I guess we got a little January "excitement" after all. An ER visit wasn't exactly the action I was hoping for, but it is what it is.
As I mentioned previously, early last week I started having some back issues. My lower back just started to hurt. I only remember sitting on my bed for a bit looking at my phone, and when I got up, I was like, "Oh, my back is a little stiff." It wasn't debilitating or anything, but it was uncomfortable and I had to be careful how I sat or bent over. I've had muscle pulls like that--though more often in my upper back--so I didn't think much of it.
By Tuesday it seemed to have mostly recovered. But in the afternoon, I started feeling like I had back cramps, like period cramps or early labor that manifests in your back (which I had a lot of during labor). But I wasn't at that point in my cycle, so I wasn't sure what it was, other than a return of the back pain...but why? By the time I went to bed, there was no getting comfortable at all. I finally gave up and took some ibuprofen, which I hadn't taken as I sort of wanted to keep track of what my body was doing. The ibuprofen must have worked enough because I managed to fall asleep, but I woke up again at 2am, likely thanks to a dream. I was in pain, but sometimes in that drowsy state I can be caught up in my dream or misread things, so I often get up to go to the bathroom to sort of reset myself. Once I got there, I felt like I had to go #2, so I did, but then I realized that reaching to wipe was nearly impossible. My back just hurt way too much when I tried to twist. Thank goodness it wasn't a messy one, but I briefly thought I'd have to call to Craig to come in and help me, which I really didn't want to do (let's save that for our elderly years, shall we?). Then my vision started getting spotty and I was worried I was going to pass out. It got so bad I half expected to look in the toilet and see it full of blood or something--I was so uncomfortable and felt like my body was betraying me. I eventually figured out how to carefully lower myself to the floor. The cool tile felt good and helped my body relax a bit. I was able to do any proper wiping as I laid there, and eventually got myself up and back to bed.
But that was all the sleep I was going to get for the night. I simply could not get comfortable. Every position involved significant pain. I just laid there, slowly and gingerly tossing and turning. I thought many times about waking Craig up and having him take me to the ER, because I just could not figure out how to make this better. After a couple hours I determined I would not be going to work, which had a big mid-year retreat and belated holiday celebration that day, because I would be way too sleep-deprived even if my back was okay. Craig rolled over and snuggled me around 5am, at which point I told him that I thought I'd have to go in. We got the kids off to school, but I could barely walk or stand so Craig had to handle more of the morning food prep than usual. The only way I think I got myself up and out was that I grabbed one of those stick-on heat patches in the middle of the night, which seemed to take the edge off enough to attempt to move. When Craig came back from dropping Jacob off, we headed out.
I had him just drop me off so he could go to work. He offered to stay, but I didn't really want him putting himself at risk in the ER during a crazy flu season. I got checked in and sat in the waiting room for probably 30-45 minutes. Then they gathered a few of us up and ushered us to the "overflow" tent. I don't know if it's the same one they had during COVID, but if I had to guess it probably was. It's a large structured tent in the parking lot, and it probably has about 18 rooms in it, plus a couple spaces for procedures. The bathrooms are out the back door in one of those (admittedly nicer) port-a-potty trailers. My room literally just had one of those reclining hospital armchairs and a curtain. No equipment, no bed. It was...rustic. At one point I heard the doctors talking to my neighbor, who seemed to have some ongoing stomach discomfort, about whether he had previously had syphilis...and the answer was yes. Yikes. Then, someone nearby had a really violent vomiting session. They must have heaved about 15 times. It was so loud. I was very happy that I had a strong stomach and couldn't smell, because that could have done me in. I kept trying to tell myself to think of it like an episode of "The Pitt", my new favorite show, which highlights life in the ER. Romanticizing your life can be a helpful device sometimes.
I got seen by a nurse, a 4th year med student, and finally the attending with another student. They were all really nice and very sweet, but I was a little surprised at how little they actually checked me. They checked my spine and my reflexes, asked a bunch of questions, and that was about it. I think they were primarily looking for some sort of spinal issue, which would have initiated some emergency treatment. But they didn't find anything concerning, so they chalked it up to some sort of impingement. They did end up hooking me up with a medical resident with an ultrasound machine. She checked my kidneys for any sort of backup, and then poked around looking at other organs--partly to rule out other rare issues, but also to get practice. My kidneys, gallbladder, bladder, and uterus were all looking good from her perspective, so at least I don't seem to have any kidney stones brewing, which would likely be courtesy of my genetics.
After hours of playing on my phone and reading a book on my tablet, I was given a prescription for a muscle relaxer, told to take ibuprofen and Tylenol (together if needed), and do some gentle walking. I was also given a referral to ortho in case it's still bothering me in the next week or so. Hopefully it resolves, but even still, I'd love to know what caused this. It was awful in those overnight hours into the morning, and I'd like to avoid a redo.
It was better today. I didn't take the muscle relaxer and I've only had one dose of ibuprofen. I'm just sort of feeling it out at this point. I don't want to take meds I don't need, but I also don't want to find out that I should have taken more because it can come back with a vengeance. Hopefully it's done and I can move on with my life, but that was not a great 24 hours or so.
Oh, and Craig's off-weekend coming up that I wanted to plan something for? Looks like we're getting yet another winter storm instead. Yay. Could be worse--we could be the ones getting the massive ice accumulation that's pretty much going to shut down the south for a bit. I guess I'll take the snow. Maybe his next bye weekend...
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