Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A day of firsts

First IV...
First blood drawn...
First time I've ever used my health insurance...
First time I've ever gone to the ER for anything but stitches...

My Daughter-in-Law and grandkid are staying with us for a while.  Late last week both DiL and GK got the pukey squirt misery.  It lasted a day and a half or so, then both were fine.  Then Saturday in the middle of the night I got the pukey squirt misery.  It persisted through Sunday and I was feeling just kind of meh on Monday but I made it through the workday.  Yesterday was trending towards normal.  Ate some of the usual junk food and no dramatic aftereffects.

Awakened this morning by belly pains that felt like a bad gas bubble.  Which got worse.  And worse.  Next thing ya know, I can barely breathe - the pain would override any attempt to really inhale.  So I'm sitting there panting shallowly and I finally decide it's time to head to the ER.

Normally, I don't give a crap about pain.  That may sound like a bunch of macho hoo-haa, but it is true.  It is amazing how one's body can heal from things even without assistance from the medical profession.  I need to be in some pretty bad shape to go to the doc - in fact, today's visit was only the fifth time I've seen a doc since Reagan was president.  And two of those visits were just routine check-ups I had to have on file to maintain my CDL.  Back in the early '90s I got bucked off my mountain bike and broke *something* in my left shoulder and didn't even bother to see a doc for it.  Piss on all that, it's only pain.  That shoulder still clicks and pops and does annoying stuff, but pretty much healed.  What I'm saying is that I just don't go to the doctor if it's only pain.

But today was different.  I was convinced that something was perforated/torn/ruptured/obstructed in my gut, and that they'd have to cut on me to fix it.  Ugh.  To start things off they gave me some fluids and pain meds through the IV.  The nurse cautioned that "you make a weird taste in you mouth" and she was right - it tasted just like a brand new pack of band-aids smells.  Screwy.  After the pain had abated enough for the doc to poke and prod, he proceeded to poke and prod.  Then some X-Rays.  Then some bloodwork.  White count came back a bit high, but not alarmingly so.  X-Rays showed nuthin'.  A couple hours later I was sent home.  The gut-ache never really came back.  Still hurts a little, but it is more of a "day after the table saw kicked a piece of wood back into your stomach" pain than a "holy craparoni, this is serious!" kind of pain.

So, for my $100 co-pay I have a sore spot on my hand where they put the IV and a lingering mild tummyache...

I shouldn't have bothered...

11 comments:

  1. Glad you are ok, I am the same way with doctors, I go when there is no getting well on my own.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What Randy said. I avoid doctors as much as possible - no telling what you'll come down with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Inno, you probably did the right thing. Seems like Randy-g, and Max share my (our) reluctance to visit the doc. I am almost 52, and the last time I saw a doc I was 29...for a puncture wound that turned in to blood poisoning.

    All that being said...I now work at a hospital (amazingly, I don't stay sick like many of my co-workers). I have seen some really wretched crap that develops fast. In my experience, guys such as ourselves that steer clear of docs really KNOW when something is wrong.

    I know that I will KNOW, and I will not be so bullheaded as to not get checked.

    Inno, I'm going to bet ya' that something was/is wrong. You wouldn't have gone if you hadn't had that "feeling."

    Keep a watch on it, my friend. I want you in fine form when I mail you my purple & gold chicken hat to wear after my beloved LSU Tigers destroy the miserable Ducks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. "No doctors for me. A bunch of lackeys and yes-men all towing the company line...plus, they botched my vasectimy...now I'm even more potent."

    I do have a fond memory of a kid taking one in the jewels from the industrial table saw in woodshop class...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yikes. I'm glad you're still with us and not living in Britain. A trip to the hospital would have been your last.

    I remember about 10 years ago going to the ER with stomach problems. Damn nurse put the IV in wrong - popped out and liquid and puss were all over me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What I'm saying is that I just don't go to the doctor if it's only pain. I'm with ya there Inno, but like Andy said keep an eye out for further problems.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Inno, you were right to go to the dr. When you're in that much pain, it's worth checking out.

    I hope you are feeling better every day. Better safe than sorry. Seeing as how your relatives had the same pain, maybe it was something you all ate, or some stomach bug you picked up.

    Take care of yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sometimes it just feels wrong and someone needs to look at it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. No, I'm glad you went. Now they'll have baseline on that white count.

    And, I betcha got some good drugs! Those IV drugs kick in quick. I learned that during my last ER visit in the early 2000s -- kidney issues. They referred to my gait as the "kidney stone shuffle.". Pretty tacky, I thought.

    Keep mending.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I shouldn't have bothered...

    Well, yeah... you most certainly SHOULD have bothered. Like the others said: you did the right thang. I don't "do" medicos either, as a rule. But I know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em...

    wv: forkin. As in "Those forkin docs usually don't know... shinola."

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad you're feeling better, Inn.

    Look, ya gotta get all your sicknesses taken care of now, before ObambiCare gets enacted and health care is free.

    ReplyDelete

Family-friendly phrasing heartily encouraged.

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...