A few years ago I started to have what I thought was indigestion. It would happen a few times every few month. It wasn’t pleasant, not at all, but not something I couldn’t deal with.
A few months ago it started to occur every few days. So I cut back on food that was greasy or spicy thinking that would help it but it didn’t. No matter what I ate or didn’t eat, it would still happen. It even happened when I had only eaten saltine crackers. The only way I could make the pain subside was to throw up whatever was on my stomach. Then the sharp somebody is stabbing me repeatedly in the stomach and left side of my back feeling would go away and I was just left with this dull but continuous pain in the very middle of my rib cage.
Since Thursday October 8, 2009 this pain has become a 24 hours 7 day a week occurrence.
I am lucky enough to work in a doctor’s office with people who are not just my coworkers but also my friends. Their concern for me was overwhelming.
The signs pointed to my gall bladder. So on Wednesday, Dr M and Nurse D took me in a room and performed a Murphy’s test on me, which pretty much means the doc pushes really really hard up in my rib cage. He kept asking me if it hurt and I said no (cause it didn’t). It seems that if it was my gall bladder then it would of hurt like hell when he was pushing. Dr M said that either it’s not my gall bladder or I have a high tolerance for pain. Nurse D said I should have blood work done to try to figure out what was wrong. Also, I haven’t had any kind of test run on me since Raven was born which was a little over 12 years ago. So into the blood drawing station I go.
I warned her that I kick, scream and bite.
She looked at my right arm first and didn’t think she could get a vein. So she looked at my left arm. Still nothing but she thought she had a better shot on my left. She put the needle in and nothing. She tried and she tried I know for a good 10 to 15 minutes. Nothing. Nurse D has been doing this a long time and trust me she knows what she is doing. But she couldn’t get anything. She pushed the needle down as far as it would go trying to hit pay dirt all the time asking me if it hurt. It didn’t and I told her so. After multiply attempts she decided to try later. When she removed the needle no blood come to the surface. Not even a drop.
She told Dr M and he said if we had a minute he would try to get it out of my foot. But with flu season here and everyone waiting a shot we didn’t have anytime for him to try.
So today (Thursday October 15, 2009) Nurse D and Dr M take me back into a room to try again. After looking at my arms again she decides to try on my right hand right below the knuckles (around where they usually insert and IV). She told me it was not going to feel pleasant.
As she got close to my hand I made a little scream (just messing with her), she jump and told me not to do that again. I laughed even though in hind sight it probably wasn’t a good idea to do that to someone who was getting ready to stick me with a needle. But oh well, it was funny and I will probably do it again. She tried her hardest to get something to come out but nothing did.
Around that area I had a paper cut that started to bleed a little. I told Nurse D “Look! You stick me one place I bleed some where else! Stick me in my arm and lets see where I bleed!” I don’t think she found that too funny.
Dr M (who Mike and I actually went to high school with) looked my arms over and said that he was going to try in my left wrist (right in the middle where you would slit if you were committing suicide). He said he didn’t really want to do it there cause it was going to hurt like hell but he was confident that he could get it. Him and Nurse D got everything ready. Dr M, told me not to move not even an inch and then looking completely serious with concern written all over his face (and it kinda had me worried for a second) he told me “Manda, this is going to hurt”. So I took a deep breath and watched as he inserted the needle into the vein. To my relief (and the shock of Dr M and Nurse D) it didn’t hurt at all. I told him that either he is really good at it or I am just tough.
Dr M was successful and they got the 4 vials of blood they where wanting. It was sent out to the labs tonight and hopefully I can figure out what is going on.
The sharp stabbing pain comes and goes but that dull pain stays. The dull pain I can handle. The sharp stabbing pain makes me wince.