A visit to the emergency room
by
, 12-29-2014 at 12:11 AM (2208 Views)
The gas(I thought it was gas) turned out to be a collapsed lung. I went in to the emergency room around 645pm on a Friday night and around 4 am was admitted to the med surg floor. I had to chug contrast which I swore to the CT tech that I was going to burst my stomach and she smiled and said it is what your surgeon ordered, she was incredibly patient with me with my throwing up and having to start drinking the contrast again.
I stayed in the hospital until Sunday afternoon which I was grateful for the IV fluids and the pain medication that I did not have to swallow. I don't know how grateful I will be when I see the bill!
It was coincidence that my one week follow up was the next day and my surgeon put me on Reglan, carafate, and actigall. The actigall will assist with my gallbladder and hopefully I won't have to have a surgery to remove it.
I was having a tough time with pain and breathing due to the collapsed lung so walking even a few steps exhausted me, I took it slow for the next few days which was very difficult for me. I stayed on a clear liquid diet throughout this ordeal because it was easier/less painful to throw up. I was still throwing up with phenergan and zofran every 4 hours.
FINALLY my nausea started to dissipate around Friday the 26th, I still struggled with the breathing but I think at that point I learned how to breath. I was about to eat 1 tbs of tomato soup for the day and was thrilled to keep it down.
Every day has been getting better and better, I'm 13 days out and I've lost 27 pounds. I can walk my two dogs and can tolerate eggs, mashed potatoes, tomato soup, smashed up peas, and sweet potatoes.
I regretted this surgery with every ounce of my being for the first 11 days and I would cry myself to sleep, hoping I would wake up and this was all just a nightmare. I wasn't expecting to have that sort of reaction. I'd fought my insurance company for 4 months for this blasted procedure and now I was regretting it. I had immense guilt about the regret because this was paid for by my parents. I paid 5989$ out of pocket. My insurance paid a max of $10,000. But I'm grateful for this surgery and the chance to be a healthy active member of society. I you're reading this and you're regretting the procedure, I promise it gets better. It gets easier. The pain doesn't last. It pays off.