Interrupted

My Life Thus Far
2006-02-11 05:13:20 (UTC)

The Wonder Pill and A Liquid Diet

Dispite my desire to make a clean start of things and to
try out a new identity, it didn't work. There are too many
ways of following my tracks and no way for me to cover
them. But, that isn't such a bad thing. My life is a good
one and I'm doing as well with it as I can. I shouldn't
have to worry about a handful of people disagreeing with
my approach to MY life. Forget them, I'm BACK and I'm not
going anywhere!

I've had such a long, tiring, weakening day (physically
and spiritually). I'll do my best to describe my day, but
it probably won't sound as bad as it felt while it was
happening. I'm so ready to climb into my big, cooshy, warm
bed. And since I don't have to make any lunches or prepare
any bottles, that's exactly what I'm going to do after I
spill my heart onto this page.

I got up this morning, feeling absolutely miserable. The
pain I've been living with for the past 2 weeks isn't
describable, so I won't try, but let me just say, it's bad
and it was kickin' this morning. But still, I got up, got
dressed, got the girls where they needed to be, got myself
to work and tried to be cheerful and happy. Miranda (one
of the other assistants) noticed that I wasn't feeling
well (her mother had gallstones, so she knows the signs)
and she insisted that I go to the Emergency Room to at
least get some pain medication to tide me over until my
appointment on the 21st. Her husband is in the Navy, too.
So, she knows how long it can take Naval Hospital to do
anything. If you want a problem dealt with quickly, you
have to take it through the ER.

After getting the confirmation from Sherilan (the office
manager) that she wouldn't think less of me if I left, I
did go to the ER. I was there from 9:30am until 3:30pm.
When I got there, they asked me questions, took vitals,
did an abdominal palpitation test (which I failed) and got
me situated in a room. The doctor was so nice. So much
more attentive than my primary care physician, I hate to
say, since she's the one in charge of my care. But,
anyway. He ordered a round of tests (blood and urine)
which, I got today, instead of on Monday. I've got
elevated levels of white blood cells in my bladder, which
point to a minor bladder infection, but it doesn't look
like my gallbladder is infected, which is good. If it was,
I was going to have to have surgery today. At least now it
can wait until Snookums gets home. He also had x-rays
taken to see if my gallbladder ruptured, which it hadn't,
so all the urgent problems were ruled out.

The treatment I ultimately ended up getting was a pain
management therapy, which was all I wanted. I didn't want
any drastic measures taken today. Just some relief from
the constant pain. The doctor gave me an intraveineous
drip of Glycopyrrolate, which gave me relief in less than
15 minutes. 3 doses (and 3 hours) later, the pain was GONE
for the first time in weeks! This was also a test. If it
was anything other than my gallbladder, the medicine
wouldn't have worked. It isn't a pain medication. It's
used to treat peptic ulcers and other digestive system
problems. It reduces the amount of acid in the stomach and
intestines, which somehow helps calm the gallbladder. Some
medications have all sorts of uses other than their
intended reasons. I got discharged just in time to pick
the girls up from daycare on time. But I didn't leave that
hospital until I'd procured my own supply of
Glycopyrrolate (in pill form, I don't still have the IV
in) and a bottle of Vicodin, if for some reason the
Glycopyrrolate stops working or isn't enough, the Vicodin
will dope me up to the point of happiness. The only
downside to the "wonder" stomach pill is that it gives me
dry mouth so bad, I can't eat anything for hours after I
take it. I tried eating a granola bar after I left the
hospital (because I hadn't had anything solid to eat all
day) and I nearly suffocated when it got stuck in my
throat. I simply didn't have enough saliva to swallow it.
So, I have to stick with liquids, but a liquid diet is a
small price to pay for RELIEF!!!

Snookums called me, tonight! The Stennis is leaving San
Diego on it's way home tomorrow morning. I feel bad, I
monopolized the entire conversation with my ordeal today
and I hardly listened to his complaints about his
division. He wants to crossrate to Cryptology and I think
he wants my blessing. I'll support whatever decision he
makes. I'm proud of him regardless, but I'm not sure if I
made that clear to him. I'll make sure I tell him that
next time I talk to him. He's just such a supportive man,
I sometimes forget that he needs attention, too. Right now
I'm too busy worrying about myself. I didn't feel that he
fully understood the level of my physical discomfort. The
past few weeks, he'd been belittling my symptoms and
misgivings and I don't know if it's because he didn't want
to admit that something could be wrong, or if it was
because he honestly didn't think anything was wrong.
Tonight, I felt that he finally understood the gravity of
my situation. That may sound self-centered, but I needed
to know that he was a little scared with me. Because, I'm
a little scared and for him not to show that emotion, made
me feel like I was overreacting. I'm not a dramatic
person, so this wasn't a comfortable thing for me. After
he said "I'm sorry baby, I didn't realize you were so
sick. I'll take leave when I get home." It gave me the
reasurance that we're both on the same page.

Another side effect of my meds is blurred vision, which
makes looking at this screen uncomfortable and difficult.
So, I'll go now, before I write a memoir about my day,
instead of just an entry. Ciao, my friends.




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