Oh Darn

Weird day yesterday. It started out fairly decently, and I wasn't having a whole lot of pain. I should mention that I was in pretty much constant pain last Thursday-Saturday, a little better on Sunday. I had another pain attack Sunday night and had great days Monday and Tuesday, with very little pain. Yesterday it started up again a little, and I was having processing problems (SO annoying). I did wake up with pain and reflux today. But that's not why I am saying, "Oh, darn."

Yesterday I was working (of course), and I happened to check my phone messages at 1:45. I had three voicemails: one from my dentist (broke another temporary crown on Tuesday, so he's trying to get me in to replace it--he needs to trim gum tissue before he can do a permanent crown, just waiting for my medical issues to be resolved first), and two from the surgeon's office. This would be Dr. M-the-surgeon, not Dr. P. I didn't like Dr. P very much. I was not supposed to see Dr. M-the-surgeon for at least a week, but I guess Dr. M-the-GI was bugging him to get me in. Dr. M-the-surgeon had something open up for this Friday and wanted to meet me first. As in, surgery this Friday.

It was odd to get the message, call them, and have the secretary say, "Can you be here now? Like in half an hour?" Yeah, OK, Woodstock to Johns Hopkins in half an hour. In the rain. Not that I have a problem driving in rain, but 695 is always backed up when it rains. Anyway, I headed straight there. I don't know why I hurried, because it was over an hour before I even saw the PA. Two hours until I saw the surgeon. Only the cleaning crew was there when I was leaving--the doors were locked where patients normally leave! I didn't even think about it until I got on 83 (right near the hospital) and it was basically stopped traffic. Baltimore at 5:30! Doh!

The surgeon is going to do the endoscopy and cholecystectomy (removing my gallbladder). Actually, lap chole. He's confident that he will not need to open me up, that it can be done laparoscopically. Hope so! For the endoscopy, he will check out my esophagus, stomach, and duodenum, and he'll take some biopsies. I'm pretty glad that will happen while I'm completely out rather than under heavy sedation. I know I wouldn't remember anything while under heavy sedation, but it was really freaking me out.

I'm nervous to have surgery, and I know I will be really nervous tomorrow morning. But I do feel it's the right way to go. It was not a hard decision to make.

Today I have to go in for a presurgical workup. I will be annoyed if they take more blood, because I think they can use the bloodwork I had last Wednesday. I think they did the tests that are usually done preoperatively. Well, we'll see. The have to do an EKG anyway (although I had one in October), so I know I can't get out of it.

Ugh, have I ever said that I hate reflux? Yup, hate it. And the feeling of someone poking me in the ribs. I can't wait until this is all done. The surgeon said 85% of people have their pain resolved with this procedure. Hopefully I will be in that 85%. The PA didn't really help when he said (before the doctor showed up) that he had had pain just like mine, had his gallbladder removed, and it ended up not being the problem. What does that mean?? Anyway, the surgeon recommended asking for a month off work, just in case. He has got to be kidding. I can't take a month off. I have three sick days!

Better get ready for work. Um, or the dentist.