Friday, November 7, 2008

Riverside Hospital: Day 21 (or, Abby in Wonderland)

I've been out of it lately. Three nights ago, as I was trying to get my disproportionate body out of bed to head for the bathroom, I pulled something. I may have even torn something. But I am in the most excruciating pain on the left side of my belly. The doctors drew blood, did ultrasounds, and examined me what felt like a trillion times in order to rule out some very serious causes. Kidney stones, abruption of the placenta, etc. Thankfully, all of the tests came back normal, so they are pretty sure I just pulled a muscle or ligament.

Now, that doesn't sound so bad, but it is. I can't move, stand up or walk without being in terrible pain. Even sitting still is horrific. So after 24 hours of "trying Tylenol" (laughable), the doctors finally put me on something more substantial. First we tried Percocet, which did absolutely nothing. Then they gave me 20mg of Oxycodone. This gave me almost complete relief, but I slept through all of it. Then Dr. Melillo put me on 4mg of Dilaudid every 6 hours. This made me nauseated so they gave me anti-nausea medication, but I was also so drowsy I would fall asleep in the middle of eating! So for 24 hours, I was probably awake for 4 of them at best.

Finally this morning I realized that the Dilaudid wasn't cutting it. It was ordered every 6 hours, but would wear off after 3 or 4! So I spoke with my nurse to see if there was something that could be done. Instead of trying to figure that out, she insisted on trying to diagnose the problem. Basically telling me that she thought the Drs. had it wrong. Grrr! Super frustrating. I finally had to tell her that though I appreciated that she wanted to help, all I really cared about was taking care of the pain. So now I am back on Oxycodone: 10mg every 4 hours. And this is helping tremendously. I was able to take a shower this morning when taking one yesterday would have been entirely out of the question. I am still aware of my injury, but the pain is barely noticeable unless I move or walk, and even then I can tolerate it. No more tears or shaking from the pain. And of course, no more having to deal with the pain for a couple hours until my next dose of meds. Anyway, I am still super drowsy, but I can be awake and aware enough to write this blog entry! But man, has it been a trip! (pun intended.)

Now to address the baby issue. It's been hard for me to take all these medications because I was concerned about how it would affect Charlie and Olivia. Dr. Melillo and others have reassured me numerous times that these medications will not harm them, it just might make them tired too. I am hoping and praying that whatever I have hurt will heal quickly, now that my body is able to relax, so that I can stop taking all of these meds ASAP.

Good news...yesterday was the first day of week 29! We're getting closer! Only 6 more days until I am 30 weeks, which is another big milestone. This has not been an uneventful pregnancy, that's for sure.

Now I have to go take a nap. Again.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you've been a very patient patient, Ab. dare i say, hang in there?

The Katzbox said...

Honey, I wish there were magic words I could utter that would give you comfort when things go south. I am just grateful that you have your faith and family and friends...really! Those are powerful allies and a great support system in times like this. You are a super trooper honey and you will be blessed. The prayers haven't stopped. The time will come, not too far off, when this will all seem like a dream and you will be very very busy with your children and your life at home....and what a great day that will be!....

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