Monthly Archives: April 2008

What a month!

Before March 1, I would have said I never get sick. Really, beyond the occasional cold I’ve had only a handful of “sick” days in my entire adult life. Then came bronchitis in March. And then came April.

In April I discovered my gallbladder, and not in a good way. I was eventually diagnosed with a 2.7 cm gallstone blocking the next of my gallbladder. That meant that bile could come in, but it couldn’t get out. This is a bad thing. My gallbladder was supposed to be the size of my thumb and should hold about 8 cc of bile. Before the surgeon could remove it, he drained it of 60(!) cc of bile. No wonder it hurt!!

Every time my stomach contracted — from hunger, during digestion, or when I thought about eating — it squeezed it and set off an attack. Attack last 5-15 hours, which meant I was in pain 24 hours a day. I was absolutely miserable. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t drink. I couldn’t sleep. Standing, sitting, and lying down were all uncomfortable.

This went on almost two weeks. I was trying to work within the system, but everything took so long. Time to get an appointment with my primary care physician, time to get the ultrasound, time to schedule a consultation with a surgeon. Oy. I was trying, really, but the pain was wearing me down. My doctor had offered me NO pain medicine, so I was just muddling through on my own. A friend was livid when she found out I didn’t have pain meds and made me cal for a prescription. They wrote me one, and it was great the first night, but I started throwing up the next morning. I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days — I just didn’t have it in my to throw up — so we went to the ER. Big, bang, boom, problem solved. Long live the ER!

The pain from surgery was nothing compared to the pain of the gallbladder. Surgery was easy and fast, and I was back on my feet right away. No more pain, and I can eat again. Whew!

A few days after that, I went back to work. It’s rather a long story about why I wasn’t back at work in early April, but it turns out, not surprisingly, to be a good thing that I wasn’t. But it’s also a good thing that I went back when I did. We need the money! Between my class expenses, Pax’s illness (which finally resolved about the time I got sick), and my illness, we’ve eaten through our cushion.

I’m back on the same project, taking over for the Lead ID. It’s a big project, but he left it in really good shape, so I’m not even remotely stressed about meeting my deadlines. There’s a related project following right on its heels, so I’ll probably stay gainfully employed for a while.

Well, must go. It’s a beautiful day out — finally — and Jay and I are going to work on the pastures.