine which was supposed to numb the GI tract and decrease the pain. Of course, I was laying there with my eyes closed while I waited for the meds and the pain pretty much disappeared and I was SO annoyed because I was paying for this visit and now it was gone. But, it came back when the nurse brought my "drink" and a little bit after I took my second trip to the bathroom. However, my labs were fine, I didn't have a fever, it didn't appear to be appendix related...plus, being still made things better. So, I was sent home with some zofran for nausea (even though my nausea was pretty much gone, I took some after I picked it up from the pharmacy) and the recommendation to watch my intake of fatty foods and not to eat too much tomorrow. The thought is that it could potentially be a gall bladder there. I'm still thinking it is more likely that it is "gas pains" or something like that, but I will do what I can with the fatty foods, but Thanksgiving will not be Thanksgiving without all the junk, so I'll have to "play it by ear".

The pain started up again as soon as I left the ER which was frustrating, but it is what it is. I've been sitting on the couch for about an hour and feel "okay". I drank some "vitamin water" and am thinking I may try to eat a little something before I go to bed. I don't have to be at my aunt and uncles until noon, so that will be nice. I was going to make some pumpkin bars or something, but that isn't going to happen tonight (my mom said my cousin was making some anyway). I have ingredients for a couple dips, so maybe I can bring those.

Not QUITE as exciting as my only other trip to the ER which was in 1999 in New York City when I fell trying to run up the down escalator at the Warner Brothers store. Even though that obviously was my fault, they paid for the ambulance ride, the stitches, and everything. You shouldn't try to go up down escalators...lesson learned.

Well, this isn't exactly the Thanksgiving post I was thinking I would write. But, I AM super thankful that my pain didn't require immediate surgery which left me in the hospital unable to eat ANYTHING on Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving...it's only 9:30, but I should head to bed.
Good night.