Being an astute reader, my Hordeling, I’m sure you noticed there was no missive on Saturday. That would be due to my being in the ER.
What happened to me the previous Saturday happened again. But this time much worse.
After dinner I was feeling kind of bloated, like I needed a good burp to clear things out. We were watching TV, and I stood up to see if I could get a good belch done, when all of a sudden it hit me. I barely made it to the bathroom before everything was coming up.
And it just kept coming. One or two times I thought it was past, but no. I could barely stand before things came up again. My stomach muscles cramped up and caused much pain. My wife asked me if I needed to go to the ER but I could barely answer her. She called our neighbor, who’s an EMT, and fortunately he was home. He came over and said I needed to get to the hospital.
My wife, brave woman that she is, helped him get me to the car. She drove me to the hospital and got me into the ER. She filled out the necessary paperwork, and answered all the doctor’s questions. She also explained to him why I needed an Ativan before they stuck me for blood or putting a IV in me. At first he didn’t get it and wanted to now why I needed Ativan. Then she explained my reaction to having needles shoved in me. Then he understood. He ordered an Ativan for me.
Unfortunately, he ordered an injectable version. The nurse was saved by the fact that I could be barely do anything but heave. I remember snarling at her.
The Ativan kicked in and I got a little loopy. I remember thinking that they put street names on the hospital hallways and I was hoping they took down a certain hallway.
They sent two people in to get blood and put the IV in me. I remember snarling at them too. I’m fairly certain I apologized before they started for what I was about to put them through. The whole time I was severely dehydrated and freezing cold, in spite of having two blankets on me. They had some type of anti-nausea drug in the IV which helped.
Another nurse came in and took me for a CT scan. That went well, other than being unsteady on my feet getting into and out of the wheelchair. I also had some concerns because I had to put my hands over my head for the scan, which meant jiggling the IV, but I got through it.
Back in my room we waited some more until the ER doctor came back. Fortunately this time he brought an orange popsicle, which I desperately needed for the liquid factor. I was so parched that it was welcome relief. He said that the cause of all my suffering was bacteriological, then cut us loose. The nurse that gave me the Ativan injection came and took the IV out of me. I was more clear headed this time and definitely snarled at her. I’m sure she was happy to see me go.
My wife, wonderful woman that she is, drove me back home, where I promptly collapsed in bed and passed out until late Sunday afternoon. She tells me several of the dogs lay on the floor on my side of the bed holding vigil. Good doggies.
I called my doctor today to tell him of the weekend’s events. He said that it may be my body adjusting to lower blood sugar levels. Since they were previously high, ad now I’m on various drugs to bring them down, what I ate over the weekend may have spiked the blood sugar levels again, causing all the vomiting. If that’s the case, I certainly hope that my body adjusts quickly, because what happened Saturday night was the worst in my entire life. I do not want to repeat that again.
I’m doing better now, but still tired.
Side note unrelated to the above: Magdalena ate the new TV remote. < heavy sigh >
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