Friday, January 25, 2013

Health Issues

Apart from successfully sticking to my no corn-syrup in 2013 resolution, I haven't been successful at my other goals.  For starters, I was getting ready to run until the end of the world and while I was successful for a week, I had to stop and head to the ER. 

IV Day 1
I had been having a weird pain that eventually got worse.  The night of Jan 13th I asked my man to take me to the ER.  He asked if Urgent Care or the doctor would be a better option, I said no. This pain was ER material.  There, I got some ultrasound, X-Rays and blood tests.  They told me it was stones in my gallbladder, or something like that. Basically they said, your gallbladder is swollen and has fluid around it which is usually caused by stones, but we can't see them.  I was told to go see a surgeon. 

On Monday, I had an appointment with a surgeon.  He said the evidence wasn't quite conclusive, so I should get a HIDA scan.  A HIDA scan is a nuclear imaging procedure to evaluate the health and function of the gallbladder.  They inject a radioactive tracer through a vein. Then, they allow it to circulate to the liver, where it is excreted into the biliary system and stored by the gallbladder and biliary system.  I had to lay there in excruciating pain for 90 minutes.  GOOD TIMES. 

Results were good, or bad.  Good because my gallbladder was working fine, but then, what is this random sharp pain.  The doctor suggested I get a CT scan.  My appointment got confirmed on Tuesday and I had to go pick up the contrast to drink the night before and Wednesday morning.  

It did not taste like berries
I got the CT scan which thankfully was faster than the HIDA scan.  I went into work for a little while and then hit the road for our trip to Park City.  When we got in the car, I decided to take some Percocet to deal with the pain. Half way through the drive, the doctor calls and gives me the news.  I had pleurisy.  Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs.  Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy.  The inflamed pleural layers rub against each other every time the lungs expand to breathe in air.  This can cause severe sharp pain with inhalation (also called pleuritic chest pain).  So yeah, I was in pain.  

So today, just over a week after being diagnosed, I feel better, but not at 100%.  I'm ready though. It's time for me to be ready to play.  

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