Monday, November 2, 2009

Saturday, October 31 - Emergency Room Halloween

I had only about two hours of sleep, due to my pregnancy insomnia and other ailments as of late, when I woke up at six am to extreme pain in my tooth! I've had pain in that tooth on and off for the last couple of months and so I figured I'd deal with it AFTER the baby is born. This pain was HORRIBLE! I've never experienced tooth pain this bad in my life! It's the bottom right molar, the last one which is hurting so badly. It was hurting even when my mouth was open, but the pain was severe when I closed my mouth and my teeth met. Holy cow!


I got out of bed and looked up tooth pain and pregnancy to see what it could possibly be and if I could even do anything while I'm 8 months pregnant! From what I saw online, it seems to me that I'll either have to have a root canal or an extraction if it's a fractured tooth. I called my friend a few hours later who happens to be a dental assistant to ask her what it could be and she said the same thing. I called my dentist on the emergency number, but hadn't heard from him today at all. Anyways... I took my hydrocodone (for my back pain), and tried to do anything I could to ease the throbbing pain! Ed got up with me and called around to various dentists offices to see if I could get in anywhere, but since it's Saturday... no one is open. ARGH... why couldn't this happen YESTERDAY?!


Anyways... after a bit, I felt like I was going to puke, and finally at around 11 am, it came. Let me tell you that this was the WORST vomiting experience I've ever had! I've had a sore throat and congestion anyways... but bring on the vomit and holy cow... I thought my head was going to explode. I was seriously scared because I couldn't breathe! I was laying on the couch just heaving into the garbage can while the whole family is looking on! I hadn't had anything to eat yet today, but I just kept heaving and heaving sooooooo forcefully! I couldn't breathe because I got sooooo congested and I couldn't breathe out of my mouth since I was vomiting so I seriously thought I was going to pass out. VERY scary. I felt sooooo much pressure in my eyes and they felt like they were bulging out of my head!!! Afterwards my head was seriously swollen, my glands under my neck were HUGE, my eyes were swollen into slits which felt like they were popping out of my head and they were really itchy! My throat was on fire and felt like it was closing. I still felt like there was a pukeball lodged in my throat, but I couldn't puke anymore. No matter how much water I drank, I couldn't get that feeling to go away. Ed was just staring at me because of how weird my swollen head looked! He said that my eyes looked chinese because they were sooooo swollen. I have to admit that I was really scared because I've never felt this way during or after puking. It lasted for over an hour afterwards!!! I had a horrid headache, my eyes were killing me and my glands were still pretty large and my throat was killing me.


I called my doctor's office and spoke to the triage nurse who didn't seem to be bothered by it. Ed had taken the kids over to his parents to get them out of the house. I was bummed because I had a fun day planned before we went trick-or-treating. My other symptoms felt like they were going away and so I was planning on going out tonight with them since I'd be outside anyways. We were going to paint pumpkins and make caramel apples as a family since we hadn't done anything this year since I've been so sick. Anyways... I posted my symptoms on FACEBOOK and a doctor friend said that I should go to the E.R. I was going to try and go to sleep and see if I felt better afterwards, but after I read that I decided to call Ed and have him take me to the E.R.


We got there and they took some blood and urine. They had to get it by catheter because there would be less bacteria in the urine... OUCH. Come to find out later... they put the wrong label on it, but luckily I could just pee in a cup that time. UGH. So... the doctor came in, we told her the brief version of my medical history and what happened that morning. She looked in my mouth and said that my throat looked horrible and that I most likely had Pharyngitis. I'd never heard of it. Anyways... she hooked me up to an IV, so I wouldn't get dehydrated because that is one of the biggest risks for fetal complications. The IV had antibiotics in it as well. We got there at around 1:30 or 2:00 and didn't get home 'til around 7:30 that night.


Anyways... I laid on the bed for awhile and Ed and I watched the Game Show Network while we were there. I tried to sleep a bit since I only had two hours sleep, but to no avail. I had to get up an pee several times while the IV fluids went through me. The nurse came in again with the results of my blood and urine test and said that my hemoglobin was low (I already figured that) and that my glucose level was a little high. She said that it was 500 and I asked her what was normal and she didn't know. So she left and came back and said around 100 is normal. I'm like... okay... what do I do for that? She just said to lay off the sugar. Okay... whatever. So... she gave me another bag of fluids and left again. She really didn't seem to know what was going on. I should have listened to my friend and gone to Allen hospital's E.R. instead, but I went to Covenant because IF anything were to happen, that is where my OB will deliver the baby. I had to ask if I was contagious, what to do for the symptoms, what I could eat and drink, etc. They weren't good about giving me any information. So, we got the paperwork and prescription for antibiotics and left.


Right after we left, my lips started tingling and I was like, "Oh, great! Why couldn't this have started before we left?!" Any little change has been freaking me out lately! We went to Walgreens and got my meds and some throat friendly foods and drinks and came home. Thankfully, my friends took the kiddos out trick-or-treating for me so they wouldn't have to miss out on that, too. THANK YOU!!! Then Ollie and Eden spent the night with Grandma Young and Jaren was still with G&G Palmer. Also... Ed was supposed to work his last overnight, but luckily Dan said he'd take his shift so I wasn't alone... just in case Ed needed to take me to the hospital again. THANKS, DAN!


We got home, popped in a movie, heated up some tomato soup and laid down. I was sooooo dang tired and feeling crappy that I went to bed at about 8:30ish. I didn't finish my soup because I was feeling urpy again and reeeeaaaallly didn't want to puke again. So... off to bed I went with my puke bucket right next to the bed. I slept most of the night (minus two hours) and slept until about 1 pm Sunday afternoon when Ed and his dad woke me up to check my blood sugar level since in reality I was verging on diabetic coma with a level of 500 at the ER the day before. It was 89. They gave me a blessing and I slept until about four. The kids are off to G&G's house for the week since I'm contagious until my symptoms go away. Another long sick week is ahead of me... *SIGH* :O(

1 comment:

Krista said...

Just think of it this way Stac....If any of us get sick...really sick, all we have to do is call you and you can be our encyclopedia of medical problems and cures. You will be such a big help to all of us;) Hang in there!