Day 95 & 96 " A Trip To The Emergency Room"

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post because I had to make a trip to the Emergency Room.  I had been having some abdominal discomfort for about the last three to four days.  At some times the discomfort was worse and I had planned to let my doctor know about it the day before yesterday but he had rescheduled my appointment and I never got the message.  I had blood work done four weeks prior to this appointment and was supposed to get the results so when I showed up for the appointment I asked for a copy of my blood work which showed that I have several problems with biggest being Diabetes.  I pretty much freaked out all that day and yesterday about that along with the discomfort in my lower abdomen and with all the medication I take for bipolar disorder I was really worried.  So I decided last night that I would go to the ER and get checked out.

When I got to the ER the wait to be seen was four to five hours.  During that period I saw a woman lose her husband and at that point I really felt a lot of anxiety.  What if the discomfort I was feeling was cancer?  After about two hours they called me back to get my blood drawn which took six attempts.  I didn't pass out but was so uncomfortable, the nurse was just about to get someone else to try, and finally hit a vein to get the blood she needed.

During my blood draw the nurse told me that she could see fear in my eyes.  I told her besides being being their for abdominal discomfort I was being treated for bipolar disorder and that this summer has been pretty much miserable.  She told me that, yes, I have a lot going on but that I need to cut myself a break and concentrate on fixing the problems one at a time.  She suggested that I start walking and that could have a positive impact on everything.  She told me to start slow and build myself up and at some point things would get better.  She told me I was a really nice man and that she really enjoyed talking to me.  I know that I've talked with my therapist about eating and exercising but talking to this nurse made me feel a little better about how I was feeling.  Thanks nurse Terri!

After my blood draw I went back to the waiting room and for another two hours until I was finally called back.  After being called back and given a bed by an over worked nurse I waited another hour before the doctor came in.  He was a very nice man and listened to what I had to say.  He said that the best course of action for me was to have a CT Scan of my chest and abdomen.  He also asked me for a urine specimen.  Within ten minutes I had given my urine specimen and was being scanned that only took about fifteen minutes.  Anyway, about another hour passed and the doctor came in and said everything looked good.  There was no problem with my urine, my CT scan looked good and my blood work was OK.  He said that the discomfort could be a number of things and that I should keep an eye on it and follow up with my doctor but to come back if it got worse.  Thank you Dr. Tim!

I got home at six this morning made breakfast, took my pills, and went to bed.  I had been up for twenty three hours without sleep.  After sleeping for nine hours I got up and ate dinner.  My mood this evening has been pretty good.  I still have discomfort in my lower abdomen and am making some changes.  This past week I have eaten a lot of nuts and I'm eating no more nuts.  I also usually drink 16oz. of water at a time and I'm reducing the amount I drink to 10oz. so that I'm not making my kidneys work too hard.  I'm also going to watch the amount of fatty foods I consume as well.  I don't know what the discomfort is but I'm going to do whatever I can to aleve it.  I will be following up with my doctor this coming week and I'm going to do everything to overcome this, the diabetes, and of course my bipolar disorder.