Still Ill
Posted by Joni in General
I don’t like to whine but dammit, I hurt. This pain (Upper Left Quadrant) has been going on since early July. I went to the emergency room back then one Sunday evening after work because the pain was so bad I could barely stand it. Three hours and $75 later, I had a prescription for Tylenol in my hand and a stern lecture that chronic pain was not something dealt with in an emergency room, and that I should see my primary care physician. In tears, I tore the prescription up in the doctor’s face and stormed out.
I did see my doctor, who had no clue what was wrong and referred me to a gastroenterologist. He did fuss at me because blood tests indicated I am now diabetic, among other things. Oy.
I saw the GE in August, and after she performed two CT scans, an ultrasound, an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, she declared me to be “fine” and suggested I might have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. She couldn’t understand why I was so upset that she found NOTHING WRONG during these procedures. She told me I should be “glad.” Why? I still hurt and no one knows what’s wrong.
The pain continues and has become tolerable, I guess because I’ve just gotten used to living with it. (Remember, I put up with excruciating cancer pain many years ago too, just because I thought I had to.) I went back to my doctor a few weeks ago with another theory: Celiac disease. My doctor humored me and gave me the blood test that ruled it out. So back to square one.
After some more Googling, I discovered gastroparesis. This makes perfect sense. Untreated diabetes is the number one cause of it. And eating a diet high in fiber doesn’t help. {{Slaps forehead}} All during these past months, I’ve been overdosing on fiber trying to keep the plumbing clean. Jeez.
I’m making another appointment with my doctor to run this latest theory past him. I hope it flies. I’m so tired of feeling … tired. Of having ZERO energy, of being in constant gnawing pain. This cannot be what the rest of my life will be like.