December

December 2005

On Friday, Dec. 2nd, I finally went to urgent care after struggling with the "stomach flu" for 2 1/2 weeks. We�d gotten there close to closing time. The doctor did a quick examination and told me to come back the next morning for IV rehydration if I wasn�t able to take in my fluids. He said I�d waited too long and should've gone in a lot sooner. I was told I'm severely dehydrated and malnourished. I got caught up in a vicious cycle. During the weekend, I tried and tried to get fluids (and food) to stay down. The more I tried, the sicker I became. I was prescribed Phenergan for the nausea. Those made me feel real yukky.

On Dec. 5th, after getting home from work, Martin ended up picking me up and putting me in the car� literally. We went back to urgent care and I was transferred to the ER for IV rehydration. They were trying to figure out what was wrong, but my tests were coming back normal. After lots of test, I received 3 bags of fluids. The 3rd had glucose and potassium in it. It seemed like a long 6 hours. They had no idea why I wasn�t �bouncing back� after the stomach flu. Because the Phenergan wasn�t working, I was prescribed Reglan for the nausea. I didn�t like the Reglan either as it made me feel restless. I would rather feel dizzy than restless.

I went to see a nurse practitioner on the 8th for a follow up from my ER visit. (My PCP was on vacation.) There wasn�t much she could do for me except look at my test results and order a few more tests (which came back normal.) She said I had a UTI and asked if the doctor from the ER gave me anything. Unfortunately, they didn�t so she wrote me a prescription for Compazine (anti nausea) and Cipro (antibiotic.) I had until Monday to be fully recovered. If that's wasn't the case, I was going to be sent to a stomach specialist.

On Dec. 9th, I�d started taking my Compazine and Cipro. Martin and I fell asleep while we were watching War of the Worlds. I�d awaken when the movie was over and woke up Martin so we could go to bed. I was starting to have cramps in my lower right side of my abdomen. It just got worse and worse. I didn�t know what was going on so I didn�t want to take anything for the pain. I was starting to have cold sweats, hot and cold flashes, diarrhea, fast pulse, I was extremely dizzy (almost passed out a few times), having a hard time breathing, and the pain was just down right excruciating. That was nothing like anything I've felt before. I was stuck in the fetal position for hours. Martin called the ER and they sent an ambulance. They didn�t want him to transport me because they thought it was my appendix. After doing a CT scan, they discovered that my appendix was fine and that I was in excrutiating pain because an ovarian cyst had ruptured on the right side. I was given Percocet for the pain and sent home. (I would happily pop out a couple more kids than go through that again. Sheesh!) I felt a little bit of relief thinking it was the cysts that were making me so sick. Supposedly, a hormonal imbalance (because of being severly malnourished) can really throw a body out of whack. I still wasn�t getting better. The nausea had eased up some after that. I was still very weak due to my diet for the last 3 1/2 weeks and dizzy from the antibiotic. Unfortunately, that was one of the side effects for the antibiotic. I sure was looking forward to getting back to normal. Supposedly, ovarian cysts can be a result of ovulation. Welcome to the world of womanhood. Good grief!

I had a doctor�s appointment with my primary care physician on the 22nd of Dec. She did a quick physical examination and sent me to do some more blood work. It had to be done on a fast so I wasn�t able to do it that day. Martin took me in for blood work on the 26th, but the labs were closed. The anxiety attacks had kicked in and I was getting depressed. My mom was very sick and in the hospital. I was very sick and not able to visit her. It�d been over a month since I�d seen her. I missed her so much and was sick of doctors... amongst other things. The doctors didn�t know what was wrong with me. Why was I so sick? How come they don�t know what�s wrong with me? There was no light at the end of the tunnel. I was slowly dying and no one knew why. I was in bed most of the time because of how sick I was. I was missing my husband. I was missing my children. I was missing my life before all of this happened.

We�d gone to visit the Powderlys on the 23rd. We�d planned on watching movies and hanging out to celebrate both of our anniversaries. The food Kent made was scrumptious. I was only able to eat a couple of bites. The more I ate, the sicker I felt. They got me to take Compazine so I could eat, but it didn't help. I really enjoy their company, but that night was different. I couldn�t enjoy myself. I felt so sick and just wanted to go home and go to bed. I just laid on the couch and watched the movie. We left as soon as the movie ended.

I ended up in the ER a couple more times for IV rehydration. It didn�t matter how much I drank, my body didn�t hold on to it. I either threw it up or my body didn�t absorb it. The more I ate, the more my body hurt. I was given a prescription for Ativan because my anxiety was out of control.