I know hate is such a strong word and I know it's bad but I can't help how I feel right now and I just want to vent. So yeah, I hate him.
I know hate is such a strong word and I know it's bad but I can't help how I feel right now and I just want to vent. So yeah, I hate him.
Happy Monday! How's everyone? How was your weekend? Mine was busy but happy. Full of laughter and fun with the husbo. These are the things I truly cherish and treasure!
Anyway, I am sending off some good vibes to everyone! I am just excited today. I am rarin' to go back and do some work! I've rested enough and I am brimming with energy today - productivity is my word for today.
I am also hoping to hear some good news on the career front. I am praying so hard and crossing my fingers! If this pushes through, I might be able to change the rules earlier than planned. Woot!
So again, HAPPY MONDAY! Smile everyone!
August 18, 2009 - Went to Dr. L's office in Manila Doctors Hospital early in the morning. As soon as the doctor saw the results from the other hospital, he said: "I know this doctor and I am sure we have the same recommendation - surgery." I replied by shaking my head and said: "No doc, he advised that my gallstones were "silent" and that I needed to come back to him for more tests when the pain resurfaces." Dr. L was surprised. He said: "I am confused with his recommendation. When you went to that hospital, weren't you in pain?" I replied: "Yes doc and they gave me Demerol for it because no other pain reliever works." and then he said: "That's exactly my point! "Silent" means that the gall stones are present but the patient does not feel any pain. The fact that only Demerol relieves you of your pain means the pain is intense. I am surprised you can even walk!" The husbo and I just looked at each other and shrugged. Dr. L shook his head and said: "Looking at this ultrasound result, I recommend that you go to the admission office immediately, get a room and then we will do another ultrasound to double check."
So we were admitted to Manila Doctors Hospital that day. I was surprised that the rooms were very affordable, clean and bigger than my room at the other hospital! By this time, the pain is still tolerable but is now concentrated on the upper right side of my abdomen. Everytime I move, I feel shooting pains so I was really uncomfortable.
The surgeon dropped by to check on me and he agrees with Dr. L. He suggests that surgery takes place as soon as possible due to the position of the gallstones and based on the pain that I was feeling he thinks my gall bladder is now inflamed. So surgery was scheduled the next day but not before the ultrasound procedure as they wanted to make sure on the status of my gall bladder.
August 19, 2009 - In spite of the pain, I was happy I had the husbo bring me to Manila Doctors Hospital. A doctor did the ultrasound and was explaining the things he was seeing. True enough my gall bladder was dangerously inflamed and contrary to the ultrasound done at the other hospital, the stone on the neck was not 1.3cm but 2.2cm! They called my doctors right away and surgery was good to go.
So hungry but couldn't eat anything as I was on fasting for the surgery. After about an hour, I was taken to the Operating Room. Boy was it cold! All I could remember was the anesthesiologist telling me they were putting me to sleep and the mask and then I was off to lala land! LOL! Next thing I knew, someone was shouting my name and telling me I was in the recovery room. Surgery done! I felt the burning pain due to the incision but it was tolerable and a mighty relief from the previous kind of pain I felt. I asked for pain relievers and then I slept again.
Woke up in my room and my family was there. An hour after I was already walking to the bathroom to pee! lol! Felt feverish in the afternoon. My head felt like it was going to explode. By evening my temperature was at 38.8. The nurses gave me some paracetamol and the fever went down.
August 20, 2009 - Was feeling okay in the morning. The surgeon dropped by to check on me and said I can be discharged by Saturday. Was also advised to walk once in a while to help recovery. Green light given for clear liquids intake. Woohoo! Super hungry! By afternoon, felt the same blinding headache but chose to sleep it off. Early evening, I was shaking, felt so cold even with aircon turned off. The husbo called the nurse and they monitored my temperature. At around 9PM, my temp was at 38.9 already and the husbo can feel the heat emanating from me. I was also incoherent, drifting in and out of consciousness. Scared, he called the nurse's station and they gave him a towel, basin and a block of ice. They said to keep bathing me in ice cold water to keep the heat down. The husbo kept at it all night (Thank God for a wonderful husband!) and thankfully my fever broke the next day.
August 21, 2009 - Doctors came to check on me and said that fever must have been my reaction to the antibiotics. Given green light to eat solid foods the next day. Woohoo! Feeling better now, walking already. Thank God for binders!
August 22, 2009 - Last check on my incision from the surgery team and I was cleared for discharge. Went home to rest.
Looking back, I am glad we went and got a second opinion. It pays to do that. If ever you doubt a doctor's diagnosis, go ahead and get a second opinion or even a third. It is your right. Also, I learned from experience that a fancy hospital with a hotel-like feel to it does not mean great service. Even if they claim to be one of the world's best. Pick a hospital where you will be treated right and treated well.
That's my story. I hope you can find it useful. Leave a comment or email me if you have any questions. I'll do a separate post on my disappointment with the other hospital and some thanks and commendation to the team at Manila Doctors Hospital. :)
Hmm.. post is still too long. Might do a part 3. sorry! ;-)
July 31, 2009 - We were wheeled inside the room that evening. My first official hospital confinement! LOL! I know it isn't fun but I haven't been confined inside a hospital since I was born, so I don't know, is this a milestone for me? LOL!
August 1, 2009 - I was feeling so much better. No traces of pain. All I felt now was hunger but the doctors placed me on a liquid diet. At around 8AM, they did some ultrasound on my upper abdomen. No explanation was given while doing the ultrasound. I was wheeled back to my room to wait for the doctor's advice. A doctor came in to check on me along with his fellow who said I had gall stones based on the ultrasound results. It was an "a-ha!" moment for me. I remembered that the husbo also felt that kind of pain (he also had gall stones before) 3 years ago. I just didn't think of making that connection.
I asked the doctor if that was what was causing the pain but all he said was I needed to wait for the gastroenterologist. I was so confused because if they knew I had gall stones, why am I still being given medicines for an acid related disease? And if the gall stones were not causing the pain, why didn't they ask me to undergo endoscopy so they can see? So we stayed in that expensive hospital, bumming around, waiting.
August 2, 2009 - still bumming around waiting for the gastroenterologist, but he didn't show up. Probably because it was a Sunday. Wish he made some rounds Saturday though so as not to keep us waiting. IV was taken off as well and I was placed on soft diet. Still not enough, I was still hungry. Family and friends came to visit. I was raring to go out of the hospital already!
August 3, 2009 - I was frustrated because it seems the gastroenterologist was taking some time and I wanted to find out about my ultrasound results. Plus the hospital bill was running high already. I didn't want to be charged another day if we stayed past noon. Call me a cheapskate but we weren't doing anything in the hospital anymore. I wasn't sick and they weren't doing any more tests. I felt like I was staying there, paying them for nothing. With the price of the room, I felt like I was paying for a 5 star hotel room (which the room wasn't)! Honest!
Finally, he came in to check on me. He was in a hurry though. He just said since I was not feeling any pain, he is now giving clearance for my discharge. He said I had gall stones but there is no cause of worry because they were still "silent". Silent because my gall bladder wasn't inflamed yet. He said that should I feel pain again, I need to go back to them for further tests. I saw my husband's face turn into a frown and asked the doctor if the gall stones were the reason for my pain episodes. Surprise! Surprise! The doctor said no. He said the pain was due to acids. The out-patient medicines given to me proved this because they were for treatment of gastritis (gastric mucosal protection).
When we got home, we decided we were going to get a second opinion from my husband's gastroenterologist the following week because we were so dissatisfied with the diagnosis given. Our doubts and dissatisfaction increased when we got the medical certificate and the ultrasound results (getting these documents deserves another post, along with our disappointment with said doctor and hospital). The final diagnosis was Cholelithiasis (gall stones) and nowhere did it say on the documents that I had acid related disease or gastritis. The ultrasound result also showed that the gall stone was at 1.3 cm and is lodged on the neck of my gall bladder. So why was I given medicines for gastritis again?!
August 16, 2009 - woke up early morning with the same pain but tolerable this time. Pain started from the back towards the front. I told the husbo I'd try to rest first and will tell him if pain gets worse. If in case, I specifically asked him not to bring me to the same hospital and to bring me to Manila Doctors Hospital instead. I knew it was far from where we lived, but I was very satisfied with their services when the husbo underwent Cholecystectomy 2 years ago. I slept on and off the entire day but always with discomfort. Pain was steady but did not go away.
August 17, 2009 - pain still there. It was still tolerable so I had the husbo go to work and told him if pain does not go away by the time he comes home then we go to the hospital. Well, we did go to Manila Doctors Hospital emergency room that night and I was given 50g of Demerol for the pain. The pain went away for some time but came back as soon as the effect of Demerol were off. The ER doctor was concerned but they couldn't give me admission without the referral of our gastroenterologist. So they had to discharge us asking us to come back the next day. We needed to see our gastroenterologist. It was okay for me since the pain was still tolerable and the doctor was kind enough to prescribe some Buscopan and Tramadol for the pain.
Part 3 up next. The doctor's astonishment and my cholecystectomy.
Photo below was taken by: Gian Cayetano
To see more of his photos, visit his Multiply site or you may also visit: PHOTOIMAGICRAFT
Cholelithiasis is the presence of one or more gallstones in the gallbladder. Typical symptom is pain which begins in the right upper quadrant but may occur elsewhere in the abdomen. The pain may radiate into the back or down the arm. Episodes begin suddenly, become intense within 15 mins to 1 hour, remain at a steady intensity (not colicky) for up to 12 hours (not less than 6 hours), and then gradually disappear over 30 to 90 minutes, leaving a dull ache. The pain is usually severe enough to send patients to the emergency department for relief. (from Merck Manuals Online Medical Library)
So my journey with my Cholelithiasis began July 12, 2009. I woke up feeling pain on my upper back. Thinking it was because of my sleeping position, I gladly turned over and tried to sleep on my stomach. I haven't even drifted back to sleep yet when I was wracked with pain on my upper abdomen. The pain steadily increased intensity in about 10 to 15 minutes. It was unbearable and I was writhing in pain.
The husbo got scared because I was already pale from the pain so he decided to bring me to the nearest emergency room for treatment. I was given some pain relievers (which took away the pain instantly) and was advised that it was acid related. I was discharged with some medicines for the acid and told to stay away from caffeinated drinks (good bye coffee! sniff! sniff!).
July 31, 2009 - Got home from my shift. My stomach felt kind of weird so I took some antacids for fear I might get another attack. I slept praying I won't get the same episode. What do you know? I woke up around noon, in pain again. This time the pain doubled and I was vomiting like crazy.
I gathered strength to call up the husbo and asked him to come home and bring me to the ER again. The pain was so excruciating already I couldn't even stand up anymore. I felt so bad because I was tired from my shift and I haven't had decent sleep yet. So as soon as the husbo arrived we went straight the the same hospital.
After some questions, the doctor immediately ordered to give me IV as I was already dehydrated from all the vomiting. Pain reliever was given to me but it didn't work. After 10 minutes the pain intensified. The husbo called the nurse's attention. They gave me another round of pain killers, this time stronger than the one given to me earlier. Oh my goodness! I never thought the pain could get any worse but it did! I told the nurse that on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the highest, the pain is now at 15! That got them scampering to my side because when they checked my blood pressure, it was now at 190/120 (and I came in with 120/90)!
ECG was done and the doctor explained the increase in blood pressure was because of the pain. He immediately asked the nurse to give me Demerol. How much I couldn't remember but as soon as the medicine flowed into my veins I felt instant relief. Whew! The husbo was talking to me but the Demerol got me groggy so I couldn't understand. Turns out the doctor was asking him to get me admitted in the hospital already so they can do more tests. I guess it baffled them so much (which I found wierd) that my blood, urine and lipase tests returned with normal results and yet I was in so much pain.
Part II up next. My first hospital confinement.
I'm off to bed now. I think I've been productive enough for today, what with updating the look of my blog and all.
I just miss the husbo. I haven't seen him in a week. I'll give more details tomorrow when I get back online. For now G'nyt all!
I need to focus more. I am veering away from my 2010 goal and I am not happy about it. It is time to take stock of what is happening, sit down and revisit my plans.
I know it was of my own doing. I wasn't careful enough. I was not thinking. I was carefree. And now the consequences are staring me in the face! Knocking on my door. I will face them one by one and know in my heart that things will settle and I will be able to get back on my feet again.
So today I write this down to remind me of this day. The day when I will push myself upright and continue working towards my goal.
It is hard but I am not giving up! I refuse to give up! I can do this! I know I can!
4 more days and it's start of the "-ber" months again. Before you know it, Christmas is here and what did me and the husbo do? We decided to prepare for the holiday season early: 1. We are now drafting up our Christmas list (reminds me of doing our wedding guest list. lol!)
2. If we get stuck and can't add to the list, we go back to the top and think of what to give that person. 3. We started to plan on doing some trip to the malls and maybe start buying if budget permits. We don't really prioritize the gift shopping. We just enjoy each others company and in case we see something then we buy (again, if budget permits. :) ) 4. We also started to talk about our holiday plans. Where we want to go. What we want to do. This way, we don't get confused come holiday season. How about you? Have you thought about your plans for the 2009 Holiday season?
Doing some renovations... Will be back to regular programming soon. :)
I forgot to mention here that my Dell Mini Laptop is not working. I won't get into the details, it hurts my pocket just thinking about it. LOL! But with that said, I really need a new one. I am making do with my Inspiron but this too dies on me after a few hours with a busted monitor. Sad.
I am thinking of getting a desktop instead of a new laptop though. It costs less and I could upgrade it for sometime. And I want to really get that cool LCD monitor and a fancy fancy mice. The works as they say. I want to finally be able to buy a printer for all those photos we have stored in our EHD.
On second thought, having a laptop has given me mobility, something I couldn't do with a desktop computer. I could work from everywhere I want. I could bring my laptop anywhere I want.
Choices, choices. Help?
I had a wonderful Saturday. I spent it with the husbo. No, we didn't go out, no shopping, no dining out and we didn't watch a movie. We spent our time at home, inside our room. It was the best! We had each other for company, our TV and DVD our movie theater and the nearby sari sari store served as our restaurant.
Sometimes it's the simple things in life that are worth remembering. It's the simple things that matter. The little things he does to show how much he loves me, the hugs that comfort me after a tiring day at work, the soothing words that calm me when I cry up a storm, the weekend breakfasts in bed, the funny faces he makes that gets me rolling in laughter. These things are what matters to me. The simple things, the free things that are worth remembering.
I just want to jot these down so I don't forget.
I just finished season 2 of Gossip Girl and can I just say I love all the scandals? Oh and call me wierd but Rufus is hot! LOL! I love the last episode where S asked to meet gossip girl and she had all Serena's friends go to their meeting place. It's just so true. Although one person sends the blast, she would not exist without all the stuff they send to her. So come to think of it, all of them are gossip girls. I can't wait for season 3!
And now because of GG I am sleepy. I need coffee. Until the next post. XOXO!
Several updates. So many things happened that I was just tired by Sunday. But I was happy and content and that's what matters.
Monday started with my husband getting sick. Aww. The poor thing was coughing non stop and his fever, although not that high, was making him really cranky. I had to stay home to take care of my sweetie. Top that up with the flu scare, I had to bring him for a check up when his fever did not go down by Tuesday. Good thing it was just stress and some infection that was relived by some Antibiotics.
The husband rewarded me by allowing me to meet with some friends last Friday night. I had so much fun with Joyce and Keala. I haven't seen them for so long! Of course we fell into our usual crazy stuff and didn't stop laughing all throughout dinner. I love these girls! They're really true friends I could count on.
I was also out Saturday paying some bills and met up with another good friend, Kayie. We had what we call our "food trip" time where we just ate and ate and ate to our stomach's content. Hahaha! I felt like bursting with all the food we ate. Of course, not to mention the laughter. Kayie, we should do this more often!
Sunday saw me holding the broom. I literally waged war with the dust bunnies in our room! It took me half the day to finish clearning everything. So by the time the husband came home from work, I was not able to see his reaction anymore. I was dead tired!
Whoo! What a week. Tired but happy.
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- Nyree
- An introvert by heart, I am usually found inside our room, reading, blogging, surfing the net or watching TV. Feel free to look around my blog and get to know me more. Hope you enjoy your visit!
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