#55: Destoned! What Gall! :-D

So when we last left our heroine, she was digging out of some snow, adjusting to some new digs and a new job, and contemplating surgery. 

Oh boy. Where do I begin with that last one?

From the beginning is always best. 

I was still having some issues, obviously. So a couple weeks ago I was feeling pretty lousy and left work a little early. There were prescriptions waiting to be filled, but they hadn't done them yet, so home I went to lie down for a while. Taking a nap sometimes made me feel a bit bit better.

I slept for perhaps an hour and 45 minutes or so. Then I made the mistake of rolling over....and everything in my middle went INSANE.

I literally could not move for three hours. 

I finally got a phone call around 5 or so, my prescriptions were ready. Things had toned down somewhat (although I still felt weird and quite frankly, like shit) and I was able to drive down to the pharmacy, which, conveniently, was in the same building as the urgent care and the hospital emergency room. The urgent care was closed, but I thought perhaps maybe someone at the emergency room could tell me what to do, until I could get in to see the doctor in the morning.

The attending nurse in the ER took one look at me and said, "Erm, yeah. We need to do some tests? Put on this gown."

by this point, they had trouble finding veins.
So they were forced to stick it in  my hand.
ouch.

She came back a few minutes later and said, "Erm..... so they told you your gall bladder needed to come out? Yeah. We need to do that within the next day or two. It's screwing up your liver."

Apparently my eyes and skin were turning yellow at that point.

So one roommate came and picked up my car to drive it back to the house, and off I went by transport to Rapid City, about 45 minutes away, and the next morning they knocked me out, poked a few holes in me, and removed the offending gall bladder. After that they glued the holes shut. I guess they don't use stitches any more for stuff like this. My belly looks like a punch card. Anyway.

In a couple of weeks I have to go back and have a bile duct cleaned out, apparently those also had stones in them. They got one done, but the other needs a special scope to get to. This ought to be interesting.

oh, forgot to mention I had TWO IVs.
and you couldn't mix 'em. So I had another
one put in my RIGHT hand. Plus a stupid
oxygen sensor taped to my finger. 

Back working now, once the soreness wore off it hasn't been bad. It's a bit like the stretchy-pully pain right after you have a baby, except it's off to one side rather than in the middle. I am beginning to think I have a higher tolerance for pain, though, than some people. When I got back to work all I heard was "Wow. You're back already?" It was a week and a half. How long did you think I would be out? If you've had this done, feel free to comment below how long you were flat on your back ;)

At the moment I am looking at the brown-grey-white slush forming outside. It snowed a bit this morning, but it hasn't really been cold. I actually walked to the grocery store and back (it's a little over a mile, and there are some hills to climb along the way), and it wasn't bad. Chilly.

Next stop is Thanksgiving. I doubt there will be much going on, as the aforementioned duct cleaning will be taking place the day before. Maybe Christmas will be a better stop for me.

And the Coup de Gracie: Compression things.
Itchy and hot and make it difficult to sleep.
I had to take the damn things off in the middle
of the night in order to get any sleep. 

So I managed to miss Halloween, although I did get to spend it with some friends while I healed up a bit. There was still plenty of candy to go around. I had got some in case of trick or treaters, but the three of us at the house ended up eating it all instead. ;)

Stay tuned!

Aye,
Kraneia