well. so yesterday i called my
doctor. i am so completely and totally frustrated with the amount of
pain i feel on a daily basis. you see, last year in
june i had my
gallbladder removed after living with pain in my upper right
abdomen for some time. since the
surgery, i have continued to feel pain, and it's worse than before the
surgery. it is constant. and 3 or 4 nights a week i wake up between 4:00am and 6:00am in intense pain from my
bra-line to my
belly button, all the way across. walking around or taking a
shower will help a bit (
marijuana helps more), or if i really need to finish
sleeping i will ball up a
pillow and lay with it under the area of my
stomach that hurts. the
pressure makes it feel better. i also
sweat intensely, so much that i leave blankets soaking wet and wake up amazingly cold, uncomfortable, itchy, and even wrinkled as though i just got out of the
bathtub.
my doctor said he couldn't help me, but to talk to the surgeon who removed my
gallbladder. i called him, and he said i need a procedure called
ERCP, but that he doesn't perform it. he referred me to a
gastroenterologist. they said the situation sounded bad and that they would see me tomorrow morning at 9:15am. Unfortunately, the
doctor may not be able to perform the procedure for another three weeks. so i called my
general practitioner back and requested pain medications.
what i have read about
ECRP says that only local
anesthetic is used, but the
gastroenterologist told me they use general
anesthesia, and the procedure may be done inpatient, given my
symptoms. i also read that depending on the location involved, the
endoscope may go in through my mouth or through my side. neither sounds particularly comfortable, although i'd rather have a
sore throat than an
incision in my side.
anyway, i am now less frustrated than i was. the wheels are in motion to get the
pain gone, and i don't have to wait too long. but i am a
chicken. a BIG
chicken. bawk bawk beegawk.