I had a fun, random Friday post set to go for yesterday, but the day didn’t go as I expected.
When I woke up on Thursday I began having a sharp pain in my right side that didn’t feel like the normal backaches that I’ve been getting. I didn’t worry too much, though, because I had been coughing a lot and I figured I pulled a muscle. By the time I went to work it had gone away.
A few hours later while I was at work the pain returned. It was quite sharp, made me nauseous, and I couldn’t ignore it. My coworkers encouraged me to call my doctor, and although I didn’t think anything was seriously wrong, I called because I’m now responsible for the life of another person and I don’t want to take any chances.
Thankfully my doctor’s office is connected to the building I work in, so I was able to go see her quickly. By the time I got there the pain had gone again. After being examined and talking with her we were both pretty sure that the pain was a result of my coughing and possibly gas, so she gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer, told me to take an Epsom salt bath, and if the pain came back I needed to call her again. The thing she was most worried about was that I might have appendicitis. She said if I wasn’t a nurse she would probably be sending me to get scanned right then.
I returned to work, but within an hour the pain had returned and I was concerned. I went back to my doctor and she decided to admit me to the hospital for observation. I was bummed, but I was a good patient and checked myself in.
It was pretty interesting being a patient in the hospital where I work. My nurse just handed me the computer and let me fill out my own admission profile. They started an IV with fluids because I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink, drew blood, and had me leave a urine sample. A surgeon came to see me per protocol, although she said she wasn’t too worried about me.
Although the pain wasn’t near as bad by this point, I was still uncomfortable and had a cough that was turning into a legitimate sickness. There was a lot of time that I was left alone, and I began to feel really stupid for being there, and quite lonely. Finally my husband came and I was so happy to see him. My spirits were raised and he was able to stay with me while I got a complete ultrasound of the abdomen and kidneys. They were focusing on my organs, but we did get to see Meredith a little bit, and we were assured that she’s still a girl!
By the time the scan was finished it was quite late so David went home to take care of the dogs and I attempted to sleep. It wasn’t easy, and when they woke me up at 5 a.m. to draw blood I stayed awake. I was dreaming of a huge breakfast, and I figured that a doctor would be in to see me soon and let me eat and go home. But everything moved so slowly, and I ended up staying there until the afternoon with only clear liquids to eat and drink. I was so disappointed!
First the surgery resident came to see me, but he didn’t have much authority. A little later my OB came by, and although she was no longer very worried about appendicitis (they couldn’t even find my appendix on the ultrasound) she did mention a few other things. I had bacteria in my urine, so she prescribed me antibiotics, and she noticed that all my blood counts were lower than she expected them to be. I’ve been on iron supplements for months now and my body hasn’t responded at all. So in a few weeks, once I’m recovered from whatever virus I have that is causing my cough and congestion, she’s going to do some more specific blood tests.
Even after she came I still had to wait for the surgeon to release me, which took another couple of hours. I was so bored. I couldn’t focus or relax enough to read and I had no one to keep me company except my little girl. The best parts were when they came to check the fetal heart tones, and I got to listen to her heartbeat and hear her moving around.
Everything took a long time. Finally I was able to leave, and my parents picked me up. As soon as I got in the car, the original pain came back, but by this time I was 99% sure that it was just gas or something – apparently pregnancy changes the way everything feels. Still, that didn’t stop me from consuming an entire Grand Slam breakfast from Denny’s. I came home, took a muscle relaxer, went to sleep around 6 p.m. and didn’t wake up until late this morning.
Now I still feel sick, but it’s a normal cold-type sickness combined with a groggy hangover feeling from the muscle relaxer (I’m somewhat sensitive to those things). I plan to spend the rest of the weekend doing a whole lot of nothing, since I really need to be at work on Monday for a big audit we’ve been preparing for all year.
Happy weekend everyone!
