In November, 2009, I experienced a very sharp pain in the middle of the right side of my back that wasn't responding to any over the counter pain meds. I also had a constant urge to urinate. So I went to the doctor when I got back from the final game of our volleyball season and was diagnosed with a kidney infection. My doctor gave me Vicodin for the pain and Cipro (a strong antibiotic) for the infection. Well, I found out quickly that the Vicodin helped relieve that pain and I was allergic to Cipro. I got bumps on my arm that seemed to be a rash so I had to start the antibiotic cycle again... (You have to take them for a full 10-14 days and if you miss a dose, or I guess if you switch medications, you get to start over). So I was out of work with a doctor's note until the infection when away. At this time I was seeing a primary care physician who I had been going to for a few years but I had never really had any cause to see her about anything serious. I also was covered insurance-wise through my work with insurance that had always covered anything I needed, but I would soon learn the Beauty that is Personal Choice. Seriously, I know most companies don't pay for it and I had never had reason to feel I should pay for it, but that would be great insurance to have in my situation.
The back pain from my kidney infection began to subside, then I got my period and the major pain/cramps that accompany it. I knew I always had a day of pain so I planned to return to work the next day. The problem was... the pain never went away. It got worse and worse and worse. I had the Vicodin from the kidney infection which got me by but I had to go back to the doctor. This doctor, who I shall refer to as Dr. L, did blood work, some tests and a pelvic exam. She mentioned endometriosis and told me a weird story about a patient who had ended up with endometrial cells in her nose. She didn't follow through with more than that sentence other than to tell me that in order to diagnose it, I would need to have a surgical procedure called a laparoscopy, which is when they make a few incisions and basically look around inside you to see what they find. She gave me pain meds for a week and told me to call her if it didn't get better. She did confirm my white cell count was down, so it seemed the infection was gone and not causing any discomfort.
At this point, the pain was pretty unbearable and taking Vicodin just knocked me out or made me sleepy. The truth is, some of the first 2 years is just hazy because of all the meds and pain. For now, Dr. L just prescribed Vicodin, returned my calls at 9-10pm and insinuated that perhaps I was just wanting drugs. She made it hard to refill my prescription and terrified that at some point she would stop prescribing pain meds for me. The thought of getting through the pain without medication was truly scary. She first sent me to a physical therapist who told me she didn't believe in pain medication and I should try stretching. (That was a pretty unbearable appointment). She then sent me to a urologist who scheduled me for a colonoscopy which turned up nothing. Then I got sent to a gynecological surgeon named Dr. Breast (no joke) to see what he could find. He scheduled me for an exploratory laparoscopy.
On Christmas that year, I ended up in the ER for pain. At this point it turned out that while my doctor was prescribing Vicodin, she had forgotten to mention that narcotics cause pretty severe constipation and since I was not taking anything to combat that, I got to undergo an enema which is just a gross procedure. From then on I started taking fiber capsules and a daily laxative.
Throughout this time, nobody really told me what was going on, I didn't have a concrete diagnosis and I was just living to get through the day. The pain was incredible. Often I didn't get to sleep until 10am the following morning when I just couldn't stay awake any longer. Sleep was and still is the hardest part of pain management because when you go to sleep, you have to deal with the pain that maybe you dealt with all day but it does not let you ignore it when you are trying to relax and sleep. Every pain and ache and scary thought becomes an obstacle. I didn't know what to tell my friends or family... I was on a medical leave from work because I simply couldn't function. Some people implied that maybe it was all in my head. So on top of how badly I was feeling, there was a sense of embarrassment and frustration. I knew my pain was real and I was honestly surprised that everyone didn't believe me right away. I loved coaching, I never missed tournaments, I got back to recruits and put in long hours working. Since college, I had never been without a job so I could not understand why anyone would think that I was "faking" or exaggerating or just being lazy. It's insulting and I definitely did not feel fully supported by the people closest to me. While the pain was bad enough that I wasn't really able to think clearly, this would have to have been the most depressing time to go through... before finding any answers, not understanding what was going on with me, not having a good doctor in place to properly diagnose and explain to me what my body was going through... I would have cried, but that would cause even MORE pain. I was living on my own, so I was isolated and confused.
Next up would be my exploratory laparoscopy... to be continued.
At this point, the pain was pretty unbearable and taking Vicodin just knocked me out or made me sleepy. The truth is, some of the first 2 years is just hazy because of all the meds and pain. For now, Dr. L just prescribed Vicodin, returned my calls at 9-10pm and insinuated that perhaps I was just wanting drugs. She made it hard to refill my prescription and terrified that at some point she would stop prescribing pain meds for me. The thought of getting through the pain without medication was truly scary. She first sent me to a physical therapist who told me she didn't believe in pain medication and I should try stretching. (That was a pretty unbearable appointment). She then sent me to a urologist who scheduled me for a colonoscopy which turned up nothing. Then I got sent to a gynecological surgeon named Dr. Breast (no joke) to see what he could find. He scheduled me for an exploratory laparoscopy.
On Christmas that year, I ended up in the ER for pain. At this point it turned out that while my doctor was prescribing Vicodin, she had forgotten to mention that narcotics cause pretty severe constipation and since I was not taking anything to combat that, I got to undergo an enema which is just a gross procedure. From then on I started taking fiber capsules and a daily laxative.
Throughout this time, nobody really told me what was going on, I didn't have a concrete diagnosis and I was just living to get through the day. The pain was incredible. Often I didn't get to sleep until 10am the following morning when I just couldn't stay awake any longer. Sleep was and still is the hardest part of pain management because when you go to sleep, you have to deal with the pain that maybe you dealt with all day but it does not let you ignore it when you are trying to relax and sleep. Every pain and ache and scary thought becomes an obstacle. I didn't know what to tell my friends or family... I was on a medical leave from work because I simply couldn't function. Some people implied that maybe it was all in my head. So on top of how badly I was feeling, there was a sense of embarrassment and frustration. I knew my pain was real and I was honestly surprised that everyone didn't believe me right away. I loved coaching, I never missed tournaments, I got back to recruits and put in long hours working. Since college, I had never been without a job so I could not understand why anyone would think that I was "faking" or exaggerating or just being lazy. It's insulting and I definitely did not feel fully supported by the people closest to me. While the pain was bad enough that I wasn't really able to think clearly, this would have to have been the most depressing time to go through... before finding any answers, not understanding what was going on with me, not having a good doctor in place to properly diagnose and explain to me what my body was going through... I would have cried, but that would cause even MORE pain. I was living on my own, so I was isolated and confused.
Next up would be my exploratory laparoscopy... to be continued.
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