You can read about how this started in Part 1.
Wednesday, August 28:
I didn't sleep much the night before and I was back at the doctor by 11 to find out the results of my blood tests, since the chest X-ray, CT scan, and EKG were all normal.
My blood test showed a slightly elevated white blood count, as if my body was fighting off an infection. But other than that, it was all normal.
So the nurse called the imaging place again to schedule an Ultrasound. Sadly, that was a 'no eating for 8 hours' before the scan deal and I was not happy. That also meant that I had to wait until the next morning to get the Ultrasound.
Oh, and they took 3 more vials of blood. YAY! I kept thinking, exactly how much do you need? Also, this nurse took the blood from the left arm as well but I couldn't even tell later. She was good.
That night, I didn't even try to sleep in the bed. I slept on the couch, sitting up again. I tried to lie down flat again and it was too painful. I drifted in and out all night and by the next morning, I was exhausted.
Thursday, August 29:
I had to be at the imaging place by 9:15am. They took me back to do the scan before I could even sit down. (And Subway in the morning smells just as good, or better, than in the afternoon. Especially after not eating after midnight the night before.)
The technician was really nice and it didn't take too long. And I had a big glass of water and a protein bar in the car, waiting for me when it was all done.
I drove back to the doctor after the Ultrasound and was told that they DID find a gallstone. So of course, the doctor went for gallbladder problems even though I was showing NO other signs of gallbladder symptoms (usually abdominal pain, and BACK pain).
So he called a surgeon and made an appointment for me to see him later that day and see about removing the gallbladder the next day.
A few hours later, my husband and the kids drove me to the surgeon and I met with him. (Nice guy, by the way.) He was stumped. He pushed where I SHOULD have had the pain from gallbladder issues and there was nothing. The main pain that I was feeling was in my shoulder, actually right around my collarbone.
He wanted to schedule me for a HIDA scan the next day but there was a problem. There is a nationwide shortage of the radioactive tracer used to track flow in your gallbladder, bile ducts, and liver. So I was told I would hear the next morning IF I could get the scan. And meanwhile, another 8 hours with no food.
The surgeon did give me some pain medication, though. He seemed to understand that not sleeping for 3-4 days was exhausting. And how can my body recover from anything without enough sleep?
An hour after a I left the surgeons office, I started feeling better.
Another hour or two after that, I was able to sneeze. (I hadn't been able to in DAYS due to the pain. I tried but my body tensed up so much that it almost stole the sneeze.)
That night, I took a pain pill. It helped a bit and I did get a little sleep. Although right when I first went to lie down, I felt that pain in my shoulder. But this time, it was a pulsing pain, not constant.
The next day, we dropped the kids off with Nana and my husband went to see the doctor with me. (And I did not get a call about a HIDA scan.)
Part 3 tomorrow.... it's when I decided that my doctor was a total ego maniac and I vowed to NEVER go to a walk-in clinic ever again. Never. Ever.
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